Dharamshala: Sikyong Penpa Tsering of the Central Tibetan Administration was honoured with the prestigious Democracy Service Medal by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) on 13 June 2024 in Washington DC for his leadership in defending democracy and human rights on behalf of all Tibetans along with several other prominent recipients including Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi; Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell; Vladimir Kara-Murza, an imprisoned Russian opposition leader; and Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, a leader of Free Belarus.
During the award ceremony hosted by NED yesterday, Representative Joaquin Castro, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, presented the Democracy Service Medal to Sikyong Penpa Tsering and remarked, “For decades, even as our nation became more polarised politically, Congress has maintained steadfast bipartisan support for the people of Tibet. Just yesterday, I joined my colleagues in the House of Representatives to pass bipartisan legislation, the ‘Resolve Tibet Act’, that President Biden will soon sign in law, strengthening America’s commitment to Tibet and reiterating our dedication to its future.”
Representative Joaquin Castro added, “As you know, Tibetan people have a long and proud history deeply rooted in the historical land of Tibet. Ever since China’s invasion of Tibet in 1950, the Tibetan people have struggled to maintain their culture, religion and autonomy in the face of an escalating pattern of repression by Chinese authorities. In recent years, despite an alarming rise in force population transfers and other crimes against the Tibetan people, Tibet’s leaders, particularly those in the Tibetan government in exile, have done remarkable work to keep up alive among their countrymen.”
Referring to the 77% turnout in the 2021 Sikyong election, the Representative noted that “It was the highest turnout in the history of the government in exile and a powerful sign of the yearning for democracy within Tibet” while stating, “Since taking office, Sikyong Penpa Tsering has worked to counter Chinese influence and mobilised Tibet’s allies to speak up against the suppression of cultural identity within Tibet. In recognition of those efforts, it’s my honour to present the 2024 democracy service medal to Sikyong Penpa Tsering on behalf of the National Endowment for Democracy.”
In his address following accepting the award, Sikyong Penpa Tsering expressed, “I want to thank the NED Board members, past leader Hall Cushman, who has work very closely with the Tibetans for many years and has 30+ years of career here at NED, and the present leader, demon Wilson, and his team for honouring us with this service medal.”
While extending his sincere congratulations to fellow honourees, Sikyong said, “I am a very ordinary person; I just try to follow His Holiness’ wisdom” and accredited everything Tibetans have today to His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. “He is the architect; he is the spirit behind everything that we are now or what we have today. I personally have not contributed as much as you would have hoped. I had is just 30 years of my service for the Tibetan people, and this award is for the people I serve, for the Tibetan people, and for the Central Tibetan Administration,” said Sikyong.
To demonstrate the robust and fully functional democratic polity of the exile-Tibetan community, Sikyong elucidated the presence of three democratic pillars at the Central Tibetan Administration and further explained the presence of three autonomous bodies, namely the election commission, office of auditor general, and public service commission, and seven ministries under the cabinet, for which, he expressed a special gratitude to the governments of India and the United States.
Apart from that, Sikyong spoke about the concerning pattern of cultural genocide within Tibet, fuelled by China’s promotion of Uniculturalism at the expense of diverse identities, and about the suppression of Tibetan people through various means. “There are many other issues that you take for granted in the United States, and other countries in the free world do not exist in Tibet.” Sikyong further took the opportunity to thank Representatives and Congressmen/Congresswomen for their support in pushing the ‘Tibet Resolve Act” that promotes negotiation between the two parties. “I also tell countries that on the one hand, they say Tibet is part of PRC, and on the other hand, they say we support negotiations between representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Chinese government, and I tell them you are removing the very ground for negotiation,” said Sikyong as countries acknowledging Tibet as part of PRC, inadvertently undermine negotiation efforts between His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s representatives and the Chinese government.
“we are born in this world as a free person, all human beings are born to be free not to be enslaved, physically or mentally, and this is exactly what is happening inside Tibet and we need your support more than ever before” Sikyong concluded.
The medal was also conferred to long time and steadfast Tibet supporter Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi for her outspoken support for democracy advocates around the world, especially those who took great risks, and for democratic allies including Taiwan and Ukraine.
At the same time, the Tibet Action Institute was bestowed with this year’s Democracy Awards for documenting the Chinese Communist Party’s attempts to erase Tibetan children’s identity by forcefully enrolling them in the state-run colonial boarding schools in Tibet. The award was also presented to Regional Center for Human Rights and Waey Organisation.
Since 1999, NED has awarded the Democracy Service Medal to a wide range of individuals who have demonstrated, through personal commitment, their dedication to the advancement of freedom and human rights, and to the building of democratic institutions.
