KATRI PROF. SAMDHONG RINPOCHE'S CLARIFICATION ON THE AMENDMENT OF THE EXILE TIBETAN CHARTER

There are arguments and claims visible in the mass media that the Tibetan Government in Exile has been recalled or rescinded. This is not true. In 1959 the Government of Gaden Phodrang shifted base from the capital city of Lhasa to India, and for the last 52 years has functioned in a democratic manner. It is a democracy that has a proper charter and the three pillars of democracy: Judiciary, Legislature and Executive. This Government follows the system of checks-and-balances and is a transparent and full-fledged democracy.

Since 1642 till present, the legitimate and lawful Tibetan Government has not been recalled or rescinded. As a matter of fact, it has made great strides despite being faced with all challenges and odds.

NAME SAKE: CHANGE IS INEVITABLE

Few years ago, when I was working in Dharamsala office, we received an instruction from the higher authority to use Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) instead of Tibetan Government in Exile in all the official communications, though we were generally more accustomed in using the latter. Lately after listening to Prof. Samdhong Rinpoche's clarification on the Amendment of the Charter, I tried to investigate a little and found out that all the official publications had written Central Tibetan Administration (Secretariat) as the publisher, dated back to 1980s. It is quite a fascinating.

Like all my compatriots, we held high hope and respects to the our exile government, which stands as a lifeline of all the Tibetan people for more than 5 decades, despite zero recognition from other governments. I do not care about how other countries perceive us, as I believe every country longs to work for their own selfish agendas, which might not include supporting Tibet issues.