Dalai Lama, CTA leadership congratulates 46th US President Joe Biden

DHARAMSALA, 9 Nov: His Holiness the Dalai Lama has congratulated Joe Biden on his election as the next president of the US and stated that “humanity places great hope in the democratic vision of the US as leader of the free world.”

I’d like to offer my hearty congratulations to Joe Biden on his election as the next President of the United States of America. Humanity places great hope in the democratic vision of the U.S. as leader of the free world,” the Dalai Lama tweeted on Sunday.

The Tibetan spiritual leader described himself as a long time admirer of the US and showered praise on its principles of liberty, democracy, religious freedom and the rule of law and further expressed his hope that the 46th president of the US will be able to contribute towards a more peaceful world. 

“Particularly in these challenging times, I hope you will be able to contribute to shaping a more peaceful world in which people suffering poverty and injustice find relief. The need to address these issues, as well as climate change, is indeed pressing,” the Tibetan spiritual leader said in a statement released on Sunday.

The octogenarian Tibetan spiritual leader also commended the newly elected US President for choosing a woman, Kamala Harris, to be his running mate and thanked Biden for his continued support for Tibet.

The Dalai Lama concluded by wishing the US President-elect “every success in meeting the challenges that lie ahead in fulfilling the hopes and aspirations of the people of the US and in contributing to a more peaceful and harmonious world.”

The elected head of the Tibetan people, Central Tibetan Administration’s(CTA) President Dr Lobsang Sangay has also sent out a congratulatory message to Biden and Harris on their victory in the 2020 US presidential election on behalf of the on behalf of his administration and the Tibetan people.

President Sangay has further commended the duo in his statement, Biden, for his recent statement promising to meet the Dalai Lama and to stand up for Tibet and for his “commitment to sanction Chinese officials responsible for human rights abuses in Tibet.” 

“I genuinely admire your decades of service to the nation, and your victory is an affirmation of the trust people of the United States places in you and the values that you stand for… My sincerest congratulations and wishes on a successful term.”

For Kamala, he said, “her ascension to America’s second-highest office as the first woman and the first woman of colour is pathbreaking and her becoming the highest-ranking woman in the history of American government marks a new era for women in global politics and leadership.”

President Sangay concluded by expressing his hope the office of the 46th President of the United States of America “will lend a pivotal voice to the just cause of Tibet and further strengthen decades-long US-Tibet ties,” along with “the imminent challenges of restoring human rights, equality and climate change around the world.”

Pema Jungney, the Speaker of the Tibetan parliament in exile has also joined the chorus and congratulated the “US President-elect Joseph Biden and his party for the great victory in the race to the White House,”  and the Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on becoming the first woman to be elected vice-president.

The Speaker has further expressed Tibetan people’s gratitude towards the people and the government of the US “for their consistent support towards the cause of Tibet and further described the situation in Tibet now as “grim and bleak” under the Chinese rule. 

“I hope and pray that your courage and wisdom will guide the United States and the world to peace and prosperity in the years to come,”  the Speaker said. 

Biden, who will be inaugurated as the 46th president of the US in January 2021 has declared his election as a victory for ‘We the People’”. 

“Folks, the people of this nation have spoken. They have delivered us a clear victory. A convincing victory. A victory for “We the People,” Biden tweeted after major news outlets unanimously called the presidential elections in Democratic Party candidate Joe Biden’s favour late on Saturday.

Meanwhile, outgoing president Donald Trump has refused to concede the race to Biden claiming election fraud.

With Trump’s unsuccessful run for re-election, he became the first US President in 28 years to fail to win the re-election.

Additionally, Trump also became the only US President who has not met the Dalai Lama since George H. W. Bush, the 41st US President and the first American President to meet with the Tibetan spiritual leader.

All his successors in the white house, Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama have met the Dalai Lama.