Fifth Permanent Strategy Committee Meeting of CTA begins at Sarah
DHARAMSALA, 8 Nov: A three-day Permanent Strategy Committee meeting of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) to evaluate the progress of current strategic initiatives and deliberate on future advocacy initiatives began today at the College for Higher Tibetan Studies near Sarah.
Karma Choeying, committee member and the Secretary of the CTA’s Department of Information and International Relations (DIIR), announced, “The Fifth Permanent Strategy Committee meeting of the CTA is being held from 8-10 November.”
The DIIR Secretary emphasized that, in addition to monitoring the progress of measures outlined in the previous four meetings, the committee will also prioritize discussions on the pressing issues currently affecting Tibet.
These include the troubling developments related to China’s colonial boarding school system and the extensive DNA collection efforts, along with addressing the broader human rights violations occurring in Tibet by the Chinese authorities.
Although the 5th Permanent Strategy Committee lacks specific agenda items related to managing China or initiating contact with Beijing, the Secretary noted that, as previously highlighted by the CTA President, there are existing back-channel talks with China, but progress has been minimal. He added that discussions would surely centre around the Sino-Tibet Dialogue, the Tibetan freedom movement, and ensuring human rights for Tibetans living in Tibet under Chinese rule, which are at the core of the committee’s objectives.
The meeting is being presided over by the CTA President Penpa Tsering and attended by all the committee members.
CTA’s Permanent Strategy Committee includes CTA President Penpa Tsering, former envoy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama Kelsang Gyaltsen along with former CTA Ministers(Kalon) Dongchung Ngodup and Tempa Tsering as advisors and Secretaries of the CTA’s Department of Security, Department of Information and International Relations (DIIR), Tibet Policy Institute (TPI)and Kashag’s Political Secretary.
Additionally, CTA’s Security Kalon Dolma Gyari, DIIR Kalon Norzin Dolma, and Ngawa Tsegyam, the Secretary from the Gaden Phodrang office – the private office of the Dalai Lama, are also in attendance at the meeting.
In August 2021, the 16th Kashag headed by President Penpa Tsering dissolved the CTA’s Task Force on Sino-Tibetan negotiations and established the Permanent Strategy Committee as its replacement. The committee convened its inaugural semi-annual meeting in November 2011, followed by subsequent meetings in July 2022, November 2022, and April 2023.
