In an effort to increase international awareness of the tragic situation in Tibet, Dr Lobsang Sangay has urged Canada to send its Ambassador for Religious Freedom to Tibet. Phayul.com has reported on Feb. 26, 2013, Sikyong urges Canada to send Religious Freedom Ambassador to Tibet. As the elected leader of the exile Tibetan administration, Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay has urged Canada to send its newly instated Ambassador for Religious Freedom to Tibet.
Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay, who is visiting Canada at this time, has said the rising number of self-immolations in Tibet has been the result of the repression of political and religious freedoms, and crackdowns on other forms of protest. Dr Sangay has told reporters, “I would really like to see, and request, that the ambassador of religious freedom visit Tibet. Because religious freedom is very much at the core of self-immolation – as well as other issues – in Tibet.”
Dr Sangay has told reporters, “And now, the office is established, there’s an ambassador. If he could go to Tibet and investigate the situation, that would be a welcome gesture.” Andrew Bennett, who is a former Canadian civil servant, has been appointed as the ambassador of the Office of Religious Freedom, which was created earlier this month to promote freedom of worship around the world. Dr Sangay has said, “The cause of self- immolation is clear: political repression, economic marginalisation, environmental destruction, cultural assimilation and denial of religious freedom. It’s very clear. And occupation is the main cause.”
