|
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 27, 2008
|
|
|
Contact: Zach Goldberg
202-225-5801 (office) |
|
HOLT RETURNS FROM BIPARTISAN CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION
TO INDIA, UK FOCUSING ON CLIMATE CRISIS, SITUATION IN TIBET
Delegation Trip Included Meetings with Dalai Lama,
British Prime Minister Brown, Indian Prime Minister Singh
|
|
|
Washington, DC -- Rep. Rush Holt (NJ-12) today returned from a 10-day bipartisan congressional delegation to the United Kingdom and India. The trip, led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, featured discussions with world leaders on urgent issues confronting the international community, including the climate crisis, the situation in Tibet, and the global economy. Holt and the delegation met with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and leaders of the British government; Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other Indian government and business leaders; and His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
“Our meetings with these leaders reinforced the urgency of heightening worldwide efforts to address the climate crisis by making significant investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy,” Holt said. I was encouraged by our talks, and I hope Congress will continue to promote, at home and abroad, the need to invest in climate change research and development.”
In addition to meeting with Indian leaders in New Delhi and Mumbai, the delegation met with His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, India, where they expressed support for his leadership and discussed the current situation in Tibet. The delegation was welcomed to the community by thousands of Tibetans in a ceremony led by Speaker Karma Choephel of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile. The delegation then proceeded to an audience with His Holiness the Dalai Lama where they discussed issues relating to Tibet and the plight of Tibetan refugees in India.
In the afternoon, the delegation visited the Tibetan Children's Village, supported in part with U.S. assistance, that educates and looks after thousands of Tibetan children, most of whom are orphans and new refugees from Tibet. The delegation also met with Tibetan monks, nuns, and children who recently escaped Tibet over the perilous Himalayan mountain passes.
“The situation in Tibet has deteriorated over the years with China brutally suppressing Tibetans and systematically and relentlessly eradicating Tibetan culture,” Holt said. “I was moved to see and hear the pleadings Tibetans of all ages who have braved the Himalayan crossings to escape the oppression. The Dalai Lama gives them hope and calls on the world not to forget them and those left in Tibet.”
In addition to Holt and Pelosi, the congressional delegation included the Chairman of the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, Edward Markey of Massachusetts, Ranking Member James Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin, Chairman of the House Democratic Policy Committee George Miller of California, and Representatives Jim McDermott of Washington, Eleanor Holmes Norton of the District of Columbia, Anna Eshoo of California, Jay Inslee of Washington, and Hilda Solis of California.
|
|
|
|
