Source:phayul.com

Dharamsala, Jan 14: The Prime Minister of Tibet’s Government in exile Samdhong Rinpoche has said Tibetans in Tibet need not worry about His Holiness the Dalai Lama's retirement plan as he would continue to work for the cause of Tibet, a report on the government's official website said Friday.

“His Holiness the Dalai Lama has recently clarified his statement on retirement during his visit to Sikkim and Kalimpong. He made it clear that except some changes in his day to day administrative obligations, he wold never dis-associate from the Tibetan people,” Rinpoche said Thursday.

The Tibetan prime minister made the statement while addressing a large gathering of over 1,800 Tibetans who have come from Tibet to receive the Dalai Lama’s teachings in Sarnath, 12 km from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh.

“His Holiness had clearly said he would continue to work for the cause of Tibet," Rinpoche added.

The Dalai Lama’s recent announcement about taking complete retirement from the administrative work of the Central Tibetan Administration in exile has caused deep concerns among Tibetans both in and outside of Tibet.

Just last week, the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile submitted a memorandum to the Dalai Lama asking him never to retire from the Tibetan leadership role.

While addressing the special gathering of Tibetans, the Tibetan PM said he had especially come along with the members of his cabinet to “meet and greet new arrivals from Tibet”.

He said that Tibetans inside Tibet, despite remaining physically separated for over the last 51, had kept their unwavering faith in His Holiness the Dalai Lama and remained united in heart with their brethrens in exile.

He also applauded the “remarkable achievement” shown by younger generations of Tibetans in Tibet.

“Even though the younger Tibetans who are born and brought up after 1959 - have never met His Holiness the Dalai Lama, nor seen and heard of Tibet’s earlier free society – deeply believe in and revere His Holiness the Dalai Lama,” Rinpoche said.

“The Tibetans inside Tibet have remained patriotic and braved great tribulation by sacrificing their lives to preserve our identity, which is a remarkable achievement of their last three generations,” he added.

“We in exile have also been keeping our faith intact on Tibetans living inside Tibet, whom we describe as the hope of Tibet’s survival,” he added.

Rinpoche said: “The integrity and courage of Tibetans living inside Tibet in preserving their identity, language, religion and culture from annihilation by overcoming many obstacles is being clearly recognised by people across the world who support truth.

“The consistent stand maintained by Tibetans inside Tibet has helped win many hundreds and thousands of sympathisers in all countries of the world. This is a matter of pride for all of us,” he said.

“It is not difficult for those in free countries to believe in and practice non-violence, however, to live under repression with intolerable resentment and sadness in their hearts but still remain consistently non-violent is a special pride of the Tibetan people. This position would be maintained in the future and to do it is very crucial to Tibet’s fundamental issue,” the Tibetan PM said. Rinpoche further said that the different activities during the 2008 unrest in Tibet were “voluntary organised” by Tibetans inside Tibet to express their opinion “without any outside provocation”.

The behaviour of Tibetans in “firmly remaining non-violent” during the unrest was itself an “outstanding achievement,” Rincpoche said, adding that it has helped attract the “interest and sympathy of the entire world”.