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The first stage of the NDPT's 2011 campaign for its Kalon Tripa and Parliamentary candidates began on March 3rd from the Tibetan settlement of Dekyi Ling. Party President Mr. Chime Youngdung and Office Assistant Mr. Tenzin Younten kicked the campaign off.
The purpose of the campaign is to spread awareness and knowledge about the upcoming 2011 elections of the Tibetan government-in-exile. These elections are very important for the future of Tibet and our party is doing its best to spread the message of these elections..
Mr. Youngdung and Mr.Younten left Dharamsala on the evening of 02/05/10 and reached Dekyi Ling at 7 in the morning. After a two hour rest, their talk began at 9:00 a.m. Regional NDPT members were there to organize the meeting.
These meetings are different in every Tibetan settlement we visit. In Dekyi Ling, our regional members took all responsibility for organization and they even gave brief introductions of the NDPT and of President Youndung. This made it much easier to begin our talk and get right into the issues.
Our experiences in other places like newly established Tibetan settlements are a bit different because there are no offices of Tibetan NGOs like the Tibetan Youth Congress or the Tibetan Women's Association, plus there are no NDPT members. We start these meetings by introducing the NDPT, explaining why the party was established and explaining why we are visiting the settlement. Lucky for us, even though we don't have regional members in places like this, we have been able to rely in regional members of the TYC and TWA to help us out. They help by:
· Organizing the meeting
· Informing the Tibetan people about the meeting
· Providing food and refreshments
· & paying the charges for the community hall, as well as providing other help
For this first stage of the NDPT campaign in North India, we visited the following 7 settlements:
1. Dekyi Ling Tibetan settlement
2. Tsering Dhonden Ling (New Rajpur settlement)
3. Rajpur Tibetan settlement
4. Clementown settlement
5. Lhakanwala settlement
6. Ponta Sahib settlement
7. Purwala settlement (Sakya Settlement)
We did not have the opportunity to visit every settlement in Dehardun due to a lack of time, the small number of residents in those settlements, and due to our already demanding schedule. We did not neglect or ignore those settlements.
The meetings we held were very important and addressed the concerns of many Tibetans. In each of these meetings, NDPT President Chime Youngdung gave speeches that had the same content. Without reproducing the speech in its entirety, I'll touch upon the main subjects. Every one of the following points was discussed at length, and they are all important for a future Tibet:
1) First and foremost, the purpose of our visit was to introduce our two prominent nominees for 2011 Kalon Tripa, Dr. Lobsang Sangay and Mr. Tenzin Namgyal Tethong.
2) He also spoke about future Members of Parliament (Chithue), and how people should step up and take responsibility for their government.
3) The NDPT gave two conditions to Chithue nominees before offering them our support in the campaign. These two conditions are;
(i) If a candidate is elected, they must support any bill which strengthens democratic processes in Parliament.
(ii) If a candidate is elected, she or he must attend official NDPT meeting when their time allows for it.
4) Another main point Mr. Chime emphasized was the need for a bicameral legislation. Many democratic nations, such as India, the United Kingdom and the USA, have bicameral legislatures.
5) He reminded the Tibetan people how critical the situation is in this present moment where HH the Dalai Lama is advancing in age.
6) He also spoke about why Professor Samdong Rinpochen cannot be re-elected for third time.
7) Finally, the differences between NGOs and political parties like the NDPT were discussed.
These were the topics of discussions and the main points President Youngdung spoke about. He also answered every question the audiences had and responded positively to people who gave suggestions and feedback.
Overall, the first stage of the campaign concluded with success and to our satisfaction. This success was not only due to us, but also to the people who helped us. We therefore would like to thank:
· All the regional members of NDPT Dekyi Ling
· Regional Tibetan Youth Congress of Ponta Sahib, Sakya settlement, Lhakanwala
· Regional Tibetan Women Association of Ponta Sahib, Lhakanwala, Clementown, Rajpur, Sakya settlement
· All the people who participated in the meetings
· Our driver Ugen who drove us all the way
· And most important our NDPT team in Dharamsala who have supported us
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