Sikyong Dr. Lobsang Sangay visited Denmark and Norway from May 18th to 23rd. He was accompanied during the tour by Mr Thubten Samdup, Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Central Tibetan Administration for Northern Europe.
During his first three-day stopover in the Danish capital Copenhagen from May 18th to 20th, Dr Sangay met with the representatives of five of the eight political parties in the Danish Parliament (Folketinget). Among the dignitaries he met include, Mr. Holger K. Nielsen, a former Foreign Minister who is also a member of the parliament representing Socialist People’s Party, Mr. Kristian Thulesen Dahl, a party leader of the Danish People’s Party, and four foreign affairs spokespersons.
The parliamentarians he met unanimously expressed their support to the Tibetan people in their just and non-violent struggle for genuine self-rule. They also found inspiration in the moderate Middle-Way approach in the face of severe repression and pledged themselves to raise the Tibetan issue in the Parliament.
One of the reasons for the Sikyong’s visit to Denmark was to discuss the DANIDA-funded education projects in the exile community. Hence, he met with the executives of the University College Copenhagen, which manages and implements the projects in cooperation with the Central Tibetan Administration.
During his stay in Copenhagen, Dr Sangay also visited other Danish institutions, which among others include Danish Institute for Parties and Democracy, established in May 2010 to support democracy initiatives through political parties and multi-party systems in developing countries.
The Danish press favorably covered the Sikyong’s visit to the Danish capital through articles in two major newspapers, an interview with the Danish national radio, and an interview television channel, TV2 News.
Before he left Copenhagen, Dr Sangay met with the members of the Tibetan community in Denmark and the Tibet Support Group of Denmark.
From Copenhagen, Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay flew to Oslo, the capital of Norway, on May 21st. Immediately on his arrival in Oslo, he had an interview with Norwegian television channel, NRK-TV .
On the morning of May 22nd, Dr Sangay had a breakfast meeting with the members of the prestigious Norwegian liberal think-tank institute, Civita, where he briefed the members on the current situation in Tibet. The presentation was received well by the audience.
Later, Sikyong met with the leaders of the Tibetan Parliamentary Friends Mr. Ketil Kjenseth and Michael Tetzschner, and the leaders of Youth Party. He also met Mr. John Peder Egenaes, Secretary General of the Norwegian wing of the Amnesty International and Mr. Bjorn Engesland, Secretary General of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee.
Dr Sangay’s final engagement in Oslo was the public “Tibet Past, Present and Future”, which was organized by the Norwegian Tibet Committee.
