Tibet since long has been ignored by the West, as the West turned a blind eye when the Chinese Communist Party brutally occupied Tibet and continues to commit unspeakable human rights violations till date. In a significant development, the United States, for the first time has given funding to the Tibetan government in exile for development assistance.
In a move which will greatly irk China, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has given a grant of almost $1 million to the Central Tibetan Administration operating out of India, to “strengthen the financial and cultural resilience of the Tibetan people and contribute towards a sustained resilience of the Tibetan people’s economic and cultural identity.”
It is important to note that this is the first time the Tibetan administration has received direct funding from the USA. India was asked to give its nod for the same, which it duly did.
“The awarding of direct funding to the CTA fulfils a long desired aspiration and represents the culmination of many years of effort since my first term. I want to thank the USAID and hope this award paves the way for a more substantial funding relationship between the USAID and the CTA,” said Sikyong of the Tibetan-government-in-exile, Dr. Lobsang Sangay.
“The direct funding sends a strong message of confidence in SARD and CTA’s ability to handle development assistance from foreign governments. The direct relationship with government funding agencies will have multiple benefits including saving funds and further strengthening SARD’s capacity. With the receipt of this award, SARD has taken a significant step forward in truly becoming the development agency to support the CTA and the Tibetan community,” said Kaydor Aukatsang, Chief Resilience Officer/SARD Director.
Recently, American lawmaker, Scott Perry introduced a bill which seeks to recognise Tibet as an independent country. US Representative Scott Perry tabled a bill in the US Congress which seeks to “authorise the President to recognise Tibet the Autonomous Region of the Republic of China as a separate, independent country”.