Dear Mr. President,

On behalf of the Tibetans living in exile on the eastern coast of the United States, we wish to express our hope in you as one of the most effective presidents in the history of the United States and a champion of human rights.

Although the absence of a meeting with His Holiness the Dalai Lama in October (foregoing two decades of Presidential tradition) was widely seen as a concession to the Chinese government, Tibetans still have a strong belief that you are a sincere man of strong moral integrity who has a concern for the issue of Tibet at heart. We also hope that you remain steadfast in your commitment for human rights and firm on bringing up the Tibet issue on your upcoming trip to Beijing to meet with Chinese President Hu Jintao.

We trust that you will help resolve the protracted issue of Tibet by prevailing upon the Chinese leadership and establish a genuine autonomy for Tibetans as envisioned by His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Other critical key issues on which we urge you to make concrete progress in your meeting with President Hu on Tibet issues are:

• Prioritize the opening of a US consulate in Lhasa, as authorized under the Tibet Policy Act of 2002, P.L. 107-228;
• Provision of humane treatment and transparency and fair trials for all Tibetans who are in detention centers;
• Whereabouts of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the 11th Panchen Lama, a Buddhist leader whose whereabouts has been unknown since when he was only six years old;
• Release of Dhondup Wangchen (A Tibetan documentary film-maker who was arrested simply for making the film “Leaving Fear Behind”, about Tibetan reactions to the Beijing Olympics), Ronggye A’dak, Tulku Tenzin Delek and hundreds of other political prisoners in Tibet.

Additionally, in light of the recent execution of two Tibetans in Lhasa with trials that failed to meet even minimal international judicial standards, we urge you to condemn these executions and capital punishment in Tibet.

Finally, we trust that you will meet with the His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama after your return from your trip to China, and we look forward to hearing about the progress you make during your visit to China shortly in this month.

With sincere regards.

Respectfully yours,


Phurbu Dorjee, Vice President
Tibetan Community of New York & New Jersey

On behalf of:
Tibetan Community of New York & New Jersey
Boston Tibetan Association
Tibetan Association of Charlottesville
Tibetan Association of Connecticut
Capital Area Tibetan Association
Tibetan Association of Ithaca
Tibetan Association of Philadelphia
Tibetan Association of Vermont