Tibetan movement not a short-term struggle, but a long game: Richard Gere

Kullu: Hollywood actor Richard Gere, a longtime ardent supporter of the Tibetan cause, who was in Dharamshala to attend a conference of the Tibet Support Groups, said that the Tibetan movement is not a short-term struggle but "a long game." In a video message that was played at the inaugural session of the Tibet Support Groups in Mcleodganj on Saturday, Gere said, "We are playing a long game here and the long game is that everyone is liberated, and that has been the power of this from the beginning. This is political for sure — social and cultural — but it's also universal."He added, "We have to find a way from impeccable motivation, and this is how we're gonna win. It's not gonna be this year, it's not gonna be next year. The Tibetan genius, the Tibetan experiment, is central to that which gives us the power." "It's a long game and it's the right game," said Gere, who is also the Chairman of the International Campaign for Tibet.
In the video, Gere, while referring to a group of Buddhist monks who completed a 15-week, 2,300-mile "Walk for Peace" from Fort Worth to Washington, DC last month, said, "I spoke to His Holiness about how moving it was to see 15 or so monks walking across America." "In that journey — there were no Christians, there were no Buddhists, no Muslims, there were no Jains; it was just human beings, sentient beings, trying to figure out how to make life very aware of the suffering around us," said Gere, who met the Dalai Lama in Mcleodganj on Friday.He concluded his message by saying that, in the last words of Gautama Buddha, according to both the Theravada and Mahayana traditions, the shared message was to "tame our minds and walk on". Gere was in Dharamshala to attend the 3-day conference that started on March 7, but he had to leave in a hurry on Saturday morning due to "flight schedule changes". More than 100 members of the Tibet Support Groups from 32 different countries adopted the "Dharamshala Declaration" on the first day of the conference on Saturday, warning China against any attempt to interfere in the process of identifying the next Dalai Lama.The Declaration states that "any attempt by the govt of the People's Republic of China (PRC) to intervene in this sacred Tibetan religious tradition constitutes a grave violation of international norms and the fundamental right to freedom of religion." In the Declaration, the delegates called on govts, international organisations and civil society groups to extend formal recognition to the Tibetan govt-in-exile and engage with it diplomatically.Prayer service heldThe Department of Religion and Culture of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) on Sunday organised a prayer service to honour the sacrifices made by Tibetan protesters who participated in the 1989 demonstrations against the Chinese govt. In 1989, thousands of Tibetans took to the streets of Lhasa to express their resentment against policies imposed by the Chinese govt, while also marking the 30th anniversary of Tibetan National Uprising Day. In response, Chinese authorities imposed martial law and opened fire on protesters, resulting in at least 70 deaths and many more injuries.During the prayer ceremony, Sikyong Penpa Tsering stated that the gathering served as a tribute to all those who sacrificed their lives for the rights and freedom of the Tibetan people, while expressing solidarity with their bereaved families. MSID: 129270333 413 | Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Women's day wishes, messages and quotes !