Respect Dalai Lama's decision to transfer his power: Sangay

Lalit K Jha
Washington, Apr 28 (PTI) Lobsang Sangay, who has been
elected as Prime Minister of the Tibetan Government in exile,
has said that the decision of the Dalai Lama to transfer
political powers needs to be respected.
"The Dalai Lama has decided to transfer political
power to the Tibetan people by entrusting whom they have
magnanimously chosen as the head of their exile government,"
Sangay said in an interview to the Tibetan service of Radio
Free Asia.
"We must respect the wishes and wisdom of His Holiness
and find ways to implement his decision," he said in his first
ever interview after he was declared elected the Prime
Minister of the Tibetan Government in exile.
The 43-year-old Havard law researcher won 55 per cent
of the vote in March 20 election held around the world,
defeating two candidates, Tenzin Namgyal Tethong and Tashi
Wangdu.
Sangay would relocate in May to Dharamsala, the seat
of the Tibetan government-in-exile, to establish his cabinet
before the current office holder; Samdhong Rinpoche steps down
on August 14.
Many expect Sangay would play a more visible role, as
the Dalai Lama this year announced his intention of stepping
down as political leader of the Tibetan exile community.
He also said that the 76-year-old Dalai Lama would
return during his lifetime to the homeland he fled five
decades ago.
The newly elected Prime Minister also vowed to reach
out to China and pursue the Dalai Lama's stated desire for
greater autonomy for Tibetans within China.
Asking Beijing to review its "hard-line" Tibet
policy and take a "more moderate and liberal approach, he said
if China wanted to become a new world superpower, it could not
do so through economic or military might, but would need to
exercise moral authority in how it treats people.