BBG Assures Key Tibetan Leader of Commitment to Providing Information through a Variety of Media
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Washington D.C. — In a meeting July 17 with the prime minister (Kalon Tripa) of the Central Tibetan Administration, a member of the Broadcasting Board of Governors and the agency’s top executive confirmed the BBG’s commitment to supporting freedom and democracy for all Tibetans through international media.
BBG Governor Michael Meehan and International Broadcasting Bureau Director Richard M. Lobo spent an hour with Lobsang Sangay and his delegation, which included Lobsang Nyandak, Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to the Americas; Kelsang Aukatsang, senior advisor to the Kalon Tripa; and Jigme Namgyal, private secretary to the Kalon Tripa; and Todd Stein, director of government relations for the International Campaign for Tibet. The meeting took place at the BBG’s headquarters.
The BBG offers around-the-clock coverage of events of interest to Tibetans, including short-wave services seven days a week and a constant audio signal by satellite, television broadcasts, plus an Internet presence that can be viewed anywhere in the world. Together, Radio Free Asia and Voice of America have been leaders in covering the ongoing crackdown on Tibetan protests, as well as political, religious and human rights developments affecting the Tibet Autonomous Region and other Tibetan autonomous jurisdictions. Their reports often are relied upon and repeated by other media outlets.
Based in India, the Central Tibetan Administration is also called the Tibetan Government in Exile. It was established by the 14th Dalai Lama in 1959 with the goal of helping Tibetan refugees and freeing Tibet.
Meehan had underscored the Board’s commitment to reaching Tibetans in an April meeting with the Dalai Lama.
Lobsang Sangay’s visit comes days before the July 26 planned release of new BBG research on Tibetans’ media use. The BBG and its research partner, Gallup, will unveil findings on Tibetan sources of news and information from a survey of travelers reached during the Dalai Lama’s recent Kalachakra teachings in India.