Dharamshala - Members of the Swedish Tibet Support Group visited Dharamshala on March 20 to meet with Tashi Phuntsok, Secretary of the Department of Information and International Relations (DIIR), Central Tibetan Administration (CTA).
At the meeting, Phuntsok briefed the Group about the 9th session of the 15th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, as well as the official policies and structure of the CTA and the functions of the departments under it.
"The main goal of the Central Tibetan Administration is to work for the restoration of freedom for Tibetans, look after the welfare of the Tibetans in exile and promote the Tibet issue across the globe," he said.
He also outlined the evolution of Tibetan democracy under His Holiness the Dalai Lama, which began with the establishment of the CTA in 1959 and led to the devolution of the political authority of His Holiness in 2011 to fully democratise the Tibetan polity.
"It has not come abruptly, it has not come out of confusion, it has not come out of tension, it has also not come out of internal strife; it has come about in a very phased, planned manner," Phuntsok urged.
He went on to speak about the composition of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile: "The Parliament consists of 44 members with 10 representatives each from the three traditional provinces of Tibet, 2 each from the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism and the Bon religion, and four from Tibetan communities in North America and Europe."
After their meeting with Phuntsok, the Group went to Parliament to observe the ongoing budget session.