The Dalai Lama offers condolence to Italy quake victims, Supports relief work/ENG

2012. május 25./Phayul.com/TibetPress

The Dalai Lama offers condolence to Italy quake victims, Supports relief work

By Tendar Tsering

DHARAMSHALA, May 25: Days after a magnitude-6.0 quake struck northern Italy followed by a magnitude-5.1 aftershock, Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama visited the country on a pre-planned tour and offered his condolences to the quake victims.

In a letter addressed to the Prime Minister of Italy, His Excellency Mario Monti, the Dalai Lama on Wednesday expressed his sadness and concern about the loss of lives and damages to the properties caused by the earthquake.

His Holiness offered his condolences to the families that have lost loved ones and prayers for the deceased and others affected by the earthquake.

The Dalai Lama is also making some donations to support the relief work, sources said.

The Dalai Lama who is currently on a five-nation Europe tour visited the Italian city of Udine and participated in an inter-faith program on The Role of Religions in Promoting Justice, Peace and the Protection of the Environment and also held a public meeting with scientists on Promoting Non-Violence and Compassion Against Aggressiveness and Violence.

Following his meeting with the Udine Regional President Renzo Tondo and Provincial President Pietro Fontaniani, the 76-year old Tibetan leader gave a public talk on Holistic Training of the Mind: Spiritual, Humanistic, Scientific and Technological.

While in the Austrian city of Klagenfurt for a two-day religious teachings, the Dalai Lama was last week awarded the city gold medal. The governor of Carinthia and Mayor Christian Scheider presented the Tibetan leader with the Gold medal of Kagenfurt.

The Tibetan Nobel Peace Laureate is scheduled to travel back to Austria and address a mass solidarity rally for Tibet in the Austrian city of Vienna tomorrow.

This is the first occasion, since his retirement from political duties last year, that the Dalai Lama will be addressing a mass public rally on Tibet. He had skipped the official commemorations of the 53rd Tibetan National Uprising Day on March 10 this year.

Organisers have said that the solidarity rally will urge Governments of the Member States of the European Union to jointly express “strong concern” to the Chinese government at their “highest political levels” over their “repressive” policies in Tibet, to increase pressure on China to agree to a “high level EU delegation visit” to Tibetan areas, and to appoint a “EU Special Coordinator” for Tibetan issues.

Kalon Tripa Dr Lobsang Sangay, the elected leader of the Tibetan people will also address the rally.

Over 10,000 people are expected to attend the all-Europe solidarity rally for Tibet.

The Dalai Lama is scheduled to return to his exile home of Dharamshala, north India by end of this month.