It is nice to see the people behind the scenes of the various International Campaign for Tibet getting to know organisations.
During my stay in Berlin fortunately, I had the opportunity - during the holiday period, many organisations are closed - to have a brief interview with Kai Müller, director of International Campaign for Tibet Deutschland, and his financial assistant Erich Mayer.
Kai is lawyer and social scientist and first worked for Amnesty International for several years. Since 2005, he has been director of ICT Deutschland, covering the Germany, Austria and Switzerland region. With Germany being the largest and most influential EU country, this is an important region. ICT Deutschland mainly deals with 'advocacy' or advocacy for the Tibetan cause to politicians from that region.
Within the EU, for now little concern for the Tibetan cause, and during Trump's reign, international interest sank to an all-time low. Kai is now hopeful that there will be a turnaround. In the US, Biden signed the 'Resolve Tibet Act', with which the US calls on China to reach a negotiated and mutually acceptable solution on the Tibet issue, rather than repression and violence as now.
But this is not all. The US also wraps up all Lies used by Chinat to claim the territory of Tibet for itself and calls on China to stop the spreading disinformation about the history of Tibet. The State Department was given a new mandate to directly refute these false claims.
So in the US, the movement for human rights in Tibet has regained momentum.
Let us hope the EU promptly follows suit. The EU, too, seems to be gradually becoming more aware of the surreptitious and often dishonest ways with which China is trying to usurp economic and political power. It is time for our eyes to be opened and the Chinese mogul with his imperialist aspirations, human rights violations and unfair trade practices.
Former GDR border crossing near Marienborn
16 September: Opening the door at Diamondway Buddhist Centre in Tallinn The centre's meditation sessions are open
