www.tibetnetwork.com/blog – 吐蕃网博客བོད་ཀྱི་དྲ་མཛོད་ཀྱི་ཟིན་བྲིས།

[Tuesday, 20 September 2010, 10:38 a.m.]

His Holiness the Dalai Lama addresses Members of the Hungarian Parliament on 20 September 2010. Photos by /Gáti Kornél

Budapest, Hungary: “At 16 I lost my freedom and at age 24 I lost my country”, said His Holiness the Dalai Lama during an address to the Members of the Hungarian Parliament and invited guests this morning. “For the last 51 years, I remained a refugee.”

His Holiness spoke about the October 1956 Hungarian revolution against the Soviet rule. He said at that time he was in Tibet but emotionally felt very close to those freedom fighters.

Mr József ékes- President of Tibet Group in the Parliament leading His Holiness the Dalai Lama inside the Hungarian Parliament

“Power of justice is more powerful than power of gun. It (the power of gun) is only a temporary power. It cannot crush the power of truth,” said His Holiness. He further said that the Tibetan issue cannot be solved through suppression. His Holiness reiterated that the Tibetans are not seeking separation from China but a mutually beneficial solution to the Tibetan issue through genuine autonomy.

The Hungarian Parliament rolled out the red carpet for His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The president of the Hungarian Parliament’s Tibet Group and the deputy leader of the LMP, a new political party in Hungary, received His Holiness at the Central Entrance of the Parliament. The chairperson of the Parliament’s Human Rights Committee also called on His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Ms Szabo Timea, the deputy leader of the LMP said,  “We are here to express our full support for the Tibetan cause. We’ll support regional national autonomy to preserve Tibetan culture and identity dating back to thousands of years.” She is also the Deputy Chair of Parliamentary Committee of Human Rights.

The LMP also expressed great concern about Tibet’s environment and the impact of climate change.

His Holiness at the Central European University

His Holiness encouraged the Hungarian MPs to visit Tibet to see the situation for themselves.

In the afternoon, His Holiness the Dalai Lama addressed students and members of the faculty of Central European University.  The university has students from 100 countries and faculty from 40 countries.

His Holiness will leave for Passau, Germany, on Tuesday.