Tibetan official concerned about expulsion of kin from Hungary

MTI, Magyar Hirlap

Thursday, 04 September 2008

The representative in Europe of the Dalai Lama and the Indian Embassy in Budapest have expressed concern that the Hungarian government does not recognise the official Indian documents issued for Tibetan emigres residing in India.

Under a recent order by the Immigration and Citizenship Office, Choegyal Tenzin, 37, a former member of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile, will have to leave the territory of Hungary by September 8.

The order was based on a December 2007 government decree listing documents recognised by the Hungarian authorities. The document in question is missing from the list.

Choegyal Tenzin had been staying legally in Hungary for six years. He is a philosophy lecturer for the Gate of Dharma Buddhist College in Budapest, and currently working on the first Tibetan-Hungarian dictionary.

The resolution triggered protest from Tseten Samdup Chhoekyapa, the representative in Europe of the Dalai Lama. Addressing a letter to the Office, he noted that the stateless Tibetan emigres living in India are travelling and identifying themselves with an internationally recognised document issued by the Indian authorities.

"The Dalai Lama, the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, held that document all the three times whenever he visited Hungary," Chhoekyapa wrote.

As the situation of human rights is still desperate in Chinese-occupied Tibet, the Hungarian government should continue to recognise the Indian papers of Tibetan emigres as official documents, he said.

The Indian embassy in Budapest said that the document made out for Choegyal Tenzin is valid, enabling its holder to enter any country of the world and apply for residence permit or visa.