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| Dolma Gyari |
According to the current regulations of the Electoral Commission of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), Dolma Gyari has failed to reach the final round of the 2021 Tibetan General Elections. Having lost at the preliminaries to Kelsang Dorjee Aukatsang by a thin margin of less than a thousand votes, we are deeply sorry for Ms. Gyari’s downfall.
Over and above Dolma Gyari, the entire Gyari family has contributed significantly to the exile Tibetan community, and the entire Tibetan people. Within her family sit monks and parliamentarians. Whether they are public officials, or envoys of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, they faithfully follow His Holiness, dutifully serve the government, and wholeheartedly dedicate themselves to the entire Tibetan community. The Tibetan people value this virtue of gratitude and unity. In the passage of time, we Tibetans should not forget her family. They deserve our respect.
I believe that many people are familiar with Dolma Gyari’s public life. She once served as a parliamentarian’s representative from Dotoe and later as Nangsi Kalon (Home Minister) of the CTA. She has used her influence to seek more Indian resources for Tibetans in exile. It can be said that she is an excellent female representative from Dotoe. Looking around the global political arena, whether it is Hillary Clinton in the United States, or Merkel in Germany, women's governance is becoming a worldwide trend. Even if I regret having to say goodbye before the final election, she is completely capable of entering the final election and qualified to be the Sikyong with her ability and standing. Whether in terms of objective laws, or straight talking, Dolma Gyari's defeat is odd. What caused this anomalous event?
Personally, I think Dolma Gyari’s failure mainly results from her identity as a Dotoe female. Kelsang Dorjee Aukatsang is also from a Dotoe background. Therefore, the female candidate was ejected when two candidates with the same background received similar shares of the vote. That is, Ms. Gyari was a political victim. A victim of who? Obviously, Lobsang Sangay and Kelsang Dorjee Aukatsang. They colluded to create this political travesty. Two Khampa men oppressed a Khampa woman!
Lobsang Sangay had privately visited Dolma Gyari. What kind of deal did they reach? It is not difficult to imagine. Lobsang Sangay must have promised to vote for Dolma Gyari, or told her he would give up, with Kelsang Dorjee Aukatsang being brought in to help her win. However, what was the outcome? In the early stages of the preliminaries, Kelsang Dorjee Aukatsang trailed Dolma Gyari by a large margin. Yet later his votes soared with incredible momentum. It is not difficult to find that Dolma Gyari was the one that was ultimately abandoned. Everyone knows that the relationship between Kelsang Dorjee Aukatsang and Lobsang Sangay is unusual. Dolma Gyari’s sacrifice attests to this.
In regards to Kelsang Dorjee Aukatsang, is he capable of being Sikyong? The answer is definitely not. He did not even abide by the CTA’s Electoral Commission regulations, such that “No campaign and propaganda activities shall be carried out before March 21”. Instead, he has remained busy beautifying and promoting himself. On March 10 in particular, he took to the streets campaigning, wearing Tibetan costumes, and holding the national flag. We don’t know if he had a Tibetan freedom cause on March 10, but we are pretty sure that he was using March 10 to canvass for himself. His noble ally, Lobsang Sangay, also made the best of so-called pre-retirement gratitude activities in various Indian states to solicit votes for Kelsang Dorjee Aukatsang. There is another point that deserves our special attention. In order to win votes, Kelsang Dorjee Aukatsang even colluded with the Shugden followers. This violated the Dalai Lama’s teachings and once again profoundly proves that we cannot trust him, and that he is not worthy to be our leader.
His deeds are in sharp contrast with that of Dolma. In order to succeed in the election and follow through on his secret pact with Lobsang Sangay, he did not take Charter of Tibetans in exile, the wellbeing of Tibetans, or even the teachings of His Holiness to heart. How can we choose him to lead us?
As it stands, the candidates shortlisted in the final round of the Sikyong election have been announced. It is a pity that an outstanding female Tibetan was eliminated. Or more accurately, Dolma Gyari was a victim of politics; the culprits are two Khampa men. How can we trust these two in the future?
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