Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Dalai Lama Addresses Human Rights

Dalai Lama Addresses Human Rights

Kennedy Family and Other Dignitaries Attend Buddhist Spiritual Leader’s Speech in Gaston Hall

By Tim Haggerty Hoya Staff Writer

The 14th Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of six million Tibetan people and the head of the Tibetan government-in-exile, visited Georgetown University yesterday as the keynote speaker at the presentation of the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award in Gaston Hall. His address focused on the difficulty of facing injustice and oppression.

The annual award, honoring those who fight for human rights in the face of oppression and injustice, was presented to Mario Calixto, Berenice Celeyta, Gloria Flores and Jaime Prieto, all from Colombia.

Master of Ceremonies Tom Brokaw said that he was “pleased to share the stage with these people of courage.” He said that the award is “not the end, but in many ways the beginning,” speaking of the laureates’ ongoing struggles for human rights.

Brokaw said that this year’s ceremony was the first in ten years when no past or present recipient is imprisoned. He also introduced several of the past laureates, including 1995 laureate Doan Viet Hoat, who was released from prison in September, and has been in jail for 19 of the last 21 years for speaking out against human rights abuses in Vietnam. His fellow recipient from Vietnam in 1995, Dr. Nguyen Dan Que, was represented by his brother. Que was released from prison in August. Laureates from 1984, 1985, and 1994 were also present and introduced by Brokaw.

Brokaw recognized some of honored guests at the cermemony, including the secretaries of agriculture and the navy, and human rights activist and Chinese dissident Harry Wu, who spent nineteen years imprisoned in China. Brokaw thanked Wu for “keeping us mindful of what our obligations are.”

The ceremony was attended by numerous members of the Kennedy family, who were also introduced by Brokaw, including Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), Ethel Kennedy, Mrs. Robert F. Kennedy, and Kerry Kennedy Cuomo, daughter of Robert Kennedy, who introduced the Dalai Lama.

Cuomo asked, “Where does the strength come from to continue the struggle” that the Tibetan people face for independence.

She addressed the destruction of Tibet, a country so beautiful that Tom Brokaw said “neither words or pictures can describe.” Now, Tibetans are now a minority in Tibet.

She introduced the Dalai Lama as a man “who shows not how to be a god, but how to be fully human.”

University President Fr. Leo J. O’Donovan, S.J. placed the Dalai Lama along with Mahatma Ghandi, Eleanor Roosevelt, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Nelson Mandela as advocates of non-violent protest and peace.

The Dalai Lama has crusaded to protect the culture and of Tibet, and has formed a democratic government with direct elections.

In 1989, he won the Nobel Peace Prize for his non-violent crusade for Tibetan freedom and his tolerance and willingness to compromise. He has promised China that if Tibet is liberated, he will give up his historical political authority.

For much of the ceremony, the Dalai Lama sat pensively listening. However at times, he would smile, laugh or wave at his “old friends.” He said that he was “really happy to have a reunion [with them].”

He moved in and out of English during his remarks, often asking his translator for aid.

First, the Dalai Lama congratulated the laureates, and said that as a Buddhist, he thanked them for their “altruistic acts.” He also said that they have “moral support in noble tasks” and reminded them “it is not just you alone, there are other people.”

He also expressed his appreciation to the RFK emorial for instituting the human rights award. He said that since a young age he has felt a bond to the Kennedy family. He said that he heard the name of John F. Kennedy many times, adding that he received a supportive letter from him and that Kennedy’s signature from that letter is still “very vivid” in his mind. He spoke of the assassinations of JFK and RFK.

Though his address was punctuated by jokes and informality, the Dalai Lama offered the audience some wisdom as well. He said that a “good work motivated by negative emotion can stain the noble task.”

According to the Dalai Lama, “those who have vision and courage and confidence to face injustice. . . these people stand with principle.” The overly common suppression of these voices of justice is a “hinderance for whole society,” he said.

The Dalai Lama concluded his address simply, “So that’s all. Thank you very much.”

Senator Edward M. Kennedy offered remarks as well. He described the human rights “emergency” in Colombia, a country where more human rights monitors are murdered than anywhere else.

Each of laureates mentioned discussed murders of colleagues and friends, who were killed in the quest for justice. ario Calixto and his family were targeted in two assassination attempts, narrowly escaping alive in 1997.

Kennedy introduced the four laureates, as Mrs. Robert F. Kennedy presented each a memorial bust of Robert F. Kennedy. Each of the laureates spoke through a translator.

Mario Calixto is the president of the Human Rights Committee of Sabana de Torres. He said that “terror, fear and anxiety are the daily bread of the people” and that those who led the path for human rights before him have “made our lives worth living.”

Jamie Prieto directs the Committee in Solidarity with Political Prisoners, representing over 500 political prisoners. He expressed gratitude for “turning heads” to the “very concerning” problems of Colombia.

Berenice Celeyta and Gloria Flores are heads of inga, an organization that extends human rights outside of city boundaries and into rural areas. Florez noted the importance of human rights advocates around the world and expressed her goal to end the paramilitary groups in Colombia. She said that “Colombia hangs in the balance of life and death.”

Celeyta spoke of the vast number of Colombian political killings. She said, “searching for truth, justice, and true reparations for them [the murdered] and their families.”

Following Tibetan tradition, Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama is the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama of Tibet is believed to be the enlightened reincarnation of the Buddha of Compassion, who chose reincarnation over Nirvana as a way to perpetually benefit humanity.

The Dalai Lama was discovered at the age of two and recognized as the reincarnation of the former leader through a series of tests. He was able to identify possessions of his predecessor and his circumstances matched the secret vision of the regent of Tibet.

In 1940, at the age of five, the Dalai Lama was enthroned and in 1950 he assumed political leadership of Tibet. His work towards a peaceful resolution of conflict with China has been ongoing since then. In 1959 the Chinese army crushed the Tibetan National Uprising in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet.

Since then, the Dalai Lama has found political refuge in Dharamsala, India, which is the seat of the government-in-exile. Over 120,000 Tibetans are currently in exile.

Brokaw, who was the first American anchor to report on human rights abuses in Tibet and also the first to conduct an interview with the Dalai Lama, ended the ceremony, as he said, “I love a living god with a big heart.”

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