Shri Puri | TNN | May 27, 2017, 07.36 AM IST
DHARAMSHALA: US President Donald Trump has left Tibetans in a shock after proposing zero aid to Tibet in 2018 at a juncture where efforts were underway to arrange a meeting of Tibetan spiritual leader
Dalai Lama and the US President, on Friday.
Media reports published from Washington stated that United States has reversed the decade-old policy to give financial aid to Tibetans. It was said that the State department, which has sent a detailed proposal to the Congress as part of the annual budget referred to the decision as one of the tough choices, as its total budget itself was slashed by 28%.
The Tibetan administration has expressed worry, but maintained silence over the issue. Secretary for international relations
Sonam Dagpo said they were yet to receive the detailed report. "I am awaiting the official document as of now. There is a 24-hour time gap between here and Washington. Once it comes, then we will go through it. I have read reports but can't react over that," he said.
Though only a proposal, the announcement has worried the Tibetan community. "Trump seems to be making series of unpopular decision that may be of immediate benefits but with no future. Even his Congress and people are protesting against it," said Tenzin Tsundue, a Tibetan writer and poet.
A Tibetan social entrepreneur in exile, Lobsang Wangyal said Trump could be expecting a thaw in
US-China relations by cutting funding to exiled Tibetans, but to slash funds for an anguished community is robbing them of the hopes they have in their lives as well as the trust they place in the United States and the western world. "The move is contrary to American ideals of freedom, equality, and justice. Time will tell if Trump's policy is really in line with his 'Make America Great Again'," he said.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...es-decade-old-policy/articleshow/58864516.cms
