Dalai Lamas decision to quit final,says aide

We know its the final decision and he is not going to retract from this, outgoing Prime Minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile S Rinpoche told The Indian Express on Friday.

The Dalai Lamas decision to step down as political head and set the process for evolving a self-sustained democratic system of electing new political leadership will be debated by the Tibetan parliament,Kalon Tripa,which begins its last session next week in McLeodganj,the headquarters of the Tibetan government-in-exile.

Rinpoche,who is considered next to the Dalai Lama in the Tibetan political hierarchy,and is himself a scholar of repute,said,I am going to meet His Holiness before the parliament session starts and will try to persuade him to continue his role.

He said almost 95 per cent of Tibetans all over the world are not in favour of his retirement. Earlier this week,the Tibetan cabinet,Kashag,had tried to dissuade him,but the Dalai Lama was firm on his decision,he recalled.

Although the Tibetans movement for autonomy will not die with the Dalai Lama shedding his political role,Rinpoche said there is no substitute for the leader. It will take some time for electing and building up a leadership of that kind.., he said.

Two of the new Prime Ministerial candidates are Lobsang Sangay,a Harvard scholar,and Tenzin Namgyal Tethong,a fellow of Tibetan Studies Initiative at Stanford University. Both are in their 40s. Another contender,Tashi Wangdi,was minister in the Tibetan government and the Dalai Lamas representative in Brussels. Lobsang Sangay,the youngest executive member of the Tibetan Youth Congress in 1992,remains the front runner.

The election of the Prime minister is slated to be held on March 20.