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US official honors Dalai Lama at Washington birthday celebration
Riley Barnes praised the Tibetan spiritual leader's legacy of compassion and religious freedom.
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IANS - Fri, 10, Jul 2026
- 04:19 EDT
- 28
The Dalai Lama's 91st birthday was celebrated in Washington, D.C., by members of the Tibetan community and supporters. / IANS
U.S. Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues Riley Barnes joined celebrations marking the Dalai Lama's 91st birthday in Washington, D.C., on July 9, describing it as an honor to celebrate the Tibetan spiritual leader's life and legacy.
Barnes, who also serves as Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, attended the event organized by the Office of Tibet with support from the International Campaign for Tibet.
Also read: Dalai Lama Turns 91, Tibetans Celebrate Worldwide
"It's an honour to be here celebrating him and his life," Barnes said. "I hope and pray that we have many more years to have gatherings like this."
Barnes recalled meeting the Dalai Lama in Dharamshala in 2019 while working in the U.S. State Department's Office of International Religious Freedom. He said he witnessed the Tibetan leader's compassion, generosity, sense of humor and hospitality.
He also recounted attending the Dalai Lama's 90th birthday celebrations last year. Barnes said his five-year-old daughter later used a traditional Tibetan khata scarf he had brought home to welcome a house guest after remembering that it represented honor and hospitality.
The celebration opened with prayers led by Tibetan Buddhist leaders and brought together members of the Tibetan community, Tibet supporters, diplomats, and representatives from government and civil society.
The gathering also observed a moment of silence for Tibetan activist Lobga Rangzen. Organizers said he died after setting himself on fire outside the United Nations headquarters in New York on July 2.
Namgyal Choedup, the Dalai Lama's representative for North America, said the significance of the occasion extended beyond celebrating the spiritual leader's birthday.
"The celebration matters not because it is about His Holiness Dalai Lama, but it is about sharing with the rest of the world his messages of universal values and compassion, something that is direly needed in our world today, in which we continue to witness never-ending man-made human conflicts in addition to natural calamities and the resultant humanitarian crisis," Choedup said.
He said the U.S. Congress and several states and cities had proclaimed the Dalai Lama's birthday as a Day of Compassion. The declarations recognized his message of compassion, non-violence, interfaith harmony and human values, he added.
"The Tibetan people lost their country in 1959, but the world gained the Dalai Lama," Choedup said.
Tencho Gyatso, president of the International Campaign for Tibet, thanked attendees for their continued support of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan people.
"For more than seven decades, His Holiness has shown the world that compassion is a source of strength, that dialogue is the path to lasting peace, and that true leadership is rooted in humility, wisdom, and service to others," Gyatso said.
The Dalai Lama fled Tibet for India in 1959 following a failed uprising against Chinese rule and has lived in Dharamshala since then. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for advocating a non-violent resolution to the Tibetan issue.
The Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 established the position of U.S. Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues. The office coordinates U.S. policies and programs related to Tibet, including efforts to promote dialogue and safeguard Tibetan cultural and religious heritage.
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