Gyaltsen Gyaltag, former Rapresentative for Europe of H.H. The Dalai Lama,
passed away on January 25.

photo: Gyalsen Gyaltag, rappresentative for Europe of H.H. the Dalai Lama at the 36° congress of the Radical Party (Rome, 4 Febbruary 1993)

Dear Friends;

As you may have already come to know Gyaltsen Gyaltag passed away on January 25. His untimely death came as a great shock for many Tibetans and friends of Tibet. Many people share the deep sense of loss and sadness of his wife, Phuntsok Dolkar, and his two children, Rigzin and Yeshe. He was a responsible, committed and determined Tibetan patriot and a caring, gentle, decent, understanding and thoughtful human being. Gyaltsen Gyaltag was an outstanding leader of the Tibetan freedom movement in Europe. His dedication and commitment to the cause of freedom of Tibet was unwavering. For over 30 years Gyaltsen Gyaltag was deeply involved in the freedom struggle of the Tibetan people in one capacity or the other. His contribution to the achievements and his influence on the development of the Tibet movement in Switzerland in particular had been lasting and of great significance.
Consequently, there is a wish to commemorate Gyaltsen Gyaltag´s remarkable contribution and service to the Tibetan cause. The Office of Tibet in Geneva, all the Tibetan organisations in Switzerland and other Tibet related organisations in Europe are organising jointly a commemoration:

Date: Saturday, 23 February 2002
Venue: Kunsthaus, Zurich
Time: 13:00 - 16:00 Hours

A small working group, consisting of Tibetans closely associated with Gyaltsen Gyaltag, has been entrusted with the organisation of this commemoration in order to ensure that the programme of the commemoration truly reflects the thinking, spirit and contributions of the deceased. We wish to invite you to the commemoration.

Messages

We are also requesting for written messages and statements from individuals, organisations and institutions that had worked together with Gyaltsen Gyaltag. If you wish to contribute a message, please enclose also a brief description of your organisation or institution and its objectives and activity. We hope very much that the messages will be substantive and describe the nature and specificity of the cooperation with Gyaltsen Gyaltag in a way that makes each message personal and distinctive. We will bring out a commemorative brochure on February 23, 2002. In order to ensure that your message is included in the brochure you are requested to make sure that your message reaches us by February 15, 2002. It is also important that you send us your message neatly printed on your official letterhead, duly signed and ready for print. It is greatly appreciated if you could send us your message by special courier.

Participation in the programme

You are also most welcome to participate in the programme of the commemoration. If your organisation is able to delegate some members to the commemoration please inform us in advance in writing the names and the designations of your delegates. More importantly, your representative will be able to speak or read the message if your organisation is represented at the commemoration - provided we are not be compelled to make a selection from the messages received for reasons of time constraints.

Individual messages

Individuals who wish to express their feelings and thoughts on Gyaltsen Gyaltag´s contribution and service to the national cause of Tibet are most welcome to do so. These messages must be duly signed, dated and indicate the address of the author. However, for a number of constraints we are not in a position to give assurance that each and every individual message will be printed in the commemorative brochure or will be read out at the commemoration. On the other hand we can assure that after the completion of the commemoration all the messages will be handed over to the family of the deceased.

The language of message can be Tibetan, German or English.

We hope to be able to come up with a programme that is focused and dignified. Your messages will be an important part of it. We ask for your assistance and cooperation to achieve this. Please send your messages and inquiries to:

Kelsang Gyaltsen
Hummelbergstrasse 14
8645 Jona
Switzerland
Tel.: + 41 (0)55 212 95 55
Fax.: + 41 (0)55 212 95 56
E-mail: kelsang.gyaltsen@bluewin.ch

We are grateful if you could inform the members of your organisation of this commemoration without delay. We express our sincere appreciation for your participation and cooperation. With our best wishes.

Yours sincerely,
Kelsang Gyaltsen