President of ICT Matteo Mecacci, along with Tibet Lobby Day participants, meet with Representative Lois Capps from California.

President of ICT Matteo Mecacci, Vice President Bhuchung Tsering, and Tibet Lobby Day participants, meet with Representative Lois Capps from California.


The seventh annual Tibet Lobby Day was held in Washington, D.C. from March 2 to 3, 2015. Around 100 Tibetan-Americans and friends of Tibet converged from 15 different states to urge the U.S. Congress to support concrete actions to solve the Tibet crisis and support Tibetans in their effort to protect their culture, religion and identity.

“As a former Tibetan political prisoner who benefited from international support during my imprisonment by the Chinese authorities, the Tibet Lobby Day provided me, as a Tibetan American now, with the opportunity to do something concrete for the Tibetan people,” said Ngawang Sangdrol from Massachusetts, who has been a regular participant of the Tibet Lobby Day. “From my own experience, I can vouch for the fact that any such actions taken internationally do positively impact the Tibetans in Tibet,” Sangdrol added.

The Tibet Lobby Day has come to be recognized as an annual event by many of the Congressional offices visited by participants.

“I have found it uplifting to participate in the annual Tibet Lobby Day in Washington, D.C, when Tibetan-Americans (and their supporters) come from across the land to hit Capitol Hill en masse to visit their members of congress, to push various bits of legislation and make their voices heard,” said Dan Haig from Virginia. “It restores my faith in the Tibet movement and our democracy all at once,” he added.

Tibetan Americans and Tibet supporters visited more than 150 offices to ask for Congress to continue funding for Tibet programs in the annual appropriations bill, support legislation on Tibet and related issues, and urge Secretary of State John Kerry to take up the cause of Tibetan political prisoners, specifically those needing medical attention.

In addition to in-person visits during Tibet Lobby Day, members of the International Campaign for Tibet and friends of Tibet sent online messages to House and Senate offices of 49 states as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, to ask for these distinct measures of support.

Tibet Lobby Day is a collaborative effort between the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) and other Tibet groups, including Tibetan Associations in the United States, and Students for a Free Tibet.

Photos taken during this year’s Tibet Lobby Day can be found at: http://tibetlobbyday.us/testimonials/2015-photographs/