Exile Tibetan leaders congratulate President Obama on historic reelection

President Barack Obama waves to supporters after his victory speech on election night in Chicago on November 7, 2012. DHARAMSHALA, November 8: Elected leaders of the exile Tibetan administration felicitated US President Barack Hussein Obama on his re-election after a hard fought campaign, Wednesday. America's first black president sealed victory over Republican candidate Mitt Romney, against many odds, including the highest unemployment rate - at 7.9% - for any incumbent president since the US wartime leader Franklin Roosevelt. The elected head of the Tibetan people, Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay congratulated President Obama on his “historic win” and recalled the “warm and sincere support” Tibetans have enjoyed under his leadership. “I, on behalf of the Central Tibetan Administration, would like to congratulate you on your historic re-election,” Sikyong Dr Sangay said. “Under your leadership, Tibetans have also enjoyed your warm and sincere support. Since 2008, Tibet has seen unprecedented and widespread uprisings. We are extremely concerned about the tragic spate of self-immolations in Tibet.” “We recall with sincere gratitude your meeting with His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 2010; the daunting task being carried out by the Special Co-ordinator for Tibet; Secretary Hillary Clinton's persistent work on Tibet, including with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi during the APEC Summit in 2011, and recently on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.” Sikyong Dr Sangay noted that Tibetans are “especially encouraged and inspired” by Ambassador Gary Locke’s recent visit to Ngaba in Amdo, eastern Tibet, calling it a “true testimony of your Administration's commitment to freedom and human rights in Tibet.” “As you have promised, "America, the best is yet to come", we appeal to your Administration to use its good offices to envision a "brighter and better" future for Tibet, as well,” the de facto Tibetan prime minister said. In his victory speech, President Obama, 51, said he was returning to the White House "more determined, and more inspired than ever about the work there is to do." "We have picked ourselves up, we have fought our way back and we know in our hearts that for the United States of America the best is yet to come," President Obama told a crowd of over 10,000 in Chicago. Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, Penpa Tsering congratulated President Obama on behalf of all the Tibetans inside and outside Tibet and expressed hope that his Administration, in its second term, will take a stronger stance on Tibet. “The US government has been very supportive on the Tibetan issue for a long time and in President Obama’s second term we really hope that he will be stronger considering the gravity of situation inside Tibet,” Speaker Tsering said. “I am sure he will give due consideration to the tragic situation inside Tibet and seek solution to the Tibetan issue.”