The Cabinet or Kashag of Central Tibetan Administration led by President Dr. Lobsang Sangay has expressed their regret for unruly ousting of Penpa Tsering. Following the verdict of Tibetan Supreme Justice Commission (TSJC), the cabinet published an announcement on Friday, as per the directions of the exile court.
While the Kashag did not issue their apology over ousting Penpa Tsering from the office of Representative at Office of Tibet, Washington in the initial one month’s time as per the exile court, it has issued a statement of apology on Friday, last day of the final ultimatum issued by the TSJC.
“The verdict pronounced by The Tibetan Supreme Justice Commission on 14 October 2019 states “the ten-point clarification issued by the Kashag on the replacement of Mr. Penpa Tsering from the service of Representative to North America was based on unreliable sources and misunderstanding, thereby unintentionally defamed his dedication, competence and character, and led to the spread of misinformation in the community.” For this, the Kashag expresses its regret.”, published in the official website of Central Tibetan Administration on Friday.
Mr. Penpa Tsering lodged the defamation case against the Dr. Lobsang Sangay led cabinet of CTA in May 2018. This case has been popularly come to known as Case No 20, as given by the Tibetan court as per their record. The prosecutor asserted of “false charges” having leveled against him by the Cabinet while the cabinet pointed out 10 points explanation publicly published in ousting him from the Office of Tibet, Washington, Representative’s post in November 2017.
The Tibetan court on October 14 this year after a year long proceedings ordered the Cabinet to publish an apology in all the official news/information outlets in both Tibetan and English and directed the Cabinet to pay the fees of plaintiff’s lawyer in the amount of 98,000 rupees (1,400 USD approx) within one month.
The Cabinet on November 13 published a notice in the official sites pledging respect to the verdict of the apex body of the organization despite dissatisfaction. It clearly mentioned that it is unsatisfied of the verdict and they did not apologise. However, the cabinet urged the general public sending messages of sadness over the verdict, to maintain unity and stability.
Therefore, the court has issued a warning to Dr. Lobsang Sangay wherein it has issued an ultimatum to publish their apology to Mr. Penpa Tsering by December 27 this year or it could face consequences such as revoking their eligibility to run the office as per the constitution of the Central Tibetan Administration.
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