WHEREAS, His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, is the spiritual and temporal leader of the Tibetan people; and

WHEREAS, The Dalai Lama was born to a peasant family in the small village of Takster in northeastern Tibet; and

WHEREAS, In 1951, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army invaded Tibet, and the Dalai Lama was forced into exile in India after the Chinese military occupation of Tibet; and

WHEREAS, March 10, 2009, marks the 50th anniversary of the uprising against Chinese rule over the Tibetan people, which forced His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, to escape into exile; and

WHEREAS, Since establishing the Tibetan government-in-exile in Dharamsala, India, in 1960, the Dalai Lama has struggled to uphold and promote Tibetan language, history, religion, and culture; and

WHEREAS, His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, has used his leadership to promote democracy, freedom, and peace for the Tibetan people through a negotiated settlement of the Tibet issues, based on autonomy within the context of China; and

WHEREAS, The freedom of expression, assembly, and religious beliefs are fundamental human rights that belong to all people and are recognized as such under the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civic and Political Rights; and

WHEREAS, The United Nations General Assembly passed Resolutions 1353 (XIV), 1723 (XVI), and 2079 (XX) calling for the cessation of practices that deprive the Tibetan people of their fundamental human rights and freedoms, including the right to self-determination; and

WHEREAS, Numerous Californians and California-based nonprofit organizations support His Holiness, the Dalai Lama’s vision for a better world, including the Dalai Lama Foundation, the Tibetan Association of Northern California, and the Tibetan Association of Southern California; and

WHEREAS, The Dalai Lama spoke at the California Governor and First Lady’s Conference on Women in September 2006 in Long Beach, California, about compassionate leadership; and

WHEREAS, The United States Congress, in recognition of the Dalai Lama’s outstanding moral and religious leadership and his advocacy of nonviolence, awarded him the Congressional Gold Medal on October 17, 2007; and

WHEREAS, The Dalai Lama was recognized for his contribution to world peace when he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, and has received worldwide recognition and praise for his leadership in seeking nonviolent solutions to international problems; now, therefore, be it