President Jimmy Carter meets with His Holiness the Dalai Lama at the Carter Center in 2002. (L to R – His Holiness the Dalai Lama, President Jimmy Carter, and Joel McCleary, Deputy Assistant to President Carter)
The International Campaign for Tibet and our members across America and the globe join in mourning the passing of President Carter, reflecting on his life and considering the messages of fairness, kindness, compassion, and respect for human rights to which he dedicated his life, both during his presidency as well as before and after it.
“President Carter was a man of strong faith and strong conviction, but he never let his religion be a divider of people,” said ICT President Tencho Gyatso. “He built homes with his own two hands. He launched programs to monitor elections in hundreds of countries to ensure the voices of the people were not ignored. He brought medications to those in need. His decision making never wavered from the guiding principle, “Is this the right thing to do?”
“President Jimmy Carter and His Holiness the Dalai Lama both were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, in part for seeking peaceful resolution to conflicts, for speaking out on behalf of the oppressed, and for working to see the humanity in all people,” Gyatso continued. “The two met numerous times over the years and President Carter monitored the conditions in Tibet (visiting it in 1987) and raised with the seniormost Chinese leaders the need to respect the rights of Tibetans.”
As the Dalai Lama said in his response to President Carter’s passing, “In addition, the Tibetan people and I remain ever grateful to President Carter for his deep interest in and concern for the situation in Tibet and for undertaking initiatives to help alleviate the plight our people.”
Former Deputy Assistant to President Carter and former ICT Board Member, Joel McCleary, noted, “Carter’s bold Human Rights initiative was his justification for granting the first controversial US visa to His Holiness. The Carter visa and His Holiness subsequent worldwide teachings bought about a sea change in international views on human rights in Tibet. After leaving office, Carter and the Carter Center worked behind the scenes with top Chinese leadership to determine if there were possibilities in future negotiations on Tibet.”
He lived every moment of his life as an example to be followed, not in a attempt to seek attention but to live his values through a life without regret. We mourn his passing and send our condolences to his family.