For Immediate Release
Washington DC
June 3, 2013
In the early morning of June 4th, marking 25th Anniversary of Tiananmen Square Massacre, His Holiness Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader and a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, issued a statement to pray for “those who died for freedom, democracy and human rights.”
H.H. Dalai Lama also offered his blessing for China, urging the country to “join the mainstream of global democracy” as it integrating into the world economy. He stressed that freedom, democracy and human rights were universal values, the foundation for a stable and dynamic society.
Dalai Lama’s prayer comes in support of Citizen Power for China’s initiative June 4th Global Prayer Day for China. A number of world human rights advocates, religious leaders and statesmen have openly endorsed this initiative, including South Africa Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Republic of China’s former President Lee Teng-hui , U.S. Congressman Chris Smith, Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett, president of Tom Lantos’ Foundation for Human Rights and Justice, and Canadian Parliament Member Irwin Cotler. Prayers have also been offered by various religious leaders and organizations within Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism, Judaism, and Islam as well as from human rights activists and NGOs around the world.
