Dalai Lama Turns 89, Undergoes Knee Surgical procedure, ‘I am Effective’

(ANSA) – NEW YORK, JULY 6 – “I am virtually 90 now, however I do not really feel unwell, aside from a slight discomfort in my legs”: the Dalai Lama, in a video message to his followers on the event of his 89th birthday, reassures that he has recovered from a knee operation carried out in New York. The religious chief of Tibet had left his residence within the Indian metropolis of Dharamsala final month for therapy. The discomfort in his legs “is inevitable, as a result of growing older course of”, however “principally I am superb, so don’t fret”, was his report on his state of well being after the operation. A charismatic determine of Buddhism, celebrated all through the world for his marketing campaign in favor of better autonomy for his Tibetan homeland, the Dalai Lama was solely 23 when he fled the capital Lhasa fearing for his life after Chinese language troops put down a revolt. It was 1959. In 2011, he resigned because the political chief of his folks, handing over the baton to a authorities democratically chosen by some 130,000 Tibetans around the globe. However his superior age has remained a trigger for concern for fellow exiles, who worry that Beijing will appoint a successor near China to tighten its grip on Tibet. Final month, a bunch of US lawmakers, together with former Home Speaker Nancy Pelosi, met with the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan authorities in exile in Dharamsala, sparking heavy criticism from China. That go to adopted Congress passing a invoice looking for to encourage Beijing to renew talks with Tibetan leaders, which have been frozen since 2010. (ANSA).