Dharamshala, Feb. 18 -- The department of information and international relation (DIIR) of the Dharamshala-based Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), has welcomed the appointment of Riley M Barnes, the assistant secretary of state, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour as the US Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues.

The CTA said that in consistent with the Tibet Policy Act and the subsequent US legislations on Tibet, we hope that assistant secretary Barnes will spearhead the US efforts to promote resumption of dialogue between the Dalai Lama or his representatives and the Government of People's Republic of China, protect the unique religious, cultural and linguistic identity of the Tibetan people and facilitate humanitarian pro...