USA promotes Sikkim as an eco-tourism destination

Gangtok, May 13 (PTI) The US would promote Sikkim as a popular eco-tourism destination among Americans, Vice-Consul Jack F Pan said today.

"The USA can help Sikkim in capacity building of tourist guides," Pan told reporters here.

He said the US gave great thrust on the issue of mutual cooperation with Indian states like Sikkim in the field of tourism, particularly eco-tourism.

Pan, in charge of visa processing at the consulate in Kolkata, also explained the procedures to members of the local travel body at an interactive session earlier during the day.

American Consul for Political and Economic Affairs arrives in Gangtok on official visit

GANGTOK, 28 April: The Office of the Consulate General of the United States of America, Kolkata appears to be taking a keen interest in collaborating with the Government of Sikkim specially in providing the state with technical expertise and funding options.
This development follows from the reputation of proactive governance that Sikkim has earned in the recent past, the 2015 missions declared by the Chief Minister and the exemplary status the state commands amongst all the eight Northeastern states.

After the US Consulate General, Beth Payne’s visit to Sikkim in October last year, Sikkim- US ties appear to be going into the next phase now with the arrival of yet another senior diplomat, Clinton S. “Tad” Brown, the Consul for Political and Economic Affairs. It may be recalled that the Consulate General had extended her stay here in Sikkim by a week which she described as ‘an unforgettable visit to Shangrila’.
Speaking to NOW! last evening, the Consul, who is here on an official two-day visit, explained that his short visit was intended at understanding the political and economical affairs of the state. The diplomat who hails from Buffalo in New York has been in Foreign Service with his first posting in Bangladesh and then in countries like Kenya and Cameroon informed that he has been posted in India for the past nine months now with the North east region being his priority sector.
“I have been to most of the Northeastern states but what I have found in Sikkim is that the people here are happy unlike other regions where violence is common. I am surprised that in Sikkim the three ethnic communities live like brothers and their cultures are interlinked. This is a phenomenal achievement in modern times which sets examples for all to follow”, he expressed.
Adding that his visit to Gangtok was to specifically interact with different sections of society including youth, senior government officials and legislators ‘learning’ more about the state and strengthening Indo- American relations, he explained, “what we are looking here is for us to understand and bond with the Sikkimese and then focus on areas where we can provide our support.”
Speaking on thrust areas where the US would want to collaborate with Sikkim, he said that emphasis on eco-tourism and finding ways for sustainable development would be an area of intervention. Similarly, he mentioned that the US would also like to join hands for the modernization of Sikkim and that the relation of the US with Sikkim would be a long-term process. “We would like to be here and collaborate and support innovative projects as Sikkim moves towards the future. We don’t want to figure out what to do overnight but build a long lasting relationship”, stated the Consul.
Further, he stressed on the subject of environmental conservation for which he also appreciated the initiatives of the state government under the leadership of the Chief Minister, Pawan Chamling. In this regard he explained that scientific expertise into ecological conservation would also be an area where the US could assist in the coming days.
Determining other priorities for Sikkim he added that education [student exchange programmes, selling high-tech technology for renewable hydro- energy generation, environmentally inclined tourism and pharmaceuticals could be areas where the US investors could be interested in.
“We will still spend some-time studying other areas where we can collaborate with the Government of Sikkim. We will also look at dealing with the local NGOs and how we can make their functioning more efficient. We will further study the agenda of the state government and decide on further issues. We will conduct surveys and more experts will start coming here now. We are positive that Sikkim is where we can collaborate without any ‘hindrances’, “explained the US Consul, Tad Brown.
Before concluding his interaction with NOW! Mr. Brown, who was all praises for the state, said that more US investors, students would like to come here.
“We are looking for a long lasting relation with Sikkim and have a broad outlook for the future. Sikkim and its people are contagious, remarkable and the beauty is breathtaking. We want to collaborate closely so more people from the Consulate will be visiting now. Even, I am coming back with my family for a holiday soon”, expressed Mr. Brown

American Citizen goes missing in West Sikkim

GANGTOK, October 15: An American national Samuel (Sam) Mitchell has gone missing in Sikkim for the past eight days forcing his concerned Chinese wife Lu Yuan to alert the authorities here about her missing husband.
The missing American is aged 53 years and had entered Sikkim on September 26 from Kolkata, said his wife in an email statement. She has already intimidated the authorities here about her missing husband and the police here are trying their best to trace the missing American who has vanished since October 7.
According to Lu Yuan, she had last spoken to her husband on a disturbed mobile phone line on October 7 where Mr. Mitchell had told her that he would reach her home in Kumming, China on October 11.
During the last call, Mr. Mitchell had told his wife that it was raining very heavily in some place in Sikkim.
“He (Mitchell) entered Sikkim on September 26 through the land border but has not left Sikkim from what I can gather. My husband always advises me if his plans change. However, I have not heard from him after October 7”, said Lu Yuan expressing her fears that her husband may not be in a position to call and could have suffered an accident. Calls to his mobile number have been futile as the calls state power off, she said.
Lu Yuan said that she had given the details to the American Consulate on October 12.
“My husband is definitely missing whilst on a tourism trip in Sikkim. It is quite possible he is hurt and needs urgent attention. Maybe he is in some village or location where there is no electricity or connectivity”, Lu Yuan said in her email statement.
In a disturbing development over the missing person incident, Lu Yuan informed that someone unsuccessfully tried to use Mr. Mitchell’s credit card in Kolkata on October 13.
Stating that she will be coming to Sikkim to find her husband, Lu Yuan has appealed the authorities here to find Mr. Mitchell who is suspected to have disappeared somewhere while touring West Sikkim.
East Sikkim Superintendent of Police (SP) Dr. Mandeep Singh Tuli informed that Sikkim Police is making all efforts to locate the missing American. We have checked all the hotels here in Gangtok and West Sikkim police are checking all the hotels in that District, he said.
“We are making all efforts to trace him”, said Dr. Tuli

China summons US ambassador to Protest Award to Dalai Lama

BEIJING (AFP) — China lodged an official protest on Thursday over the honouring of the Dalai Lama in Washington, while bluntly rejecting US President George W. Bush's advice on how to handle the Tibet issue.
Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi summoned the US ambassador in Beijing to receive China's angry response to the unprecedented reception by Bush and US lawmakers of the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader.
"China urges the United States to take effective measures immediately to remove the terrible impacts of its erroneous act," foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said, warning again that bilateral ties had been damaged.
He said China called on the United States to "cease supporting... separatist activities of the Tibet independent forces, stop interfering in China's internal affairs and to take concrete steps to protect Sino-US relations."
Liu said Yang had delivered China's "strong protest" to US ambassador Clark Randt on Thursday.
The blistering response came after Bush on Wednesday defied repeated warnings from China and awarded the Dalai Lama the Congressional Gold Medal -- US lawmakers' highest civilian honour -- at the US Capitol building.
"They will find this good man to be a man of peace and reconciliation," Bush said of the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize winner.
"Americans cannot look to the plight of the religiously oppressed and close our eyes or turn away."
It was the first time a sitting US president had appeared in public with the Dalai Lama, whom China accuses of being a dangerous figure agitating for Tibetan independence.
Bush, who on Tuesday also met with the Dalai Lama privately at his White House residence, urged China to open talks with the revered 72-year-old Buddhist icon.
"It's in their interest to meet with the Dalai Lama," Bush said, prompting a terse response from Liu.
"As to how to handle the Dalai Lama and Tibet issues, Chinese people are very clear about what to do and do not need to be lectured by other countries," Liu said.
But while Liu repeated China's warning that this week's events in the United States had severely damaged ties between the two powers, he refused to answer reporters' questions on what other specific actions China would take.
China sent troops into Tibet in 1950 and officially "liberated" it the following year.
The Dalai Lama fled his homeland in 1959 following a failed uprising against Chinese rule. He insists that he wants autonomy for Tibet rather than independence, a claim that China rejects.
The United States and the United Nations do not question China's sovereignty over Tibet.
However China's atheist communist rulers have come under international criticism for decades over alleged religious and political persecution in the devoutly Buddhist region.
The Dalai Lama on Wednesday used the high-profile ceremony to again insist he only wanted autonomy for his homeland, and not independence, and called for talks with China's leaders.
But he also warned of "grave" social and environmental problems occurring in Tibet under Chinese rule.
"Every year, the Chinese population inside Tibet is increasing at an alarming rate," he said.
"And, if we are to judge by the example of the population of Lhasa (the region's capital), there is a real danger that the Tibetans will be reduced to an insignificant minority in their own homeland."
The Dalai Lama also warned that the rapid increase in Tibet's population was posing a "serious threat" to the region's environment.