By ANURADHA SHARMA LAKHOTIA
Siliguri, March 10 – The Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC), a pressure group, today renewed its demand for the immediate release of the 11-year-old boy-monk Gedhum Choekyi Nyima.
The boy-monk, who has been allegedly languishing in a Chinese prison since 1995, has been recognised as the 11th reincarnation of the Panchen Lama by none other than the Dalai Lama, the temporal and spiritual head of the exiled Tibetans.
The TYC, which took out a huge procession here today to mark the 44th anniversary of their failed national uprising against Chinese rule, took the opportunity to press for Nyima’s release.
Beijing has, however, refused to recognise the boy-monk, then four-year-old child, and threw him to prison in 1996.
He is, arguably, the world’s youngest political prisoner.
In a diplomatic tit-for-tat to the Dalai Lama’s choice, China projected another boy-monk as the ‘official’ Panchen Lama in 1999, amid worldwide protests from the Tibetans.Today’s rally was attended by hundreds of TYC members from all across Northeast, Sikkim and West Bengal.
Later, the members also staged a demonstration in front of the office of the Siliguri subdivisional officer (SDO) and submitted a memorandum.
The TYC has also organised a 10-day Bharat Jagaran Yatra to garner Indian support for their fight for independence.
China occupied Tibet on March 10, 1959.
“We want the common people, government and non-government and human rights organisations to take up our cause. We will settle for nothing short of independence,” said Tsultrim Dorjee Chunang, general secretary, TYC.
“We want to request New Delhi to reconsider its foreign policy on Tibet. India should recognise the Tibetan government-in-exile, which is headquartered at Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh, as the legitimate body,” he said.
“We have submitted a memorandum to the Siliguri SDO, which is addressed to the Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. We have urged the Prime Minister to look into our freedom,” the general secretary said. “The Indian government must support the Tibet cause. We are the victims of gross human rights violations. India also stands to gain a lot if Tibet becomes a free state. In fact, it can act as a buffer between India and China. Moreover, Beijing’s presence in Lhasa is a major threat to New Delhi’s security,” he added.
The TYC, meanwhile, has found an unlikely ally in the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS).
“We should take up Tibet’s cause for our national interest. Besides, India must speak against the gross violation of human rights perpetrated on the innocent Tibetans,’ said Manmohan Roy, a RSS leader.
“About 2,000 Tibetan exiles in neighbouring Nepal offered prayers at a Buddhist monastery near the capital, Kathmandu, to mark the 44th anniversary of the National Uprising Day,” said Wangchuck Tsering, the Dalai Lama’s representative in Nepal.
“We offered prayers inside the monastery compound. Celebrations were, however, not held in public places,” said Tsering.
