By Phurbu Thinley
Dharamsala, April 25: Tibetans and their supporters around the world on Monday marked the 22nd birthday of the 11th Panchen Lama Gendhun Choekyi Nyima by organising “Free Panchen Lama” campaigns.
In Dharamsala, the seat of Tibet’s government in exile, five major Tibetan NGOs began collecting signature petitions to call on Zhu Weiqun, the Vice Minister the United Front Works Department, the Chinese government body in charge of talks with the Tibetan envoys on Tibet issue, to disclose information on the Panchen Lama’s whereabouts and his existence.
Activists have also come up with online campaigns to add to the growing movement to seek the immediate release of Panchen Lama from Chinese custody.
At a function held here this morning, a special message from His Holiness the 17th Karmapa Lama, who escaped into India from Tibet in 2000 to avoid unnecessary Chinese harassment into his religious activities, was also read out.
In the message, the Karmapa offered prayers for the well being of the young 11th Panchen Lama and expressed hope and solidarity that the young Panchen Lama would be allowed to freely practice his spiritual role.
The Deputy Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, who presided over the function as the Chief Guest, Tibetans inside Tibet are living in a constant state of fear, being denied their basic rights to freedom of speech and expression, and freedom of religion.
“Under Chinese control, Tibetans in Tibet are not even allowed to speak about human rights, let alone implementation of their basic rights,” Gyari said.
Chinese Communist authorities secretly abducted Gendhun Choekyi Nyima along with his parents in May 1995, shortly after His Holiness the Dalai Lama declared him to be the reincarnation of the Panchen Lama.
Since then no one has knows where he is and what has become of him since he disappeared out of public view in Tibet 16 years ago.
The last available statement by the Chinese authorities concerning the fate of the Gendhun Choekyi Nyima came last year from Pema Thinley (Pedma Choling), the Chinese-appointed governor of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR).
Choling told reporters on the sidelines of China’s annual legislative session in Beijing in March 2010 that the young boy was living with his family and having a “very good life” somewhere in Tibet. He, however, gave no further details.
“Without evidence this statement is baseless unless the Chinese government proves his existence,” the five organising NGOs said, demanding China to provide clear evidence on his whereabouts in their joint statement.
Panchen Lama is revered as the second highest tulku lineage in the Gelugpa tradition of Tibetan Buddhism and one of the most influential spiritual leaders of Tibet.
Traditionally, the Panchen Lama bears part of the responsibility for finding the incarnation of the Dalai Lama and vice versa, a practice many say has prompted China to install another boy, Gyaltsen Norbu, as the Panchen Lama.
Critics point out that Gyaltsen, who is generally not recognised by Tibetans, is being used by Beijing to supplant the Dalai Lama as the public face of Tibetan Buddhism in Tibet and elsewhere in China. In recent years he has taken on an increasingly political role and was appointed to China’s top government advisory body in March last year.
