Tenzin Nyidon
DHARAMSHALA, April 25: In a solemn yet resolute observance, Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, in Bylakuppe Tibetan Settlement, South India, the spiritual and cultural seat of the Panchen Lama in exile, commemorated the 36th birthday of the 11th Panchen Lama, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, on Thursday while also continuing to demand his immediate release from Chinese custody.
In his keynote address, Zeekyab Rinpoche, the abbot of Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, delivered a powerful appeal to the United Nations and the global community, stating, “ For thirty years, he has remained the world’s youngest political prisoner and a forcibly disappeared Tibetan spiritual leader. His fundamental rights and freedoms must be restored without delay.”
He urged the international community to increase pressure on the Chinese government for the release of Panchen Rinpoche, his parents, and all other unjustly imprisoned Tibetan political detainees. Rinpoche also condemned China’s long-standing refusal to provide credible information about the Panchen Lama’s whereabouts, denouncing its interference in Tibetan religious affairs. “For over three decades, the United Nations and governments worldwide have expressed grave concern over the Panchen Lama’s fate. Numerous international human rights organizations have issued statements demanding clarity about his whereabouts and well-being. Yet, to this day, the Chinese authorities have failed to provide any credible information about him or his family,” he said.
Meanwhile, in Dharamshala, the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) through its Department of Information and International Relations (DIIR) launched a month-long awareness campaign dedicated to the Panchen Lama’s birthday and his 30-year disappearance. The initiative, beginning April 25 and concluding May 17—the date of his abduction in 1995—aims to intensify international attention on the case and mobilize support for transparency regarding his status.
The campaign kicked off with a public talk at the Tibet Museum titled “Legacy of the 10th Panchen Lama and the Circumstances Surrounding the Enforced Disappearance of the 11th Panchen Lama,” delivered by Dr. Tsewang Topla, Senior Lecturer at Sarah College.
The 11th Panchen Lama, Gendun Choekyi Nyima, revered as one of the eminent spiritual figures in Tibetan Buddhism, was officially recognised by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama in 1995 when he was just six years old. However, shortly after his recognition, on May 17, 1995, the Chinese Communist Party forcefully abducted him and his family into state custody. Since then, the disappearance of the 11th Panchen Lama has remained a grave concern for the Tibetan administration in exile, as well as various Tibetan advocacy groups and non-governmental organisations in exile, which have persistently campaigned for transparency regarding his health and current whereabouts.
