“China, Where is Tibet’s Panchen Lama?” CTA Demands Answers on His 36th Birthday
By Tenzin Chokyi
DHARAMSALA, 25 April: As the exiled Tibetans commemorated the 36th birthday anniversary of the 11th Panchen Lama Gendun Choekyi Nyima in absentia, the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), commonly known as the Tibetan government in exile, has asked China, “Where is Tibet’s Panchen Lama?” The Tibetan spiritual leader has been held incommunicado by Beijing for 30 years.
Tenzin Lekshey, the spokesperson of the CTA, today urged China to disclose the whereabouts of the 11th Panchen Lama of Tibet, as he extended birthday wishes on the occasion of the religious leader’s 36th birthday.
In his official birthday message to the Panchen Lama, Lekshey expressed wishes for his long life and fulfilment of all his aspirations. He noted that the Panchen Lama’s whereabouts have remained a mystery since 1995 and emphasised that the CTA, along with supporters in the free world, must continue to advocate on his behalf against the Chinese government.
He further said, “The time has come for the Chinese government to reveal the whereabouts of the Panchen Lama on international platforms”.
Tibetans in exile across the globe marked the 36th birthday of the Panchen Lama today with special prayers and offerings.
Meanwhile, the CTA’s Tibet Museum held a screening of the film “Tibet’s Stolen Child” and a talk by Dr Tsewang Topla, History Professor of the College for Higher Tibetan Studies (Sarah), on the legacy of the 10th Panchen Lama and the enforced disappearance of the 11th Panchen Lama.
Gendun Choekyi Nyima, born on 25 April 1989, in Lhari County in Nagchu region of eastern Tibet was recognised as the 11th Panchen Lama by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama at the tender age of 6 on 14 May 1995.
Three days after his enthronement, the 11th Panchen Lama was kidnapped by the Chinese government and has been held captive since 17 May 1995, along with his family members.
Today, the world’s youngest political prisoner has become one of the world’s longest-serving political prisoners. Even after 30 years, the 11th Panchen Lama and his family’s whereabouts and condition remain unknown. In his place, the Chinese government appointed another child named Gyaltsen Norbu as the 11th Panchen Lama.
The Panchen Lama is considered the second-highest authority in Tibetan Buddhism after the Dalai Lama.
It plays a key role in recognising the next reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, who then, in turn, finds the reincarnated Panchen Lama.
The abduction and replacement of the Panchen Lama is part of China’s efforts to ‘stabilise’ occupied Tibet, by controlling its religion and breaking the Dalai Lama’s influence.
More importantly, it aims to use its puppet Panchen Lama to legitimise the appointment of its version of the next Dalai Lama when the time comes.
