Tibetans and Tibet Groups* have launched a new report Missing for Over 20 Years which calls on world leaders to act “urgently and robustly” to confront China over their abduction and enforced disappearance of the 11th Panchen Lama, Gedun Choekyi Nyima. Gedun Choekyi Nyima was taken by the Chinese authorities from his home in Tibet when he was only six years old. May 17 this year marked 23 years since his abduction and enforced disappearance with his family.
On the launch of the report, Gloria Montgomery, Head of Advocacy and Campaigns at the Tibet Society UK said “The EU and the UK made promises in 2000 that they would seek to obtain copies of these important photographs but these promises have simply been brushed under the carpet, and the Tibetan people are still waiting for answers. We are now calling on the EU and the UK to reignite the strong call for tangible evidence of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima’s well-being, rather than accepting at face value the hollow words given by Chinese officials.”
TWA demonstration
Photo: tibetexpress.net
People of the exiled Tibetan community in Dharamshala and around the world have come together over the years to mark his birthday in April and the anniversary of his disappearance, to protest and demand answers from the Chinese authorities as to his whereabouts. Public protests and marches have brought people of the Tibetan community onto the streets to spread awareness of his abduction and show solidarity against his situation.
In 2015 the Chinese government made a statement to the effect that Gedun Choekyi Nyima is alive and well. On his 29th birthday last month His Holiness the Dalai Lama announced that he had also heard this from a “reliable source”, saying, “I hope the official Panchen Lama studies well under the guidance of one good teacher.”
Dolma Yangchen, president of the Tibetan Women’s Association has said, “If the 11th Panchen Lama is receiving a good education, leading a normal and happy life just like any other children as China claims, then why are there so many restrictions and attention from China on the Panchen Lama, unlike any other children?”
The Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) continues to point out that the Chinese government has defaulted repeatedly in providing evidence for these claims to the many calls for information since the Panchen Lama’s disappearance – whether these approaches are made to them by the Tibetan community or global human rights and Tibet support groups, as well as governments of countries across the world. The United States has called on China to release the Panchen Lama from “detention” and allow him to assume “his traditional role at Tashi Lhunpo Monastery in Tibet”. The CTA has also released a three-minute video showing the reactions of world governments towards Gedun Choekyi Nyima’s disappearance, demanding not just his release, but also the recognition that the Tibetan community wishes to bestow upon him.
Gedhun Choekyi Nyima was recognised as the 11th Panchen Lama by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama in 1995 in Tibet when he was only six years old. Three days from the announcement of his recognition he was taken and held captive by the Chinese authorities and has been unseen and unheard of since. Not only has this made him the youngest political prisoner in the world, it has made him the longest-serving political prisoner in the world. Following his abduction China selected another child to be its chosen 11th Panchen Lama. The selected child was Gyaltsen Norbu, born in February 1990, he is recognised by China as the Panchen Lama and performs this role, as directed by China.
Report published by Tibet Society UK, International Tibet Network, Canada Tibet Commitee and LUNGTA – Actief voor Tibet, Belgium. To read the full report please click here.
Print
Email