Speakers at the event held in Dharamshala
Photo: Phayul/Kunsang Gashon
Tibetans and Tibetan supporters across the world observed International Solidarity Day on May 17 to commemorate the 20th year of Panchen Lama’s enforced disappearance.
In Dharamsala, the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) held an event which featured a public talk about the Panchen Lama, showed Tibet’s stolen child, a documentary film, and a photo exhibition on Tibetan self-immolation. The speaker of the Tibetan Parliament in exile, Penpa Tsering; Director of the Tibet Policy Institute, Sonam Norbu Dagpo; the Secretary (International Relations) of DIIR, and Tsering Tsomo, Director of Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy were all present at the event.
“On this day, we once again appeal to the international community to launch a concerted effort to urge China to release the Panchen Lama and all political prisoners in Tibet. We renew our pledge to stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Tibet and pray for the earliest resolution of the issue of Tibet,” said a CTA spokesperson.
Wangdue Tsering, press spokesperson of the office of Tibet in London, said that Tibetans in London gathered for candle-lit vigil outside the Chinese embassy there. Tibetans are requesting the world community to help them find the Panchen Lama, said Wangdue, in a BBC report.
At the exhibition
The six-year old Gedun Choekyi Nyima was recognised as the reincarnation of 10th Panchen Lama by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 1995. Three days after the announcement, Gedun and his family were abducted by the Chinese authorities. He was considered then to be the youngest political prisoner in the world. It has been 20 years since his abduction and his whereabouts are still unknown. Despite a number of calls for the release of the Panchen Lama by international human rights bodies, China has refused to provide any information about his whereabouts, education or well-being.
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