The US State Department on May 18 urged China to release a prominent Tibetan religious figure who was abducted along with his family in 1995 after being recognized by the exiled Dalai Lama as the reincarnation of the 10th Panchen Lama. Tibetans around the world marked the May 17 anniversary of his disappearance with demonstrations and prayer services.
In a statement issued on May 18, Tommy Pigott, spokesperson for the US Department of State, called on Chinese authorities to immediately release Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, whom the Dalai Lama recognized as the 11th Panchen Lama on May 14, 1995, along with his family. Pigott also urged China to end the persecution of Tibetans and others for their religious beliefs.
“The United States supports religious freedom for Tibetans, and the freedom to preserve their unique cultural and linguistic identity,” Pigott said.
“Tibetan Buddhists, like members of all religious communities, should have the ability to freely select their own leaders (like the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama) according to their beliefs and without party-state interference,” the statement added.
The Panchen Lama holds a central position in Tibetan Buddhism and has historically played a key role in identifying and recognizing the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama. The issue has gained added significance because the 11th Panchen Lama would traditionally be involved in the recognition process of the future 15th Dalai Lama.
A few months after six-year-old Gedhun Choekyi Nyima was abducted by Chinese authorities in 1995, China appointed its own candidate, Gyaltsen Norbu, as the “11th Panchen Lama.” His parents were members of the Chinese Communist Party. Gyaltsen Norbu currently serves as a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), vice president of the Buddhist Association of China, an organization overseen by the United Front Work Department of the Communist Party’s Central Committee and president of the association’s Tibet branch.
Tashi Lhunpo Monastery in Shigatse City in southern Tibet has traditionally served as the seat of the Panchen Lamas. However, Gyaltsen Norbu resides and studies in Beijing under the supervision of the United Front. Each year, he is taken on tours across Tibet for approximately six months as part of a campaign promoting the Sinicization of Tibetan Buddhism in line with China’s socialist policies.
Despite longstanding international concern and repeated appeals, China has continued to withhold credible information regarding the fate or whereabouts of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima and his family. Chinese authorities have only stated, years ago, that he did not wish to be disturbed.
