TWA marks the 19th Birthday of Tibet’s Panchen Lama.
Today the 25th of April, 2008, is a day of great joy as the Tibetans all the over the world mark and celebrate the 19th Birthday of H.H the 11th Panchen Lama. At the same time it is a sad day for us as this precious golden boy of Tibet at the age of six, was abducted by the Chinese government. This hostile gesture intervenes in the religious reverence of the Tibetan people and it is an intrusive way of maligning basic human rights. The Panchen Lama is a prisoner of conscience and 13 years is a far too harsh and inhumane punishment for an individual who committed no crime. This is a malicious attempt to destroy the spiritual sanctity and religious tradition that Tibet embodies and it also sheds ample light on the current social, political and religious repression in Tibet today.
PRC officials claimed they were holding the boy at the request of his parents as he was at the risk of being kidnapped by separatists and his security was threatened. Today, with Gendun Choekyi Nyima now entering adulthood, he is no longer a child and hence he is mature enough to fend, protect and speak for Himself without China’s alleged security.
It is the divine wish of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the six million Tibetans to have the 11th Panchen Lama amidst us. We express our deep concern about the Panchen Lama`s family who has since May 17, 1995 disappeared along with their son. Hence His release and His presence is necessary for strengthening the faith of the Tibetan people and for completing the structural mechanism to ensure the continuity of religious authority and leadership in Tibetan Buddhism. We call on the moral conscience of the world and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in particular, to respond to our 13 years of earnest appeal to release the Panchen Lama We beseech the Chinese government to immediately release Panchen Lama and to come to the understanding that the Chinese state interference in the religious affairs of Tibet threatens the very survival of a religious tradition that has flourished for over 2000 years.
The recent peaceful uprising in Tibet reflects on the unhappiness and the deep resentment of the Tibetan people in Tibet. The essence of Tibet should necessarily thrive according to the genuine aspirations and sentiments of the Tibetan people. With the continued imprisonment of the Panchen Lama and the recent military reprisal in Tibet, China is committing the gravest form of Human rights violations. The abduction of the Panchen Lama is a blatant rejection by the PRC of the religious rights of the Tibetan people.
TWA along with Central Association for H.H the Panchen Lama organizes a candle vigil to signify the undying flame in the Tibetans calling for the safe, immediate and unconditional release of the Panchen Lama and to see him being restored to His religious, political and social rights. On September 20, 2005, Dr. B.Tsering, the president of TWA attended the 36th session of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) that called upon the Chinese authorities to allow an independent body to verify the fate of Gedun Choekyi Nyima, the Panchen Lama of Tibet. The CRC asked the Chinese authorities to "allow an independent expert to visit and confirm the well-being of Gedun Choekyi Nyima while respecting his right to privacy, and that of his parents." But the request is still pending for three years. We earnestly appeal and request the United Nations and the International Community to address this grave issue and to help us in this crucial period in our history, before it becomes irrevocable with disastrous consequences for the survival of the Tibetan culture.
The dire need of the Tibetan people inside and outside Tibet to see the Panchen Lama at His Tashi Lhunpo monastery is growing from strength to strength. With deep prayers for a peaceful Tibet, may all the divine wishes of His Holiness the Dalai Lama be accomplished.
Tibetan Women's Association (TWA) has 49 regional chapters and over 15, 000 members outside Tibet. Today, TWA is the second largest Tibetan NGO and the only women’s NGO in our exile that advocates human rights for Tibetan women in Tibet and empowerment of Tibetan women in exile, particularly the new refugee women from Tibet.