Dharamshala — On the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the birth of the 11th Panchen Lama of Tibet on April 25, 2024, Buddhist leaders from the Himalaya appealed to foreign governments, the United Nations and the international community to adopt a motion requesting them to instruct their ambassadors to meet with the 11th Panchen Lama and to ascertain his whereabouts and well-being.
Kyabje Zeekyab Tulku Jetsun Tenzin Thupten Rabgyal, Abbot of Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, the traditional seat of the Panchen Lama; Kyabje Lochen Rinpoche and Regzin Dorjay, Acting President of the Ladakh Buddhist Association, together held a press conference at the Main Tibetan Temple in Dharamshala on April 25, 2024, to issue their joint statement calling on foreign governments, the United Nations and the international community to meet with the Chinese government and ascertain the whereabouts and well-being of the 11the Panchen Lama of Tibet, and called for the release of the Panchen Lama, his family members and teacher.
Zeekyab Rinpoche read out a joint appeal signed by himself, KyabjeLochen Rinpoche, Key Monastery, Spiti, Tsechokling Tulku TenzingGelek, Sikkim, RegzinDorjay, Acting President of the Ladakh Buddhist Association. The appeal stated, “It is with great concern that we, representing four monasteries and associations from the Himalayan region and the traditional seat of the Panchen Lama, the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, make this joint appeal with following five points to the Foreign Governments, the United Nations, and the International Community:
1. We urge the foreign governments, international institutions and community to pass a motion urging them to direct their ambassadors in China to meet with the 11th Panchen Lama and ascertain his whereabout and wellbeing.
2. We urge the foreign governments, international institutions and community to honor the 11th Panchen Lama with an award recognizing him as a victim of enforced disappearance for almost 29 years, and as someone who has been denied with his human rights, religious freedom, rights of a child and other fundamental rights of movement, residency and action.
3. In order to enable his early release and as a way to draw attention to his situation, weappeal the foreign governments, international institutions and communityto observe the birthday of the 11th Panchen Lama.
4. We also urge the foreign governments, international institutions and community to actively call for the release of Chadrel Rinpoche, a lama of TashiLhunpo monastery who was the head of the search committee for the 11th Panchen Lama, as well as the very many Tibetan political prisoners. On account of the dire situation inside Tibet, Tibetans have been resorting to acts of self-immolation, the latest being a 25-year-old Tibetan singer Tsewang Norbu and an 81 year oldTaphun in 2022. The self-immolaters have sacrificed their most cherished life in order to draw the attention of the United Nations and the international community to the critical situation in Tibet. Therefore, we urge the foreign governments, international institutions and community to respond positively to their plea.
5. The aspiration of the Tibetans in Tibet is for His Holiness the Dalai Lama to be able to return to Tibet at the earliest. Therefore, we stronglyappeal to the foreign governments, international institutions and community to consider taking concrete initiatives to support His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration to enable the resolution of the Tibet-Chinaconflict through the mutually beneficial Middle Way Approach.
"The foreign governments, their citizens,and international institutions and community have been consistently supporting the Tibetan people. Sowe take this opportunity to express our sincere gratitude. This five-point joint appeal we have presented today are in one way also connected to the holistic wellbeing of the several million believers and followers, and therefore, is connected to democratic rights of these many individuals.
"We have firm hope that the foreign governments, international institutions and community will consider the reality of the Tibetan situation, particularly on the issue of the Panchen Lama’s enforced disappearance case, and consider our appeals positively," the joint appeal concluded.
Speaking to the press, Regzin Dorjay, acting President of the Ladakh Buddhist Association, commented on the fate of the 11th Panchen Lama and expressed his dismay at the latter's long disappearance after being recognized by His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
He urged the Indian government to enter into dialogue with China regarding 11th Panchen Lama's whereabouts, and called on the United Nations to intervene in the situation. He added: “As a Buddhist leader, I have serious doubts about the Panchen Lama's current status, as no one has seen him since his disappearance. We must put pressure on the Chinese government, as this is a violation of human rights. This is a major loss for the Buddhist community”.
After the speech, the speakers took questions from the Tibetan and Indian media at the joint press conference.
