Vijyender Sharma
DHARAMSHALA: Sikyong Dr. Lobsang Sangay, the democratically elected political leader of Tibet, today attended the 25th birthday commemoration of the 11th Panchen Rinpoche, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, at Tashi Lhunpo monastery in Bylakuppe, Karnataka state.
Rizong Sey Rinpoche, the current Gaden Tripa and head of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism, was the chief guest at the celebration.
The ceremony was also attended by Mr. Penpa Tsering, Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, Jangtse Choejey and Shartse Choejey, Lochen Rinpoche, Abbotts and monks of different monastic schools including Gaden, Drepung and Sera monasteries.
The birthday ceremony began with the portrait of Panchen Rinpoche, being formally brought from Dechen Kesang Palace to the Debate Hall of Tashi Lhunpo monastery, the venue of the main ceremony, followed by singing of the Tibetan national anthem.
Sikyong Dr. Lobsang Sangay read out his official statement on the 25th birthday commemoration of the 11th Panchen Rinpoche. In his statement, he said; “The commemoration of the 25th birthday of the 11th Kunzik Panchen Gedun Choekyi Nyima is an occasion of joy but also great pain.”
“On one hand, it gives us immense joy that His Holiness the Dalai Lama was able to recognize the authentic reincarnation of the Panchen Lama. But this joy is profoundly undermined by the memory of the time when the Panchen Lama and his family were taken captive by the Chinese authorities. For all Tibetans, it is a source of great sorrow that to this day the state of the Panchen Lama’s physical and mental health remains unknown. His very existence is in doubt and he has not been seen since being taken into captivity on May 17, 1995,” he said.
Sikyong Dr.Lobsang Sangay also emphasised the significant contributions of the previous Panchen Rinpoche towards the Tibet cause during his lifetime.
He said: “The distinguished 10th Kunzik Panchen Lobsang Trinley Lhundup Choekyi Gyaltsen devoted his whole life to the welfare of the Tibetan people. On May 18, 1962, at the age of 24, he bravely presented to Mao Zedong and other Chinese leaders the 70,000 Character Petition, a document that thoroughly assessed the nature of Chinese occupation in Tibet. It elaborately explained the Tibetan people’s grievances and suggested measures to uplift them from political repression. The petition also exposed the Chinese government’s use of routine propaganda regarding revolution, liberation, democratic reform and the so-called ‘socialist paradise’ as pure deception.”
Sikyong Dr. Sangay,in his concluding remarks, appealed to the international community to make a concerted effort to press China to release Gedun Choekyi Nyima. “The international community must make it plain to China that flagrant human rights violations such as the disappearance of the 11th Panchen Lama cannot be papered over by business and commerce,” he said.
He also appealed to the Chinese authorities to release Gedun Choekyi Nyima, his family and other prisoners of conscience as a step towards restoring China’s moral leadership in the world.
Mr. Penpa Tsering, Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, read out the Tibetan Parliament’s statement on the occasion.
Tashi Lhunpo Monastery also released a statement, welcoming the Central Tibetan Administration’s endeavour of celebrating the birthday of Panchen Rinpoche, at the same time, condemning the unlawful detention of the 11th Panchen Rinpoche by Chinese authorities.
“It is with a sense of great concern and sadness that we observe this 25th birth anniversary of the 11th Panchen Lama. In the past 19 years, the young Panchen Lama, who was once the world’s youngest political prisoner, has turned into a 25 year old adult under Chinese custody; through this time, the young lama has been denied his fundamental rights, clearly highlighting the fact that Tibetans in Tibet do not enjoy basic human and child rights, and religious freedom. The experiences of the previous and the current Panchen Lamas, undoubtedly, serve as strong testimony of the Chinese government’s conscious and deliberate efforts to control every aspect of the Tibetan way of life, which, in effect, has and is still continuing to provoke the self-immolations protests,” the statement reads.
The celebration was followed by song and dance performance by local school students.
Earlier , Sikyong Dr. Lobsang Sangay addressed a group of Tibetan college students in Bangalore on his way to Bylakuppe. He also addressed Tibetan college students studying in Mysore in the afternoon of 25 April, following the 25th birthday commemoration of 11th Panchen Rinpoche at Tashi Lhunpo Monastery.
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**VijyenderSharma*, Press Correspondent Bohan Dehra Road JAWALAMUKHI-176031, Kangra HP(INDIA)*
Contact Number is 09736276343Mobile
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