Tibetans and Tibet supporters all over the world observed the 20th anniversary of 11th Panchen Lama's enforced disappearance at the hand of the Chinese government on May 17, 2015.
Demanding an immediate and unconditional release of Panchen Rinpoche as well as information about his health, whereabouts and wellbeing, Tibetans from Dharamsala to New Delhi, New York, Paris, London, Barcelona, and many other places have organized vigils, rallies, protests, publicity, and social media campaign and many other forms of solidarity campaigns.
The spokesperson of Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), Tashi Phuntsok has previously said during a media briefing that “the case of the Panchen Lama is not only the story of an innocent six-year old child disappearing for 20 years, but also a blatant symptom of political repression and lack of religious freedom. The enforced disappearance of the 11th Panchen Lama is a vivid case of China’s aggression against Tibetan people by hijacking a centuries-old traditional Buddhist practice of reincarnation for political ends.”
On May 14 1995, a six year old boy named Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, was recognized by Dalai Lama as the reincarnation of the 10th Panchen Lama, Choekyi Gyaltsen, becoming the 11 Panchen Lama in the hearts and minds of the Tibetan people. Within days of the formal announcement and recognition, he was abducted by the Chinese authorities, thus making him the world's youngest political prisoner.
There has been no information on his whereabouts or wellbeing for twenty years. The Chinese government has appointed another boy as their 11th Panchen Lama, who is being groomed by CCP in Beijing instead of allowing outside observors or rights group to investigate the situation.
In this program, we interview Wangdu Tsering, Office of Tibet, London; Tsepa Bayul, Communication Director of Student for Free Tibet; Thupten Wangchen, Director of Tibet House, Spain, and Kyilay Namdol, President of RTYC, France to understand the scale of campaign organized in their respective cities and its impacts.