Dharamsala, May 17 – A candlelight vigil here Tuesday marked the 10th year of disappearance of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the XIth Panchen Lama of Tibet.
According to the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD), Nyima, now 16 years old, and his family went missing May 17, 1995 after the Dalai Lama, spiritual leader of the Tibetans, officially recognised him as the XIth Panchen Lama.
In his place, the government of China appointed a child named Gyaltsen Norbu as the Panchen Lama, but most Tibetans have rejected him as a “fake”.
The Tibetan Women’s Association held a candlelight vigil in three areas here.
Similar vigils are being held in 26 cities worldwide, its members said.
“It is unacceptable for Beijing to continue to keep the boy, who has been recognised as one of Tibet’s most important religious leaders, in isolation from his people and from the world,” said Mary-Beth Markey, executive director of the International Campaign for Tibet, an NGO formed to protect the interests of Tibet.
“We hope that China will acknowledge the concern of people all over the world by allowing access to Gedhun Choekyi Nyima in order to ascertain his well-being,” Markey told IANS.
To mark the 10th year of Nyima’s disappearance, the TCHRD has planned several activities. It has invited five 16-year-olds from Tibetan schools, monasteries and nunneries for essay and letter writing competitions.
The students will also sign an appeal on postcards and leave hand impressions on a white cloth as part of a TCHRD campaign, demanding that the Chinese government give information about Nyima.
The essays, letters and postcards will be sent to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child before its meeting in September.
Fearing that Beijing may have kept Nyima under detention, the TCHRD has urged the international community to maintain pressure on China to allow the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child to meet the Panchen Lama.
