• Diplomacy 30 senators create a group to support Tibet against China

The tenth Panchen Lama, the second most important figure in Buddhism, died in 1989 at the age of 50. Many Tibetans believe that he died poisoned by the Chinese, due to his speech against the Chinese presence in their country.

When he died, his spiritual brother, the Dalai Lama, recognized in a Tibetan child the reincarnation of the Panchen Lama, the eleventh of the saga. It was already 1995. His name was Gedhun Choekyi Nyima. Three days after being recognized, that boy and his entire family disappeared. Until today.

Taking advantage of his birthday, the inter-parliamentary group for Tibet of the Senate, recently created by some thirty senators, "calls on the Chinese government to immediately give proof of life and justification on the whereabouts of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima and his well-being."

They were abducted by the Chinese army in May 1995 and have not been heard from again, despite the fact that various agencies insist every year that they be proven alive. The Panchen Lama thus became "the youngest political prisoner in the world", as denounced from the House of Tibet in Barcelona. Meanwhile, the disappearance of the little lama was registered in the Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances of the United Nations.

Shortly after the abduction, China introduced another child as "the real Panchen Lama," although for most Tibetans he is actually the "fake Panchen Lama." The Senate group also adds that it "condemns in the strongest possible terms the interference of the Chinese government in the selection and recognition of reincarnation" made at the time by the Dalai Lama.

This Tuesday the exiled Tibetans celebrate the birthday of that kidnapped child turns (or would meet, because it is not known if he lives or not) 34 years.

Tibet remains the third least free country in the world, tying with Syria and South Sudan. Tibet has been under China's tight control for more than six decades. The type of repressive regime is best exemplified by the case of the Panchen Lama."

Therefore, they continue, "we call on the Chinese authorities to allow him to exercise his fundamental freedoms in full, as set out in the international commitments of the Chinese Communist Party. And we call for the prompt release of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima and his parents, immediately and unconditionally, along with all Tibetan political prisoners."

The Senate Interparliamentary Group for Tibet was created last February on the initiative of Senator Robert Masih (ERC) and this is one of its first activities. All parliamentary groups participate in it except for PP and PSOE. Last week, the group appointed its coordination board and elected Laura Castelfort (ERC) as chair.

  • China
  • European Court of Human Rights
  • UN
  • Senate

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