DHARAMSHALA: The Central Tibetan Administration today held a prayer service to mark the demise of Bapa Phuntsok Wangyal, the founder of Tibetan Communist Party and a strong advocate of the Middle Way Approach of the Central Tibetan Administration to resolve the Tibet issue.

The prayer service was organised by the Department of Religion and Culture. It was presided over by His Eminence Kirti Rinpoche, the head lama of Kirti monasteries.  Members of the Kashag, Tibetan parliamentarians, Commissioners of the Tibetan Supreme Justice Commission and officials of the Central Tibetan Administration attended the prayer service along with local Tibetan public.

Speaking at the service, Sikyong Dr. Lobsang Sangay said: “The Central Tibetan Administration condoles the sad demise of Bapa Phuntsok Wangyal and extends its deep solidarity with his family members.”

Sikyong Dr. Lobsang Sangay read out a brief biography of Bapa Phuntsok Wangyal, underlining his deep commitment towards Tibetan culture and his strong advocacy for the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet and the Middle Way Approach to resolve the Tibet issue.

Bapa Phuntsok Wangyal, also known as Phunwang, passed away on 30 March 2014 in Beijing after a prolonged illness. He was 92.

Born in 1922 in Bathang, in eastern Tibet’s Kham province, Bapa Phunwang was a key figure in drafting the 17-Point Agreement to ensure Tibetan people’s right to regional national autonomy. He was the key interpreter in numerous discussions between His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Mao Zedong when the Tibetan leader visited China from 1954 to 1955. As an early convert to socialism, he worked tirelessly to create a socialist Tibet that would encompass all Tibetans in the three traditional provinces of Kham, Amdo and U-Tsang under a single administration. He truly believed it would bring egalitarianism in the Tibetan society.  Despite his contributions, he was arrested by the Chinese authorities in 1960 for his so-called advocacy of local Tibetan nationalism and spent 18 years in solitary confinement. Despite undergoing immeasurable suffering, he remained a vocal critic of the Chinese Communist Party and its misguided policies in Tibet.

Phuntsok Wangyal has openly supported the Middle Way Approach proposed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama as a pragmatic solution to the current crisis in Tibet. He stated that “the Dalai Lama’s Middle Way Approach of seeking only a meaningful autonomy for Tibet rather than independence, in the present critical context, is an expression of the great responsibility he takes in giving serious thoughts over the fundamental interests of the Tibetan people. It also shows that he takes great responsibility in understanding the issues concerning both sides and in carefully studying the changing circumstances. Furthermore, it is a thinking that is based on reality and foresight.”

Phuntsok Wangyal is survived by his wife Tseten Dolkar, his four children and grandchildren.