Dharamshala: Today, we are gathered here to mark the special occasion of the thirty-fifth birthday of His Eminence the eleventh Panchen Rinpoche, Tenzin Gendun Yeshi Thinley Phuntsok. On this special occasion, we fervently pray that His Eminence may soon be able to break the shackles of the Chinese government’s illegal captivity to freedom and assume his rightful throne of the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery.

It is a day for us to engage in customary festivity to celebrate the Panchen Rinpoche’s birthday. Sadly, the Panchen Rinpoche’s whereabouts and that of his parents Kunchok Phuntsok and Dechen Choedon and Jadrel Jampa Trinley Rinpoche, who had been appointed chairman by the Chinese government’s search committee, remain unknown after they were forcibly abducted by the Chinese authorities on the night of 17th May 1995, three days after His Holiness the Dalai Lama recognised him as the reincarnation of the Panchen Rinpoche.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Rinpoche, considered the sun and moon by the Tibetans, are the two foremost holders of the Gelug tradition of Tibetan Buddhism in history. Not only are they the highest-ranking masters of the Gelug tradition, but they have a long history of spiritual relationship in terms of recognising each other’s successive reincarnations, bestowing ordination on and transmitting teachings to each other.

Born in Amdo around the same time as His Holiness the fourteenth Dalai Lama and after being recognised as the reincarnation of the Panchen Rinpoche by His Holiness, they met in 1952. They together visited China and India in 1954 and 1956 respectively. The turmoil in 1959 resulted in their separation, following which the Chinese government appointed Panchen Rinpoche as the deputy chairman of the so-called Preparatory Committee for the Autonomous Region of Tibet. The Panchen Rinpoche had witnessed the atrocious land and democratic reforms, so-called “pacification” of the rebellion, destruction of monasteries, forced disrobing of monks and nuns, the massacre, imprisonment, and torture of hundreds of thousands of Tibetans, and the untimely death of many Tibetans, which brought hell on earth to Tibet. Despite the insistence of his tutor Ngulchu Rinpoche, Ngabo, Geshe Sherab Gyatso, and others, Panchen Rinpoche submitted the 70,000-character petition to the Chinese Prime Minister. As a result, he suffered immeasurable suffering in the Chinese prison for more than 14 years. Following his release from incarceration, with unshaken determination, he tirelessly advocated for the education of Tibetans, the promotion and preservation of Tibetan Buddhism and the rights of the Tibetan people.

On the Tenth death anniversary of the 10th Panchen Rinpoche in 1999, His Holiness the Dalai Lama said, “Panchen Rinpoche has been a hero who has sacrificed his life for the cause of the Tibetan people’s culture and freedom, despite threat to his life, and especially for the teachings of Lama Tsongkhapa. This is indisputably well known. We can see it clearly from his 70,000-character petition. In this way, he is an extraordinary person whose aspirations have ripened in time.”

“When Panchen Rinpoche was alive, I could think he would do whatever he could to help Tibet. After the Panchen Rinpoche’s death, whenever there was a crisis in Tibet, I would think that it was terrible to think that Panchen Rinpoche was not there. If Panchen Rinpoche were here, I would think he would do everything possible.”

On 14th May 1995, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, following the traditional Tibetan Buddhist rituals and tests, announced the unmistakable reincarnation of the tenth Panchen Rinpoche. However, three days later, the Chinese government abducted him along with his parents and since then 29 years passed and their whereabouts remain unknown.

Since 1995, the case of the enforced disappearance of the 11th Panchen Rinpoche has been consistently discussed in the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, UN Human Rights Commission’s Special Investigation Group on Forced Disappearances, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Special Rapporteur on freedom of Religion or Belief, UN Convention Against Torture, and other committees. Likewise, Members of Parliaments and Governments in the United States, Lithuania, Germany, Czech Republic, Canada, Slovakia, India, Italy, Belgium, Japan, Switzerland, Taiwan, the European Union, United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia, Chile, and Spain among others have expressed their serious concern about the situation of the Panchen Lama and have called for his immediate release.

The Chinese government has not responded clearly to questions about the whereabouts of Panchen Rinpoche raised by the United Nations and the international community. In 2015, the Chinese government’s spokesperson claimed that the Panchen Rinpoche is receiving education like other children and that he does not want to be disturbed by anyone. The report from a five-member UN human rights experts in their meeting with the Chinese government on 2nd June 2020, the Chinese government claimed that Panchen Rinpoche received free compulsory education when he was a child, passed the college entrance examination and now has a job. Similarly, on being questioned on Panchen Rinpoche during the 45th session of the UN Human Rights Council held on 22nd September 2020, the Chinese government’s representative said the Gendun Choekyi Nyima is a common Chinese citizen and not the reincarnation of Panchen Rinpoche.

The Central Tibetan Administration has persistently called for the immediate release of Panchen Rinpoche through resolutions passed in the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile and in statements of the Kashag. The offices of Tibet carried out various campaigns to garner support from the international community. Similarly, non-government organisations such as the International Campaign for Tibet and Tibet Support Groups worldwide have initiated numerous advocacy campaigns. The Tashi Lhunpo Monastery has unceasingly carried out campaigns for the release of Panchen Rinpoche. On the occasion of the 33rd birthday of Panchen Rinpoche in 2022, Venerable Zeekgyab Rinpoche, Abbot of Tashi Lhunpo Monastery along with Sikyong met with Nancy Pelosi, the then Speaker of the US Congress and Uzra Zeya, the US Special Coordinator for the Tibetan Issues. They also participated in a testimony in the Canadian Parliament on 5th May. With the coordination with the offices of Tibet, Ven. Zeekgyab Rinpoche carried out advocacy campaigns in Belgium and England, among others. Sadly, the Chinese government has paid no heed to the genuine concern and appeal of the international community and the Tibetans in exile.

Our most pressing concern is whether the Panchen Rinpoche is still alive or not. If he is presumed to be alive, had he been brought up with his parents from the age of six up till now for the last 29 years? Or had he been kept in a remote environment to become someone who can’t speak even in Tibetan? How much the people around him might have abused and tortured him, just as the Chinese communist red guards subjected the 10th Panchen Rinpoche through struggle session? Has he been confined within the high walls of a Chinese prison with no communication with the outside world? Or had he been kept in solitary confinement with no sight of the sunlight, just as the 10th Panchen Rinpoche? Was he being tortured by the Chinese government with cold and hunger in a place battered with blizzard? Or is he being forced to work as a slave in a labor camp? Is the Panchen Lama, who has reached his prime age really living a healthy life?

These are the vital questions which remained unanswered?

The Chinese government has brazenly violated fundamental human rights and freedoms of Panchen Rinpoche recognised by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Moreover, it alleges that the appeals made by Tibetans in exile and the international community to restore his fundamental human rights and freedoms are disturbing him. Such tactics to hoodwink the international community is untenable. The underlying philosophy of the reincarnation system is that one must accept the concept of rebirth. The purpose of the appearance of a reincarnation is to continue the predecessor’s unfinished work. Therefore, respecting the international law, human dignity, aspirations of millions of followers of Tibetan Buddhism and their national laws, the Chinese authorities should immediately allow an independent fact-finding commission access to Panchen Rinpoche, who should be given his basic human rights.

Giving free rein to those regimes that brazenly violate international law and human rights is tantamount to neglecting the foundation of peace and justice in the world. Therefore, we appeal to all free democratic governments to take effective measures to secure the immediate release of Panchen Rinpoche. We call on the human rights organisations and supporters of the Tibetan cause to take all possible steps to appeal to their governments.

Taking this opportunity, the Kashag would like to urge Gyaltsen Norbu, who was appointed by the Chinese government, being a Tibetan and someone who had the opportunity to study Tibetan Buddhism, should not become a political tool of the Chinese government’s sinister motives. Instead, he must recognise the unprecedented danger threatening the survival of the Tibetan people and Tibetan Buddhism, and fearlessly undertaken his responsibility and not commit any act that would hurt the Tibetans and Tibet’s spiritual and political cause.

Finally, we pray for the long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the immediate release of His Eminence the eleventh Panchen Rinpoche Tenzin Gendun. May the two be reunited soon!

Penpa Tsering

Sikyong

25 April 2024

Note: In case of any discrepancy between this English translation and its Tibetan original, the latter should be considered as authoritative and final for all purposes.