Dharamshala, India — ”We will continue the fight for the release of the 11th Panchen Lama and other Tibetan political prisoners confined by Communist regime of China”, says Tsering Tsomo, director of Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) at a press conference for the release of the Tibetan translated reports of the missing 11th Panchen Lama. The report is being released on the eve of Human Rights Day in Norbu House, Dharamshala on December 9, 2020. Affirming the spirit of TCRD to continue its fight for truth and face the Communist China until Panchen Lama and other Tibetan political prisoners are freed.
The Tibetan translation of a major report, 'The United Nations Continuing ‘Search’ for Tibet's Panchen Lama', on the enforced disappearance of the 11th Panchen Lama is being released on the eve of Human Rights Day at a press conference organized at Norbu House. Panchen Lama is the world’s youngest political prisoner abducted by the Communist China at the age of six in 1995 and held at an undisclosed location ever since.
Along with that TCHRD also plans to launch a series of recorded stories of Tibetan political prisoners starting on December 10, 2020 till January 10, 2021 twice a week on every Monday and Thursday. In order to stand solidarity with every Tibetan political prisoner and spread awareness to the international community. More than 2,000 Tibetan political prisoners are still in some of the most dangerous Chinese jails for exercising freedom of speech, religion, other basic Human Rights, shouting slogans of ‘release of 11th Panchen Lama’ other political prisoners and for ‘return of the 14th Dalai Lama’ and ‘free Tibet’ in peaceful marches.
The book 'The United Nations Continuing ‘Search’ for Tibet's Panchen Lama' was written by Ngawang Choephel Drakmargyapon and first published in English. The report contains the author's perspective on the Panchen Lama issue based on his rich experience of working at the UN from 1995-2019 in Geneva, tirelessly documenting and advocating for Tibet at the UN. In particular, the questions raised by the UN and member states on the enforced disappearance of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the 11th Panchen Lama of Tibet.
<<Central Association for H H the Panchen Lama>> and TCHRD jointly published the book with financial support from the International Campaign for Tibet in Germany and Europe Unfortunately. During the course of translating the report, Ngawang Choephel passed away after a long illness in Geneva on November, 5, 2019, bereaving not just his family but the entire Tibetan movement of a steadfast and unyielding advocate for Tibet.
The report(book) highlights the major activities initiated by Tibetans and supporters all over the world to secure the release of Panchen Lama since 1995 as well as throws light on the various efforts made by UN Human Rights experts on child rights, torture, religious freedom and enforced disappearance to ascertain the whereabouts of Panchen Lama including the failure of Chinese government to provide a truthful response.
The report includes relevant concluding observations and recommendations made by the UN human rights experts, foreign governments and human rights organizations over the years on the Panchen Lama issue and serves as a useful resource for researchers and activists in the Tibet movement.
Despite two decades of search for the Panchen Lama, the Chinese government has refused to release the Tibetan spiritual leader. But the campaign to secure the freedom of Panchen Lama must continue and the international community is urged to maintain pressure on China for the release of Panchen Lama.
Most of Tibetan political prisoners in Chinese prisons go through inhumane procedures of tortures, persecutions and a lifetime of mental and physical torment even after their release while many passed away due to extreme abuse inside jails. Many suffer from long-term illness resulting from severe ill-treatment they faced at the hands of Chinese police while under their custody. Their families are kept under constant surveillance, threatened, discriminated from getting into a college or a proper work making the family financially unstable.
