International SQUALL

Tibetan Panchen Lama Still Missing

Squall 12, Spring 1996, pg. 51.

The whereabouts of the boy chosen by the Dalai Lama as the reincarnation of the Panchen Lama is the subject of increasing concern.

The Panchen Lama is a spiritual position second only to the Dalai in the Tibetan Buddhist hierarchy. The boy was selected by the Dalai Lama last May, using oracles and divination processes integral to Tibetan Buddhist spirituality.

However, the Dalai Lama’s announcement of his selection sparked a six month campaign by the Chinese designed to discredit the decision. Going one step further, the Chinese then enforced its own candidate in a secret investiture held in Lhasa on November 28th (televised after the event) and a public enthronement ten days later.

Meanwhile, neither the boy chosen by the Dalai Lama nor his Tibetan nomad family has been seen since. “When asked about his whereabouts, the Chinese say the boy is just one Chinese citizen amongst many and they don’t know everyone’s address,” says Robbie Barnett, from the independent monitoring organisation, the Tibet Information Group.

* A vigil in support of Tibetan religious and cultural freedom occurs every Wednesday outside the Chinese Embassy, 49 Portland Place, London at 6pm.

Contact: Tibet Support Group,
43 New Oxford Street,
London WC1A 1BH.
Tel: 0171 359 7573.