Beijing, May 17 (IANS) The International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) and Tibetans, Tibetan Buddhists and Tibet supporters around the world have urged Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to release 11th Panchem Lama immediately and restore his rights and freedoms under China’s laws and its international commitments.

According to the statement released by International Campaign for Tibet (ICT), Chinese authorities kidnapped a six-year-old Tibetan boy, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima on May 17, 1995, just days after Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama recognised him as the reincarnated Panchen Lama, one of Tibetan Buddhism’s most important leaders. Although Tibetans in exile celebrated the Panchen Lama’s 37th birthday in April, however, neither he nor his parents have been seen in public since China kidnapped them in 1995.

ICT President Tencho Gyatso said, "On May 17, we mark a tragic day in Tibetan history, when the Chinese government stole a venerated religious leader – a six-year-old boy – from us. The CCP continues to hold him and his family to this day."

"We implore President Trump, Secretary Rubio and other international leaders to tell President Xi and other Chinese officials to immediately release the Panchen Lama and end their interference in Tibetan cultural and religious practices," Gyatso added.

"The CCP's refusal to share information regarding Panchen Lama's whereabouts is a part of China's ongoing campaign of repression and cultural assimilation in Tibet. The CCP’s kidnapping of the Panchen Lama was its first move to enforce its plan to interfere in the succession of Dalai Lama," said ICT in its statement.

After abducting Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, Chinese authorities appointed another Tibetan boy, Gyaltsen Norbu, in his position, which has not been accepted by Tibetans and the international community.

In a statement, ICT stated, "More recently, the enactment of the 'Ethnic Unity and Progress Law,' which enters into force on July 1, and the PRC’s 15th Five-Year Plan are the latest moves by the CCP to sever China’s domestic and international human rights commitments and to accelerate the destruction of Tibet’s unique linguistic, religious and cultural heritage. China has illegally occupied Tibet, a historically independent country, for over 60 years."

"The CCP has refused to negotiate with Tibetan leaders on a lasting agreement about Tibet’s status since 2010. Chinese authorities have also refused to let His Holiness the Dalai Lama—the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism and one of the most admired figures in the world—return home to Tibet in the nearly seven decades since they forced him into exile in 1959," it added.

--IANS

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