05/31/2007 | Campaign for Panchen Lama
To:
The Chairperson
Committee on the Rights of the Child
United Nations, Palias Des Nations
CH 1211 Geneva 10
Switzerland
Dear Prof. Jacob Egbert Doek,
I am writing to express my deepest concern for the health and well being of Gendhun Choekyi Nyima, the 11th Panchen Lama and his family who continue to be held by Chinese authorities in Beijing. 17 May 2005 marks the ten-year anniversary of their illegal detention. As the Chairman of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, I must ask for a renewed commitment on your behalf to investigate this matter to the fullest extent. Please do so for the Tibetan people at home and abroad, and for the millions of individuals around the world who are dedicated to the unalienable rights of the child and the causes of freedom for all individuals. I believe that the United Nations is in the most suitable position to advocate on behalf of this child and his family, as it is the only supranational body to which the Chinese government is accountable.
Gendhun Choekyi Nyima, who was recognized by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama to be the true reincarnation of the 10th Panchen Lama, is one of the most important figures venerated by the Tibetan people according to their religious tradition. On account of his official recognition by His Holiness in 1995, it was essential for him to be free to assume his religious studies at Tashi Lhunpo Monastery in Shigatse, Tibet if he wished to do so. Unfortunately, three days following his recognition, on 17 May 1995, he was placed under the "protective custody" of the Chinese government and has not been seen or heard from since.
Not only is Gendhun Choekyi Nyima one of the most important religious figures in Tibetan Buddhism, more importantly, he is a child who has been illegally detained since the age of six. This act by the People's Republic of China (PRC) is a direct violation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which China has signed and ratified, and also the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to which China is a signatory nation. The continued disappearance of Gendhun Choekyi Nyima for the last ten years is completely contradictory to the PRC's claim to respect religious freedom in Tibet.
Thank you very much for your consideration and action upon this urgent matter. I hope that you will soon be able to confront the PRC in order to gain access to Gendhun Choekyi Nyima and his family to ensure their health, well being and eventual unconditional release from wrongful detention.
Sincerely,
Yeshe Choesang
Tibetan Journalist
Room # 318, Hotel Mount View,
P.O Mcleod Ganj-176219
Dharamsala, Distt. Kangra
H.P. India
http://www.tchrd.org/urgent_action/action.php?panchen_lama
17:45 Posted in Freedom of expression | Permalink | Comments (0) | Tags: Tibet
