Madam, - On May 17th, 1995, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the six- year-old boy identified by His Holiness the Dalai Lama as the 11th Panchen Lama, disappeared. Suspicions that he had been kidnapped were confirmed in 1996, when the Chinese government admitted to holding the boy and his family in "protective custody."
He has now been missing for 10 years.
Despite repeated appeals to gain access to the boy, no international agency or human rights organisation has been granted contact with the young Panchen Lama or his family. To date, their well-being and whereabouts remain unconfirmed.
Furthermore, in an attempt to establish their pre-eminence in all "internal affairs" of China, political or otherwise, in November 1995 the atheistic Chinese government nominated and selected a different boy and proclaimed him to be the 11th Panchen Lama.
China's chosen boy is overwhelmingly rejected by the Tibetan people and is commonly referred to as the "Panchen Zuma" (literally "fake Panchem Lama"). China increasingly uses this boy as a mouthpiece for its calculated policies in Tibet.
Both boys are victims of China's plan to undermine and control the Tibetan people, religion and culture.
Time is running out for Tibet. Within another 10 years Tibetan culture will have vanished after a 2,000 year existence. Since its occupation by the Chinese government, Tibet's indigenous religious and cultural independence and its right to autonomy has been systematically destroyed. His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government in exile continue to seek help from the Western world to aid his people and country, but Tibet has become a forgotten cause, its population of six million people held under martial rule, its temples and environment ruined.
The Tibetan government in exile is requesting support for the immediate release of the Panchen, his family and all Tibetan people. It is also calling for an independent election amongst Tibetans to determine rule of their homeland. - Yours, etc,
ANTHONY NEWSOME, Oldcourt Drive, Bray, Co Wicklow.