Lama to become Chinese official

TIBET: Tibetan politics look set to take centre stage in China if, as widely reported, the Panchen Lama, anointed while still a boy as a top religious figure by Beijing against the wishes of most Tibetan Buddhists, is appointed a Communist Party official at the annual parliament in March.

The second-most powerful figure after the Dalai Lama in the Tibetan Buddhist hierarchy, Gyaltsen Norbu turned 18 yesterday. Senior government sources quoted by Reuters said he was likely to become the youngest member to date of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress when it meets from March 5th, elevating Norbu to the status of a national leader.

In 1995 Norbu was chosen by Beijing as a reincarnation of the 10th Panchen Lama, who died in 1989. However, the Dalai Lama, who fled into exile in India in 1959 after an abortive uprising against Communist rule, chose a rival reincarnation, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, who was also six years old at the time. However, Beijing imposed its choice and Gedhun disappeared. He is believed to be in Beijing under house arrest.

"China's aggressive promotion of its own appointment of the Panchen Lama signals its determination to control the next reincarnation of the Dalai Lama against the wishes of the Tibetan people," said Matt Whitticase, Free Tibet Campaign spokesman.

"The continuing imprisonment of the Panchen Lama is a source of great distress and an obvious example of China's ongoing and escalating repression of Buddhism in Tibet," said Mr Whitticase.

© 2008 The Irish Times

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times