Bay Area Tibetans and supporters commemorate Panchen Lama's Birthday
April 25, 2002: San Francisco was shrouded in somber evening light, the sky downcast, wind chilly, as if mourning the continued captivity of 11th Panchen Lama, to commemorate whose 13th birthday some 50 Tibetans and Tibet supporters had turned up outside the Chinese consulate. From glossy color posters and black-and-white placards, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima stared into the occasional traffic while burning candles in the hands of protestors threw solemn shadows upon their features young and old. At the two ends of the protesting crowd, one elderly Tibetan and one Western friend each held a Tibetan national flag; in between them fluttered a long banner calling for Tibet's freedom written in bold Chinese characters.
"A child chosen by his people's collective destiny to be their spiritual leader, later marked out by Chinese politics for horrendous suffering and humiliation, this then is the story of Panchen Lama," said Topden Tsering, President of Bay Area Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC). "Another pawn in the greater chessboard of Chinese occupation of Tibet, it is over his tiny shoulders that China today wages its battle against Tibetan aspiration for religious and political freedom."
Topden Tsering pointed out to the gathering the recent releases from Chinese imprisonment of Ngawang Choephel, Chadrel Rinpoche and Tanak Jigme Sangpo and said there was no reason why if the pressure on China was kept up Panchel Lama's release couldn't be secured sooner or later. "It's just a matter of holding on to hope. And hope has an amazing capacity to defy all odds, however daunting they might appear."
Taking on the mike next, Giovanni Vassallo from Bay Area Friends of Tibet (BAFT) condemned the Chinese government for its blatant interference in Tibet's religious tradition and called upon the international community to express its outrage against such injustice that has become an everyday reality for Tibetans everywhere. "It is in China's best interest to negotiate over Tibetan freedom with His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Only China stands to lose the most if it fails to recognize the incredible friend it has in His Holiness."
Tenzin Woeser and Ugyen Tsering from Tibetan Association of Northern California (TANC) renewed the pledge on behalf of Tibetan community here to intensify campaigns for Panchen Lama's release in particular and Tibet's freedom in general. The protestors chanted Om Mani Pedme Hum, recited Prayer of Truth, and shared a common anxiety over the plight of the 13-year-old Panchen Lama whose whereabouts remains unknown seven years after his abduction in 1995.
By the time the candle light vigil was over, a glossy Free Panchen Lama poster stared from the opposite end, plastered onto the door of the Chinese consulate by one of the daring protestors. Even if for one night, China had its conscience knocking at its gate, that in the full view of San Francisco traffic.
The protest was organized by TANC, TYC and BAFT.
Submitted by Topden Tsering
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Last updated: 28-April-2002