[LONDON] In a typical show of cynical propaganda, China has pushed to centre stage Gyaltsen Norbu, the boy it claims to be the 11th Panchen Lama. China has made Gyaltsen Norbu the figurehead of the World Buddhist Forum being held today in Hangzhou, eastern China. This comes at a time when China is actually intensifying its well-documented repression of religion in Tibet.

In a brief statement Norbu commented that "Chinese society provides a favourable environment for Buddhist belief". It is understood, however, that a majority of the delegates shunned him.

"China is prepared to go to enormous lengths to present a misleading picture of official tolerance of Tibetan Buddhism,"said Matt Whitticase of Free Tibet Campaign. He added, "The reality is that Gedhun Choekyi Nyima (1), who was officially recognised by the Dalai Lama as the 11th Panchen Lama, was made the world's youngest political prisoner when he was abducted by the Chinese authorities in 1995 and has not been seen since.

"Despite hosting the World Buddhist Forum, China should not be considered to be relaxing its rigid control and repression of Tibetan Buddhism. Around 80% of all political prisoners in Tibet are either monks or nuns and only last October there were serious disturbances at Drepung Monastery in which one monk was found dead in mysterious circumstances and another five monks were expelled from the monastery."

By kidnapping Gedhun Choekyi Nyima and installing Gyaltsen Norbu as Panchen Lama, China is attempting to determine the selection and education of the next Dalai Lama and, in so doing, gain control over the long-term future of the Tibetan people and the political landscape of Tibet. The promotion of its own candidate as Panchen Lama is part of a wider campaign by China to strangle Tibetan religion and culture and to marginalise the influence of the Dalai Lama amongst Tibetans. Monks and nuns have borne the brunt of this campaign. In the full report of his official visit to China in 2005, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Dr Manfred Nowak, observed that he was allowed only to meet three Tibetan political prisoners, two of whom were monks. Subsequent to his visit, Dr Nowak called on China to release all three prisoners, as their confessions were extracted under torture.

Notes to editor:
(1) Abducted at the age of 6, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima turns 17 on 25 April this year. 
(2) Click here for the full report (PDF) of the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture's visit to China, UN index: E/CN.4/2006/6/Add.6