(TibetanReview.net, May18’25) – Tibetans staged protests while political leaders, especially lawmakers, from several countries joined them in calling on China to free the 11th Panchen Lama Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, Tibet’s second most prominent religious figure, as it continues its silence and inaction on his abduction and disappearance by it 30 years ago to this day of May 17, 2025.
In the United Sates, Chairman Jim Risch (R-Idaho) of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and its ranking member Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) have issued a statement on May 17, saying the disappeared lama serves as an important spiritual figure for Tibetans and represents their fight for religious liberty.
The statement also condemned China’s policy to destroy Tibet’s identity over decades of its occupation rule there, saying, “Beijing’s abduction of the Panchen Lama was an affront to the Tibetan people and their pursuit of religious freedom. For decades, China has denied Tibetans the right to self-determination and refused to engage in direct dialogue with the Dalai Lama or his representatives. Meanwhile, Beijing continues to carry out policies to erase Tibetan religion, culture, and language. This is immoral and unjust.”
The statement called for the disappeared Panchen Lama’s release and vowed continued US support for the rights of the Tibetan people, saying: “We call on Beijing to provide credible evidence of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima’s well-being and for his immediate release. The US will continue to steadfastly support Tibetans’ rights to have a say in their future, preserve their culture, and maintain their religious freedom.”
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On the same day, Italian Senator Andrea De Priamo, President of the Italian Tibet Interparliamentary Group, issued a strongly-worded statement, calling on China to release the Panchen Lama and respect the fundamental rights of the Tibetan people.
“In place of the legitimate Panchen Lama, the Chinese government appointed a state-selected figure, lacking spiritual legitimacy and widely rejected by the Tibetan people, with the apparent aim of exerting political control over the future of Tibetan religious leadership,” said Senator De Priamo.
The Senator also wanted China to “disclose the whereabouts and well-being of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima and his family, and to uphold the inalienable rights of the Tibetan people, including their right to religious and cultural self-determination.”
He urged “the international community, national governments, and human rights organisations to sustain and intensify diplomatic efforts and public advocacy on this issue. The cause of justice, human dignity, and religious freedom requires nothing less.”
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Also, Frank Schwabe, German’s Federal Government Commissioner for Freedom of Religion or Belief, issued a statement, calling for the 30-year disappeared Panchen Lama’s release and respect for religious freedom in Tibet.
The statement said: “To the Government of China: release the 11th Panchen Lama, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima. Ensure that Tibetan Buddhists can practice their religion in accordance with international human rights standards. This includes the recognition of the next Dalai Lama according to traditional methods – and not the interference of the CCP in reincarnation.”
He has noted that despite its decades-long efforts, “the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has not succeeded in eradicating Tibetan cultural and religious identity.”
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Members of the Swiss Parliamentary Group for Tibet have issued a joint statement, calling on their Government (the Federal Council) to urge China for immediate release of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima and his family members.
Nicolas Walder, Co-President of the Parliamentary Group for Tibet, has noted: “The goals of the PRC are obvious: through these massive propaganda shows with the ‘official’ Panchen Lama, the communist authorities of the PRC want to demonstrate pseudo-religious freedom in Tibet.”
The Swiss lawmakers have also urged China to disclose the whereabouts of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima and his parents, refrain from interfering in the process of finding Buddhist reincarnations, and guarantee Tibetans in Tibet their full cultural rights to freedom of religion and education in the Tibetan language.
They have also urged the Swiss government to demand respect for the Tibetan people’s free exercise of fundamental human rights in accordance with international standards, to which the PRC is also committed, in all contacts with representatives of the People’s Republic of China.