Published by World Tibet Network News - Tuesday, November 28, 1995

BEIJING, Nov 28 (Reuter) - Even the mother of Tibetan Buddhism's Panchen Lama has rejected the exiled Dalai Lama's choice of her dead son's reincarnation, Tibet's official Chinese newspaper said.

An edition of the Tibet Daily seen in Beijing on Tuesday trumpeted "Buddha mother" Yaoxi Suolangzhuoma's desire that a controversial Beijing-directed search be allowed to identify the next Panchen Lama, the Himalayan region's number two lama.

Her son, the 10th Panchen Lama, died in January 1989, sparking a mystical search for the recipient of his spirit.

It was the wish of the 10th Panchen Lama and his mother that the 11th reincarnation be determined by lots, the paper said.

The Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled god-king, ignored the ritual and announced in May his recognition of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, a six-year-old Tibetan boy, as the 11th Dalai Lama.

The move outraged officially atheist China, which launched a furious propaganda offensive against the Dalai Lama - regarded by Beijing as a "splittist" seeking Tibet's independence - and ultimately rejected his choice of the 11th Panchen Lama.

China maintains it has final say over the appointment of senior Tibetan clerics, including the Dalai and Panchen lamas, under a 1792 agreement with the last imperial dynasty.

In a front-page story, Tibet Daily quoted the late lama's 81-year-old mother as urging Tibetans to "uphold the central government's authority under the principle of patriotism and love for religion."

Yaoxi Suolangzhuoma called on Tibetans to respect Beijing's right to make the final decision, it said.

Tibet Daily quoted her as saying she was "shocked and enraged" at the Dalai Lama for challenging China and recognising Gedhun Choekyi Nyima unilaterally as her son's reincarnation.

It noted that the Panchen Lama's mother is a vice-chairwoman of Tibet's Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, a powerless advisory body.

The search is near its end and China is expected to announce its choice of a new Panchen Lama soon.

The Dalai Lama's choice was formally rejected by pro-Beijing lamas summoned to the Chinese capital for a November 8-11 crisis meeting and three new candidates were put forward.

State media have said the final choice would be made by drawing lots from a golden urn before a statue of Buddhism's founder Sakyamuni at the Jokhang lamasery in Lhasa.

Tibetan Buddhists believe that the soul of a living Buddha migrates to a boy born shortly after his death. The "soul boy" is identified through ancient and rigorous tests.

The Dalai Lama fled to India from Tibet in 1959 after an abortive uprising against the Chinese.