Published by: World Tibet Network News, Friday - December 22, 1995

DHARMSALA, India 21 Dec (AP) -- The Dalai Lama says the Chinese government has a new political prisoner: A 6-year-old boy who is the reincarnated Panchen Lama, the second-most important monk in Buddhism.

His comment Wednesday is the latest twist in the struggle between the exiled spiritual leader and the Communist Chinese, determined to maintain control over the independence-minded, devoutly Buddhist people of Tibet.

"I think he may be the youngest political prisoner," the Nobel Peace Prize-winner told Associated Press Television. "I am really concerned about the poor boy's safety."

Chinese troops moved into Tibet in 1950 to claim sovereignty over the primitive Himalayan region. The Dalai Lama fled in 1959, after the Chinese brutally crushed an independent movement, but the Panchen Lama stayed behind. That made him the prime spiritual leader inside Tibet.

Six years ago, the Panchen Lama died. After enough time had passed for the spirit to settle, the Dalai Lama recognized a reincarnation: 6-year-old Gedhun Cheokyi Nyima (pronounced geh-doon chur-kee nee-mah).

The Dalai Lama said Wednesday that he had tried "through private channels" to coordinate with Beijing on the search for the reincarnation but got no response.

Chinese officials in Beijing denounced his choice, accused the Dalai Lama of promoting Tibetan independence, and prodded senior monks into finding a different boy.

They did, and this month, a Chinese-backed 6 year old -- Gyaincain Norbu (gee-yahl-tsen nor-boo) -- was enthroned in a 500-year-old Tibetan monastery, the Panchen Lama's traditional seat.

"The Chinese government falsely appointed him," the Dalai Lama said Wednesday. "That's a fact."

Meanwhile, the Dalai Lama's boy is said to be missing. Officials with the exiled Tibetan government say he hasn't been seen since July, and that until recently, the Chinese were keeping him in an official guest house in Beijing.

China has denied holding the boy.

The Dalai Lama leads a Tibetan government in exile from this northern Indian town near the snow line of the Himalayas. He emerged this week from three weeks of solitary meditation. The town's population is 20,000, but Dharmsala is often crowded with Westerners searching for spiritual solace. Tibetans, dressed in flowing robes, whirl prayer wheels as they roam the main street.

Tibetan Buddhists believe their spiritual leaders can choose how they are reborn. Through dreams, visions and rituals, the Dalai and Panchen lamas find each others' incarnations and are responsible for each other's religious upbringing.

The Dalai Lama said that without his approval, most Tibetans would not accept the Beijing-backed Panchen Lama as legitimate. "For the rest of his life, there would be doubt." The dispute is likely the most serious between the Dalai Lama and Beijing since 1959, but the exiled leader said he would not let it deter him in his quest to negotiate a less-restricted future for Tibet.

"I am fully committed to the middle approach: not insisting on complete separation, complete independence from PRC (the People's Republic of China)," the Dalai Lama said. In 1979, he announced that he would settle for less than full independence if China agreed to give Tibetans autonomy and let them preserve their culture. That posture helped win him the 1989 Nobel Peace prize.

"As soon as some positive indication comes from China's side, I am willing to discuss, to meet with them anywhere, any time, without preconditions," the Dalai Lama said.

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