Mr. H.J. Ormel, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Dutch Parliament in The Hague, receives a petition on the Panchen Lama from secondary school students in The Netherlands.
ICT Europe marked the 18th birthday of Gedun Choekyi Nyima, the 11th Panchen Lama with a manifestation in The Hague and by presenting a petition to the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Dutch Parliament in The Hague which was signed by 17 Tibet, Buddhist and Human Rights organizations in The Netherlands. The petition called upon the Members of the Dutch Parliament to keep the issue of the Panchen Lama high on the agenda. Gedun Choekyi Nyima went missing shortly after he was recognized as the 11th incarnation of the Panchen Lama by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 1995. Pupils of secondary schools in The Netherlands who collected signatures for this petition over the past weeks joined ICT and expressed their concern to the Chairman and members of the Committee who promised to urge the Dutch Government to keep the case of Gedun Choekyi Nyima high on the agenda in their relations with the government of the People’s Republic of China. The Chairman recognized the importance of the case of the Panchen Lama and pledged to make sure that the government takes action on this. After the meeting with the parliamentarians ICT held a manifestation outside the parliament building with speakers, the presentation of a film made by students and the release of balloons carrying birthday messages for Gedun Choekyi Nyima.
