Group works to free Tibetan leader

The IU Students for a Free Tibet have organized a postcard campaign in an effort to free Tibet's kidnapped Panchen Lama, the second highest spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism.\nWith Panchen Lama's birthday occurring last friday, IUSFT members are collecting signatures from people across Bloomington with hopes of safely returning the Panchen Lama to Tibet. Tibetan supporters are asked to sign two postcards: one card will be sent to the United Nations, and the second will be sent to the President of China.\nChina has occupied Tibet since 1959, and has been seen by Tibetan supporters as a stifling and abusive presence.\nThe disappearance of the Panchen Lama is an example of a Tibetan loss that occurred under Chinese occupation. According to a statement released by the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery in Bylakuppe, India, the Panchen Lama is often referred to as the world's youngest political prisoner. In May of 1995, when he was only six years old, the Panchen Lama was kidnapped and taken by China to Beijing. The kidnapping occurred only three days after Gendhun Choekyi Nyima was named the 11th Panchen Lama by the Dalai Lama. The Panchen Lama has yet to be seen or heard from.\nThe monks at the Tashi Lhunpo monastery has expressed concern for their leader.\n"Please, tell the Americans that we still need you. Because of Americans' help, several (Tibetan) political leaders have been freed," said Lobsang Dhondup, an interpreter for the monks at the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery in the Times of Tibet. "But we must still find the Panchen Lama. We must still free Tibet." \nThe kidnapping has also caused outrage among IUSFT members.\n"The Panchen Lama is a symbol of the oppression going on in Tibet," IUSFT member senior Andrew Cook said. "This is another way the Chinese government can exterminate Tibetan culture."\nSophomore Nathan McAninch said he feels the oppression of the Panchen Lama is driven by a power struggle between Tibet and China.\n"It seems that the Chinese government is attempting to gain control of the political system in Tibet by appointing leaders that it has handpicked and educated," McAninch said. "By controlling the new Panchen Lama, the Chinese seem to be striving to have a strong role in the selection of a new Dalai Lama after the passing of the current incarnation. I personally see this intervention as a violation of Tibet's religious freedom, and I am troubled by what appears to be a Chinese attempt to prescribe all aspects of Tibetan religion, politics and culture."\nBy remembering the Panchen Lama's birthday, IUSFT members are attempting to keep Tibetan culture alive. Cooks says the postcard campaign was organized in part because of the 14th birthday of the Panchen Lama, which was last Friday. \nCook said IUSFT has collected "at least a couple hundred signatures" since the campaign was implemented early in the spring.\nNo matter the number of signatures received, IUSFT hopes to encourage all the governments of the world to recognize basic human rights through the postcard campaign. Cook stresses that it is important for supporters in the IUB community to spread the word and ask their friends and families to sign a postcard for the Panchen Lama.\n"Most importantly, we need groundwork," Cook said.