22 Jun 2008

Olympics Torch Relay: Intriguing Absence of Panchen Lama
South Asia Analysis Group (SAAG), New Delhi, India
Supplied note: "The latest paper of the Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai, on the above subject is now available at the web site of the South Asia Analysis Group (SAAG), New Delhi, at [the URL below, as well as at the http://www.c3sindia.org/tibet/263/olympics-torch-relay-intriguing-absence-of-panchen-lama/ address] - br."
Site contents: * Report by James Reynolds of the BBC, * A BBC Commentary, * Report by Chris Buckley of Reuters from Lhasa, * Report by the Agence France Press (AFP), * Report by the US-funded Radio Free Asia, * Report by the State-owned Xinhua News Agency of China, * Report by "The Hindu" of Chennai.
Extract: "MY [B. Raman's - ed.] COMMENTS: 1. Even according to the official account as disseminated by Xinhua, there were 156 torchbearers, of whom only 75 were Tibetans. The remaining 81 were not Tibetans. 2. It does not give the details of all the 75 Tibetans. 3. The Tibetan authorities had originally announced that the torch would be in Lhasa and the surrounding region of Tibet for three days. They cut it to one day lasting eight hours. Even these eight hours were cut short on June 21, 2008, to less than three hours. The authorities seemed anxious to take the torch out of Lhasa as quickly as possible. 4. Originally, it had been indicated that the flame would be received at the Potala Palace by the communist party-appointed Panchen Lama. Instead, it was received by Zhang Qingli, the head of the Communist Party in Tibet. He was reported to have told protesting Tibetans in March last that the Communist Party was their Dalai Lama. No explanation has been forthcoming as to why the Panchan [sic] Lama was not present and why he was not given any role in the Lhasa functions for the torch relay." - b.raman
[The author of the paper, Mr B. Raman, is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai. He is also associated with the Chennai Centre For China Studies. - ed. ]
URL http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/papers28/paper2743.html
Internet Archive (www.archive.org) - the paper was not archived at the time of this abstract. However, in a few weeks time it will be available at web.archive.org/web/*/www.southasiaanalysis.org - ed.
Link reported by: B. Raman (corde--at--vsnl.com)
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