Tenzin Nyidon
DHARAMSHALA, Jan. 26: A senior Tibetan Buddhist leader from the so called Qinghai province, the traditional Tibetan province of Amdo, has reportedly remained unaccounted for since his detention in December 2024, raising serious concerns over enforced disappearance, according to the Dharamshala-based Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD).
Lobsang Lungrik, 51, the head lama of Ba Gön Monastery in Chumarleb (Ch: Qumalai) County, Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, was taken into custody under circumstances that remain unclear. His whereabouts have not been disclosed since, the rights group said in a statement released on Saturday.
According to TCHRD, Chinese authorities accused Lobsang Lungrik of assisting a senior Buddhist scholar from the Tsawa area of Chamdo, who had previously returned from India and had since passed away, in securing a scripture-related position at Ba Gön Monastery. He was also accused of sending funds abroad, allegedly to India. The rights group noted that such charges are frequently used against Tibetans accused of maintaining religious or cultural ties with communities outside Tibet.
On December 26, 2024, the provincial party mouthpiece Qinghai Daily announced that Lobsang Lungrik had been removed from his position as a Standing Committee Member of the Qinghai Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), with his membership qualifications revoked. The decision was reportedly taken during the 11th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 13th Qinghai Provincial CPPCC, where he had served as a Vice Chairman.
He had also held several prominent roles, including Vice President of the Buddhist Association of Qinghai Province, Executive Vice President and Board Member of the Buddhist Association of Yushu Prefecture, and Vice Chairman of the Yushu Prefectural CPPCC.
The Qinghai Daily report further stated that two other officials, Ma Fengsheng and Zhao Xuezhang, were removed from their posts for disciplinary violations. However, it did not specify the reasons for Lobsang Lungrik’s removal, remaining silent on the allegations or legal basis for the decision.
Lobsang Lungrik was born on August 25, 1975, in Chumarleb County and recognised in 1982 as the 11th incarnation of Bartri Gyuchen. He studied for more than 21 years at Sera Monastery in Lhasa and was appointed in July 2002 as an advisor to the Kagyur and Tengyur Collation Office of the China Tibetology Research Centre. He graduated from the Advanced Tibetan Buddhist Institute of China in 2003 and later earned a Master’s degree from Qinghai Normal University in March 2015.
TCHRD said Chinese authorities have neither disclosed the legal grounds for his detention nor confirmed his location or access to legal counsel. “His incommunicado detention amounts to arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance,” the rights group stated, adding that enforced disappearance constitutes a grave violation of fundamental human rights, including the rights to life, liberty, and security of person, freedom from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, humane conditions of detention, and the right to a fair trial.
