Karmapa not a Chinese agent: Tibetan Government-in-Exile

Dharamsala (PTI) - Rejecting allegations that he is
a "Chinese agent", the Tibetan Government-in-Exile on Friday
strongly backed the Karmapa, from whose monastery there was
huge foreign currency haul recently, saying he has the 100 per
cent faith of spiritual leader Dalai Lama.
Prime Minister of Tibetan Government-in-Exile Samdhong
Rinpoche said from the beginning the Dalai Lama and the
Tibetan community knew that he was not a "Chinese agent" and
termed the entire controversy as a "media judgement without
any trial."
"His Holiness the Dalai Lama has 100 per cent faith in the
Karmapa. He is not a Chinese agent. We know from the
beginning. He has been allowed by the Indian Government to
move freely across India except to two monasteries due to some
problems," he told a select group of Indian journalists here.
Rinpoche said the Karmapa Ugyen Trinely Dorji is a "free
individual" and he had nothing to do with the financial
irregularities that were the reason for the whole controversy.
"Karmapa is one individual and he is not involved in
financial transactions of his monastery... it seems that the
arrested people who were his staff were involved... only to
some extent we can tolerate. This is a case of media judgement
without any trial," he said.
He said the law of the land will take its course against
the persons involved.
The 17th Karmapa was recently in the news after the
Himachal Pradesh police questioned him and his secretary Gompu
Tshering and recovered foreign currency worth Rs 4 lakh.
The arrested include Karmapa's accountant Shakti Lama,
Dharmshala businessman KP Bhardwaj and Corporation bank
manager DK Dhar.
The police believe the huge cache of currency found at the
Karmapa's transit home was meant for a land deal and Bhardwaj
and Dhar were facilitating that deal.
Some reports said intelligence agencies suspected that he
was a Chinese agent as millions of Yuan currency was allegedly
recovered from his monastery.
The Dalai Lama had also in February defended the Karmapa
after the controversy erupted.
Rinpoche said the Tibetan Government-in-Exile has been
asking the monasteries and other individuals to keep their
accounts clear and pay income tax properly every year.
"Every land deal needs permission of the FRCA. These
instructions have been given to everyone asking them to
maintain proper accounts," he said.
To a question on who would be the Dalai Lama's successor,
he said, "After the demise of the current Dalai Lama, the next
Dalai Lama will be born in a free country. He should incarnate
in any free country. He has the freedom to choose where he
should incarnate."