NEW DELHI, MAR 3: Disciples of Karma Kagyu sect and followers of Thaye Dorje, rival to the Tibetan 17th Karmapa, on Friday cautioned that any visit by the 14-year-old monk to the Rumtek monastery in Sikkim would prove "disastrous" and trigger large-scale violence."In pursuit of the wealth and influence of the Rumtek monastery, the `Chinese boy' and his group of villains would destroy the 900-year Kagyu tradition," Lama Sonam Rinchin, emissary of the Thaye Dorje, told reporters here after releasing a book on their version of the `Karmapa' story.Rinchin, who is here on a month long trip from Hongkong, said he was here to tell the "truth to the world and protect the Karmapa's flock from being misled by perpetrators of violence".He was here to release the book The Siege of Karmapa, which dwells on "infamous violent attack unleashed against the Kagyu sect in 1993 by the group".Rinchin and two other followers Khenpo Tsering Samdrub and Khenpo Tenzing claimed that contrary to the 14-year-old Urygen Trinley Dorje's claim and the Dalai Lama's `recognition' and assertion, Thaye Dorje is the "genuine" 17th Karmapa."The sentimental appeal and request made on behalf of the Trinley Dorje is just a facade," Rinchin said referring to "a request already made by the Trinley Dorje's group to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to allow his visit to Rumtek".Rinchin said that Thaye Dorje, currently in France, is likely to visit India soon. He maintained that though his sect has "great respect" for the Dalai Lama and his political leadership, "the Dalai Lama does not have authority to choose the Karmapa".Asserting that they `cannot accept this under any circumstance', he said, "Time has come to assert ourselves and tell others that please leave us alone".On the role of "powerful forces" conspiring to sneak Karmapa into India, Rinchin said he had no idea of Chinese government's involvement in this.On why he repeatedly refers to Trinley Dorje as `the Chinese boy', Rinchin said, "The boy is Tibetan by race but Chinese by legitimacy".
