Filmmaker Dhondup Wangchen sentenced to 6 years in prison Phayul January 06, 2010 By Kalsang Rinchen Dharamsala, January 6 – China has sentenced to six years imprisonment a Tibetan filmmaker who exposed China’s ‘wronged policies’ and the Tibetan people’s loyalty to the exile Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama through a documentary film titled “leaving fear behind”. Though it is not exactly known where Dhondup’s trial took place it is believed that he was tried in a court in Xining, where he has been held since his arrest. The sentence, according to Gejong Tsetrin, his cousin in Switzerland who helped distribute the film, was announced on December 28, 2009. Chinese authorities arrested Wangchen and his monk assistant Jigme Gyatso in March 2008, amidst growing anti-China unrest in Tibet, for their role in making the documentary “Jigdrel” or “Leaving Fear Behind". Jigme, however, was released on October 15, 2008. Wangchen and Jigme traveled to remote corners in the eastern region of Amdo and across the Tibetan plateau from October 2007 to March 2008 filming over thirty five hours of interviews. The tapes were sent out in March 2008 to Switzerland, where Wangchen's cousin Gyaljong Tsetrin put the final cut together and distributed it. The film features twenty ethnic Tibetans; their views on the Beijing Olympics, the present situation inside the country and calls for the return of the Dalai Lama. Since August 2008, “Leaving Fear Behind” has been screened in more than 30 countries worldwide and translated into five languages, including Chinese. Dhondup Wangchen’s family had hired Li Dunyong, a Beijing based Chinese lawyer, who earlier visited the Tibetan filmmaker at his detention center in Xining but was stopped by the local Chinese authorities and law authorities in Beijing. The Chinese government denied the right of legal representation to Wangchen in July 2009 saying a local lawyer under the same jurisdiction as the court where the case is pending must handle Dhondup’s case. Wangchen was reportedly in poor health, suffering from Hepatitis B, according to his wife Lhamo Tso, who lives in exile. “He is not receiving proper medical treatment, she had told reporters in July 2009. Wangchen says on the official website of his film, “the idea of our film is not to get famous or to give entertainment. But at a time of great difficulty and a feeling of helplessness, it is for us to show such a film to get some meaningful response and results. It is very difficult [for Tibetans] to go to Beijing and speak out there. So that is why we decided to show the real feelings of Tibetans inside Tibet through this film.” back to top Tibetaanse 'levende boeddha' veroordeeld Peking, 1 jan. China heeft een Tibetaanse lama tot meer dan acht jaar cel veroordeeld wegens verduistering en het in bezit hebben van munitie. Volgens zijn advocaat ontkent de monnik, Phurbu Tsering Rinpoche, alle beschuldigingen. foto: ap 2005 De man die wordt omschreven als een 'levende boeddha', werd gearresteerd nadat nonnen uit zijn klooster hadden geprotesteerd tegen de Chinese overheersing. Na dit protest volgde een reeks van anti-Chinese demonstraties in 2008. Opgepakt Phurbu Tsering Rinpoche werd aangehouden op 18 mei 2008, een paar dagen na een demonstratie van zeker tachtig nonnen in Ganzi. Ze protesteerden tegen de officiële campagne voor 'patriottistische heropvoeding' in hun kloosters, de nonnen moesten voortaan de Tibetaanse spirituele leider dalai lama veroordelen. "De rechtszaak was in april en de uitspraak zou een paar dagen later zijn maar werd zonder een duidelijke reden uitgesteld tot 23 december," zo vertelde de advocaat van Rinpoche aan het Franse persbureau AFP. Volgens de raadsman heeft de monnik nog niet besloten of hij in hoger beroep gaat. De advocaat benadrukte dat hij zijn cliënt niet had kunnen bijstaan in de rechtszaal. Beijing imposes harsh sentences on Tibetan monks and lama Nirmala Carvalho AsiaNews (04.01.2010) / HRWF (06.01.2010) - Website: www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - A large contingent from the People's Liberation Army has been deployed to Thang Karma, a town in the Tibetan County of Nyagchuka, to intimidate the local population that has been loud in its demand for the release of Lama Tenzin Delek (sentenced to 20 years in prison for his fidelity to the Dalai Lama), the Panchen Lama and all other political dissidents in detention. In the past year, Chinese authorities have jailed about 60 Tibetan (political and religious) leaders. The central government sentenced Tibetan abbot Phurbu Tsering Rinpoche to eight years and six months in prison on charges of seizing public land and illegal possession of ammunitions. However, his conviction (on 23 December) is in fact related to anti-Chinese riots that occurred in Tibet in the summer of 2008. The Buddhist leader, who is well respected by the population, was arrested on 18 may 2008. A few days earlier, about 80 nuns had protested against China's imposition of "patriotic re-education" (brain-washing) in Tibetan places of worship. Rinpoche, 53, allegedly confessed, but his attorneys say that the confession was extracted under torture. The lama has already spent 15 years in prison. To protest these arrests, the Tibetan Youth Congress, a non-governmental organisation that represents Tibetans in exile, organised a protest march on 31 December against Chinese repression in Nyagchuka County. Waving Tibetan flags, demonstrators gathered in front of the United Nations Offices where they handed over a memorandum on the situation in that region to be given to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chinese President Hu Jintao. During the protest, participants slammed the violent crackdown of a peaceful gathering held on 5 December in the Tibetan county that brought together hundreds of people to demand the monks' release. The army responded by arresting 60 demonstrators. Tibetan Youth Congress Information Secretary Tsultrim Dorjee said, "China must [. . .] immediately stop using force against peaceful Tibetan demonstrators and release all the arrested Tibetans without any condition." [. . . ] China must immediately release Tulku Tenzin Delek without any condition and must allow Tibetan people to exercise freedom of expression, freedom of movement and freedom of assembly. Moreover, China must allow free access for humanitarian organizations to provide emergency medical assistance for all injured Tibetans." China's position is not likely to change however. Yesterday, the Consul general of People's Republic of China to Mumbai, Wang Donghua, described the Dalai Lama as "a political monk", adding that people "will know his unviewed [sic] face" soon. He also called for his expulsion from the country. Samdhong Rinpoche, prime minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile, told AsiaNews that such remarks "do not deserve a reply". back to top