འབྲེལ་གཏུགས་གསར་འཕྲིན།
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A Free Monthly Publication For Tibetan Issues & Community Information Rgd No. HPENG/2013/51798
Sanctuary for Film-makers By Edward Janich Tibetan activist and film maker Dhondup Wangchen is due to be released from prison on June 5, and his leading co-director, missing monk
Golog Jigme (2nd from left) at the press conference organised jointly by the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy and Filming for Tibet Photo: Contact/Lha
Golog Jigme Gyatso, has come out of hiding in Tibet, and arrived in Dharamshala. The pair were arrested by Chinese authorities in 2008 following the release of their documentary film “Leaving Fear Behind”. The film featured testimonials from native Tibetans within Tibet and China, expressing their views on Chinese Dhondup Wangchen Photo: filmingfortibet oppression a n d affirming their allegiance to the Dalai Lama. The New York Times has described the documentary as “an unadorned indictment of the Chinese government”. Continued on page 7
Volume: XVI Issue: 4
31 MAY 2014
Tibetan-American Arrested in Nepal By Peter Newman The severity of Nepal’s crackdown on its once vocal Tibetan refugee communities became apparent on March 19, when an American citizen wearing a “Team Tibet” jacket, and his Canadian friend, were arrested and briefly detained by police in Kathmandu. The story was only made public by the American on May 21 in order to avoid jeopardising an immigration process his brother was involved in at the time. Ngodup Tsering, a resident of Minnesota and a man of Tibetan ancestry, was visiting Kathmandu’s famed Swayambhunath Temple on March 19 when he was approached by 15 armed Nepali policemen, required to remove the “Team Tibet” jacket, arrested, and taken to a district police station. Although Tsering’s friend wore no Tibet-related clothing, he too was arrested. Tsering reports that during detention, Nepali security stated “these words [‘Team Tibet’] are illegal in Nepal,” and that the Nepali police have “direct and clear orders from China.” After communicating with the American embassy in Kathmandu, the two men were released, though the jacket was not returned. The arrest appears to confirm reports of an increasing crackdown on Tibetans and pro-Tibet activism in Nepal. Tibetan refugees living in Nepal have enjoyed relative freedom for many years, and areas like Kathmandu, Pokhara, Mustang, and Gyalsa have existed as both vibrant scenes of Tibetan culture and focal points of pro-Tibet political activism.
Since the 2008 uprising in Tibet and the subsequent security crackdown by the Chinese government, China has developed increasingly close diplomatic and economic relationships with Nepal, quickly becoming the nation’s top foreign direct investor. A recent Human Rights Watch (HRW) report details strengthening ties between China and Nepal which
The “Team Tibet” jacket Photo: VoA
have correlated with an increasing crackdown on Tibetan refugees living in Nepal. HRW and other rights groups have argued that China’s investments have bought it increased control over Nepal’s Tibetan refugee policies. Though reports from Nepal’s Tibetan communities in recent years had already revealed an abundance of government abuses, including arbitrary arrest and detention, silencing of free speech, and intrusive surveillance, Tsering’s arrest highlights just how closely Nepal is enforcing the crackdown on Tibetans, and the degree to which Nepal is willing to go to prevent the pro-Tibet activism that once thrived there. Despite their release after only a short detention, the mens’ arrest raises concerns about the future of Nepal’s Tibetan refugee communities.