An Appeal to Film-makers from Dhondup Wangchen's family

Posted Thu, 08/06/2009 - 18:43 by Jigme

We are writing on behalf of Tibetan film-maker Dhondup Wangchen, to appeal for your support. We are Dhondup Wangchen's wife and cousin, and are deeply concerned about him since he was detained in Tibet over a year ago. He was arrested by the Chinese authorities on 26 March 2008 for filming interviews with ordinary Tibetans on their views on the Olympic Games, the Dalai Lama and Chinese government policies in Tibet. The interviews were made into a documentary film "Leaving Fear Behind", which you can view on the website http://www.leavingfearbehind.com. If you wish, we will also be happy to send you a copy of Dhondup Wangchen's film, which has now been shown in 30 countries.

We have just learned that Dhondup Wangchen - who is being held in Xining (Qinghai Province) - may be put on trial in a matter of days. There are clear indications that he will be convicted with a heavy sentence, but he has committed no crime: documenting the views of ordinary people is a basic human right.

Moreover, the Chinese authorities have forced the lawyers chosen by our family to stop representing him; instead he will be defended by a government-appointed lawyer, making us very anxious about the fairness of his trial. We and our relatives in Tibet were not told anything officially about his arrest or whereabouts until April this year. Dhondup Wangchen has been tortured and ill-treated and is receiving no treatment for hepatitis B.

This is what Dhondup Wangchen said when he decided to go to Tibet and make this 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..... ....I think I need to stand up for the Tibetans and this is where I need to go. Staying away from my children and family is one of the hardships, if I live on.

We are appealing to eminent film-makers to help us publicise this travesty of justice. Please sign the enclosed petition and with your help we believe can attract more attention to Dhondup Wangchen's case and make the Chinese authorities reconsider their intention to prosecute him. All the Tibet campaign organisations are working together to help us; other international organisations that have so far expressed concern about Wangchen include Human Rights Watch, Reporters Without Borders and Amnesty International.

We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your support,

Lhamo Tso (Dhondup Wangchen's wife, Dharamsala, India)
Gyaljong Tsetrin (Dhondup Wangchen's cousin, Zurich, Switzerland)

_______________________________________________________

PETITION

We, the undersigned, being representatives of film-making professions, do appeal to the Government of China to release Dhondup Wangchen [Dangzhi Xiangqian] immediately and unconditionally, as he has been detained solely for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression, whilst interviewing Tibetans for the film "Leaving Fear Behind"; we call on China to guarantee that, while he remains in custody, he is not tortured or otherwise ill-treated, and has access to family, legal representation of his choosing and any medical care he may require.

Signed:

Tenzin Sonam and Ritu Sarin - White Crane Films - INDIA
Jin Tatsumura - Film director; Gaia Symphony - JAPAN
Yukawa Reiko - Lyricist - JAPAN
Pierre Hoffmann - Film and media producer - Germany
Nilita Vachani - Film-maker and writer - INDIA/USA
Ngawang Choephel - Film-maker and Tibetan former Political Prisoner - USA
Jyotsna Murthy - Film-maker - INDIA
F. Rose - Netherlands
Joshua Dugdale - Producer and Director - UK
Dhruv Dhawan - Film-maker - INDIA

Swiss Filmmakers Association

German Actor Ralf Bauer has also recorded a video message

(If you are film-makers and would like to support this petition, please submit your name to jigme@tibetnetwork.org with your full name and profession).

In this section

Map of Tibet

Map Marking Locations of Self-Immolations (red) and Protest in 2012

Visit: www.standupfortibet.org
for more information on - ENOUGH:
Global Intervention to Save Tibetan Lives.

Facts about Tibet

Tibet lies at the centre of Asia, with an area of 2.5 million square kilometres (approximately 1 million square miles).

Despite over 50 years of Chinese occupation of Tibet, the Tibetan people refuse to be conquered and subjugated by China.

The Tibetan Plateau is the highest and biggest plateau in the world, so Tibet is referred to as “the roof of the world”.

For Tibetans, the term Tibet means the 3 provinces of U'Tsang, Kham and Amdo, the area traditionally known as Tibet before China's invasion.

The English word Tibet is derived from the Arabic word Tubbat. This word is in turn derived via Persian from the Turkic word Tobad, meaning ‘the heights’.

Tibet was occupied by China in 1949, and the Dalai Lama fled into exile in India in 1959.

Hundreds of thousands of Tibetans have died as a direct result of Chinese occupation since 1949.

There are six million Tibetans in Tibet and roughly 150,000 Tibetans in exile in India and other countries.

Tibetans consider the Dalai Lama to be the temporal as well as spiritual leader of Tibet.

Thousands of Tibetans cross the mighty Himalaya on foot every year into exile, risking death, injuries and arrest.

Most Tibetans are Buddhist, but there are Muslims, Christians and practitioners of Bon, the indigenous religion of Tibet.

In 1948 Tibetan government representatives traveled to the US, UK and France on Tibetan government issued passports.

The exiled Tibetan people elected their first Prime Minister in 2000

In 2008, Tibetans took part in more than 130 separate peaceful protests against the Chinese government across the Tibetan Plateau.

Displaying a photograph of the Dalai Lama in Tibet can result in arrest.

In 1995 the Chinese government abducted the 6 year old Panchen Lama, one of Tibet's most important spiritual leaders. He is still missing.

The longest epic poem in the world is the story of a legendary Tibetan king, Gesar of Ling.

The Tibetan Plateau is the Earth's "Third Pole," providing life-sustaining waters for and regulating weather across south and east Asia.

March 10 is Tibetan National Uprising day. It marks the massive uprising in Tibet in 1959 that led to the escape of the Dalai Lama into exile.

Yak is a Tibetan term for the male of the species. Its female counterpart is called Dri.

Tibetans are denied many of the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, including the right to self- determination, freedom of speech and religion.

Untll 1949 Tibet had its own government that managed its own domestic and foreign affairs; Tibet had its own national flag and its own currency.

According to Amnesty International more than 1,000 Tibetans were unaccounted for after the protests of 2008.

In the Tibetan Lunar Calendar, the year 2009 corresponds to the year 2136, the Year of the Earth Ox.

Prior to the uprisings of 2008, the last major protests by Tibetans against China's occupation of Tibet took place in 1989, when martial law was declared.

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