By Phurbu Thinley
Dharamsala, September 23: Tibetans and Tibet supporters on Wednesday held signature campaign and a candle light vigil to call for the release of Tibetan filmmaker Dhondup Wangchen.
The campaign is part of a “Global Day of action for Dhondup Wangchen” coinciding with Chinese President Hu Jintao’s presence at the UN General Assembly.
“We demand Hu Jintao to free Dhondup Wangchen and we request the Human rights advocates, world leaders and Community to seek access to any judicial proceedings inside Tibet,” a press statement issued by four prominent Tibetan NGOs said.
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“.
Wangchen and his monk assistant were detained last year soon after completing filming of the documentary. Dhondup Wangchen is now said to be held in the No. 1 Detention Centre in Siling (Ch: Xining, Qinghai Province).
The peaceful global campaign for Dhondup Wangchen comes amidst renewed fear that Dhondup could face trial in Chinese court anytime soon after spending more than 19 months under detention. If convicted, Tibetans and activists fear that Dhondup will face imprisonment sentence of up to 15 years.
According to information from an official source passed onto Western governments, Dhondup may be facing charges of “inciting separatism” and espionage, Washington-based International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) said last week.
The 25-minute film was intended to shed light on lives of Tibetans under the Chinese rule in run-up to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
Tibet groups and supporters are set to hold action campaigns around the world on Wednesday to highlight the case of Dhondup Wangchen. The actions are organized to coincide with Chinese President Hu Jintao’s address to the United Nations General Assembly.
In Dharamsala, campaigners organised a day-long signature campaign and sent 1000 postcards to Hu Jintao calling for Dhondup Wangchen’s release.
Later in the evening a large number of Tibetans, including Buddhist monks and nuns, and foreign supporters took part in a candle light vigil this evening chanting Buddhist prayers and wearing black “Free Dhondup Wangchen” headbands.
The Peaceful candle light march later culminated at the courtyard of the main Tibetan Temple (Tsuglag-Khang), where a public discourse was followed by screening of a documentary film- ‘Dispatches: Undercover in Tibet’.
The day-long action campaign was organised by Tibetan Women’s Association (TWA), Gu-Chu-Sum Movement of Tibet, National Democratic Party of Tibet (NDPT) and Students for a Free Tibet (SFT), India.
The Global Day of Action for Dhondup Wangchen is being coordinated by International Tibet Support Network (ITSN). A special campaign website: www.freetibetanheroes.org, has been created by the International Tibet Support Network’s Political Prisoner Campaign Working Group.
