By Tenzin Dharpo
DHARAMSHALA, JAN. 27: A year after his detention, Tibetan language rights advocate Tashi Wangchuk’s fate remains in limbo; the intricacies of his case point to the plight similar to that of Tibetans languishing in Chinese jails, tortured and released in poor health.
Activist group Students for a Free Tibet today undertook a petition campaign amassing signatures from the pubic to be sent to consulates of various countries in Beijing to attract support and action for the release of Tashi Wangchuk who was charged with “inciting separatism” on this day last year.
The education rights activist was arrested on January 27 and charged with ‘inciting separatism’ on March 24 last year. He was held at Yushu Detention Centre in Kyegudo until recently. The 31 year old local businessman from Kyegudo (Ch: Yushu) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, in the Tibetan province of Kham was a subject of a New York Times reportage including a short video feature on ethnic Tibetan pursuing legal resorts to claim rights prescribed in the Chinese Constitution.
He believed that the Tibetan language was not being used in government offices and marginalized in Tibetan schools in Tibet and that it is a violation of the Chinese Constitution, which guarantees cultural autonomy for Tibetans and other ethnic minorities.
SFT National Director Tenzin Tselha said that Tashi’s case is “an example of the severity of the persecution Tibetans face for simply calling for their rights that are perceived as a threat by the Chinese government despite the fact that they are protected by the international human rights laws and under the Chinese constitution.”
Her colleague Tenzin Tsetan, the Campaigns Director of SFT India told Phayul that SFT in its grass root capacity intends to reach the decision makers and people who can influence the dynamics, thereby striving to secure “unconditional release” of Tashi Wangchuk. “We are gathering signatories from common people and sending the petition to various embassies of different countries in Beijing. We hope the concerned consulates will engage in dialogue with their Chinese counterparts and influence the plight of Tashi for the better.”
Internationally, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International as well as Dharamshala based Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy have called for the release of the Tibetan language rights advocate since his detention. Tashi was called a “prisoner of conscience” detained for exercising his rights.
Reports indicate that after his indictment, Tashi is expected to face trial soon and if convicted, he could face 15 years in jail. He was indicted with a charge of “inciting separatism”, a common charge against many Tibetans in occupied Tibet which was annexed by communist China in the 1950s.
