By Phurbu Thinley
Frankfurt, July 31: Some 20 Free Tibet activists on Friday gathered in front of the Chinese Consulate General in Frankfurt to call for the release of Tibetan filmmaker Dhondup Wangchen.
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.”
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.
The peaceful protest before the Chinese consulate today came amidst fear that Wangchen could face trial in Chinese court anytime soon after spending more than 18 months under detention. If convicted, Tibetans and activists fear that Wangchen will face imprisonment sentence of up to 15 years.
The small group of protester displayed a huge Tibetan national flag and portraits of Dhondup Wangchen across the street facing the Chinese Consulate here as German police kept a friendly but close watch on them throughout the peaceful demonstration.
The protesters repeatedly shouted “Free Tibet”, “Release Dhondup Wangchen” and “Leaving Fear Behind- Nothing but the Truth!” slogans on loud speakers. Other slogans included “Shame on Chinese Government” and “Release the Political Prisoners”.
The protest demonstration, which lasted for more than an hour, was led by a 22-year old David Demes, a staunch German Tibet supporter and National Director of the Students for a Free Tibet (SFT) Germany.
“We are holding this protest to demand a fair trial and subsequent release of the Tibetan filmmaker Dhondup Wangchen,” Demes told Phayul.
“Through this protest we want to tell the Chinese officials in the consulate here that we do care about Tibet and the human rights situation there,” Demes said, adding “We want to remind the Chinese regime that they are not free to do whatever they want to do in Tibet and against the Tibetan people.”
“And we also want our own political leaders that Germans do care about Tibet and the human rights of Tibetan people in Tibet,” Demes said.
Demes said he began supporting Tibetan cause after he read a book about the Panchen Lama and what had happened to him in Tibet.
During the Beijing Olympic Games in August 2008, Demes and four other Tibet activists were detained by Chinese authorities after they staged a dramatic die-in protest in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. Their action made international headlines. Chinese authorities quickly deported them from China apparently to evade further international attention.
One of the Tibetan protesters joining Demes today is karma Tsering from Munich, which is more than five-hour local train ride from Frankfurt. Karma says she is worried of what would happen to Wangchen. She feels Wangchen simply risked his own life to tell the truths about Tibet to the outside world.
Karma came to Frankfurt to see the exiled Tibetan leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who is currently on a five-day visit to the city. She will also follow the Dalai Lama to Switzerland next week. Besides attending teachings there, Karma says she wants to join other Tibetans from all over Europe for a grand long-life prayer offering ceremony for the Dalai Lama on August 5.
According to Demes, a similar protest was also being organised in front of the Chinese Consulate in Munich today by Tibet Initiative Deutschland, the single largest Tibet support network in Germany.
