A global coalition of Tibet groups has launched a new campaign for the release of jailed Tibetan filmmaker Dhondup Wangchen.
The International Tibet Network, a worldwide coalition of almost 200 Tibet groups, has launched a global letter-writing campaign urging individuals to send messages of support to Dhondup Wangchen, currently serving a six-year prison term in Xichuan Prison, eastern Tibet.
Dhondup Wangchen was arrested on March 26, 2008 for filming interviews with ordinary Tibetans on their views on the Beijing Olympics, the Dalai Lama and Chinese government policies in Tibet. The interviews were smuggled out to exile and later made into a documentary film “Leaving Fear Behind”, which has been screened in over 30 countries.
As part of the campaign, Dhondup’s 11-year old daughter, Dadon, who lives in exile in Dharamshala with her mother and three siblings, has written an emotional letter to her jailed father expressing her desire to see him soon.
“We know you are sick and we all worry about you. My father, please come back, we all are waiting for you”, Dadon writes in her own words.
Dhondup’s wife, Lhamo Tso, while making a living for her family selling bread on the roads of Dharamshala, has campaigned tirelessly for her husband’s release, touring countries and meeting lawmakers and common people.
There have been worrying reports on Dhondup’s deteriorating health in the Chinese labour camp after suffering torture and medical neglect.
