IUSFT & ITIM TO HOST TIBETAN EX-POLITICAL PRISONER NGAWANG SANGDROL

Bloomington- On Saturday January 22, 2005, the Indiana University chapter of Students for a Free Tibet- in conjunction with the International Tibet Independence Movement- proudly hosts an evening with Ngawang Sangdrol, Tibetan nun and former political prisoner. Ngawang Sangdrol was first detained at 11 years old for peacefully protesting against the occupation of her country by Chinese forces, and was finally released on good behaviour in October 2002, due to immense pressure from international supporters. She is now in the U.S. to promote the cause of the Tibetan people by telling her story. Ngawang will speak at IU in Ballantine Hall 004 at 6:00pm on Saturday, and this will be followed by a traditional Tibetan dinner across the hall in room 008, where guests will have the opportunity to meet Ngawang face-to-face.

In 1950, Chinese Communist forces invaded Tibet, a peaceful Buddhist nation on its Western border. Forced to sign a ‘Liberation’ agreement, the Tibetan government- headed by the Dalai Lama- fled into exile in 1959, and were followed by hundreds of thousands of refugees who continue to arrive to this day. Since its occupation of Tibet, China has committed what can only be called genocide in the region, killing over 1.2 million Tibetans, destroying over 6000 monasteries, brutally suppressing anyone who dares to speak out against Chinese rule, and doing anything and everything to undermine the religion and culture of the Tibetan people.

Born in 1977, Ngawang became a nun in Garu nunnery, near Lhasa, Tibet’s capital. At 11 years old, she joined her first pro-independence demonstration in Lhasa. As she explains, “I myself participated in demonstrations against the Chinese authorities because I wanted to protest against the Chinese attempts to deny the Tibetan people our basic rights, including religious freedom. I was also incensed by the way the Chinese authorities were denigrating our spiritual and political leader, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and no Tibetan can accept such action.” Two years later, after participating in another demonstration, she was detained and badly beaten. When she was finally released 9 months later, she was not allowed to rejoin her monastery, and so instead devoted herself to the freedom of her country. Her time in prison began in 1991, at 15 years old, in Tibet’s notorious Drapchi prison. A year later, she and 13 other nuns tape-recorded songs about their love for their families and homeland, thus leading to their nickname, “the Drapchi 14”. Over the years, her sentence was repeatedly extended as she continued her peaceful protests from inside the prison, until 1998 when her sentence reached an incredible 21 years, giving her the longest sentence of any female political prisoner in Tibet. Years of hard labour, brutal beatings, and harsh prison conditions left Ngawang in poor health, and in 2002, she was finally released on good behaviour patrol. After spending the past few years in the U.S. seeking medical treatment and promoting independence and human rights in Tibet, she will soon be joining thousands of other Tibetan refugees in India, for as an ex-political prisoner, there is no future for her in her home country.

New 2004 Added! - VIEW IUSFT's PAST EVENTS