Tibetan Nun is Free After 15 Years in Prison
Release is Welcome, But Not Enough, Activists Say
New York – The longest serving female political prisoner in Tibet has been released today, after years of campaigning from pressure groups around the world. Activists hailed her early release after 15 years in prison as a victory, but also called on governments to recognize that China’s policies of abuse and repression have not changed. Phuntsog Nyidron is one of a group of nuns known as the “Drapchi 14” who received extended sentences for recording a tape of freedom songs in prison. First arrested for a nonviolent protest calling for Tibet’s independence, Nyidron was the last of the group to be freed.
“The release of Phuntsog Nyidron is a victory for the thousands of people who have been campaigning for her freedom,” said Lhadon Tethong, Executive Director of Students for a Free Tibet. “But the Chinese policies that allowed her to be imprisoned for fifteen years because she called for Tibet’s independence are still in place.” Activists believe the release, timed as the European Union-China Human Rights Dialogue begins and shortly before the start of the U. N. Commission on Human Rights, is intended to deter criticism of China’s rights abuses in Tibet. The U.S. State Department has been considering sponsoring a resolution critical of China at the Commission.
Individual political prisoner releases have been used by the Chinese government over the last two years to avert criticism of its human rights record, while abuses have actually increased. Political prisoners are routinely tortured and maltreated in prison. Freed prisoners are still watched closely, and sometimes kept under house arrest. Nuns and monks are not allowed to rejoin their nunneries or monasteries, and former prisoners have difficulty finding work because people who associate with them are stigmatized.
“If China wants to change its reputation as a world class oppressor, its government must show genuine commitment to changing their policies on the ground in Tibet, and begin substantive negotiations with the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Government in Exile,” said Freya Putt, Students for a Free Tibet’s Campaigns Director. “Tibetans will not truly be free until they control their own country again.”
Students for a Free Tibet works in solidarity with the Tibetan people in their struggle for freedom and independence. A chapter-based network of more than 650 schools worldwide, SFT campaigns for Tibetans’ fundamental right to political freedom through education, grassroots organizing, and nonviolent direct action.
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