We have learnt through reliable sources of the sudden and unfortunate demise of Dawa, 67, a former political prisoner in the evening of February 22, 2004 at Lhasa after an illness.
Dawa, an old former monk from Sera monastery is from Tsomoling, Lhasa From 1960 to 1964, he was sent to work at Nyachen power-station in the east of Lhasa and Konpo power-station from 1964 to 1966. In July 1980, when the Tibetan delegations visited Lhasa, Dawa la shouted for a “Free Tibet” in front of the Potala palace. He escaped arrest on that day, but in the same month, he was arrested at his house. He was detained for a few months at Gutsa prison. In 1985, on the 20th anniversary celebration of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), Dawa was arrested and detained for three to four months at Gutsa.. He was charged 2 Chinese yuan per day for his stay in Gutsa. In 1987, he came to India for a pilgrimage and returned to Tibet.
On December, 10, 1988, he took part in a major demonstration in Lhasa, where he carried a Tibetan national flag. He was arrested and sentenced to 3 years at Gutsa. He was released after two years on medical parole. In June, 1998, Dawa was re-arrested for his political activities and sentenced to 3 years imprisonment at Trisam labour Camp. He was released in June 2001.
Towards the end of 2003 he took ill and received treatment. He breathed his last in the evening of February 22, 2004.
We pray to the Buddha that Dawa’s soul may rest in peace. We convey our deep-felt condolences to the members of the bereaved family. We ask the communist Chines regime to put a stop to persecution that the Tibetans are subjected to and that they adhere to the international law. We appeal to the Tibet Support Groups and others who cherish freedom to use their good offices and put pressure on China that they stop torture on Tibetans.
