Tenzing Tashi
Red Cross Nordic United Worlds College
Oslo, December 16 – Morning of 15th December,2006, dressed up in a pale yellow chupa and a white silk scarf around her neck, eyes that once bore the vision from Draphi, she who had never even dreamt of seeing her kin behind the impregnable walls, Phuntsok Nydrion, Tibetan longest Serving Female Political Prisoner today amidst NGOs and others supporters who had gathered in the Human Rights House, stood strong and with the same old tone of pride and courage, and walked past her memory lane narrating down her 15 yrs of torture, agony and hardships she endured during her prison term along with three of her other friends. She arrived the previous day from Zurich and was warmly received at the Airport by Mrs. Koren, Chairwoman of Norwegian Tibet Committee and numerous members of Committee.
Allegedly arrested for taking part in a peaceful demonstration in Lhasa’s bakhor, Phuntsok Nyidon’s trial began on 14 October 1989 charged for spreading counter revolutionary propaganda and incitement against the masses and also for being a ring leader of the demonstration. Her imprisonment sentence was further extended by another eight years after she was reported to have recorded songs of freedom in Drapchi prison along with other 13 other nuns. In 1995, she was awarded the Reebok Human Rights Award and under political pressure she gained internationally, her sentence was reportedly reduced by a year and was released on April 2004. She was 34 at the time of her release. Although she was released for Drapchi, yet she was under house arrest for more than a year till 2006 where she was granted permission to leave for US as a gesture from the Chinese Communist Government before the visit from Chinese President Hu Jintao in April 2006.
Her talk organized by Norwegian Tibet Committee, Amnesty International along with Human Right Foundation at Human Rights House lasted for more than three hours attend by journalists, news reporters and scores of members of the many Human Rights defenders. She sparked off narrating her early days of her childhood, transcending down to the stage protest demonstration in Bakhor in 1989, her youthful 15 years of horrifying brutal treatment in Draphi and eventually, her release which she had never dreamt of. The talk was translated into Norwegian by Miss Dechen, a Tibetan born and brought up in Norway and it was followed by inquisitive questions laid down by the reporters and the member of the committee. On being asked if she had any message she wanted to pass down to the Norwegians by one of the reporters, I would like to thank you all for your continued support for our rightful cause which led to release of political prisoners like me. I would urge you to keep supporting our cause which has marked a sign of hope amongst my country mates in Tibet. Further more I would plead you to raise your voice concerning the release of other political prisoners who are still enduring the hardships of living in Drapchi and other dreadful prisons.
Her stay in Oslo, Norway, is being guided by Mrs. Chungdak Koren, former representative of His Holiness in Geneva and currently Chairwoman of Norwegian Tibetan Committee.I am indeed glad to receive Phuntsok Nyridon la to Norway. Norwegians has since long been our keen supporters towards our struggle and her arrival here will further strengthen the support we have been receiving for our cause. During her five days stay in Oslo from 14th 19th December, 2006, former political prisoner and Recipient of Reebok Human Rights Award, Phuntsok Nyridon will be meeting the Members of Norwegian Parliament, officials from Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Heads of many different NGOs and Tibetan Community in Norway. Her tight schedule will also merge in with visits to the Noble Peace Prize Museum where she will be witnessing the Award Ceremony of H. Holiness the Dalai Lama on the eventful year of 1989. She will be leaving for Zurich on 19th of December.
