By Choekyi Lhamo
DHARAMSHALA, Feb. 3: Former political prisoner Dhondup Wangchen has reportedly been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize 2022 award by the Green Party spokesperson and biologist Rasmus Hansson, who said the filmmaker is “the memory of the Tibetans’ obvious demands for human rights.” The Norwegian environmentalist met Wangchen in January during his campaign where he urged authorities to boycott the Beijing 2022 Olympics that are to be held from Friday.
The 47-year-old Tibetan activist was imprisoned in Tibet by Chinese authorities in 2008 for six years on the charges of “subversion” for his documentary ‘Leaving Fear Behind’, along with Golog Jigme. The film featured interviews of ordinary Tibetans voicing their feelings on the Summer Olympics in China and the CCP government repression in Tibet. Wangchen fled from Tibet after his release in 2014 and was granted asylum in the US where he has since lived with his family.
The self-taught filmmaker was the recipient of the 2012 International Press Freedom given by the New-York based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) for his courageous documentation to show the glimpse of Tibetans suffering inside Tibet. “I finished my prison term in 2014 and was under tight surveillance after that. Last year around December, I finally decided to risk my life by fleeing abroad. Every year the conditions inside Tibet get worse: More restrictions on traveling, practicing religion and culture, and severe limits on freedom of the press. Tibet is still isolated and has become the biggest prison in the world,” Dhondup said during his acceptance speech made in 2018. He was also conferred the Václav Havel International Prize with Creative Dissent by the Oslo Freedom Forum in 2014.
Wangchen kicked off a speaking tour to 15 countries in Europe in November last year beginning in Paris to urge the International Olympic Committee (IOC), national Olympic committees, and government officials to boycott the Winter Olympics in 2022. “You see the world coming together; I see a suffering nation, forgotten. Athletes are preparing for the biggest competition of their lives, yet my brothers and sisters are struggling for fundamental rights. I do this for the honor of my own people, and all oppressed persons, in respect for the fundamental principles of the Olympic tradition, and to strive to make the world a better place,” he said in his Olympic oath when he launched his campaign.
The prestigious Nobel Peace Prize nomination is a step further into Dhondup Wangchen’s list of achievements as he continues to tell his story of imprisonment, the plight of his country under Chinese rule and life after exile.
5 Responses
Hi. Everyone,
Dondup Wangchen deserves Noble Peace Prize. He risked his life for Tibetans who are under oppressed authoritarian government. He wanted to show the world how Tibetans are brutalized and suppressed. He is the voice of Tibet.
I respect and honor his great sacrifice he made for Tibetans.
Greetings and best wishes Dhondup Wangchen la. Free Tibet !
Dhondup Wangchen is a patriot along with Golok Jigme. Their daring attempt to find the Tibetan people’s long suppressed misery, oppression and personal feelings under the yoke of Chinese occupation helped to convince a skeptical world what really transpired in Tibet for the last 57 years from 1951 till 2008. There is no doubt it was a daring act which showed the true courage of two young ordinary Tibetans. The Tibetan people also spoke frankly with Dhondup Wangchen and Golok Jigme even though opening ones mouth in occupied Tibet is a very risky and dangerous exercise. There are CCP spies everywhere and nobody can trust anybody in a society that is watched by the occupying enemy with relentless scrutiny.
They are lucky that they didn’t lose their life. Both of them could have been tortured and killed like so many other Tibetan patriots. Their courage and patriotism is commendable and young Tibetans should emulate the noble deeds of these modern day Tibetan heros.
It is unlikely he will be awarded the coveted Nobel Peace Prize because of communist China’s machination and subterfuge but the very fact he is a nominee in itself is a credit to him and Tibet!
Since he is still reasonably young, it is hoped he continues his campaign keeping in my mind the horrors he has witnessed in Tibet under the brutal occupation of communist China.
He should keep the plight of Tibetans in Tibet as his priority and not indulge in the petty politics of the exile Tibetans. Most exile born Tibetans treat the petty, meaningless squabbling as the priority of their lives and totally ignore the suffering Tibetans in Tibet. When it comes to cholkha and choelug local politics, they go mad! They breath fire and brimstone but when it comes to Tibet, they look like dumbfounded zombies. They don’t seem to read or write about what’s happening in Tibet except a few.
Most of them indulge in smear campaigns against fellow Tibetans who talk or write about Tibet in order to discredit them. They have become scumbags of the Tibetan diaspora.
I hope Dhondup Wangchen and Golok Jigme are not dragged into this cesspool of Tibetan politics but keep above the rotting swamp that is the exile political climate. From one of his statement, it appears he is under pressure to involve himself in the political suicide of cholkha politics. He talked about his responsibility to the Tibetan people and it is hoped he doesn’t lose sight of his his mission to liberate Tibet from the groaning yoke of Chinese colonialism and military occupation. We all hope and wish he wins the Nobel Peace Prize!
I agree.
Yes !
I agree !
With my best TashiDelegs.
Ghislaine Tibet Normandie Association.