Rare Footage of Runggye Adak, Tibetan Nomad's Protest inside Tibet on 3rd Anniversary of his Arrest
A day after the footage was released, it has been watched 36 times on mainland China (via the Vimeo channel) and Woeser has now embedded the Chinese one on her site and as of August 4, it has had 72 views.
Subtitled and Raw Video Footage Available
Subtitled: http://vimeo.com/13801972
Raw: http://vimeo.com/13266779
Contacts;
Dhardon Sharling (English and Tibetan) in Dharamsala, India + 91 94 187 91189Ngawang Woeber (Tibetan) in Dharamsala, India + 91 94 1810 2483
Tenzin Dorjee (English and Tibetan) in New York +1 646 724-0748
For interviews with Runggye Adak's family (his son and nephew are available to comment) contact Dhardon Sharling in India or Tenzin Jigme in the United States +17034240015
[Dharamsala / New York], August 1, 2010 Footage of Runggye Adak, a Tibetan nomad now serving an eight-year prison sentence for peacefully denouncing Chinese policies in Tibet and calling for the return of the Dalai Lama, was released today as Tibetans and their supporters intensify the global campaign for his release [1]. The footage obtained by the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) and translated by the International Tibet Support Network (ITSN) shows an excerpt of Runggye Adak's speech onstage at the popular Lithang Horse Racing Festival on 1 August 2007 in Lithang, Kardze (Chinese: Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in eastern Tibet (Ch: Sichuan) [2]. He was arrested by Chinese police minutes after taking the stage.
A transcript of the footage, which provides a rare glimpse of political protest inside Tibet, reads: "These things have happened to us; did you hear what has happened to us? Although we can move our bodies, we cannot express what is in our hearts. [3] You know? These days there are those who say we don't need the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama is the one that we six million Tibetans truly [need]." Eyewitnesses have confirmed that Runggye Adak refuted the claim that Tibetans do not need the Dalai Lama.
Runggye Adak's son Jamyang Lobsang, aged 25, who recently escaped from Tibet to India has made a heartfelt appeal for the release of his father, who is in declining health. "My father, Runggye Adak is innocent. What he said is true and represents the wishes and aspirations of Tibetans inside Tibet." [4]
Relatives of Runggye Adak, a 55-year-old father of eleven, reported that he also called for religious freedom in Tibet and for the release of political prisoners, including the Panchen Lama and Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, as a crowd of thousands of Tibetans cheered in response [5].
"This powerful footage shows Runggye Adak expressing the true aspirations of Tibetans inside Tibet to be reunited with their leader. Three years on, his conviction and courageous action continue to inspire Tibetans everywhere."said Dhardon Sharling of Tibetan Women's Association, which is part of the International Tibet Support Network's Political Prisoner Campaign Working Group [6].
Just months after Runggye Adak's speech in August 2007, hundreds of protests broke out across the Tibetan plateau as Tibetans openly defied Chinese rule and called for, amongst other things, the Dalai Lama's return. Chinese forces responded with extreme violence, shooting indiscriminately at crowds, detaining thousands, and flooding Tibet with armed troops. Since March 2008, the Chinese government has stepped up its propaganda against the Dalai Lama and renewed its patriotic re-education campaign in Tibet, which requires Tibetans to denounce the Dalai Lama.
"The Chinese government's draconian policies criminalizing people's devotion to the Dalai Lama have only served to strengthen Tibetans' loyalty to him as their spiritual and temporal leader," said Ngawang Woeber, President of Gu Chu Sum Political Prisoners Movement. "We call on China to immediately release Runggye Adak and other Tibetan prisoners of conscience."
"There is a growing movement inside Tibet of Tibetans – like Runggye Adak - defying China's restrictions and boldly asserting their identity and beliefs. The Chinese government can arrest and imprison individuals, but they cannot silence Tibetans' voices. By imprisoning Runggye Adak, Beijing has ironically helped to amplify his message for Tibet to the world and we call on the international community and our government leaders to actively press China for his release," said Tenzin Dorjee, Executive Director of Students for a Free Tibet.
The Chinese authorities described Runggye Adak's speech as a "major political incident" and charged him with "provocation to subvert state power" [7). During his trial, the judge stated that by calling for the Dalai Lama's return, Adak had "committed the crime of subverting the People's Republic of China." In response, Runggye Adak told the court, "I wanted His Holiness to return, and I wanted to raise Tibetan concerns and grievances, as there is no outlet for us to do so. That made me sad and made me act." [8]
Following Runggye Adak's arrest, over 200 Tibetans congregated outside the Lithang police station to appeal for his release. Eye-witness reports describe how Chinese police and soldiers violently dispersed local gatherings by using tear gas, stun grenades and metal batons [9]. Several Tibetans close to Runggye Adak were also arrested, including his nephew Adak Lopoe and Jamyang Kunkhyen, who are serving prison sentences of 10 years and 9 years respectively, for informing foreign media about Runggye Adak's courageous speech. Runggye Adak's family has only been allowed to visit him in Mianyang prison once, after 50 Tibetans filed a request to local officials. He suffers from stomach ailments and loss of eyesight.
NOTES
1. The footage of Runggye Adak which should be credited to the International Campaign for Tibet, is available at:
(with subtitles) http://www.keefchemistry.com/tibetnetwork.php?f=rungyye-adak-ap.mov(without subtitles) http://www.keefchemistry.com/tibetnetwork.php?f=rungyye-adak-no-subtitles.mov
For access to broadcast quality footage of the same fragment of speech and other footage contextualising the incident (Lithang Horse Racing Festival) contact ITSN on+ 44 7748 158 618.
2. The brief fragment of Runggye Adak's speech was shot by a western film-maker, who for some considerable time was unaware of the significance of what he had filmed. He wishes to remain anonymous and does not have any further footage of the incident. An eyewitness told International Campaign for Tibet "It all happened so fast - Runggye Adak just came onstage and started speaking. Although his voice did not carry very far, because it could have been that they switched the microphone off, I could see Tibetans nodding their heads about what he was saying about the Dalai Lama and freedom. Quite a few people were cheering him." http://www.savetibet.org/media-center/ict-news-reports/new-images-confirm-dispersal-tibetans-armed-police-after-lithang-protest-runggye-adaks-rel
3. Runggye Adak's nephew Atuk Tseten, who is now in exile, worked on the translation of the footage. He explained that Runggye Adak is referring to a Tibetan saying which conveys the message that, even if Tibetans look superficially as though all is well (they can move their bodies), there is something very wrong underneath.
4.Footage of the video appeal by Jamyang Lobsang, Runggye Adak's son is available at http://www.keefchemistry.com/tibetnetwork.php?f=rungyye-adak-son.mov 5. The Dalai Lama's choice of Panchen Lama, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, has been missing since May 1995; see www.freepanchenlama.org. Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, an influential religious leader from the Lithang area, was arrested in April 2002 and is serving a life sentence in Mianyang Prison, Sichuan, on trumped-up charges of "conspiring to cause explosions". See http://www.freetibetanheroes.org/home.php/profiles/tenzin-delek-rinpoche
6. The International Tibet Support Network (ITSN) is a global coalition of Tibet-related campaign groups, whose aim is to increase the effectiveness of worldwide campaigns in support of the Tibetan people. ITSN's Political Prisoner Campaign Working Group (PPCWG) focuses on developing campaigns on behalf of nine individuals whose cases illustrate over 700 political prisoners in Tibet today; see www.freetibetanheroes.org. Organisations that are part of the PPCWG include Australia Tibet Council, France Tibet, Gu Chu Sum, International Campaign for Tibet, Students for a Free Tibet, Tibet Initiative Deutschland, Tibet Society and Tibetan Women's Association.
7. Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Hong Kong, reported by AP 28 August 2007. A Xinhua statement on 3 August 2007 said that "the villager named Runggye Adak went to a platform ....and shouted out words of 'Tibetan independence'....police sources said they would handle the case of Runggye Adak, whose words and deeds were meant to separate the country and harm national unity and has disrupted public order, according to law." According to information from family members, Runggye Adak is serving his sentence in Mianyang Prison, Sichuan Province, ironically the same prison as Tenzin Delek Rinpoche.
8. According to Radio Free Asia, Runggye Adak told the judge from the dock: "When I shouted 'Long live the Dalai Lama' and called for the release of Tibetan political prisoners, I was detained and then formally arrested." He went on to say there is no one in Tibet who does not have faith in, loyalty to or the heartfelt wish to see the return of the Dalai Lama. He countered "propaganda" by the Chinese authorities that Tibetans have lost faith in the Dalai Lama, saying: "That is wrong, but we have no freedom to say so."
9. http://www.savetibet.org/media-center/ict-news-reports/new-images-confirm-dispersal-tibetans-armed-police-after-lithang-protest-runggye-adaks-rel.