Also on www.rfa.org:
Multimedia Journey Down the Mekong
www.rfa.org/english/multimedia/MekongProject
China Jails Tibetan Filmmaker
HONG KONG, Jan. 6, 2010—Authorities in the northwestern Chinese province of
Qinghai have handed a six-year jail sentence to a Tibetan filmmaker who
returned from exile to make a documentary about his homeland, Radio Free Asia
(RFA) reports.
The Xilin People’s Court handed the sentence to Dhondup Wangchen, the producer
of the documentary “Leaving Fear Behind,” in a secret trial that found him
guilty of “splitting the motherland,” Tibetan sources told RFA’s Tibetan
service.
“Dhondup Wangchen, the producer of ‘Leaving Fear Behind,’ was sentenced six
years to prison,” a Tibetan from the Amdo region identified as Thardrub said.
“We were checking around about it...later, we were able to confirm that he was
sentenced secretly by Xilin People’s Court in Qinghai on Dec. 28, 2009.”
Dhondup Wangchen’s relatives were given no information about his trial or
sentencing, he added.
“They were not informed about the sentencing,” Thardrub said. “The relatives
argue that he is innocent and he did not commit any crime...They are planning
to appeal his sentence in the higher courts.”
Jamyang Tsultrim, a relative of Dhondup Wangchen now living in Switzerland,
said the sentencing of Dhondup Wangchen was a clear indication of how Tibetans
were deprived of freedom of expression in China.
“His relatives made arrangements for a lawyer to represent him, but the lawyers
were not allowed to represent him,” Jamyang Tsultrim said.
“He was also suffering from liver problems and was denied any kind of medical
treatment,” he added.
Short documentary
Jamyang Tsultrim also said Dhondup Wangchen’s relatives weren’t informed about
his detention, his health problems, or his sentencing.
The Paris-based press freedom group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) ran a
petition campaign following Dhondup Wangchen’s detention on March 23, 2008,
calling him “a courageous man who took the risk of returning to his country to
interview other Tibetans.”
Dhondup Wangchen’s film, “Leaving Fear Behind” (www.leavingfearbehind.com), is
a 25-minute documentary including interviews with Tibetans in the Amdo region
expressing their views on Tibet’s exiled leader the Dalai Lama, the Beijing
Olympics, and Chinese laws.
The authorities also detained Jigme Gyatso, a monk from the Kham region, at the
same time, but released him on Oct. 15. He later said he was tortured in
detention.
“Leaving Fear Behind” was produced outside China after Dhondup Wangchen managed
to send footage out of Tibet before the authorities caught up with him.
It was shown to foreign journalists in Beijing during the Olympic Games.
Many Tibetans have chafed for years under Chinese rule.
Rioting rocked the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, in March 2008 and spread to
Tibetan-populated regions of western China, causing official embarrassment
ahead of the August 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Chinese officials say 21 people—including three Tibetan protesters—died in the
violence.
The India-based Tibetan government-in-exile estimates that 220 Tibetans were
killed and 7,000 were detained in a subsequent region-wide crackdown.
Original reporting by RFA’s Tibetan service. Translated by Karma Dorjee.
Written for the Web in English by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Sarah Jackson-Han.
> Date: Wed, 6 Jan 2010 19:17:32 -0800
> Subject: Khmer social division
> From: [email protected]
> To: [email protected]
>
> Understanding why Khmer are so divided.
>
> Cambodia’s inhabitants should be called “Cambodian”, in English and
> Chun-Kampuchea” or simply “Kampuchea” in Khmer. This way every
> Cambodian will agree and accept Cambodian citizenship, regardless of
> none Khmer ethnic exclusion.
>
> But when we call them Khmer, social division will appear as only a
> fraction of them has appreciated its and majority inaudibly says no:
> I’m none Khmer individuals; I’m half-breed with new face Cambodian.
> They think they can not change their own race to Khmer’s even though
> they want to. People can change citizenship, but never be able to get
> done on origin.
>
> For now most Cambodian in the country are politically forced to be
> self-proclaimed Khmer or in other words, compel to paint themselves
> Khmer race due to Cambodian constitution in Khmer that has been
> translated from certain English clauses of Paris’s international
> accord text, causing false Khmer citizen from the true Cambodian
> citizen.
>
> Khmer citizen in English term is none sense as Khmer is not the name
> of the country for which, the sole title is Cambodia.
>
> Most main stream Cambodian has never accepted to be of what is not his
> own kind. They are obligated to keep quiet but apprehensive of what
> they are forced to be bearing. They have a doubt security on where
> they are living, because they feel foreigners on their own homeland.
>
> This is the reason why people just want to immigrate for living in
> other countries where there are more acceptance with more freedom of
> expression. If it’s impossible to do so, people will be eager to get a
> quick-rich or a quick-powerful so that they could make money they may
> possibly send their kids oversea for better education in a real
> freedom ship environment experience.
> When they will be back, they would be in the top team so that they
> could make themselves top politicians for helping change the country
> for bringing back Cambodian citizenship to its own place in Cambodian
> constitution.
> There were more than 3/4 million Cambodian refugee’s abroad. They fled
> the country following Khmer rouge’s purge 1975-1979. Now 99% of them
> are becoming citizens of the country they are living where there are
> adequate health care along with freedoms of expression, freedoms of
> choice, and freedoms of belief. Most of them even dare to pronounce
> things louder than ever. A lot said: I don’t like to participate
> where there are a lot of true Khmer name although I’m used to be self-
> proclaimed Khmer, but em’s not.
> Unlike flourishing Lao’s, Thai’s, Vietnamese’s, Korean’s and Chinese’s
> associations, Khmer organization are always troublesome due to the
> fact they name themselves Khmer, which does not represent a broad
> range of all integrated Cambodia’s inhabitants namely Cambodian.
> This is a clear weakness of one nation that has been persisting from
> the change of Great Hinduism Khmer empire to Buddhism.
>
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