TO:
President Hu,jingtao,
We are writing to you for we head that a tibetan political prisoner who is Lobsang Tenzin is suffering from serious illness in the powo prison now.That made us sad and painful . So we appeal to you allow him gets medical parole.
Lobsang Tenzin have been in prison for 17 years since 1988 ! But life is short. So we cry for him and appeal to release him from you .
ZA XI DE LE !
sponsor: Jingwa (A poet, USA)
More signatures: zeng,jianyuan(professor of Chung Hua University , Taiwan )
caryhung (editor of asia democracy forum , usa )
Caichu(poet,usa)
Guo,xiaolin(poet,china)
Gelebasing(student,tibet),Gesangmeiduo(tibetan)
Menglang(poet,usa),Wang,yiliang(a member of writers in prison committee),
Jinyee(poet,china)
Yang,changzhen(Professor,Taiwan)
Zige(student,university of HONGKONG),
Doje(Tibetan)
Zhang,yu (a member of writers in prison committee,sweden )
yang,tianshui(writer ,china)
Wang,changrong(staff member, HK)
Liu,feiyue(a member of droit vindicate, china )
Wang , chaohua( los angeles , usa)
Vincent( writer, France )
Jiang, pinchao( poet , usa)
Ren, bumei( writer, Canada)
Jin,hong(Student, usa)
BLUE.ST( Student, usa),
Wei,quanbao(supporter of democracy movement),
lion stand the empty mountain( student, tibet )
Xu, wenli( professor of brown university, exile, usa)
Xiushan( exile , Canada)
Shengxue(member of writers in prison committee, Canada )
Laura Vasconcellos( professor and writer , Portugal )
Campaign for Lobsang Tenzin
LOBSANG TENZIN was born in Lhasa. At the age of 8 he joined the Bhonshod Elementary School situated in the northern part of Lhasa. Between the age of 14 to 19 he studied at the Lhasa intermediate School. On securing the first grade he joined the Lhasa Tibet University at the age of 20. At the university, he was regarded as the figure among the Tibetan students who, in gesture of defiance, voted him the "Best Student of the year" in 1988.
On 11 March 1988, Lobsang was arrested for participating in a massive Pro-Independence demonstration against the Chinese rule at Jhorkhang Temple in Lhasa on the 5th March 1988. (Lobsang's arrest was announced through domestic media only on 16 April 1988). Before his formal detention at the Gutsa prison on 13 March, 1988 he was throughly interrogated at the Xing Jing Da Du police station on Dhondhe road in North-eastern Tibet. He was subjected to severe and inhumane beating and torture during this interrogation. Thereafter he was implicated as the "Principal Culprit" in the death of a People's Armed Police officer during the demonstration in Lhasa.
On 24 April 1988 the Chinese authorities announced through public speakers, newspaper and television that Lobsang Tenzin should be suspended from the University rolls.
On 19 January, 1989 in a trial that took place at the headquater of Peoples Armed Police, Lobsang tenzin was charged as the main culprit and was given a death sentence which was to be carried out in two years time.
On 14 February 1989, he was transferred to Drapchi prison. On 15 June 1989, he was manacled and kept under solitary confinement for a week. He was thereafter taken to New Zhi Tou (known as Trushipa in Tibetan), one of the five prisons under Sangyip prison administration for continuous interrrogation. There again he was manacled and kept under solitary confinement for two weeks. He was then transferred back to Drapchi prison cell No. 8 under the Fifth Rughak (section).
Around December 1989, the fear of Lobsang Tenzin and two other Tibetan youths' execution in march 1990 started mounting in Lhasa. After an International appeal launched by Tibetans and their supporters, the Chinese Ambassador in Washington D.C. termed the likely execution of Lobsang Tenzin in March 1990 as "gossip and rumour".
In March 1991, Lobsang Tenzin's sentence was commuted to a life sentence. This reduction in his sentence was surely due to the strong international pressure against the Chinese government.
Lobsang Tenzin's great spirit remained alive even while in prison. He was one of the political prisoners involved in the attempt to pass a petition to James Lilley, the then U.S. Ambassador to China, describing the conditions in prison.
In 1994, Lobsang's sentence was reduced to 18 years imprisonment. It is believed that this reduction in his sentence was due to his good behaviour. Lobsang is currently serving his term in Powo Tramo Labour Camp. Reportedly, Lobsang is in very poor health . He has a damaged kidney due to which his body has become numb making it difficult for him to stand.
