Monster Media 1994 #1/monster.zip/monster/TEXT/GARI_14.ZIP/GARI_14.TXT

Text File | 1994-03-05 | 34KB | 713 lines

GARI 14 BACKGROUND INFORMATION

compiled by:
The Rinchen Project
International Committee of Lawyers for Tibet
347 Dolores St., Suite 206
San Francisco, CA  94110
[phone]
[phone]
[e-mail]



The next phase of the Rinchen Project will focus on a group of 14 nuns
from Gari Nunnery who were arrested in June, 1993.  The nuns have been
sentenced to up to seven years for participating in pro-independence
demonstrations, and include a 15-year old girl. Twelve of the 14 nuns
arrested allegedly took part in a demonstration that may never have
taken place.  In order to create name recognition among the general
public, the Rinchen Project has chosen to publicize the group as the
"Gari 14."  Although these nuns represent less than a third of those
imprisoned from Gari Nunnery, the Project felt it critical we use the
lesson of Gendun Rinchen and continue to focus on specific individuals
or identifiable groups.  The  immediate goal of the Project is make the
Gari 14 so visible that MFN cannot be granted in June without their
release.  A petition has been prepared.  Please contact the office if
you would be willing to gather signatures.  We are also in the process
of preparing a brochure on behalf of the Gari 14. We will send a copy
upon its completion.




NOTE:  THE FIRST TWO 10 REPORT REFERS TO THE "GARI 14."  THE REPORTS
THAT FOLLOW MAY BE USED AS BACKGROUND INFORMATION, AND INCLUDE
INFORMATION ABOUT THE "REEDUCATION CAMPAIGN" BEING CARRIED OUT AT GARI.
ALSO INCLUDED IS INFORMATION CONCERNING THE RECENT ARRESTS OF INCREASED
SENTENCING OF OTHER NUNS.  THE 14 NUNS WHOSE SENTENCES WERE INCREASED
FOR SINGING SONGS ARE NOT THE GARI 14, BUT THE STORY IS VERY RELEVANT TO
THEIR CONDITIONS.

A GARI 14 PETITION FOLLOWS AT THE END.


Tibet Information Network
10 January, 1994

Nuns Sentenced to 7 years for June "Incident"

The Chinese authorities in Lhasa have sentenced 12 nuns to up to seven
years for taking part in a pro-independence incident last June which no-
one seems to have seen and which may never have happened.

The imprisoned nuns - who include a 15 year old girl - come from Gari
nunnery, 5 km north of Lhasa, and were arrested on 14th June 1993.
There are no reports of any demonstration in or near Lhasa that day, and
some sources say that the nuns were arrested before they had managed to
begin any protest.

Two of the nuns, Ngawang Dedrol, age 25, from Chumda township in
Medrogungkar county and Phuntsog Choekyi, age 22, from Kache township in
Phenpo Lhundrup county, have now been sentenced to 7 years in prison for
their part in the incident or attempted incident, according to
unofficial sources.

Ngawang Keldron, a 19 year old nun from Meldro Gyama, has been sentenced
to 5 years in prison.

Nine other nuns from Gari who took part in the 14th June incident have
been tried and given sentences of between 2 and 4 years, according to
unofficial sources in the capital.  The date of the trial is not known,
but must have been within the last three months.  The Chinese
authorities have not issued any public statements on the convictions.

All 12 of the Gari nuns have now been moved to Drapchi prison in Lhasa,
officially known as Tibet Autonomous Region Prison No. 1, where the most
serious offenders are held, bringing the total number of nuns imprisoned
there for political offenses to 49, according to some reports.  32 of
the women in Drapchi are believed to be nuns from Gari.  There are
thought to be 124 monks and 35 laymen who are held in the same prison
for political offenses.

Amongst the 12 nuns believed to have been sent to Drapchi for the 14th
June "incident" is a 15 year old girl, Gyaltsen Pelsang, who is too
young to be admitted legally to a prison, according to Chinese laws.

Two other Gari nuns, Ngawang Yangkyi and Gyaltsen Tsultrim, both aged 22
and from Nyangdra township in Lhasa, were also tried and sentenced at
the same time to imprisonment in Drapchi prison, according to the
reports.  The two nuns had been arrested after they started a brief pro-
independence demonstration in the centre of Lhasa on 4th June 1993.
Their sentences are unknown.

Within days of the 14 Gari nuns being arrested the Chinese authorities
in Lhasa sent a `work team' composed of Communist Party officials to the
nunnery to begin a 3 month series of political re-education sessions
with the remaining 90 women at Gari.

-----------------------------------------------------
Nuns from Gari nunnery arrested June 14, 1993, convicted and now held in
Drapchi:

Ngawang Dedrol, age 25, layname Rinchen Choedron, from Chumda township
in Medrogungkar county: 7 years
Phuntsog Choekyi, age 22, layname Dekyi, from Kache township in Phenpo
Lhundrup county: 7 years
Ngawang Keldron, age 19, layname Goekyi, from Gyama township in Meldro
county: 5 years
Gyaltsen Sangmo, age 24 layname Zompa, from Tsara village in Kongpo
Gyamda: 3yrs
Ngawang Chendrol or Ngawang Peldrol, layname Phurbu Drolkar, age 18,
from Yung-nga township in Phenpo Lhundrup county: 3yrs
Gyaltsen Kelsang, layname Kelsang Drolma, age 23, from Ngangdren
township, Lhasa; 2yrs
Rinchen Drolma, age 23, from Phenpo Lungshoe: 2yrs Gyaltsen Kunga, age
23, layname Yangkyi, from Thonchue village, Nyemo county: sentence not
known
Gyaltsen Pelsang, age 15, layname Nyima or Migmar, from Trikhang
village, Meldro Gyama: sentence not known
Ngawang Chime, age 19, layname Phurdrol, from Drigung or Meldro Gongkar
Drangda township in Meldrogungkar county
Ngawang Choekyi, age 21, also known as Ngawang Chelmo or Choegna,
from Phenpo Lungshoe: sentence not known
Ngawang Palmo, layname Tsering, age 22, from Phenpo Lungshoe: sentence
not known


Nuns from Gari Nunnery arrested in a demonstration on 4th June 1993:

Ngawang Yangkyi or Ngawang Yangdrol, age 22, layname Kunsang, from
Nyangra township in Lhasa: sentence not known
Gyaltsen Tsultrim, age 22, layname Migmar Tsamchoe or Migmar Choekyi,
from Nyangra township in Lhasa: sentence not known

==================================================================

ELEVEN TIBETAN BUDDHIST NUNS SENTENCED 2 TO 7 YEARS

BEIJING, February 4, AP -- Eleven Tibetan Buddhist nuns have been
sentenced to prison terms ranging from two to seven years, apparently
for attempting a  protest, Amnesty International reported Friday.

The sentences came to light the same day China announced the early
releases of three political prisoners in an apparent response to
stepped-up pressure from Washington to relax repression of dissent.

The international human rights group Amnesty International said the nuns
from Garu Nunnery, north of the Tibetan capital city of Lhasa, were
arrested  on June 14. The report was not clear on the reason for the
arrests, but said  unofficial sources in Lhasa speculated the nuns were
arrested before they  managed to begin a protest.

The nuns were 18 to 25 years of age. The report listed the sentences for
eight of them, but said the jail terms for the remaining three were not
known.    It said the nuns were taken to Drapchi prison outside Lhasa,
which holds Tibet's most serious political prisoners. Currently, of the
208 political prisoners there, 49 are nuns, 124 are monks and 35 are
layman, Amnesty International said.

Also arrested with the 11 nuns was a 15-year-old novice from the same
nunnery, Gyaltsen Pelsang. The report said she may be being held in the
Gutsa Detention Center with adults and subject to the same work regime
as the  adults. It cited the case of another novice who was arrested
last spring,  beaten and sent to the same detention center, where she is
still believed to  be held.

Amnesty International's report followed a report last month by another
human rights group that said Chinese authorities have stepped up efforts
to  halt political activism among Tibet's Buddhist nuns, who have led
frequent pro-independence protests over the past six years.

The report by the Tibet Information Network, which maintains contacts
with Tibetan residents, said official work teams held lectures in the
nunneries and persuaded older nuns to oppose dissent among younger nuns,
who tend to be bolder. It said officials reduced the number of nuns
allowed to live at some nunneries and ordered them to expel nuns
suspected of pro-independence sympathies or arrested for activism.

Pro-independence sentiment is strong among Tibetan Buddhist monks and
nuns because of their strong loyalty to the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled
leader, who has sought autonomy for the Himalayan region. However, the
Chinese maintain  that they have had sovereignty over Tibet since the
13th century.


.               TIN News Update / 12 January, 1994

- Nuns Protest after Re-education Campaign -

A 3 month campaign by the Chinese authorities in Lhasa to re-educate
women in Tibetan nunneries led to a wave of demonstrations by Buddhist
nuns in the Tibetan capital last month, with at least 22 women arrested,
according to reports from Tibet.

There were six pro-independence demonstrations staged by Tibetan nuns,
one on each day from 9th to 14th December, according to the latest
reports from Lhasa.  Earlier reports had referred to just two
demonstrations in that period.

The names are known of 17 women who were arrested during the protests,
all of them believed to come from Shungseb nunnery, 20 km south of
Lhasa.  Eight were detained for shouting "Tibet is independent" on the
east side of the Barkor, the centre of the Tibetan quarter of Lhasa, at
around 10 am on Thursday 9th December. They were named by unofficial
sources as Rigzin Tsondru, Norzin, Champa Choekyi, Namgyal Choedron,
Choenyi Drolma, Sherab Drolma, Norbu Yangchen, and Lodro Pema.

"These nuns were arrested by the Chinese plainclothes agents who usually
hang around in the Barkor, and then taken to the police station in the
Barkor Square," said one Tibetan source.

On 11th December six nuns were detained during a similar protest. Their
names were given as Pendron, Yangdron, Yeshi Kunsang, Yeshi Choesang,
Chime Wangmo and Tsering Choedron.  Three other nuns - Yeshi Tsondru,
Tsultrim Tharchin and Tsering Choekyi - were arrested on 12th December.

A eyewitness contacted by TIN saw three other nuns being arrested on the
southern stretch of the Barkor on Monday 13th December.  The same source
said that on Tuesday 14th December they saw two other nuns being
arrested after a protest in the Barkor square in front of Lhasa's main
temple, bringing the total of named or witnessed arrests to 22.

Unconfirmed reports claimed that five nuns from Drigung had been
arrested on 10th December, and that three nuns from Chubsang nunnery had
been arrested on Sunday 12th December.  All the women had been involved
in protests calling for Tibetan independence, according to the sources.

A western tourist, interviewed in Kathmandu after arrival from Tibet,
described by-passers gathering silently in response to the arrest of one
group of nuns.  "At about 2pm on 12th December I saw a crowd of 150
Tibetans in front of the police station on the Barkor square", said the
westerner, a student, who asked not to be named.  "They were silent,
watching the police station with serious and concerned faces, in what
seemed to me to be a silent protest."

Each incident lasted only a few minutes before the women were arrested,
and most people in Lhasa remained unaware of the events. "As soon as
they start to do something they are taken away, and it is all over so
quickly that most Tibetans in Lhasa know nothing of these events", said
an informed source in the capital.

- Campaign to Re-educate Nuns -

The nuns' protests follow a "political re-education" campaign by the
Chinese authorities in the nunneries in the Lhasa area last autumn.  The
campaign is part of a concerted effort by the Communist Party in Lhasa
to eradicate radicalism amongst nuns in the Lhasa area, who have led 55
of the 126 (43%) known pro-independence protests in Lhasa In the last
six years.

The re-education campaign is the "soft" end of a dual policy which
includes rigorous prison sentences for nuns who take part in or plan
demonstrations.  Earlier this week it was learnt that 14 nuns from Gari
nunnery had received sentences of up to 7 years for planning or staging
brief demonstrations in June last year.

The re-education strategy is carried out by "work teams", known in
Chinese as "gonzuo dui" or in Tibetan as "ledun rukhag", who last year
spent up to 3 months in regular visits to each of the five main
nunneries in or near Lhasa -Chubsang, Gari, Tsangkhung, Michungri and
Shungseb.  The teams, usually consisting of nine or ten party cadres,
held indoctrination sessions and imposed new regulations, including a
ban on admission to the nunnery for any woman who has been detained for
political activities.

"When I left Trisam [reform through education camp] they gave me a
discharge paper and said I could return to the nunnery, but later I
found I could not, because a work team is there" said Phuntsog Tseyang,
an 18 year old nun from Michungri nunnery who fled to India after
finishing a two year prison sentence in August last year.  Other nuns
fleeing to India confirm that they have been refused re-admission to
their nunneries release from prison.

Other regulations imposed by the work teams include a ban on nuns going
into Lhasa without permission, as well as the expulsion of nuns
suspected of pro-independence sympathies.  "These days there are about
37 or 38 nuns at Michungri compared to 90 in 1989 when the nunnery was
restored", according to Phuntsog Tseyang.  "Most have been expelled or
are in prison".

At Shungsep nunnery the work teams held a meeting in April 1993 at which
they imposed a limit of 130 the number of nuns that could live there,
meaning that 70 women lost their right to reside there.

In Gari nunnery the work team arrived in July and persuaded the older
nuns to sign an undertaking not to tolerate dissent by others in the
nunnery.  The older nuns were then told to persuade the younger ones to
sign similar statements.  "This caused some internal arguments", said
one source, "but eventually by about August 18th everyone signed".  The
work team continued its re-education programme for three months, during
which a number of nuns are said to have left for India, while others
took jobs as road workers to avoid what was described as the "anger and
frustration" inside the nunnery.  36 nuns from Gari are currently
serving prison sentences for staging pro-independence protests.

- Police Controls Increased -

The protests began the morning after the Ganden Ngamchoe, an important
festival which commemorates the death in 1419 of the Tibetan religious
reformer Tsongkhapa, founder of the dominant Gelugpa sect.  Tibetans
mark the festival by placing thousands of butterlamps in their windows.
"In the middle of the praying people started calling softly for
independence," said one Tibetan who attended the Lhasa festivities on
the evening of December 8th.  "We could feel a very strong feeling of
unity and solidarity among the Tibetans", a western tourist commented on
the mood of people at the festival.

The nuns' protests were probably timed to mark December 10th,
international human rights day and the anniversary a pro-independence
demonstration in 1988, in which Chinese para-militaries shot dead two
Tibetan demonstrators and injured at least 20 others, including a
western bystander.

The security forces in Lhasa appear to have been expecting unrest on
10th December and had imposed a curfew was imposed on the major
monasteries around Lhasa from 10th to 14th December, and placed
checkpoints were placed on some of the roads leading to the city.

In the Barkor the two main police stations, which usually close at 6pm,
were kept open at night.  The number of uniformed police present in the
Barkor for the week from 7th December was increased, with between 30 and
50 uniformed officers on duty at any one time, according to one source.
Since 1990 police have preferred to keep a low profile in the capital
and usually operate in plainclothes in the Barkor.
============================================================

Nun's Sentence Increased to 17 Years for Singing Song
From:  Tibet Information Network <[e-mail]>

LONDON, February 20, TIN --  Fourteen nuns in a Tibetan prison have had
their prison sentences doubled or tripled because they each sang a pro-
independence song in their prison cell last June, including one woman
whose sentence has been increased from 9 to 17 years, according to
unofficial reports from Tibet.

The news of the increased sentences was first announced by the exile
Tibetan government last month, but has now been confirmed by sources
within Tibet, and details of the songs have been obtained by the Tibet
Information Network, an independent news organisation.

The nuns, who were originally serving an average of 5 years in Drapchi
Prison for taking part in pro-independence demonstrations, now face an
average of 11 years in prison because of the songs.

The increases have not been publicly revealed by the Chinese authorities
in Tibet and sit uncomfortably with recent statements by the Chinese
Government about the leniency with which Tibetan prisoners are treated.
"Prison terms for 90 prisoners were reduced for their conscientiously
having followed prison rules and truly repented during their sentences",
announced Tibet TV on 31st January 1993, describing the reductions as an
example of the China's policy of "integrating punishment with reform",
according to the BBC Monitoring Service.

The news of the increased sentences is likely to set back any impression
that China is softening its human rights policy. On 2nd February the
Chinese Government confirmed the release the previous month of two
prominent Tibetan political prisoners, following an international
campaign by human rights organisations.

- Sentences Tripled, Doubled -

One woman amongst the 14 given increased sentences, a 24 year old nun
called Tenzin Thubten from Michungri nunnery, has had her sentence
increased by nine years, nearly tripling it from 5 years to 14 years,
according to four separate sources.

The increased sentences were handed down at a trial in Lhasa on 8th
October 1993, according to a report by the Tibetan Government in exile,
which is based in Northern India.

Reports of the length of sentence handed down to the other 13 women
vary, but the most authoritative source says that two nuns from Garu
nunnery, 22 year old Gyaltsen Drolkar and 19 year old Ngawang Sangdrol,
had their sentences tripled from 4 to 12 years and from 3 to 9 years
respectively. Nine other nuns had their sentences doubled, according to
the report, and 2 had 7 year sentences increased to 12 years.

The longest cumulative sentence was handed down to 27 year old Phuntsog
Nyidron, a nun who was already serving a 9 year sentence, now extended
to 17 years. According to a former colleagues, the sentence reflects her
social status not her offence. Phuntsog Nyidron received the longest
sentence because she was the only one amongst the women who had held a
semi-official position in her nunnery - she was the chant mistress in
Michungri, a tiny nunnery near Lhasa, and led the daily prayer services
there until her arrest in October 1989.

Reports of the sentences first emerged when Ngawang Kyizom, a nun who
recently completed a three year sentence in another of Lhasa's six
prisons, went to visit a nun in Drapchi prison and discovered that her
sentence had been increased by three years for involvement in the
singing last June. Ngawang Kyizom brought the news to the outside world
when she escaped to India in December 1993.

- Tape recording -

The sentences given to the nuns may have been exceptionally severe
because the women recorded their songs on a tape-recorder that had been
smuggled into the jail. In the eyes of the Chinese authorities the
public distribution of the nationalist songs could have made the women
guilty of "spreading counter-revolutionary propaganda", an offence
considered akin to treason in western terms.

The tape of the nuns singing was circulated secretly in Tibet, and a
copy is in the possession of the Tibet Information Network in London.
Each nun announces her name and then dedicates a song or poem to her
family or supporters, designed to show that the prisoners are in good
spirits.

"All of you outside who have done all that you can for us in prison, we
are deeply grateful to you and we will never forget you. Therefore I
offer a song," says one of the nuns. "Please do not worry about us,"
says another nun on the tape, "We are surviving well and we remain
united in our determination."

The nuns all sing refrains about separation from their parents: "I send
my words of comfort to my parents: do not be sad - the time will come
for our reunion", goes a verse sung by most of the women on the tape.

Buddhist nuns are expected to renounce their family ties when they take
orders, and the word "parents" would be understood by Tibetans to refer
to their religious tradition or "family" and to their spiritual teacher,
in this case the Dalai Lama. He is only referred to directly once on the
tape: "We remain firm in the belief that by the grace of His Holiness
the Dalai Lama freedom will appear," says one of the nuns from her cell.

But the main purpose of the tape seems to be to re-affirm the prisoners'
commitment to Tibetan independence, and it is clear that the songs about
separation from parents also refer to separation from "the land of snow,
my beloved great mother", which has been taken away.

     My parent's face will never be forgotten,
     Oh Jewel of Wisdom, [the Dalai Lama] -
     My country has not been sold: [it has been stolen]."

Almost all the nuns include in their song a refrain about the loss
of their country:

     I am in prison but I have no regrets;
     My country has not been sold: [it has been stolen];
     For that we have shed so many tears,
     Oh so many tears!"

The songs have been adapted by the prisoners to describe their current
situation and give an impression of the experience of prison life: "Our
food is like pig food, we are beaten and treated brutally," goes a song
adapted from a traditional Eastern Tibetan poem which compares the Dalai
Lama to the water that sustains the fish in a lake. "But this will never
change the Tibetan people's perseverance: It will remain unfaltering",
it continues. One nun sings about the view from her cell:

     Looking from the window,
     Seeing nothing but the sky
     And the clouds that float in the sky,
     Which I wish were my parents

     We, the captured friends in spirit,
     We might be the ones to fetch the jewel.
     No matter how hard we are beaten
     Our linked arms cannot be separated.

     The cloud from the east
     Is not a patch that is sewn,
     And the time will come when the sun
     From beneath the clouds shall appear.

In August last year there were 55 women prisoners in Drapchi held for
involvement in demonstrations, twice the number held in 1991. All of the
demonstrations were non-violent, mostly involving less than half a dozen
people and lasting less than five minutes. 22 more nuns were arrested
for demosntrations in December 1993, but their sentences are so far not
known.
===============================================================

[Reuter's Version Nuns' Song Story]

China Increases Tibetan Nuns' Jail Terms for Song

By David Schlesinger:  Reuters

[We were requested to publish the Reuters version of the nuns' story we
covered earlier this month.  In this version Beijing confirmed the
original report from the Tibet Information Network which is a break from
Chinese government's usual practice of ignoring or denying reports by
outside human rights monitoring agencies. -CR]

BEIJING, February 21, Reuter -- China doubled or tripled the jail
sentences  of 14 Tibetan nuns because they sang a ''counter-
revolutionary'' song in  their prison cells, officials said on Monday.

The officials, from the Tibet Justice Bureau and the Reform-through-
labor (prison) administration, confirmed by telephone a report by the
human-rights monitoring group Tibet Information Network (TIN).  The
report said the nuns had their sentences increased for singing the pro-
independence song on a tape which was then secretly circulated in the
Himalayan region.

Confirmation of the stiff punishment -- one sentence was increased to 17
years -- comes as Beijing is under intense Western pressure for its
human rights record.

The Himalayan region, which Beijing insists is an integral part of
Chinese territory, is periodically shaken by separatist protests which
China firmly puts down each time with police or army action.

Beijing has repeatedly vowed to crush the ''splittist movement'' that it
accuses the region's exiled spiritual leader, the Nobel Prize-winning
Dalai Lama, of encouraging.

TIN said all the nuns were in Drapchi prison for taking part in pro-
independence demonstrations in Lhasa since 1989.

The official from the Reform-through-labor administration said one nun
had her jail term increased from five years to 14 years and another from
nine years to 17 years.

Both officials confirmed a total of 14 nuns had been punished. China is
under strong pressure from the West to improve its human rights record.
The issue of Tibet is specifically mentioned in President Clinton's
executive order stating he would only extend China's key Most Favored
Nation trading privileges if there was human rights progress.   China
last month freed two Tibetan political prisoners in a move described by
the United States as ''a step in the right direction.''

The London-based TIN said it had a tape recording of the nuns singing
their song.

It said the tape, on which each nun announces her name and dedicates a
song or poem to her family or supporters, had circulated in Tibet
secretly.   The Dalai Lama is mentioned explicitly only once in the
tape, when one nun says: ''We remain firm in the belief that by the
grace of His Holiness the Dalai Lama freedom will appear.''

TIN said the nun now sentenced to 14 years is a 24-year-old from the
Michungri nunnery named Tenzin Thubten. The nun now serving the longest
cumulative sentence is 27-year-old Phuntsog Nyidron, whose nine-year
term was extended to 17 years.   TIN quoted a former colleague of the
nun as saying she was probably given such a stiff sentence because she
had held a semi-official position as chant mistress in the tiny
Michungri nunnery and led the daily prayer service there until her
arrest in October 1989.

================================================================

List of Nuns Given Increased Sentences at Drapchi Prison

From:   Tibet Information Network <[e-mail]>

LONDON, February 20, TIN -- [Addendum to TIN News Update 20 February,
1994]

Ordination name   Age#  Nunnery         Date      1st  2nd  Total*
Birthplce
arrested    sentence*
----------------  ----  ---------      ---------  --------  ---
--------
Ngawang Choezom    22   Chubsang        21/03/92  5  6 yrs  11yrs
Toelung
Gyaltsen Choezom   21   Garu            21/08/90  4a 5      9
Taktse
Gyaltsen Drolkar   19   Garu            21/08/90  4a 8/3/4  12/7
Meldro
Ngawang Sangdrol   18   Garu            17/06/92  3  6/3    9/6
Lhasa
Lhundrup Zangmo    23   Michungri       21/08/90  4a 5/3/4  9/7
Phenpo
Phuntsog Nyidron   23   Michungri       14/10/89  9  8      17
Phenpo
Tenzin Thubten     20   Michungri       21/08/90  5a 9      14
Meldro
Ngawang Choekyi    23   Samdrup Drolma+ 14/05/92  5  8      13
Toelung
Ngawang Lochoe     19   Samdrup Drolma+ 14/05/92  5  5      10
Toelung
Ngawang Tsamdrol   21   Samdrup Drolma+ 14/05/92  5  5      10
Toelung
Jigme Yangchen     23   Shungseb        01/10/90  7  5/3    12/10
Lhokha
Palden Choedron    19   Shungseb        01/10/90  3b 5/3/4  8/6
Phenpo
Rigzin Choekyi     20   Shungseb        22/09/89  7  5/3    12/10
Lhokha
Namdrol Lhamo      28   (none)          12/05/92  6  6      12
Tsang
----------------        --------        -------- -------    ---
------
totals                                           72   86    158
yrs
averages using highest figures                    5.1  6.1   11.29
yrs
averages using lowest figures                          5.0   10.14
yrs


Notes:
# Age as given at the time of sentencing, +/- 1 year
* Alternatives are given for the increased sentences where the sources
differ
+ Samdrup Drolma Lhakhang describes the temple in a monastery which is
commonly known by the name of the local village, Toelung Nyen.
a At the time of sentencing (30 November 1990) these four prisoners had
their sentences pre-emptively reduced for prospective good behaviour by
1 year from the figure listed here (see Lhasa Intermediate Court
Sentencing Document 1990 (34)); that one year reduction has probably
been cancelled by the offence and is not allowed for here.
b Palden Choedron's sentence is given by many sources after 1992 as 7
years not 3, so it may have been increased due to an unknown earlier
offence in prison.

Ordination name              Layname
-----------------            -----------------
Ngawang Choezom       -      Pasang Lhamo
Gyaltsen Choezom      -      Penpa Choezom
Gyaltsen Drolkar      -      Dawa
Ngawang Sangdrol      -      Rigchog
Lhundrup Zangmo       -      Zangmo
Phuntsog Nyidron      -      Tseten
Tenzin Thubten        -      Dawa Yangkyi
Ngawang Choekyi       -      Yeshe
Ngawang Lochoe        -      Dondrup Drolma
Ngawang Tsamdrol      -      Dekyi Wangmo
Jigme Yangchen        -      Yangchen
Palden Choedron       -      Palden Yangkyi
Rigzin Choekyi        -      Yangzom
Namdrol Lhamo         -      Nyidrol

- Background: Women in Drapchi Prison -

All the nuns in Drapchi prison are serving sentences for taking part in
pro-independence demonstrations in Lhasa since 1989. In August 1993
there were 55 women prisoners in Drapchi held for involvement in
demonstrations, twice the figure held in 1991. All of the demonstrations
were non- violent, mostly involving less than half a dozen people and
lasting less than 5 minutes. Until the October increase in sentences the
longest sentence was the 9 years imposed on the Michungri chant mistress
Phuntsog Nyidron.

Recently 14 other nuns were sent to Drapchi for up to 7 years each for
involvement in a demonstration in June 1993, and in December 1993 at
least 22 other nuns were detained for demonstrating, but are not yet
known to have been sentenced.

The nuns are held in Unit 3 of Drapchi Prison, in cells separate from
common criminals. The authorities decided in 1989 to keep political and
ordinary criminals separate after they found that political prisoners in
Drapchi had persuaded two Tibetan men serving sentences for murder to
join a secret pro-independence group. The 2 men were executed in May
1990 for joining the group.

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A PETITION FOR THE RELEASE OF THE GARI 14 & ALL PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE
IN TIBET

According to recent reports from Tibet, 12 Buddhist nuns from Gari
nunnery have been sentenced to prison terms for participating in a
demonstration to which there are no witnesses.  A 15 year-old girl is
among those arrested.  According to Chinese law this girl is too young
to be imprisoned.  The twelve nuns were sentenced without evidence.
There is no documentation of a demonstration having occurred that day.
In a separate case, two nuns were sentenced for participating in a brief
non-violent demonstration in the center of Lhasa on June 4.

Prisoners in Tibet, and China for that matter, are treated without
regard for human decency.  These women are going to prison without
proper trial, in a country that is illegally occupied by a brutal
regime, and are in grave danger of torture, and possibly death.

Name               Age  Sentence   Name               Age  Sentence
Ngawang Dedrol      25  7 years    Gyaltsen Kunga      23  unknown
Phuntsog Choekyi    22  7 years    Gyaltsen Pelsang    15  unknown
Ngawang Keldron     19  5 years    Ngawang Choekyi     21  unknown
Gyaltsen Sangmo     24  3 years    Ngawang Palmo       22  unknown
Ngawang Chendrol    18  3 years    Ngawang Chime       19  unknown
Gyaltsen Kelsang    23  2 years    Ngawang Yangkyi     22  unknown
Rinchen Drolma      23  2 years    Gyaltsen Tsultrim   22  unknown

WE CALL FOR THE IMMEDIATE AND UNCONDITIONAL RELEASE OF THE GARI 14, FOR
THE RELEASE OF ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS IN TIBET AND FOR INTERNATIONAL
MONITORING OF THE SITUATION IN TIBET.

The situation in Tibet is urgent.  Human rights abuses continue daily.
We appeal to you to use all the authority invested in your office to
help these women.

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Please return by March 28, 1994 to:  RINCHEN PROJECT, c/o International
Committee of Lawyers for Tibet, 347 Dolores Street, San Francisco, CA
94110  Phone: [phone]  Fax [phone]  e-mail  [e-mail]


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