Dharamshala (Himachal Pradesh) [India], August 11 : On International Prisoners Justice Day, three Tibetan NGOs including Students for Free Tibet India (SFT), Tibetan Women’s Association and National Democratic Party (NDPT) of Tibet jointly organized a candlelight vigil and highlighted unfair treatment of China meted out to them.
Tibetan activists raised their voices for justice against heinous violations of basic human rights and freedoms endured by countless political prisoners in Tibet. People participating in the candlelight vigil carried picture of the Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama and called for the release of prisoners in Tibet.
Tashi Dhondup, President of the National Democratic Party, called on the international community to send a team to Tibet to inspect its prisons. He said that the number of prisons in the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) has now reached 79.
Speaking to ANI, Tashi Dhondup said, “Many people are unaware or little bit aware about the prison and prisoners inside Tibet. So, we are here to highlight the case of prison in Tibet and the prisoners well being. So, with this candlelight vigil, we are asking international community to immediately send an intervention or inspection team inside Tibet in order to inspect the prisons inside Tibet because of the recent report that we have received from former political prisoners who have recently been released from the prisons. According to them, they're saying that the prisoners are forced to work 17 hours a day and not just that they are not fed properly."
Speaking to ANI, Tenzin Pasang, National Director of Students for Free Tibet India, said, “Through this candlelight vigil, we are trying to shed a light upon all the fallen Tibetan freedom fighters and also for the justice for the political prisoners who have suffered the violations of human rights and freedom in Tibet."
She further said, "And also right now, Tibet, we call it open prison because of the ongoing scrutiny, the surveillance, the restrictions that's happening in Tibet, and all the diminishing of the lifeline of our Tibetan identity, our existence, our culture, our spirituality. And also in solidarity with the Lobsang Tenpa because he served four years in prison just for the allegation of participating in peaceful protest march and he suffered cruel torture in prison and then he succumbed to death on 3rd August. So, we stand in solidarity with him and all the other political prisoners."
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