Ngawang Choephel Released on Medical Parole
21 January, 2002: Former Fulbright scholar Ngawang Choephel, 34, right, walks with Lodi Gyari, special envoy of the Dalai Lama, on his arrival Sunday, Jan. 20, 2002, at Reagan National National Airport in Washington, USA. (AP Photo Ken Cedeno)
Ngawang Choephel, a Tibetan ethnomusicologist arrested in Shigatse, Tibet, in September 1995 was issued medical parole by Chinese authorities after serving more than 6 years of an 18-year sentence on charges of espionage while filming traditional arts in Tibet. He arrived in Detroit, USA, at 10:48 am, Sunday.
The 36-year-old Tibetan exile attended Middlebury College in Vermont as a
Fulbright scholar in 1993 and 1994. In 1995 Ngawang traveled to Tibet to make a documentary film about traditional Tibetan music and dance, and on September 15, 1995, was arrested by the Chinese authorities in Shigatse. Chinese authorities only admitted to his detention on October 1996, and on December 26, 1996, Ngawang was sentenced to 18 years’ imprisonment and four years deprivation of political rights for “espionage” and “counter-revolutionary activities.” His sentence was confirmed on September 24, 1997 when his appeal was rejected. It was not until May 1998 however, that the Chinese authorities gave any confirmation to Ngawang’s whereabouts.
Tibetan advocacy groups, human rights organisations, parliamentarians and
several governments have vigorously pressed for Mr. Choephel’s release. In
response to repeated inquiries about his well being from the Vermont
delegation of the U.S. Congress, the Chinese Embassy reported in October
1999 that Mr. Choephel had been suffering serious medical ailments.
In a press release the Central Tibetan Administration welcomed Ngawang’s release and called upon “the Government of People’s Republic of China to release other hundreds of political prisoners” languishing in Chinese prisons.
“The campaign for Ngawang Choephel’s medical parole has ended successfully
today in a clear vindication of the world-wide efforts of so many to help
secure his release,” said John Ackerly, President of the International
Campaign for Tibet.
Mr. Choephel is the first high-profile Tibetan prisoner to be issued early
release, although a number of Chinese political prisoners have been released or granted medical parole, usually prior to a major diplomatic event. Mr. Choephel’s release comes fewer than five weeks before US President Bush’s State visit to Beijing, scheduled for February 21 and 22, and as the international community is examining China’s human rights record in advance of the annual UN Human Rights Commission meeting in Geneva beginning on March 20.
Mr. Choephel walked off of Northwest flight number 88 from Beijing with an
American diplomat. He was met by an official of the State Department and
released into the care of representatives of the International Campaign for
Tibet, which will look after his immediate needs including his health
requirements. The Department of State had made arrangements for the arrival
of Mr. Choephel through the Office of the Special Envoy of His Holiness the
Dalai Lama. Mr. Choephel is travelling on a U.S. tourist visa and has been
officially released to India via the United States.
“The International Campaign for Tibet welcomes the release of Ngawang Choephel and we are happy for his mother, Sonam Dekyi, who has hoped and
worked tirelessly for his release,” said Ackerly.
“The Tibetan Women’s Association is extremely pleased at the release of Ngawang Choephel”, said Dolkar Lhamo Kirti, the Association’s president.
Yet there are concerns that Ngawang’s might have been released as a political gesture prior to President Bush’s China visit later in February.
The Dharamsala-based Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy said in an press release that “This gesture by the Beijing Government is however not to be understood as China respecting human rights in Tibet”, and called upon the Chinese Government to release more that 250 known political prisoners still in Chinese prisons in Tibet.
“But we also want to reiterate that while Ngawang Choephel was a political
prisoner, he was not a political figure. There are still hundreds of Tibetan political prisoners including Chadrel Rinpoche, Ngawang Sangdrol, Tanak Jigme Sangpo and the Panchen Lama – one of the world’s youngest political prisoners – imprisoned by China for their beliefs or often non-violently standing up for basic freedoms and rights for Tibetans,” said Ackerly of Washington-based International Campaign for Tibet.
“We are encouraged by this appropriate resolution of Ngawang Choephel’s
case, but we will continue to call on the government of the People’s
Republic of China to take systematic and structural steps to improve human
rights in Tibet,” said Ackerly.
Background info on Ngawang Choephel