Security Kalon Dolma Gyari paying scarf to late Political Prisoner Jador Phuntsok Wangchuk
Dharamshala: Security Kalon Dolma Gyari attends memorial prayers for late political prisoner Jador Phuntsok Wangchuk at Community hall, Bhagsu Road, Mcleod Ganj on Friday, 5 July 2024.
BIOGRAPHY
The patriot Jador Phuntsok Wangchuk was born in the twelfth month of the Tibetan calendar in Palri village, Jomgang Chukortsang, Lhoka Chonggye County. From the age of six to twenty-one, he attended primary and middle schools in Tibet, where he studied Tibetan, Chinese, and English, as well as chemistry, physics, geography, and history.
During his school years, he heard the cries of those who had sacrificed their lives for the sake of their country and people during the 27 September 1987 pro-independence protests. He was deeply moved by the violence, torture, arrests, and deaths of many heroes. The tragic stories of bloodshed and tears saddened him profoundly. His disdain for the Communist Chinese deepened, prompting him to join Lhoka Second Secondary School in 1990. There, he dedicated himself to promoting the Tibetan language alongside like-minded students. In May, they coordinated efforts to display posters advocating Tibetan independence and the expulsion of Chinese forces from Tibet. These actions led to arrests and imprisonment of students and teachers.
He took sole responsibility for the campaign, shielding others from danger. After his arrest in June, he endured months in Nedong prison before facing trial in July at Lhoka Tsethang Intermediate People’s Court. Despite filing an appeal in September, he was sentenced to five years for spreading counter-revolutionary messages. He served his sentence at Drapchi Prison in Lhasa, where, in 1998, he orchestrated a protest.
Upon his release, Wangchuk went into exile in India in 2000. From 2004 to 2010, he was secretary of the Political Prisoners Movement of Tibet.
Phunstok Wangchuk died in New York City on 20 June 2024.
-Report filed by the Department of Security-
