Lines from a song recorded by imprisoned nuns
Ngawang Sangdrol is a Buddhist nun who believes that Tibet should be independent from China. She has been sentenced to 18 years imprisonment by the Chinese authorities for shouting slogans such as 'Free Tibet", singing pro-independence songs and participating in peaceful demonstrations. Her imprisonment violates Articles 18 and 19 of the UDHR which guarantee freedom of conscience and of expression.
Ngawang Sangdrol was first arrested in 1990 in Lhasa after taking part in a pro-independence demonstration lasting less than five minutes. She was held for four months.
In 1992 she was arrested again after staging a demonstration in central Lhasa calling for Tibetan independence. She was sentenced to three years in jail. This was increased to nine years in 1993 when she was convicted with 13 other imprisoned nuns of composing and recording pro-independence songs inside Drapchi Prison. The songs were recorded on a tape-recorder smuggled into the prison.
The tape was then circulated secretly in Tibet. On the tape each nun dedicates a song or poem to their supporters. "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," sings one. "We are beaten and treated brutally," sings another, 'but this will never change the Tibetan people's perseverance."
Tibetan political prisoners are often tortured or ill-treated, in violation of Article 5 of the UDHR, which prohibits torture and ill-treatment.
Despite her suffering, Ngawang Sangdrol continued to proclaim her beliefs. In 1996, while undergoing punishment for a breach of prison rules; she shouted "Free Tibet." As a result, Ngawang Sandrol and four other nuns, who are being punished, were reportedly beaten by prison guards.
Ngawang Sanderol was subsequently singled out for severe punishment. She was held in a solitary confinement cell with reduced food rations for several months. In July 1996 her prison sentence was doubled to 18 years, the longest sentence passed on a woman political prisoner in Tibet.
February 2, 2002