AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL U.S.A.
GROUP 4 of Seattle, Washington

Ngawang Phulchung

Case Background

In April, 1989, Ngawang Phulchung was re-arrested for distributing leaflets supporting Tibetan independence and a Tibetan translation of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Ngawang was officially described as the leader of a "reactionary organization" whose goal was "splitting the motherland." He was accused of "collecting intelligence and passing it to the enemy" (the "enemy" is the Dalai Lama's Tibetan government-in-exile) and "seriously undermining national security." Ngawang was sentenced in November 1989 to nineteen years in prison, the longest sentence given to a Tibetan political prisoner. He is currently being held in Drapchi Prison in Lhasa, Tibet.

Until 1989, Ngawang had been a Buddhist monk at Drepung Monastery, which had been re-opened after having been destroyed by the Chinese during the Cultural Revolution. He was an advanced student pursuing a degree in theology. In 1987, Ngawang and twenty other monks staged a peaceful demonstration in Lhasa protesting the Chinese occupation of Tibet. For this the monks were beaten by police and taken to prison. Ngawang was held for four months without ever being charged with a crime. After being released, he began to print leaflets critical of the Chinese government. At his trial in 1989, the Chinese government stated, "Let the sentence on Ngawang Phulchung serve as a stern warning for separatists both at home and abroad that those who split the motherland will come to no good end."

Treatment in Prison

In April, 1991, Ngawang and seventeen other monks were severely beaten and placed in solitary confinement after a visit to the prison by US diplomats who were led by then-ambassador James Lilley on March 30. A group of prisoners handed the delegation a petition protesting conditions at the prison. The petition was confiscated by prison officials. After those prisoners were punished and transferred to a labor camp, Ngawang and the other monks protested and were beaten and placed in solitary confinement for six weeks.

Drapchi Prison has been the scene of some of China's most egregious human rights violations in Tibet. Amnesty has recorded at least nine deaths in detention in the last ten years. Reports of torture are common and well documented. During her 1998 visit to Tibet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson refused to visit the prison, citing a history of retaliation against prisoners who attempted to communicate with previous delegations.

Why Is Amnesty Involved?

"Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference."

Amnesty is also concerned with the repeated allegations of torture (which not only violates international standards, but China's own laws) and the refusal of the Chinese government to allow access to prisons by independent observers without the fear of reprisals against the prisoners. In addition, political dissidents in Tibet are subject to arbitrary arrest (contravening Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights), unfair trials (contravening Article 10), lack of freedom of movement (contravening Article 13) and the loss of the right to peaceful assembly (contravening Article 20 of the UDHR). IN 1991, Amnesty International adopted Ngawang Phulchung as a prisoner of conscience, imprisoned in violation of the UDHR. His case was awarded to Amnesty International Group 4 in Seattle, Washington, as well as groups in Switzerland, Spain and the Côte D'Ivoire.

Chinese President Jiang Zemin has recently promised to observe "international norms" when dealing with political dissent. We in Amnesty International feel that this must include the release of Tibetan prisoners like Ngawang who have been imprisoned for the non-violent expression of their political beliefs.

Ngawang In His Own Words

"Because His Holiness [the Dalai Lama] proposed a peace plan in the American Congress last year, the Chinese accused His Holiness of 'splitting the motherland.' The Chinese said that Tibetans in Tibet are happy under the Chinese Communist Party and that Tibetans do not want independence. But we Tibetans are not happy under Chinese rule, and we do not agree with what the Chinese said. We thought that the worst thing the Chinese could do was either to kill us, or to put us in prison. But we were already prepared to give up our lives for the six million Tibetans."

What you can do

Please send courteous letters expressing your concern at the imprisonment of Ngawang Phulchung. Urge that he be immediately released on the grounds that he is a prisoner of conscience. Write to:

Amnesty's Prisoner of Conscience case file