Below is information about Phuntsok Nyidron’s arrest and imprisonment.

Buddhist nun Phuntsok Nyidron was arrested in Lhasa on 14 October 1989 for leading a small demonstration of nuns who called for Tibetan independence and sang songs in praise of the Dalai Lama, who had just been announced as the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize winner. Originally sentenced to nine years imprisonment, her sentence was extended by eight years in 1993 when she and a group of other nuns recorded independence songs and poems on a cassette recorder and smuggled them out of jail. Phuntsok Nyidron was named as a recipient of the Reebok Human Rights Award for the year 1995.

Arrest
1989 was a year of heightened political tension in both China and Tibet. Following three days of demonstrations in Lhasa in early March, martial law was declared on March 7. All foreigners were expelled from the city, and People’s Armed Police conducted house to house searches, rounding up and arresting thousands of Tibetans. Regular military displays were held to demonstrate China’s superior power.

Despite this intimidation, Tibetans began staging small demonstrations again in September of that year. On 5 October, the award of the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize to the Dalai Lama was announced in Oslo. The news was broadcast on the Tibetan Service of All India Radio, and word quickly spread among the Tibetans in Lhasa. On the morning of 11 October, Tibetans began celebrating the award in the Barkhor, the traditional Tibetan area of Lhasa, by burning large quantities of incense, throwing handfuls of tsampa, the roasted barley flour which is the staple food of Tibetans, into the air, and throwing thousands of prayer flags.

On 13 October, meetings were held in all major government offices to denounce the award of the Peace Prize to the Dalai Lama and condemn the celebrations. Security forces were instructed to begin arresting tsampa-throwers, whose activities were to be treated as “counter-revolutionary”.

It was against this background that 21 year old Phuntsok Nyidron and a small group of other nuns from the tiny Michungri Nunnery near Lhasa staged a small demonstration in the Barkhor on 14 October, singing songs of praise to the Dalai Lama and calling for Tibetan independence. In an article published in the official “Tibet Daily”, Phuntsok Nyidron was described as “the ringleader” of the demonstration. She was sentenced to eight years inprisonment.

Sentence Extended
In 1993, Phuntsok Nyidron and 13 other nuns recorded songs on a tape recorder smuggled into Drapchi prison about their love for their families and their homeland. The tape was smuggled out of the prison and circulated secretly in Tibet. As a consequence, Phuntsok Nyidron had her sentence extended by nine years, bringing it to a total of 17 years. Other nuns in the group also received extensions in their sentences, and all were severely beaten as a punishment for their actions.

On the tape, each nun announces her name and then dedicates a song or poem to her family or supporters, designed to show that the prisoners are in good spirits.

One of the nuns says “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. Therefore I offer a song.” “Please do not worry about us,” says one nun on the tape. “We are surviving well and we remain united in our determination.”

Traditional songs have been adapted by the prisoners to describe their current situation and give an impression of the experience of prison life: “Our food is like pig food, we are beaten and treated brutally,” goes a song adapted from a traditional Eastern Tibetan poem which compares the Dalai Lama to the water that sustains the fish in a lake. “But this will never change the Tibetan people’s perseverance: it will remain unfaltering”, it continues.

Almost all the nuns include in their song a refrain about the loss of their country: I am in prison but I have no regrets; My country has not been sold: [it has been stolen]; For that we have shed so many tears, Oh so many tears!

Reebok Award
In 1995, Phuntsok Nyidron was named as a winner of that year’s Reebok Human Rights Award. The award seeks to recognise people under the age of 30 from all over the world who have made significant contributions to the cause of human rights. Former US President Jimmy Carter, a member of the award committee, said, “I proudly join Reebok in celebrating the vision and tenacity of the recipient of this year’s awards”.

Fears for Health and Safety
In May 1998, prisoners in Drapchi prison staged two protests, resulting in the deaths of at least six nuns, three monks and one layperson. Following the protests, Phuntsok Nyidron is reported to have been severely beaten after trying to protect another nun, Ngawang Sangdrol, who was also being badly beaten. There are serious fears for her current health and safety.

Sources: Tibet Information Network, Human Rights Watch Asia, Amnesty International

For further information;

Success for Tibet Movement as Nun Phuntsok Nyidron Released for details.

The Role of Tibetan Women and Nuns in the resistance

Buddhist Persecution in Tibet

Drapchi 14 nun and political prisoner: Ngawang Sangdrol is Free!