A Tibetan girl, who was jailed in China at the age of just 15 for demanding ‘independent Tibet’, has said that she wants to make the world aware of ‘Chinese oppression’. Tibetan girl Namki and her sister were captured by Chinese authorities in the Tibetan county of Ngaba on October 21, 2015, for publicly displaying portraits of the Dalai Lama and demanding the ‘liberation’ of Tibet. Both sisters were jailed for three years. At that time Namaki was only 15 years old.
‘Chinese repression’ in Tibet
Namki said that she wants to make people around the world aware about ‘Chinese oppression’ in Tibet. She reached India in June last year, a few weeks after entering Nepal after an arduous 10-day trek. Namaki is now 24 years old. Currently, Namki is a student of ‘Sherab Gatsel Ling’, an educational institution run by the Tibetan government in exile in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh.
People of Tibet are living in fear
Namki told reporters here, “What the Chinese government is showing to the whole world about Tibet is completely opposite to the reality. The Tibetan people are living under increasing fear and repression.” He alleged that China is trying to weaken Tibet’s identity. “I want to tell the world what is happening in Tibet,” Namki said. I want to become the voice of the Tibetan people and tell the world about their pain and suffering and Chinese oppression.”
the police caught
Namki, born in an elite nomadic family of Charo village, was detained along with her sister Tenzin Dolma after they demonstrated in a key area of Ngaba calling for an ‘independent Tibet’ and demanding the early return of the Dalai Lama to Tibet. Shared the memory of that incident of leaving. “Not more than 10 minutes into our march, four-five police officers came and snatched the pictures (of the Dalai Lama) from our hands,” he said of the October 21, 2015 protests. “We did not let the photographs go away and protested against the police action. Eventually, the police pulled us out onto the road and asked us to keep quiet. But we continuously raised slogans.
were tortured
Namki said, “After that they handcuffed our hands and put us in the police vehicle. Took us to the detention center in Ngaba County. Then they took us to another detention center in Barkam city. I and my sister were subjected to severe torture.” He said the two sisters were interrogated in a small room where a heater was turned on to generate extreme heat. Both of them were asked different questions, like who instigated us to protest, where did we get the pictures of Dalai Lama etc. “Despite mental and physical torture, all we responded was that we both decided to protest independently and no one instigated us,” he said. We also said that our family members did not know anything about it.
This is how I reached Nepal
Namaki said the trial began almost a year after his arrest. He said he saw his sister for the first time after his arrest on the day the hearing began, but the court sent both of them to jail. Namki said that on October 21, 2018, both the sisters were released from jail after completing their sentences. Namki alleged that Chinese authorities ‘harassed’ his family members and relatives in the wake of his and his sister’s protest. He said that on May 13, 2023, without informing anyone, he started his migration journey with his aunt Tsering Ki and first crossed a border and reached Nepal.
what is going on in tibet
Namki said that she had reached Dharamshala on June 28 last year. After living in India for about 10 months, he is now worried that his family may be targeted there. “People in Tibet are living in miserable conditions,” he said. I want to be their voice in front of the world. I want to visit different countries and campaign and tell them what’s going on in Tibet.”
what did china do
Following a failed anti-China rebellion in 1959, the 14th Dalai Lama fled Tibet to India where he established a government-in-exile. There have been no formal talks between Chinese government officials and the Dalai Lama or his representative since 2010. Beijing has been saying that it freed ‘laborers and slaves’ from a brutal theocracy in Tibet and put the region on the path to prosperity and modernization. China has in the past accused the Dalai Lama of trying to divide Tibet. (Language)
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