In Hindsight, Wisdom From an Elder Tibetan Nun, Imprisoned and Tortured by China
As a journalist, I can't help but remember the late Tibetan nun Ani Panchen, whom I interviewed in California in 2001. Ani Panchen had endured twenty-one years in a Chinese prison, as she was imprisoned for leading 700 Tibetan farmers and nomads on horseback against the invading Chinese People's Liberation Army in the 1950s. I interviewed this profound nun, considered by many to be Tibet's Joan of Arc, when she walked 600 miles (with other former Tibetan political prisoners) from San Francisco to Los Angeles in the "March for Tibet's Independence," to shed light on human rights violations against Tibetans in China's prisons, and to call for the release of the young Panchen Lama, whom the Chinese had abducted and held incommunicado. She started her walk on his 11th birthday, since the Chinese government had held him for five years at that time, incommunicado. She then walked from Nice, France, to Geneva, Switzerland, to protest at the United Nations about the permanent trade status being granted to China.
In my interview with her, she stated, "As a direct result of that invasion in the 1950s, there was massive destruction and desecration of Tibet's culture. There were 6000 monasteries destroyed.... They were the treasure-houses for Tibetan sacred artifacts and relics ... and that is why the monasteries became the first line of attack. They were looted, and the artifacts, gold, and valuables were sold in Hong Kong to raise more money for China's weapons to continue the invasion and conflict in Tibet. China destroyed our heart and soul by burning our holy scriptures."
She also noted, "As a direct result of this invasion, 1.2 million Tibetan people died. There was no sparing of women, children, nuns, or monks.... I resisted the Chinese military movement into Tibet, and I tried to defend my Motherland. That's why China arrested me and put me into prison for 21 years."
She also shared her accounts of torture in prison. She stated, "I had two incidents that were unbearable. The worst punishment was putting very heavy shackles around my ankles for one year and one month, 24 hours per day for that duration. In the winter, it was excruciating, because I felt they were cutting into my skin, like a burning sensation, because the iron got so cold.
"I also had to live in a hole for nine months in solitary confinement. I was put underground and had to live in my own feces. It was a difficult time; it was totally dark. I couldn't see any light and I had to just imagine whether it was day or night. I would sometimes hear a bird singing its song and assume it was daytime. It was a terrible punishment - solitary confinement in total darkness. Some nuns have to endure that punishment for years."
Addressing China's human rights records, she stated, "China not only violates the human rights of Tibetans, but also of its own people. So by being granted this special trade status, China is now being rewarded while conducting such atrocities. China breaks all rules framed by the United Nation for basic human rights. The permanent trade status for China will enslave Tibet more, and more child labor will be used to profit Beijing."
Ani Panchen continued to focus on the role of the United States in this crisis. She stated, "From a personal perspective for Americans, it is not good for America's moral strength and your sense of being a moral nation and peacekeeper in the world. All people who are striving toward independence from Communist nations, all people who are fighting for truth and justice, all people who are fighting for basic human rights as Tibetans are doing, are totally discouraged by this act of the US Congress [of granting permanent Most Favored Trade Status to China]. Therefore, I feel that it is a great concern not just to the Tibetan people, but for Americans too. What do you stand for? What does your nation really stand for morally and ethically in the world?
"Yes, America usually fights for human rights around the world, but when you reward China when they are so blatantly violating such rights, then the basis for your stance is weakened and you lose your moral strength and character to speak to other nations about human rights violations worldwide.
"We are struggling for life and death now in our history. We called for the release of the Panchen Lama, whom China had had under house arrest for five years, incommunicado, at the time. I started my walk from San Francisco on his 11th birthday. He plays an integral part in the survival of Tibetan culture, and the Chinese government was practicing child abuse when they kidnapped him four days after the Dalai Lama identified him as the important lineage holder of Tibetan Buddhist traditions."
Ani Panchen also addressed the World Bank loan to China that Congress approved in 2001. She emphasized, "That loan should have been halted immediately, because it included a $40 million portion to resettle non-Tibetans into the heartland of Tibet. This is cultural genocide, leading Tibetans to become a minority in our own country, a form of ethnic cleansing and a violation of the Genocide Convention."
Addressing conditions for Tibetan women and children, Ani Panchen concluded, "International lawyers have documented illegal detention, mistreatment, torture and imprisonment of Tibetan children.... Because of these conditions, there are 3000 to 4000 refugees yearly crossing the Himalayas to flee the brutal force of China.
"I bore a lot of suffering, but it's not like what Tibetans suffer today. Tibetan women have had to endure coerced abortions and sterilization to avoid imprisonment of their husbands. Women and children are being abused using painful electric batons to their mouths and genitals. Nuns in prisons are being brutally raped. The Chinese Army would forcibly take blood from the nuns in prison. They would tell us it was for the Army hospitals, but it would make us very weak because they would take so much blood an also beat us. Prison sentences are sometimes expanded for ten more years if we sang songs of Tibet. Pictures of the Dalai Lama are still banned, and he's a Nobel Peace Laureate! Many are arrested and tortured if they possess a picture of him."
She concluded, "His Holiness the Dalai Lama told me and the other peace walkers that we were touching Americans' sense of liberty and justice in our efforts. I hope you Americans will vote for political leaders who make human rights a priority." Ani Panchen died of heart failure a few months later at her home in Dharamsala, India.
No comments:
Post a Comment