Dharamshala — Tibetan writer and poet Rongwo Gendun Lhundup of Rebgong county, northeast Tibet, has been released after four years in unjust imprisonment for speaking out about the plight of Tibetan writers. Renowned Tibetan environmentalist and philanthropist Karma Samdrup was also released yesterday after 15 years of unfair imprisonment for protecting Tibet's environment.
Rongwo Gendun Lhundup, the 48-year-old Tibetan writer and poet hailing from Rebgong County in Amdo province of north-eastern Tibet (Ch: Tongren County, Qinghai, China) has been arrested by Chinese authorities on December 2, 2020, for allegedly raising his voice in freedom of authors and artists to exercise their thoughts freely.
After more than a year in detention, he was sentenced to four years imprisonment by the Xining Intermediate People's Court on December 1, 2021, on a charge of "inciting separatism" and two years of "deprivation of political rights". On November 19, 2024, he wrote a poem in his own name indicating that he had just been released after spending four years in a Chinese prison.
In October 2020, Lhundup released an anthology of poems called “Khorwa” and contributed to the website “Waseng-drak” which promotes freedom of expression for writers and artists without restriction. Although his freedom to express his opinions was restricted, Lhundup promised to follow his heart and continue writing and asked for the support of his readers.
Lhundup has been long committed to the preservation of Tibetan culture and language. He has been behind bars several times for this very reason and has long been under constant Chinese surveillance. Lhundup expressed his demand on the internet that authors and artists should have the freedom to express their thoughts and feelings without fear of repression. People believed that might have been the cause of his imprisonment.
Lhundup was born in 1974, at Dhowa Town, Rebgong County of Amdo in north-eastern Tibet. His pen-name is ‘Lhamko’ meaning shoes. He started writing Tibetan essays in 1994. Some of his well-received creations are ‘black beads’, 'songs of life’, ‘the white scripted book’, ‘poetries of great lords’ etc. He started teaching in the Rongwo monastery from 2000 onward. Won many eminent prizes and was frequently recommended by others for counterchecking of books and teaching.
Another Tibetan, a renowned Tibetan environmentalist and philanthropist Karma Samdrup was also released on November 19, 2024, after 15 years in prison. Karma Samdrup was detained following efforts to secure the release of his two brothers, Rinchen Samdrup and Chime Namgyal, who were imprisoned in August 2009 for their wildlife conservation efforts in Chamdo County, Tibet. But later, at the age of 42, he was sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment in June 2010 by the People's Court of Yanqi Hui Autonomous County, Xinjiang, for allegedly excavating and robbing ancient tombs.
