(TibetanReview.net, Sep27’26) – Environmentalist as well as education and Ladakh activist Sonam Wangchuk has on Sep 26 clarified remarks he had made on the first anniversary of the violence-marred demonstration in the Union Territory’s capital Leh on Sep 24, comparing the police crackdown that day to the situation in Tibet under Chinese rule. He expressed deep apology for the hurt it may have caused his Tibetan friends. His remarks were widely covered in the Indian media, prompting a rebuttal from the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA).
His clarification came after the CTA Spokesperson and Secretary Tenzin Lekshay expressed serious concern over his remarks. Posting on X on Sep 25, Lekshay said “such a comparison is neither accurate nor reflective of the realities inside Tibet. Tibet continues to remain under China’s authoritarian rule, where Tibetans face systematic repression and restrictions on their fundamental rights and religious freedom, alongside increasingly intrusive policies aimed at undermining and eroding Tibet’s distinct cultural, religious and national identity.”
Responding to it, the Leh Apex Body leader Wangchuk said, “I was only comparing a specific incident on a particular day and of course not with decades of sufferings that Tibetan people have gone through.”
“I have no intentions whatsoever to cause any hurt to anyone, least my dear Tibetan friends… I deeply apologise from the core of my heart,” he said in a Facebook post.
He also said, as quoted by ibtimes.co.in Sep 26, “I understand the pain of my Tibetan friends and have always opposed China’s repression, but if you had seen what the people of Leh suffered that fateful day, you might not disagree. Although Ladakh has always been a prosperous part of India, last year was the worst.”
“Some people have asked me if it is right to compare the brutal killings in Leh on Sep 24 last year with China’s repression in Tibet. I don’t blame them because they know what happened in Leh that day, as the internet was completely shut down for several weeks.”
He then sought to explain: “In a small town of 20,000 people, four people were brutally murdered, one committed suicide, 80 were injured, and 75 were arrested on charges including attempted murder.”
“And all this was done without any firing orders, which is considered premeditated violence,” he added.
Earlier, in his speech on Sep 24 in Leh, the Leh Apex Body (LAB) leader said that the police had been misused during the violence in the city. “Ladakh chose India for its democracy…. We chose India so we could live here with our heads held high. Aisa zulm kiya ja raha hai Ladakh par jo cheen Tibet par nahin kar raha hai (Ladakh is being suppressed in a way that even China is not doing in Tibet),” the indianexpress.com Sep 26 quoted him as having said.
Wangchuk was stated to have made the remarks while talking about the fear among people in Ladakh over the past year. He also reportedly sought India’s Home Minister Amit Shah’s resignation, blaming him for what he termed a “massacre” in Ladakh.
LAB and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), representing the Buddhist and Muslim majority parts of of the Union Territory, have been spearheading demand for a separate state status and the Sixth Schedule protection under the Constitution of India. Talks remain ongoing with the Union Government, as at that time.
The Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution provides for the administration of tribal areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram through Autonomous District Councils. It aims to protect tribal land, resources, and culture by granting legislative, judicial, and executive autonomy to these council.