(TibetanReview.net, Jan26, 2014) – A biography of Tagna Jigme Sangpo, a man who had accumulated jail sentences totaling 41 years for criticizing Chinese rule or policies in occupied Tibet since 1960, was released at Dharamsala, India, on Jan 24. The book, ‘Mitse Nyongtsor’, was released by the head of the exile Tibetan Administration, Sikyong Lobsang Sangay.
China released Jigme Sangpo on medical parole on Mar 31, 2002, after having served 32 years, responding to strong and persistent international pressure. The octogenarian has been living in Switzerland since then.
Jigme Sangpo cited the Dalai Lama’s call on Tibetans who had endured Chinese rule to record their experiences as the main reason for writing the book.
He was first arrested in 1960 from the Lhasa Primary School, where he was a teacher, for “corrupting the minds of children with reactionary ideas.” He was again tried and jailed for three years in 1964 for his remarks condemning Chinese repression and for his failure to criticize the late Panchen Lama during thamzing (public struggle) sessions against the latter.
The book, which is in Tibetan, has been published by Gu-Chu-Sum, an association of former Tibetan political prisoners, Dharamsala. It was drafted by Lhachap Jimpa and edited by Thupten Yarphel, both Gu-Chu-Sum members.