Protector of the rights of Tibetans
Beijing, 31 Mar. (Reuters/EP)
The Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, has highlighted the figure of ex-Tibetan communist Phuntso Wangye, died this Sunday at 91 year old, and has highlighted that, despite his defense of communism, He never stopped defending the rights of Tibetans before the Chinese authorities.
In a statement, el Dalai Lama ha asegurado que Phuntso ha demostrado que una persona "puede ser un verdadero comunista" and , at the same time, proudly display your Tibetan origin. "A pesar de su firme defensa de los ideales comunistas, Chinese authorities interpreted Phuntso's defense of his Tibetan identity in a negative light and, for it, passed 18 years in prison.
"Él permaneció impertérrito e, even before his retirement, continued concerned about the rights and well-being of the Tibetan people, algo que siempre abordó cada vez que tenía oportunidad en sus contactos con los líderes chinos", has stood out.
Phuntso Wangye passed away this Sunday at 91 year old, as announced by his son Phunkam, in statements to Reuters. "Nos ha abandonado esta mañana. Before his death he was a member of the Communist Party. After it we have invited the lamas to pray (for your soul), según la cultura tradicional tibetana", He said.
Born in 1922 in the Tibetan county of Batang, currently located in the Chinese region of Sichuan, founded the Tibetan Communist Party and launched a series of guerrilla operations against the authorities before joining the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 1949.
Phuntso led the People's Liberation Army troops in Tibet during 1951 and worked as a translator for leaders Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai during talks with the Dalai Lama in 1954.
Thereafter,, He was a victim of one of the authorities' purges and spent 18 years imprisoned in solitary confinement before being rehabilitated in 1978.
Phuntso turned down the opportunity to be president of the Tibetan regional government and began to toughen his criticism of the central government's stance on Tibet and the Dalai Lama., who fled to India in 1959 after a failed uprising against the Beijing authorities.
In several letters sent to former President Hu Jintao, criticized local leaders for using the campaign against Tibetan separatism to further their own interests and for refusing to recognize the role the Dalai Lama plays in Tibetan society.
