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Lukar Jam Atsok

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In April 2015, Lukar Jam announced his candidacy for the 2016 election of Sikyong

Lukar Jam Atsok or commonly Lukar Jam, born 1972,[1] in Tsolho Dragkartri district,[2][3] in Amdo, Tibet.[1] He is a Tibetan refugee and political activist that ran for Prime Minister (Tibetan: Sikyong) of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile in Dharamshala, India in 2016. A former Chinese political prisoner, Lukar Jam went on to become President of the non-profit Gu-Chu-Sum, dedicated to the welfare of Tibetan political prisoners. He has worked as a civil servant with the Tibetan Government-in-Exile and currently lives in the Tibetan enclave of McLeod Ganj, high above Dharamsala, India in the western foothills of the Himalayas.[3]

Biography

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A Tibetan Tiananmen Square commemoration in June 2014, (Left to right) Tenzin Dhadon Sharling, Member of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile; Lukar Jam, Executive member of the Gu Chu Sum Movement of Tibet; Tenzin Jigme, President of the Tibetan Youth Congress; and Dorjee Tseten, Students for a Free Tibet Asia Director. Their talk was followed by the documentary ‘The Tank Man' and a call for the release of Liu Xiabo, prominent Chinese democracy activist and Uyghur Economist Ilham Tohti

The Chinese authorities arrested him in March 1993, together with his friends Tsegon Thar[4] and Namloyak,[5] on his return to Tibet after studying for a year in India in a Tibetan school in exile. Unable to lead a normal life due to constant harassment, he decided to flee from Tibet, but was arrested on his way to exile in Dhingri County, Shigatse Prefecture.[citation needed]

After more than a year of detention in Shigatse Nyari and Seitru prisons[6] in the Tibet Autonomous Region, the Intermediate People's Court sentenced him to 14 years imprisonment[2] on accusations of "counter-revolutionary activities", "separatist activities" and of being the animator of "crimes against revolution." Mr. Lugar Jam was from Tsolho Dragkartri district where he was a businessman prior to his arrest. He was later detained in Terlengkha at the Public Security Bureau Detention Center. Tortured during his detention, he was released on 28 April 1995 for medical reasons after he fell seriously ill and weighing only 30 kg.[7] He left Tibet after recovering from his illness and arrived in Dharamsala, India on 17 November 1997. He worked in the research and analysis wing of the Ministry of Security of the Central Tibetan Administration under the leadership of the 14th Dalai Lama until 5 March 2005. He later became President of Gu-Chu-Sum Movement of Tibet, an organization dedicated to the welfare of former political prisoners in Dharamsala, India. He is also a writer and a poet.[8]

He was a candidate in the 2016 race for Tibetan Prime Minister and was the only candidate to openly support Tibetan independence and received the endorsement of the US non-profit Tibetan National Congress, a Tibetan political party advocating the independence of Tibet.[9]

Lukar Jam was eliminated in the first round of the election similar to a primary. He was opposed to two other candidates Penpa Tsering and Harvard Law School graduate Lobsang Sangay who was elected.[10]

In February 2017, he wrote a poem in honor of Professor Elliot Sperling who was known for his support of Tibetan national independence.[11]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Biography | Lukar Jam Atsok for Sikyong". 17 July 2016. Archived from the original on 17 July 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2017. I am 43 now.
  2. ^ a b "Canada Tibet Committee". www.tibet.ca. 26 July 1995. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2017. Arrest in Ambo, Eastern Tibet – In May 1995, several people suspected of forming an underground political organization in Amdo province were given sentences. All of them were arrested in October 1994 but were sentenced this year. (...) Mr. Lugar Jam is about thirty two years old from Tsolho Dragkartri district. He was a businessman from this district prior to his arrest. He was a member of this organization and maintained contacts with different parts of Tibet because of his accessibility as a businessman. Therefore, he was given a maximum sentence of fourteen years imprisonment.
  3. ^ a b "Testimony by Lukar Jam June 2012, Washington D.C., U.S.A." (PDF). The Internet Archive capture of Laogai.org. 27 January 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2017.[dead link‍]
  4. ^ "Canada Tibet Committee | Library | WTN | Archive | Old". www.tibet.ca. 26 July 1995. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2017. Arrest in Amdo, Eastern Tibet – In May 1995, several people suspected of forming an underground political organization in Amdo province were given sentences. All of them were arrested in October 1994 but were sentenced this year. (...) Mr. Tsegon Thar is about thirty years old from Tsojang Kangtza district. Prior to his arrest, he was a deputy police chief of the district. He was given an eight year prison sentence because of his membership in the underground organization.
  5. ^ "World Tibet Network News". The Canada Tibet Committee/ Le Comité Canada Tibet. 26 July 1995. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2017. Arrest in Amdo, Eastern Tibet – In May 1995, several people suspected of forming an underground political organization in Amdo province were given sentences. All of them were arrested in October 1994 but were sentenced this year. Mr. Namloyak is twenty five years old from Tsolho Dragkartri district. He was a staff of the Cultural Affairs office of the district before his arrest. It is believed that he was the president of the underground organization. He was given seven year prison sentence.
  6. ^ Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (12 May 1998). "Behind Bars: Prison Conditions in Tibet- 1998". Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy. Archived from the original on 5 October 2017. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  7. ^ "A Tibetan's memories of a Chinese prison". The Times of India. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  8. ^ "Ex-Chinese prisoner in race for Tibetan political leadership". Business Standard India. 3 August 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  9. ^ "Harold Thibault Tibet nonviolence deadlocked , Le Monde September 18, 2016". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  10. ^ Thibault, Harold (16 September 2016). "Tibet: la non-violence dans l'impasse". Le Monde.fr (in French). ISSN 1950-6244. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  11. ^ "Lukar Jam's poem in tribute to Elliot Sperling .:. Tibet Sun". www.tibetsun.com. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
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  • [1] Human Rights Watch, "Exile Accounts Written and based on interviews by Mickey Spiegel" (see "Lukar Jam" link)
  • [2] Human Rights Watch, "Lukar Jam (continued)"
  • [3] Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, "Profile: Sentenced to 17 years for 'espionage'"
  • [4] Phayul, "A Tibetan's memories of a Chinese prison" (9 May 2011)
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