For more information contact UAS Information Officer Kevin Myers at 796-6530 or by email.

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November 13, 2003
Tibetan's Peaceful Freedom Fighter to Visit Juneau

Tibetan Monk Palden Gyatso spent 33 years in and out of prisons and labor camps for peacefully protesting the invasion and occupation of his homeland by the Chinese government. All 39 members of his family have been killed since the Chinese takeover in 1959. He was released in 1992 at the age of 61 and immigrated to India.

Gyatso, who became a monk at age 10, said his will to survive the torture and imprisonment came from the older captives who implored him to survive so he could tell their story. "From the beginning, my purpose is to educate people on what happened in Tibet, to people like myself. ... So many people in Western Europe and America do not know that Tibet was a separate nation and our government went through tremendous tragedy through the brutal force of the Chinese. Freedom is such a natural love for everybody; as a human being I must work for freedom."

Gyatso has traveled tirelessly in his quest to intercede for the people of Tibet, making 26 trips to the US alone. In 1997, Autobiography of a Tibetan Monk, which illustrated the brutality that he endured and which continues today. “My story is not a glamorous one of high lamas and exotic ritual, but of how a simple monk succeeded in surviving the destructive forces of a totalitarian ideology,” explains Gyatso in his book.

Gyatso will speak at 6 pm in the Dimond Courthouse on Mon., Nov. 17th and at 7pm in the UAS Egan Library Wed., Nov. 19th. The Juneau World Affairs Council is sponsoring his trip to Juneau and Amnesty International is sponsoring his lecture at UAS.

Amnesty International, Robin Walz: 465-6433
UAS Contact, Kevin Myers: 796-6530

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