Dhondup Wangchen, Tibetan Filmmaker, Nominated For Nobel Peace Prize 2022

Lhasa, February 4: Dhondup Wangchen, a Tibetan filmmaker and a former political prisoner, has reportedly been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize 2022, local media has reported. The filmmaker was nominated by the Green Party spokesperson and biologist Rasmus Hansson, who said Wangchen is "the memory of the Tibetans' obvious demands for human rights."

The Norwegian environmentalist met Wangchen in January during his campaign where he urged authorities to boycott the Beijing 2022 Olympics that are to be held from Friday, Phayul.com reported on Friday.

The 47-year-old Tibetan activist was imprisoned in Tibet by Chinese authorities in 2008 for six years on the charges of "subversion" for his documentary "Leaving Fear Behind", along with Golog Jigme.  Who Are Nobel Peace Prize 2021 Recipients Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov? Know All About Them.

The film featured interviews of ordinary Tibetans voicing their feelings on the Summer Olympics in China and the CCP government repression in Tibet, according to Phayul.com. Wangchen fled from Tibet after his release in 2014 and was granted asylum in the US where he has since lived with his family.  China Has Continuously Targeted Tibetan Buddhism Since Mao’s Cultural Revolution, Says Report.

The self-taught filmmaker was the recipient of the 2012 International Press Freedom given by the New-York based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) for his courageous documentation to show the glimpse of Tibetans suffering inside Tibet. Wangchen kicked off a speaking tour to 15 countries in Europe in November last year beginning in Paris to urge the International Olympic Committee (IOC), national Olympic committees, and government officials to boycott the Winter Olympics in 2022.

"You see the world coming together; I see a suffering nation, forgotten. Athletes are preparing for the biggest competition of their lives, yet my brothers and sisters are struggling for fundamental rights. I do this for the honour of my own people, and all oppressed persons, in respect for the fundamental principles of the Olympic tradition, and to strive to make the world a better place," he said in his Olympic oath when he launched his campaign, according to the media outlet.

The prestigious Nobel Peace Prize nomination is a step further into Dhondup Wangchen's list of achievements as he continues to tell his story of imprisonment, the plight of his country under Chinese rule and life after the exile.

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