Free Walza Norzin Wangmo

After sharing details of the desperate situation she witnessed in Tibet via phone and internet, Walza Norzin Wangmo from Ngaba County was, after seven months of detention, sentenced on 3 November 2008 to five years imprisonment.

Norzin Wangmo is a 30 year old mother of one from Kyungchu township of Ngaba, and her arrest and sentencing demonstrates how threatened the Chinese authorities feel about Tibetans using the technology such as the internet to talk about the situation in their country. Though the actual charges of Norzin Wangmo's case have not been disclosed, it is thought that she has been charged along these lines.

More on internet information access in Tibet
http://www.freetibet.org/about/internet-access

A friend of Norzin wrote of her "To have to spend the best years of your life in a dark prison cell, what misery! That may be your glory, but as you know, an ocean of inexpressible suffering lies behind that accolade of glory. There is no certainty that the experience will not write the final word on your youth and affection, your dreams and ambitions. One thing that makes me happy is that they say you kept your confidence and attitude together while in prison. That is a great reassurance to me, for one. Dear friend!"

The popular web blog 'High Plains Pure Earth' has been carrying letters sent to Norzin Wangmo by her friend and former prisoner, Jamyang Kyi, who said in her third letter:

Today I am trying to finish the third letter. I know that you are waiting for the letter which should be written in Chinese since all letters must be checked by the jailors. When I realised that the letter will not be passed on to you by the jailors, I started to think of composing a letter which would reach you eventually and it took me some time to prepare this letter. This is the reason why this letter is late. When I wrote my first letter to you, I really did not know how to begin the letter and wondered how you would understand the letter.

The punishment given to you by the jailor is an attempt to intimidate you. You should not fall into a deceiving trap and I hope that you will devote yourself to reading books the little time you have. If I were to write a more direct letter, I fear that the jailor would not give you the letter.

Palsa la the place where we played the stone game is exactly located on the hillside which stands behind our office building. From the window of the restroom on the top of the building you can see the mountain range, and every time I recall our meeting my heart pains like a weight of stone pressing on it. The pain in my heart lingers on as this year there are so many sad incidents.

In the meantime, I have not found an answer why I always think of you with such deep sorrow. Therefore, it is impossible for me to find a moment of clear mind resembling the pure sky. Since last year I have been taking sleeping pills to calm down my mind and heart. When people ask me to sing a song, I reply to them that I have no reason to sing songs this year.

I wrote in my last letter that four years is not a long time to console and give strength to you, nonetheless, I am counting the years on my fingers. Dear friend, it has been a year and two months since your arrest. There is not a single day that passes by without my missing you.