By Choekyi Lhamo
DHARAMSHALA, Oct. 14: The US-based International Campaign for Tibet will award its first human rights prize to the founders of Tibet Film Festival and anthropologist and prolific China researcher Dr. Adrian Zenz whose 2021 report exposed Chinese abuses in Xinjiang. The two will receive the honor and 3,000 euros at a ceremony on October 15 at the Berlin Environmental forum, in the presence of CTA President Penpa Tsering, among others.
With the newfound award, ICT said that the rights group recognizes and honours “individuals or organizations in recognition of their special achievements in the field of politics, society and culture in relation to Tibet and China, East Turkestan, southern Mongolia, Hong Kong or Taiwan.” The award will seek people and organizations, preferably from Deutsch-speaking nations or Europe who are examples at showing “civil courage” on human rights and democracy, or campaigns involving preservation of their endangered cultures.
Dr. Adrain Nikolaus Zenz is a German anthropologist known for his research on internment camps in East Turkestan (Xinjiang) and his explosive report which uncovered China’s continued exploitation of the Uyghurs. “It is my special honor and privilege to become the first recipient of ICT’s new Snow Lion Human Rights Award, for work uncovering rights abuses among Tibetans and Uyghurs,” Dr. Zenz tweeted.
ICT applauded the researcher for his commitment, “He spent years researching on the internet and found, for example, the tenders for building the re-education camps in East Turkestan on Chinese government websites. He was also the first to prove that hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs are forced to work in the cotton fields of East Turkestan.”
The other awardee is the Tibet film festival which was established in 2009. The annual event is inspired by former political prisoner Dhondup Wangchen’s documentary “Leaving Fear Behind”. The festival recently concluded its 13th edition with screenings in Zurich, London, Berlin and Dharamshala, by showcasing various visual content and feature films by Tibetan filmmakers from both inside and outside Tibet. The Snow Lion prize has been given to the festival for “helping to publicize the complex facets of Tibet’s endangered culture”.
The prize was instituted by ICT Germany formerly to honour journalists for their reporting on Tibet but was changed to a human rights prize this year.
