Remembering the Honourable Gangnyi La

High Peaks Pure Earth has translated a blogpost from the original Tibetan about the detention of Labrang monk, writer, photographer and environmental activist Kunga Tsayang (here referred to by his pen name Gangnyi meaning Sun of Snowland) as written by a friend of his.

This personal and heartfelt tribute to Gangnyi was posted on this blog http://www.tibettl.com/blog/u/geluba on March 24 2009 (photo above). Gangnyi himself also used to blog on the same website http://www.tibettl.com/blog/u/gangni but both sites are inaccessible at the time of writing.

Image from Gangnyi’s blog. The Tibetan says Gangnyi, Special Year.
The photographer on the right is Gangnyi.

A concise biography of Gangnyi can be read on the blog run by Students for a Free Tibet. His arrest was first reported by Reporters Without Borders on March 23 2009 and has since also been reported by the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy and the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Gangnyi’s essay Who Are the Real Separatists can be read on the website TibetWrites and an earlier posting by High Peaks Pure Earth about splittism can be read here.

The Tibetan in green says, “forest, water and mountain from my hometown”.
The Tibetan in red says, “an unhealable wound is created”.

Remembering the honourable Gangnyi La (gangs nyi)

I wasn’t able to participate in the blog too often these days and therefore I haven’t been able to keep in touch with my blog friends and stay informed. Today I suddenly heard that Gangnyi la has been imprisoned and I would like to express my regret and remember him. When an active and important friend like him disappears, I think we have to think about the situation. When everyone disappears like that, don’t we feel that our right to live out our lives peacefully is taken away? How can he be arrested without any reason? The motive of his arrest is not based on personal crimes he has committed. Therefore if we wish for a free and and peaceful life, we cannot ignore these incidents happening over and over again. Finally I would like to hope for the well being of honorable Gangnyi la’s mind, body and speech and that the wishes of the Tibetans from all three provinces may succeed.