Tibetan musicians
Artist: Lo Lo, Shawo Tashi, Kelsang Yarphel, Gonpo Tenzin, Trinley Tsekar
Year: 2016
Date of Action:
Region: Asia
Location: Tibet
Subject: Political/Economic/Social Opinion, Religion
Medium: Music
Confronting Bodies: Government of China
Description of Artwork: Tibetan songs.
The Incident: The government of China is holding (at least) five Tibetan musicians, Lo Lo, Shawo Tashi, Kelsang Yarphel, Gonpo Tenzin and Trinley Tsekar, in prison for singing and writing Tibetan songs. The Chinese government uses the charge “seditiously splitting the state” to arbitrarily arrest and imprison anyone they see as a threat. Many of these artists are serving sentences of up to nine years for singing and writing songs or participating in peaceful protests in support of the Dalai Lama or Tibetan independence. Some are reported to suffer from severe health problems due to mistreatment in Chinese custody.
Results of Incident: Ongoing.
Source:
• http://freemuse.org/tibet
Freemuse calls for the release of five Tibetan musicians imprisoned for their art, freemuse, December 2016