ABOUT THE PROJECT
Many have heard the rally cry "Free Tibet!", but few are aware of the past events that have shaped the Tibetan struggle against China's dominance. Exploring this little-known territory in a documentary currently in production, CIA in Tibet traces the hidden history of a secret CIA operation to back Tibet's fight for survival, one that lasted 16 years, to the rebellion that continues today. From CIA-supplied weapons, funding and training in guerrilla warfare to a conflicted Tibetan government and people under siege, the inner-workings behind the elusive mystery of both Tibet and the CIA uncover complex characters grappling with a history-changing geopolitical power struggle. The Dalai Lama, a central figure throughout, has been an icon of peace that has kept the Tibetan cause alive, but Tibet remains a political underdog facing overwhelming odds. How has CIA involvement in a Tibetan Buddhist world, a paradox in many ways, altered the course of Tibet's fate?
Produced by the daughter of a former CIA officer on the Tibetan Task Force, unique access to first-hand accounts combine with rare and recently declassified archival media, recent events in the US and India, and diverse perspectives from noted scholars and leading activists. Following Tibet's unrelenting struggle against what has become the second-most powerful country on earth, the film raises challenging questions on the justification for violence, the cost of freedom, and the evolving roles the US, Tibet and China play in our world.
INTERVIEWED SO FAR
Former CIA Officers:
Clay Cathey
Case Officer for the Tibetan Task Force, 1958-1962. Operated out of Washington DC, and Calcutta, India.
John Greaney
Deputy Chief of the Tibetan Task Force, 1957-1961, in charge of communications at CIA headquarters.
Ken Knaus
Training Instructor at Camp Peary, VA and Camp Hale, CO, 1958-1961. Chief of the Tibetan Task Force, 1961-1965. Author of Orphans of the Cold War.
Ray Starke
Training Instructor in radio communications at Camp Peary, VA and Camp Hale, CO, 1958-1960.
Bruce Walker
Case Officer and Training Instructor in Camp Hale, Colorado, and India, 1960-1968. The only CIA officer that spoke Tibetan.
Former Freedom Fighters:
Bhusang
CIA-trained in Camp Hale, Colorado. Captured by the Chinese in a battle at Markham and imprisoned for 17 years.
Donyo Jagortsang (AKA Prince of Derge)
Commander in the Chushi Gangdruk (the Tibetan resistance army) & CIA-trained in the US. After being air-dropped in Pembar, he fought his way out of the area after an air and ground attack by the Chinese PLA killed tens of thousands of Tibetans gathered there--only 5 men out of his class of 18 survived it.
Jigme
Fought in the March '59 battle in Lhasa, CIA-trained in Camp Hale, then part of an espionage mission to gather intelligence in Tibet, working out of Walung, Nepal and Assam, India.
Lobsang Shedup Thupten
CIA-trained in Camp Hale, an instructor in Delhi under joint operations with Indian Intelligence, then a radio operator for the espionage operation based in Darjeeling.
Ngawang Datha
CIA-trained in India and Okinawa. Brother of Lhotse--a CIA operative in the Dalai Lama's escape party in March '59.
Norbu Dorjee
At Norbulingka during the March '59 uprising and shot in the Lhasa massacre following the Dalai Lama's escape. Later trained by the CIA in the US, and fought in Mustang, Nepal, where the Tibetans staged hit-and-run raids into Tibet.
Norbu Lhagya
One of thousands surrounding the Norbulingka Palace as the uprising began in March '59. CIA-trained in the US, then part of a scouting mission in Burma to find a route into Tibet for the espionage operation.
Pema Chunjor
Former freedom fighter and former Cabinet Minister, Tibetan Government in Exile
Ratu Ngawang
Commander in the Chushi Gangdruk, in charge of security for the escape of the Dalai Lama in '59.
Thupten Dhargyal
Former freedom fighter and former Executive Member, Central Dhokham Chushi Gangdruk
Thubten Namgyal Juchon
At Norbulingka during the Dalai Lama's escape, fought in the subsequent battle at Lhasa, then followed the Dalai Lama in a back-up security team of fighters. Later a Prime Minister in the Tibetan Government in Exile, and part of the first Tibetan negotiations with the Chinese Communist Party.
Wangyal
Former fighter & current Chairman of the Lodrik Welfare Fund: an organization in Nepal that supports former fighters in the Mustang force.
Others in the Mustang operation:
Dhondup, Choedhen Gyatso, Gyaltsen, Lobsang Monlam, Ngawang Tsultrim, Sonam Dorjee, Tashi Dhondup, Tsewang Doeoyae
Descendents of Freedom Fighters:
Doma Norbu
Tibetan activist and daughter of Athar: one of the first CIA trainees, and the main radio contact for the CIA during the Dalai Lama's escape in March 1959.
Dorjee Dewatsang
Architect and son of Kunga Samten Dewatsang: a commander in the Chushi Gangruk army who helped the Dalai Lama escape Tibet in March 1959, and wrote about it in Flight at the Cuckoo's Behest.
Pema Wangyal
Carpet Designer/Manufacturer and son of a Tibetan intelligence operative part of an espionage mission between Walung, Nepal and Central Tibet. His father was captured and executed by the Chinese, and many other family members were killed, died of starvation, or sent to a concentration camp.
Cheden Adetsang, Kalsang GGT, Karma Namgyal, Kyura Pador, Sonam Lama
Authors:
Mikel Dunham
Author of Buddha's Warriors: The Story of the CIA-Backed Tibetan Freedom Fighters, the Chinese Communist Invasion, and the Ultimate Fall of Tibet, he spent over 7 years collecting information from CIA case officers and Tibetan resistance fighters & refugees.
Carole McGranahan
Professor of Anthropology at University of Colorado, and author of Arrested Histories: Tibet, the CIA, and Memories of a Forgotten War. As an anthropologist and historian, she has studied the Tibetan resistance movement since 1994.
Jamyang Norbu
Member of the Mustang operation in Nepal 1971-1972, he also worked in the Tibetan Government in Exile, was a president of the Tibetan Youth Congress, and co-founder of the Amnye Machen Institute. Currently an author, activist and blogger, his books include Warriors of Tibet, among others.
George Patterson
Author of many books on Tibet, and collaborator on Raid Into Tibet, a documentary that aired on BBC and almost shut down the CIA's operation.
Tsering Shakya
Author of The Dragon in the Land of Snows: A History of Modern Tibet Since 1947, among other books and articles. Born in Tibet and teaches Tibetan history and literature at the University of British Columbia, Canada.
Activists:
Lhasang Tsering
Member of the Mustang, Nepal operation 1973-1974, he later served in the Tibetan Government in Exile, was a principal of the Tibetan Children's Village, a president of the Tibetan Youth Congress, and co-founder of the Amnye Machen Institute. Currently he is a poet and writer, and owns a bookshop.
Tenzin Dorjee (AKA Tendor)
Executive Director, Students for a Free Tibet, NYC
Wei Jingsheng
Spent 18 years in Chinese prison for pro-democracy activism. Currently resides in the U.S., and has been nominated seven times for the Nobel Peace Prize for his continuing fight for Chinese human rights and democracy.
Others:
Adrian Cowell
Award-winning documentary filmmaker, Director/Producer of Raid Into Tibet, among many others.
Geshe Lhakdor
Director, Library of Tibetan Works & Archives, Dharamsala, India
Thamthog Rinpoche
Abbot of Namgyal Monastery, McCleod Ganj, India
Mark Udall
US Senator for Colorado, host of the ceremony at Camp Hale to honor the Tibetan freedom fighters.
David Urubshurow
Student of Geshe Wangyal: a Kalmyk-Mongolian monk who brought Tibetan Buddhism to America, and was instrumental in the CIA's operation.
Many have heard the rally cry "Free Tibet!", but few are aware of the past events that have shaped the Tibetan struggle against China's dominance. Exploring this little-known territory in a documentary currently in production, CIA in Tibet traces the hidden history of a secret CIA operation to back Tibet's fight for survival, one that lasted 16 years, to the rebellion that continues today. From CIA-supplied weapons, funding and training in guerrilla warfare to a conflicted Tibetan government and people under siege, the inner-workings behind the elusive mystery of both Tibet and the CIA uncover complex characters grappling with a history-changing geopolitical power struggle. The Dalai Lama, a central figure throughout, has been an icon of peace that has kept the Tibetan cause alive, but Tibet remains a political underdog facing overwhelming odds. How has CIA involvement in a Tibetan Buddhist world, a paradox in many ways, altered the course of Tibet's fate?
Produced by the daughter of a former CIA officer on the Tibetan Task Force, unique access to first-hand accounts combine with rare and recently declassified archival media, recent events in the US and India, and diverse perspectives from noted scholars and leading activists. Following Tibet's unrelenting struggle against what has become the second-most powerful country on earth, the film raises challenging questions on the justification for violence, the cost of freedom, and the evolving roles the US, Tibet and China play in our world.
- video blog
- photo gallery (coming soon)
- feature-length documentary (due 2012)
INTERVIEWED SO FAR
Former CIA Officers:
Clay Cathey
Case Officer for the Tibetan Task Force, 1958-1962. Operated out of Washington DC, and Calcutta, India.
John Greaney
Deputy Chief of the Tibetan Task Force, 1957-1961, in charge of communications at CIA headquarters.
Ken Knaus
Training Instructor at Camp Peary, VA and Camp Hale, CO, 1958-1961. Chief of the Tibetan Task Force, 1961-1965. Author of Orphans of the Cold War.
Ray Starke
Training Instructor in radio communications at Camp Peary, VA and Camp Hale, CO, 1958-1960.
Bruce Walker
Case Officer and Training Instructor in Camp Hale, Colorado, and India, 1960-1968. The only CIA officer that spoke Tibetan.
Former Freedom Fighters:
Bhusang
CIA-trained in Camp Hale, Colorado. Captured by the Chinese in a battle at Markham and imprisoned for 17 years.
Donyo Jagortsang (AKA Prince of Derge)
Commander in the Chushi Gangdruk (the Tibetan resistance army) & CIA-trained in the US. After being air-dropped in Pembar, he fought his way out of the area after an air and ground attack by the Chinese PLA killed tens of thousands of Tibetans gathered there--only 5 men out of his class of 18 survived it.
Jigme
Fought in the March '59 battle in Lhasa, CIA-trained in Camp Hale, then part of an espionage mission to gather intelligence in Tibet, working out of Walung, Nepal and Assam, India.
Lobsang Shedup Thupten
CIA-trained in Camp Hale, an instructor in Delhi under joint operations with Indian Intelligence, then a radio operator for the espionage operation based in Darjeeling.
Ngawang Datha
CIA-trained in India and Okinawa. Brother of Lhotse--a CIA operative in the Dalai Lama's escape party in March '59.
Norbu Dorjee
At Norbulingka during the March '59 uprising and shot in the Lhasa massacre following the Dalai Lama's escape. Later trained by the CIA in the US, and fought in Mustang, Nepal, where the Tibetans staged hit-and-run raids into Tibet.
Norbu Lhagya
One of thousands surrounding the Norbulingka Palace as the uprising began in March '59. CIA-trained in the US, then part of a scouting mission in Burma to find a route into Tibet for the espionage operation.
Pema Chunjor
Former freedom fighter and former Cabinet Minister, Tibetan Government in Exile
Ratu Ngawang
Commander in the Chushi Gangdruk, in charge of security for the escape of the Dalai Lama in '59.
Thupten Dhargyal
Former freedom fighter and former Executive Member, Central Dhokham Chushi Gangdruk
Thubten Namgyal Juchon
At Norbulingka during the Dalai Lama's escape, fought in the subsequent battle at Lhasa, then followed the Dalai Lama in a back-up security team of fighters. Later a Prime Minister in the Tibetan Government in Exile, and part of the first Tibetan negotiations with the Chinese Communist Party.
Wangyal
Former fighter & current Chairman of the Lodrik Welfare Fund: an organization in Nepal that supports former fighters in the Mustang force.
Others in the Mustang operation:
Dhondup, Choedhen Gyatso, Gyaltsen, Lobsang Monlam, Ngawang Tsultrim, Sonam Dorjee, Tashi Dhondup, Tsewang Doeoyae
Descendents of Freedom Fighters:
Doma Norbu
Tibetan activist and daughter of Athar: one of the first CIA trainees, and the main radio contact for the CIA during the Dalai Lama's escape in March 1959.
Dorjee Dewatsang
Architect and son of Kunga Samten Dewatsang: a commander in the Chushi Gangruk army who helped the Dalai Lama escape Tibet in March 1959, and wrote about it in Flight at the Cuckoo's Behest.
Pema Wangyal
Carpet Designer/Manufacturer and son of a Tibetan intelligence operative part of an espionage mission between Walung, Nepal and Central Tibet. His father was captured and executed by the Chinese, and many other family members were killed, died of starvation, or sent to a concentration camp.
Cheden Adetsang, Kalsang GGT, Karma Namgyal, Kyura Pador, Sonam Lama
Authors:
Mikel Dunham
Author of Buddha's Warriors: The Story of the CIA-Backed Tibetan Freedom Fighters, the Chinese Communist Invasion, and the Ultimate Fall of Tibet, he spent over 7 years collecting information from CIA case officers and Tibetan resistance fighters & refugees.
Carole McGranahan
Professor of Anthropology at University of Colorado, and author of Arrested Histories: Tibet, the CIA, and Memories of a Forgotten War. As an anthropologist and historian, she has studied the Tibetan resistance movement since 1994.
Jamyang Norbu
Member of the Mustang operation in Nepal 1971-1972, he also worked in the Tibetan Government in Exile, was a president of the Tibetan Youth Congress, and co-founder of the Amnye Machen Institute. Currently an author, activist and blogger, his books include Warriors of Tibet, among others.
George Patterson
Author of many books on Tibet, and collaborator on Raid Into Tibet, a documentary that aired on BBC and almost shut down the CIA's operation.
Tsering Shakya
Author of The Dragon in the Land of Snows: A History of Modern Tibet Since 1947, among other books and articles. Born in Tibet and teaches Tibetan history and literature at the University of British Columbia, Canada.
Activists:
Lhasang Tsering
Member of the Mustang, Nepal operation 1973-1974, he later served in the Tibetan Government in Exile, was a principal of the Tibetan Children's Village, a president of the Tibetan Youth Congress, and co-founder of the Amnye Machen Institute. Currently he is a poet and writer, and owns a bookshop.
Tenzin Dorjee (AKA Tendor)
Executive Director, Students for a Free Tibet, NYC
Wei Jingsheng
Spent 18 years in Chinese prison for pro-democracy activism. Currently resides in the U.S., and has been nominated seven times for the Nobel Peace Prize for his continuing fight for Chinese human rights and democracy.
Others:
Adrian Cowell
Award-winning documentary filmmaker, Director/Producer of Raid Into Tibet, among many others.
Geshe Lhakdor
Director, Library of Tibetan Works & Archives, Dharamsala, India
Thamthog Rinpoche
Abbot of Namgyal Monastery, McCleod Ganj, India
Mark Udall
US Senator for Colorado, host of the ceremony at Camp Hale to honor the Tibetan freedom fighters.
David Urubshurow
Student of Geshe Wangyal: a Kalmyk-Mongolian monk who brought Tibetan Buddhism to America, and was instrumental in the CIA's operation.
If you were involved in, or have substantive information on the CIA's operation with the Tibetan resistance to Communist China and want to share it with us, please contact