The sentencing of Karma Samdrup on 24 June 2010 is potentially a hard blow for the further development of the vigorous grassroots social and ecological activism that has spread over many parts of Tibetan regions of the People's Republic of China (PRC) during the last 5-8 years. His brilliant career, his markedly apolitical approach to contemporary problems, while maintaining a specific Tibetan attitude in the solutions he has proposed and, last but not least, the authorities' apparent approval of his activities were for many a source of inspiration and encouragement. The further handling of his case is likely to have deep implications for the nascent civil society within Tibet.

Karma Samdrub was born in May 1968 in Gonjo (Chin: Gongjue) county, Chamdo (Chin: Qamdo) prefecture, TAR. He became wealthy through the trade of dzi stones1, long beads of dark colour with a glass-like texture, which can be found in the ground at many places in Tibet. The exact origins of dzi stones are not known but they are reputed to be remnants from a pre-Buddhist civilisation on the Tibetan Plateau and are believed to have magical properties. Dzi stones can command very high prices, particularly among Chinese communities in Taiwan, Hong Kong and South-east Asia. Due to his business, Karma Samdrup is also widely known by the nickname 'King of Dzi', although he has also been instrumental in popularising certain types of Tibetan medicines.

The first known example for Karma Samdrup's social activism was in 1995 with the establishment of the Medong Village Primary School in Zerong township, Gongjue county, Chamdo, TAR. In 1998, he then set up the first Tibetan medicine shop in Guangdong province, south China, where he also established a local office of the Tibet Development Fund (TDF), an official NGO originally established by the Panchen Lama and controlled by TAR leaders or former leaders. He also supported health insurance schemes, including direct support for poor households unable to finance themselves on their own in various townships of Chamdo prefecture. He also established the county Tibetan Medical Hospital of Gonjo and was awarded the title of 'Model Worker of the TAR', a tile inherited from China's distant socialist times.

Karma Samdrup's interest in ecological issues grew more apparent at the beginning of the millennium and he developed a number of activities in this regard, including diverse surveys that involved various Mainland academic institutes and focused on community environment, culture, education, health care, folk custom and transportation, etc. He established bodies related to ecology, the most important of them being the Snowland Great Rivers Environmental Protection Association (SGREPA). Working with this organisation or associated groups, he conducted intensive dissemination work on ecological matters, including an environment education curriculum called 'Green Cradle'. Aware of the importance of economic development, he realised that the key to ecological protection could only be through sustainable development backed with income generation schemes and hence he worked on establishing activities like eco-tourism in the region.

SGREPA enjoyed full accreditation with the Chinese government and pioneered landmark ecological work. It appears to have been the first group to have labelled Tibet's wild expanses the 'Third Pole', a term borrowed from geography and paleo-climatology2. It also was instrumental in eradicating the use of wildlife pelts on the Tibetan Plateau. SGREPA introduced the idea of involving high Tibetan lamas in campaigns against the use of pelts. Although successful, these operations had only a momentary impact on the problem and it was only when the Dalai Lama threw his weight into the anti-fur campaigns in early 2006 that these overnight became some of the most successful ecological campaigns ever. Neither SGREPA nor Karma Samdup personally were involved in the fur burnings, as both he personally and the group always stayed away from anything that could be labelled 'political'.

Although his nature protection efforts brought him particular fame and at times eclipsed his other activities, Karma Samdrup remained committed to his other concerns for social issues and the preservation and development of Tibetan culture. From 2006 onwards, he started working on a project to research and develop Tibetan culture. His latest venture before his arrest was the establishment of an ambitious museum of Tibetan culture, in partnership with the United Front Department, the organ of the Communist Party of China (CPC) that deals with religious and ethnic minorities.

For his ecological work in particular, Karma Samdrup became well known and he received several national and international awards. He was featured in many press and TV reports within the PRC and a book was written about his life, lauding his successes. However, this success also created enemies, mainly among those whose profitable activities had been curtailed by his environmental protection activities. His ability to attract funding into rural regions, far beyond the scale available to local party leaders, also raised profound antipathy among local leaders notorious for their territoriality. Similar issues of perceived rivalries have played important roles in the processes that have led to the downfall of other charismatic Tibetans in eastern regions like Khenpo Jigme Phuntsog and Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche. The book written about Karma Samdrup was first published in Hong Kong and a PRC version of it appeared in late 2009. Probably because the book featured his success and highlighted the wrongdoings of others, it is said to have attracted some controversy. That this arose at about the same time that his two brothers became embroiled in disputes with local leaders in connection with the implementation of environmental protection laws, did not help. In the absence of any known accusation of political wrongdoings, the reasons for Karma Samdrup's arrest appear to originate here.

However, the development of the case raises a number of questions. According to reports, Karma Samdrup was arrested in Sichuan and immediately taken to Xinjiang where long dismissed allegations of tomb robbery and dealing in looted relics resurfaced. The harsh procedures and presumption of guilt these charges imply are unsurprising in the context of the pre-modern type of judicial practice that still prevails in the PRC, but the scope of the case and the high level of organisation and coordination needed to pursue it, certainly when one considers the relatively innocuous nature of his alleged offences, are clearly beyond the capacity of disgruntled local leaders. They imply the active participation of higher levels of leadership, at least at a provincial level. This kind of involvement however is typical of major cases, in particular political cases. There is as yet no indication of political accusations made against Karma Samdrup. A 'secret' political case is also unlikely since the Chinese authorities are never shy of publicising political charges. Pointing to the anomalies of the case and Karma Samdrup's high profile, some of his friends who TibetInfoNet have consulted have said that they expect the case to be solved through higher intervention relatively quickly. Whether this will materialise or newer elements will surface that cast a light on the case remains to be seen.

What is certain, however, is that the case has a potentially tremendous influence on those Tibetans who in the last two decades have been working towards development in Tibet and an improvement of the social and ecological conditions there. For many of these Tibetans, Karma Samdrup has been something of a role model. They have shared his approach of working within rather than against the system, implementing existing laws before demanding better ones and believed that in doing this they held the key to a better developed, but still markedly Tibetan Tibet. Karma Samdrup's life and work so far have been evidence that this type of engagement is possible and had been successful, providing a feeling of security and confidence that now must be reassessed.

Notes:
1: Also known under the orthographies 'gzi' or 'zi'.
2: According to that theory, during the last ice age, the Tibetan plateau played an important role, next to the north and south poles, in keeping the Earth's climate cool.