Gitanjali Angmo, the wife of detained activist Sonam Wangchuk has vehemently denied claims that her husband is somehow connected to Pakistan or misappropriates funds through his organisations. Wangchuk, a leading personality in the Ladakh statehood agitation, had been arrested on September 27 under the draconian National Security Act (NSA), after the bloody demonstrations in Leh, which had demanded that the Union Territory of Ladakh be granted the Sixth Schedule status and statehood. The demonstrations that escalated to killings have left four people dead, and Angmo has been accusing the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) of the escalation.
In an interview with the press, Angmo indicated that her husband has been protesting in the most Gandhian manner imaginable and that the September 24 incident got out of control because of the security forces’ reaction. She also stated that she has not been able to communicate with Wangchuk after he was detained, and she has not been shown any official detention orders. Sonam Wangchuk is now in custody in the Jodhpur prison in Rajasthan.
In response to allegations of the perceived Pakistan links of Wangchuk, Angmo made it clear that the trip he paid to the neighbouring country was purely business. We were at a climate change meeting, organised by the media house Dawn. The tour was strictly with regard to the environmental matters, she said. She also stressed that all overseas commitments of Wangchuk have been by invitation of respected universities and international institutions, such as the United Nations, and have always focused on climate research and policy.
Angmo emphasised the insignificance of the national borders in the global climate talks and said, “The glacier on the top of the Himalayas will not care whether it is draining into Pakistan or India.” She asserted that the work and activism of her husband were devoted to environmental protection and the development of Ladakh.
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