Campaign Fall 2004: Save Tenzin Delek Rinpoche!Background on Tenzin Delek RInpoche
In April 2002, the Chinese authorities in Lithang, Eastern Tibet, arrested Tenzin Delek Rinpoche and his distant relative Lobsang Dhondup, a former monk. Both were accused of involvement in bombings and explosions. On December 2nd, 2002, Lobsang Dhondup was sentenced to immediate death, and Tenzin Delek Rinpoche was sentenced to death with a suspension of two years. Ten other Tibetans were also either arrested or disappeared in connection to the case; at least four remain imprisoned, detained, or missing. It is believed that all these men are being targeted because of their connection to Tenzin Delek Rinpoche. More than 100 people have fled the area because they feared harsh treatment or imprisonment.
According to Human Rights Watch, "For more than 10 years, Tenzin Delek struggled to develop social, medical, educational and religious institutions for the impoverished nomadic Tibetan communities in Sichuan province. He also worked to preserve the area’s fragile ecological balance in the face of unbridled logging and mining activities." Rinpoche was also an advocate of the Dalai Lama's philosophy of nonviolence.
Because of Tenzin Delek RInpoche's influence in his community, and his efforts to preserve Tibetan identity, the Chinese authorities view him as a threat to their control in the region. Over the course of a decade, he was the target of increasing harassment, intimidation, and control by Chinese officials.
The Chinese government did not present credible evidence against Tenzin Delek Rinpoche or any of the Tibetans detained. They were denied access to independent lawyers and did not have a fair trial. Because of massive international outcry about the case, the Chinese authorities assured international governments that Tenzin Delek Rinpoche and Lobsang Dhondup would receive a thorough retrial in China’s Supreme Court. However on January 26, 2003, after a secret retrial in the Provincial Court, Lobsang Dhondup was executed, in the first known execution of a Tibetan for political crimes in 20 years, and Tenzin Delek Rinpoche’s 2-year suspended death sentence was upheld. To learn more about Tenzin Delek's case, please read the full report by Human Rights Watch, issued in February 2004. [To view, click here.]
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