Tibetan Youth Congress has remained consistent with its demand for the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners in Tibet, with special reference to Tulku Tenzin Delek, Geshe Sonam Phuntsok and Panchen Lama. The ‘Freedom March’ from Dharamsala to Delhi undertaken earlier this year in February and March and the ‘Indefinite Hunger Strike’ in front of the UN Headquarters in New York will continue to remain as substantial episodes in the world wide campaign for the release of Tibetan political prisoners.
Starting from the 5th of November, 2004 TYC will be launching the ‘Release Tulku Tenzin Delek Now’ campaign, a major nationwide campaign for the release of Tulku Tenzin Delek and all other political prisoners in Tibet. TYC will be targeting the four major metropolitan cities of India in order to garner support for the release of Tibetan political prisoners and to increase the momentum of the worldwide campaign for the release of Tulku Tenzin Delek. This campaign will attempt at exploiting the dormant power and strength of the common individual walking on Indian roads, having the conscience to stand up to injustice and save the life of an innocent Tibetan religious leader. TYC will be also using this opportunity to educate and inform the Indian public on the gross human rights violation inside Tibet.
The five-day campaign at each major city will see Tibetans and Indian supporters sit on rally hunger strikes, carry out demonstrations around the city, organise signature campaigns and extensive pamphleteering coupled with photo exhibitions and video screenings. The Indian masses will be urged to send as many TYC made postcards as possible, to the UN General Secretary and sign appeal letters addressed to the Honourable Prime Minister of India, requesting his high office to pressurise the Chinese government for the immediate release of Tulku Tenzin Delek. Further, TYC will be encouraging people to get online at the TYC website and participate in the fax jam, phone jam and email campaigns targeted at the Chinese embassies worldwide. Apart from that, press conferences and public addresses will also be held.
The campaign will kick-start from the cosmopolitan hub city of Mumbai from November 5-9 with the support of the Friends of Tibet chapter of India, the Tibetan sweater sellers, along with the west zone regional chapters of the Tibetan Youth Congress.The vigil will be carried forward from the west to the east of India at the intellectual city of Kolkata from November 10 – 14 with the active participation of all the east zone regional chapters of the TYC. The torch of the campaign will burn bright due south from November 15 – 19 in the IT city of Bangalore where all the southern regional chapters of the TYC will be participating. Delhi, the capital city of India will feel the heat of the campaign from November 20 – 24 with the active participation of the entire north zone regional chapters of TYC. The penultimate leg of the campaign will be carried forward in Dharamsala, the governmental seat of the Tibetans in exile from November 25 for a duration of two months till January 25, 2005, the date when the two year reprieve of Tulku Tenzin Delek’s death sentence terminates.All the while the 78 regional chapter of the TYC, spread across the globe will be carrying out similar activities at their own localities in support of the mother campaign.
Tibetan Youth Congress concludes that the case and the death sentence of Tulku Tenzin Delek is the culmination of a decade long effort by Chinese authorities to curb his efforts to foster Tibetan Buddhism, his support for the Dalai Lama as a religious leader, and his work to develop Tibetan social and cultural institutions. His efforts had become a focal point for Tibetans struggling to retain their cultural identity in the face of China’s restrictive policies and its continuing persecution of individuals attempting to promote and protect the identity of Tibetans as a race and people.
The Tibetan Youth Congress affirms that Tulku Tenzin Delek has been wrongly condemned, unfairly tried and unlawfully sentenced to death for crimes which he did not commit.
The Tibetan Youth Congress calls upon China to respect the fundamental human rights in Tibet and demands the unconditional and immediate release of Tulku Tenzin Delek and all other political prisoners in Tibet.
You can make the difference between life and death…..Join the campaign, and express your demand for the release of Tulku Tenzin Delek.
Programme Minutes:
RELEASE TULKU TENZIN DELEK NOW
Phase – I: Mumbai
5 – 9 November
RTYCs – Baroda, Nasik, Bhandara, 15 Sweater Sellers Association at Mumbai
and Friends of Tibet, India with a total of 178 hunger strike.
Phase – II: Calcutta
10 – 14 November
RTYCs – Gangtok, Shillong, Kalimpong, Darjeeling, Salugra, Ravangla,
Oodlabari, Kurseong, Tezu, Miao, Tenzin Gang, Bomdila.
Phase – III: Bangalore
15 – 19 November
RTYCs – Bylakuppe, Hunsur, Kollegal, Dharwad, Bangalore, Mysore, Mangalore,
Hyderabad, Vijaywada, Mungod and Bangalore Sweater Sellers.
Phase – IV: Delhi
20 – 24 November
RTYCs – Delhi, Chandigarh, Dharamsala, Shimla, Dalhousie, Chauntra, Poanta,
Dickyiling, Rajpur, Mussorrie, Nainital, Bir, Puruwala, Herbertpur, Manali
and Pondoh.
Phase – V: Dharamsala
November 25, 2004 – January 25, 2005
Dharamsala
Activity Schedule:
– Press Conference
– Chain Hunger Strike
– Signature Campaign
– Postcard Campaign
– Posters, Pamphlets, Banners
– Photo Exhibition
– Video Screening,
– Public Talk
– Phone Jam, Fax Jam, Online campaigns
– Demonstrations and candle light vigils
Campaign Leaders:
In Mumbai and Bangalore:
Lobsang Yeshi, Vice-President
Gadong Jigme, Joint Secretary
In Kolkota Tsultrim Dorjee, General Secretary
Tsering Dhondup, P.R.O.
In Delhi:
Tsultrim Dorjee, General Secretary,
Dorjee, Dhondup Information Secretary,
Tsering Dhondup, P.R.O
