Kolkata, November 10 – Over 50 Tibetan demonstrators on Wednesday began a five-day hunger strike demanding immediate release of their spiritual leader Tulku Tenzin Delek, under detention in Tibet since 2002 and facing a death sentence.
The protestors, belonging to the North East Zone Tibetan Youth Congress Committee, assembled near the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in the heart of the metropolis and shouted slogans demanding immediate release of Delek, recognised by their spiritual head the Dalai Lama.
The protestors alleged that their leader was, “wrongfully condemned and unfairly tried” by the Chinese authorities.
Delek, who returned to Tibet in 1987 after six years of religious education in India, was arrested in 2002 on charges of endangering state security and illegal construction of monasteries and schools.
Delek was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve that ends on December 2, 2004.
