THE campaign to stop China executing a Tibetan religious leader was due to come to the Scottish Parliament today.
The parliament’s cross-party group on Tibet welcomed exile Geshe Lobsang Tenpa, who is touring the UK as part of an international campaign to save Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche.
Rinpoche was accused of taking part in a series of bomb explosions in Sichuan province in April 2002. The only evidence ever produced was a confession extracted under torture from his co-accused, Lobsang Dhondup.
Today’s visit follows the official visit to Scotland earlier this year by the Dalai Lama, whose programme included addressing MSPs.
Chris Ballance, Green MSP and convener of the cross-party group on Tibet, said: “I am pleased to be able to welcome Geshe Lobsang Tenpa to the Scottish Parliament.
“It is vital that we use the platform of our democratic parliament to further the cause of the people of Tibet who are denied political freedom at the hands of their Chinese oppressors.
“Geshe Lobsang Tenpa’s own story is harrowing enough, but he has come to Scotland to tell us of his friend and teacher Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche, who is at imminent risk of execution simply because he does not agree with the Chinese occupation of his country.
Mr Tenpa was detained, questioned and tortured by the Chinese authorities when he attempted to visit Rinpoche in 2000. He then escaped from Tibet and was granted asylum in the United States.
