Rob Anders, MP (Calgary West) today rose in the House of Commons and made the following statements:
http://www.conservative.ca/audio/20041201-Anders.mp3
Mr. Rob Anders (Calgary West, CPC): Mr. Speaker, tomorrow, December 2, Tibetan monk Tenzin Delek Rinpoche is scheduled to be executed by the Chinese government.
Rinpoche was an unspoken defender of the Tibetan culture and identity. He worked to provide the people of his region with schools, medical clinics and homes for orphans and the elderly, yet he has been convicted without clear or convincing evidence of guilt. Rinpoche was not accorded due process during his closed trial and despite repeated assurances from Chinese officials, the case was never reviewed by the Supreme People’s Court.
This case is so serious that U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell has raised the issue with his Chinese counterparts. Amnesty International has looked into this case and has classified this peaceful Tibetan monk as a political prisoner and has called for his immediate release.
China’s record of human rights in Tibet is atrocious. It annually executes more prisoners than all other countries in the world combined.
Canada needs to take a leading role and to use its position in world affairs to help stop the execution of Tenzin Delek Rinpoche.
