New Delhi, November 30 – Even as uncertainty surrounds the fate of Tibetan monk Tulku Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, Tibetan Youth Congress sources have quoted former Defence Minister George Fernandes as saying that the Chinese authorities might not execute him.
Rinpoche and Lobsang Dhondup were sentenced to death for alleged anti-national activities in 2002. While Rinpoche was given a two-year reprieve, Dhondup was executed. Rinpoche’s suspended death sentence will expire on Thursday.
Mr Dhondup Dorjee of the Tibetan Youth Congress told The Tribune that Mr Fernandes has had informal contacts with the Chinese authorities and that he had got an assurance that the Tibetan monk might be spared. An aide of Mr Fernandes confirmed as much.
The India-Tibet Co-ordination Office here said although no concrete statement was forthcoming yet indications were that the monk would not be executed. However, Rinpoche’s unconditional release was still uncertain, he added.
The Tibetan Youth Congress is also holding an all-India relay hunger stroke to mobilise opinion in favour of Rinpoche’s release. The strike began on November 5 in Mumbai and has been held for five days each in Kolkata, Bangalore, New Delhi and now Dharamsala.
The India-Tibet Co-ordination Office, in turn, said besides BJP, JD(U) and Samajwadi Party, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) had also offered to get in touch with the appropriate Chinese authorities in this regard.
