Hundreds of Tibetans and supporters rallied in New York City today, on the 56th anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, appealing to the Chinese government to stop the execution of revered Buddhist leader Tenzin Delek Rinpoche. December 10th, International Human Rights Day, marks the end of a week of coordinated global protest that saw Tibetan rights groups target Chinese government offices all over the world. Tibetans and supporters demonstrated today in front of the United Nations and the Chinese consulate in New York to plead for Tenzin Delek Rinpoche’s life, vowing not to rest until he is free. The demonstration and march was jointly organized by the Tibetan Community of NY & NJ, Regional Tibetan Women’s Association of NY & NJ, US Tibet Committee, Students for a Free Tibet (SFT) and the Regional Tibetan Youth Congress of NY & NJ.
“Fifteen years ago today, His Holiness the Dalai Lama received the Nobel Peace Prize for his nonviolent efforts to resolve China’s occupation of Tibet,” said Kunga Thinley, President of the Regional Tibetan Youth Congress of New York and New Jersey. “Tenzin Delek Rinpoche is a devout student of the Dalai Lama and that same model of nonviolence, and to execute him for crimes that he did not commit would be an affront to the rights we as a world community value so deeply.” Tenzin Delek Rinpoche was sentenced to death with a two-year suspension on December 2nd, 2002. The suspension will expire between December 2nd and January 26th, 2004 and he could be executed anytime thereafter.
Over the past two years, governments around the world, including India, Norway, the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, the United States, as well as the European Union have pressured China on Tenzin Delek Rinpoche’s behalf. Four days ago the U.S. Senate unanimously passed Resolution 483 calling his release. “The US Senate resolution demonstrates the strength of worldwide support for Tenzin Delek Rinpoche sends a message to the Chinese authorities that they cannot fool the world into believing that Tibetans who fight for their basic rights are terrorists,” said Freya Putt, Program Director of New York-based Students for a Free Tibet. “We will not rest until Tenzin Delek’s death sentence is reversed and he is freed from prison,” she added.
A bus full of Tibetan supporters from Minnesota joined the protest. Despite traveling for about 24 hours to New York, the MN Tibetans did not show any sign of tiredness while confronting the frigid cold and rainy weather in New York.
Four members of Regional Tibetan Youth Congress of NY & NJ attended the Global Human Rights Conference at the UN, New York. The members submitted a petition with signatures collected from about five thousand supporters to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan through Mr. Creig G. Mokhibar, Deputy Director of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, asking him to urge the Chinese government to overturn the death sentence of Tenzin Delek Rinpoche.
