FCF backs demands of Students for a Free Tibet for Tibetan Lama who died in Chinese prison

Beloved Buddhist monk dies in Chinese prison after 13 years of unjust imprisonment.

On the same day that we gathered at Florida International University to pay our respects for Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas, and Harold Cepero Escalante killed on July 22, 2012 and the 37 victims of the July 13, 1994 "13 de marzo"tugboat massacre members of Students for a Free Tibet stormed the Chinese consulate in New York City to protest the death of Tenzin Delek Rinpoche. The Buddhist monk wrongly sentenced to 20 years in prison died there on the thirteenth year of that unjust prison sentence. While jailed he managed to explain the reason behind the injustice he was suffering:

"Since I am a Tibetan, I have always been sincere and devoted to the interests and well-being of Tibetan people. That is the real reason why the Chinese do not like me and framed me. That is why they are going to take my precious life even though I am innocent."

Tenzin's cousin Geshe Nyima in a statement following news of his death placed his passing in context and called for the monk's body to be released to his family: 

"Tenzin Delek Rinpoche was an innocent monk who suffered over 13 years of unjust imprisonment, torture and abuse in a Chinese prison for simply advocating for the rights and well-being of his people and for expressing his devotion to His Holiness the Dalai Lama. ... "The Chinese government must immediately release his body so that our family and community may perform the last Buddhist religious rites".

Students for a Free Tibet is calling on  people of good will request the following of their respective government:

1. Demand a public inquiry into the circumstances of Tenzin Delek Rinpoche's death. He was a political prisoner at the top of the priority listing for a number of countries and his passing must be officially acknowledged and the causes investigated.

2. Appeal to your Chinese counterparts that Tenzin Delek Rinpoche's body is returned to his family so that they can carry out final Tibetan Buddhist religious rites.
 
3. Express strong condemnation at the passing of Tenzin Delek Rinpoche; and convey to China its concern that he was sentenced in secrecy for a crime he did not commit, and China's failure to respond to the application for medical parole.

Take action here and petition your government to demand that the Chinese dictatorship do the right thing then share this link with others. The international community must speak out or risk being morally complicit by its silence.

The Free Cuba Foundation adds its voice to the demand that Tenzin Delek Rinpoche's remains be returned to his family and that a public inquiry be made into the circumstances surrounding the Tibetan Lama's untimely death.