Tulku Tenzin Delek Rinpoche Honoured with the Democracy Service Medal

By Dorji Kyi / June 17, 2016;

Tulku Tenzin Delek Rinpoche was awarded the Democracy Service Medal to honour his courageous work on June 15, 2016 by the National Endowment of Democracy (NED) in Washington. The late monk was a prominent Tibetan political prisoner and died in a Sichuan Chinese prison in 2015 under mysterious circumstances. He had been incarcerated for thirteen years. Tibetan Spiritual leader, His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Sikong Dr. Lobsang Sangay were also present at the award function.

On receiving the award Ven Jamyang Nyima, cousin and student of the late Rinpoche said: “Tenzin Delek Rinpoche was a man who was fiercely loyal to His Holiness the Dalai Lama and devoutly followed His Holiness’s principles of nonviolent action and public service. For this reason, he was arrested by Chinese authorities in 2002 under false charges,”

He also expressed his gratitude to NED for honouring Rinpoche who had dedicated his life to the preservation of Tibetan people’s identity, language, culture and environment. He also worked to develop social, medical, education and religious institutes for Tibetan nomads in eastern Tibet.

“On behalf of his family and his followers, I express my deepest gratitude. This award is not only recognition of Rinpoche alone, but a tribute to all those Tibetans who languish in Chinese prisons for seeking their freedom and human rights,” he said.

A substantive report by Human Rights Watch in 2004 concluded that the charges against Tenzin Delek Rinpoche were politically motivated to undermine His Holiness the Dalai Lama as a religious leader and the Tibetan movement. Sources in Tibet have also maintained that the charges against Rinpoche were fabricated and that the real reasons for his arrest were his growing popularity and his steadfast loyalty to His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Rinpoche was an inspiration for Tibetans struggling to retain their cultural identity in the face of China’s harsh policies.

The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is a private, nonprofit foundation dedicated to the growth and strengthening of democratic institutions around the world. Each year, NED awards more than 1,000 grants to the projects of non-governmental groups abroad who are working for democratic goals in more than 90 countries.