China Protests its Innocence

By Rohini Kejriwal / August 27, 2016;

Nyima Lhamo holds a book with her uncle Tenzin Delek Rinpoche’s protrait
Photo:Ashwini Bhatia /AP

China has responded to the accusations that the revered Tibetan monk Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, who died in prison last year, was poisoned while in detention. Rinpoche’s niece Nyima Lhamo, 26, made the accusations last month in Dharamshala where she was staying after escaping from Tibet where she visited Rinpoche in prison shortly before his death.

China has denied the accusation in an interview with Reuters who quoted the Chinese foreign ministry as saying “China is a country ruled by law, during Tenzin Delek Rinpoche’s sentence his legal rights were protected according to relevant laws”.China reiterated that he died due to heart complications and said that efforts to revive him were ineffective.

On July 12 last year, China announced that 65-year-old Tenzin Delek Rinpoche,who had been serving a life sentence for “crimes of terror and incitement of separatism” had died of a heart attack while serving his life sentence at Chaundong prison in Chengdu.

A year later, Rinpoche’s suspicious death has been questioned by his niece who escaped Tibet, leaving behind her family and 6-year-old daughter, and is now appealing for justice for her uncle. She stated at a press conference that she believes that Rinpoche was tortured and murdered through poisoning.

“My uncle Tulku Tenzin Delek Rinpoche suffered immensely and passed away in Chinese prison. Likewise many Tibetans have suffered and continue to suffer under the repressive Chinese rule. My hope is that the Chinese allegation against Rinpoche be thoroughly investigated in accordance with Chinese and International law, and the Chinese authorities reveal the true circumstances that led to Rinpoche’s death,” Nyima said at the press conference.

Rinpoche was a senior supporter of the Dalai Lama. He was an important figure in the Tibetan resistance and one of the most prominent Tibetan political prisoners. He will always be remembered for his efforts to protect the degradation of Tibetan culture and religion, developing social, medical, educational and religious institutions for Tibetan nomads and his attempts to safeguard Tibet’s environment by fighting against illegal logging and mining projects.