Dharamshala — Days after greatly revered Tibetan monk Tulku Tenzin Delek Rinpoche was reported to be dead inside the Chinese prison, graver questions and doubts have been raised by the Tibetan community regarding the motivation behind the incident.
Based on information available to them regarding the moments, both, leading to as well as soon after Rinpoche’s death, the Tibetan community members have put together questions and notes that underline the suspicious nature of events. In a statement addressed to Xi Jinping, the President of China, Geshe Sermey Loga, who is a monk, reiterates that the “murder” was premeditated, keeping in mind the way in which the Chinese authorities handled the
situation. According to Loga, the fact that no family member was allowed to collect the body of the deceased monk was a matter of doubt. “A patient in serious condition not allowed to meet the visitors is something that is despicable and will be seen so by everyone in the world. For about ten days, the sisters were made to wait and delayed day and night to see Rinpoche. This forcible action of the authorities in denying the sisters a visit to the Rinpoche before he passes is an authentic proof of Communist China’s hand in the murder of the Rinpoche,” claims Loga in the statement.
Loga further cites that despite repeated pleas, the Chinese Government did not allow for an independent autopsy to be carried out on Rinpoche’s body. This, again, he claims, reeks of foul play. “The fact that none of the clergy members of the two Othok Monasteries and faithful laity were allowed to see the dead body and without offering a chance for a team of independent researchers to perform an autopsy clearly demonstrates there is foul play, and the communist Chinese authorities are complicit in the murder of the Rinpoche,” he further adds.
The largest concern however, is raised in conjunction with the time of the incident that took place very close to the 80th birthday celebrations of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. In a clampdown on the celebrations, the Chinese authorities, Loga alleges, had enforced a blockage on internet in Karze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. This blockage meant that the word on Rinpoche’s mysterious death inside prison could not spread like wild fire, thereby inviting any form of protest. “Within that period of information black out, the Chinese authorities starting saying ‘The Rinpoche is Dead’ is a matter that arouses lots of suspicions in the minds of the Tibetan people,” Loga further states in the message to the Chinese President.
