10 March 2004 :

Members of the Regional Tibetan Youth Congress (RTYC) and the Regional Tibetan Women's Association from Bylakuppe, Hunsur, Kollegal, and Mysore staged a candlelight demonstration at the Town Hall in Mysore, India, to draw public attention to the death sentence pronounced on Tibetan monk Tulku Tenzin Delek who was scheduled for execution by Chinese authorities on April 7. The protest was part of a worldwide effort to pressure the Chinese Government to revoke the death sentence imposed on the monk, according to Lobsang Dorjee, president of the RTYC. He said four monks arrested in 2002 were charged with involvement in a series of blasts in Sichuan province and accused of fomenting separatism. But the charges were not proved and Mr. Tulku had no record of involvement in political activities. The RYTC said the accused was a respected Buddhist monk and held in high regard in Kardze Tibet Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan province. He had undertaken many social welfare activities such as building monasteries and schools as well as working on environmental conservation.