Protests targeted Chinese embassies and consulates in London, Edinburgh, Paris, Amsterdam/the Hague, Zurich, Warsaw, Gdansk, Berlin, Lagos, New York, Washington, Chicago, Houston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, and Ottawa. Demonstrations and awareness-raising events also took place in several other cities. The coordinated actions, organized by Tibet Support Groups and chapters of Students for a Free Tibet, called for the cancellation of Tenzin Delek Rinpoche’s death sentence.
Berlin, Germany
Dechen Pemba, SFT’s Germany coordinator, hand delivered a letter calling for Tenzin Delek Rinpoche’s death sentence to be overturned to the Chinese embassy in Berlin. Also, SFTers in Bremen are collecting signatures on letters and petitions to flood the fax machines of the Berlin Embassy. The Chinese embassy in Berlin definitely got our message today!
New York, USA
Two men chained themselves to the doors of the Chinese consulate, while two other activists held a banner between them across the entranceway reading “Stop the execution – Free Tenzin Delek.” With the men’s wrists also chained together, it created a dramatic image for the media. Dozens of Tibetans and supporters rallied next to them.
Although police arrived on the scene almost instantly (it seemed like they were inside the consulate!), it took them a long time to get the equipment the needed to cut the chains, so the action lasted almost an hour before the two were arrested and taken away! They are now being processed and hopefully will get out by the end of the day.
San Francisco, USA
Two women climbed onto a balcony over the front entrance to the Chinese Consulate and unfurled a banner while another woman staged a dramatic mock hanging from a tree directly in front of the building, illustrating the horror that faces Tenzin Delek if China proceeds with the execution. Dressed in monk’s robes and hooded, with a noose around her neck, she wore a sign that read “China: Stop the Execution.”
A large rally of Tibetans and supporters kept a noisy vigil outside the Consulate while reporters and news cameras covered the action. The Fire Department arrived with ladders to bring the demonstrators from the balcony. The climber who staged the mock hanging was allowed to climb down on her own. The three climbers were arrested but were quickly cited and released.
London, England
SFT-UK, in collaboration with Free Tibet Campaign and the Tibetan Community in Britain, held a vigil for Tenzin Delek Rinpoche outside the Chinese Embassy in London.
Dozens attended the vigil, which coincided with a function inside the Embassy. At least one couple going inside the Embassy got quite agitated upon seeing our signs. Additionally, there was an unusually heavy police presence outside, either due to the function inside or the Embassy’s nervousness upon hearing what SFTers did at the Consulate in New York! A reporter from Radio Free Asia’s Tibetan language service covered the vigil and interviewed a Tibetan SFT member.
Chicago, USA
About 100 people– SFTers from Chicago and Wisconsin, members of Minnesota Tibetan Youth Congress, the Wisconsin Tibetan Association and local Tibetan community members– marched from the Chicago Water Tower down Michigan Avenue to the Chinese Consulate. There, they held a noisy protest, calling for the freedom of Tenzin Delek.
