Former Czech president Vaclav Havel condemned China...

Former Czech president Vaclav Havel condemned China for its threat to execute a Tibetan monk Tenzin Delek Rinpoche. Havel, a longtime human rights activist, decided to publicize his protest over the treatment of the monk after the failure of attempts to deliver his letter to Chinese authorities. Rinpoche had been sentenced to death in a closed trial in 2002 on charges he was involved in bombing a public park. His sentence was later suspended for two years and was due to be commuted to life in prison if he did not violate the terms of the suspension imposed on appeal. Havel suggested that Chinese authorities planned to carry the execution out. "I feel strong indignation against the prepared execution this time of Tibetan political prisoner Tenzin Delek Rinpoche," Havel said in a letter addressed to Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing. "I therefore call on the Chinese government, its central authorities and the Chinese administrative authority in Tibet to refrain from their intention."