6 is the total number of medals that China has won till now at the Torino Winter Olympics in Italy and 2nd is the day of the TYC led indefinite hunger strike. Yet, to everyone’s pleasant surprise, the number six hasn’t even got mentioned in the international media coverage of the winter Olympics. If it is about China it has been the two days of the ongoing TYC led Indefinite Hunger Strike.
The 2nd day of the Hunger Strike started with morning prayers led by Ven. Palden Gyatso la for the happiness of humanity and for the freedom of Tibet. The cold day met with warm mails and telephone calls from all over the world to show their support and convey their good wishes for the hunger strikers’ health and success. Out of the numerous visitors who kept on coming all day long at the hunger strike tent to show their support and commit their time and energy in realising the demands of the hunger strikers, Masaka Tsumara deserves special mention. A documentary film maker based in New York, she has been documenting Ven. Palden Gyatso la’s life story for a while and on hearing the news of the TYC led Indefinite Hunger Strike she took the the first available flight from America to be with Ven. Palden Gyatso la and the other hunger strikers. Apart from drawing support from the overseas, the hunger strikers demands of ‘No Olympics in China Until Tibet is Free’ has met with educated support from the local community of Torino and Italy as well.
Hoards of media personals have been visiting the hunger strikers for the second consecutive day. After talking with the organizers and interviewing the hunger strikers, many of the journalists leave to come back, as one of them put it, “not just to cover an ‘event’ and draft a ‘story’ but to contribute their bit in the freedom struggle of Tibet”. Speaking to the reporter of Conquiste del Lavoro, the most popular Italian news paper, Sonam Wangdue, one of the hunger strikers and President of Dharamshala Regional Tibetan Youth Congress quipped that he would have been in prison by now if he was doing the same protest in Tibet. Sonam gave reference to the recent information on the arrest of monks and nuns in the ethnically-Tibetan West of Gansu Province, Western China in May 2005 for involvement in the distribution and pasting of protest letters calling for the independence of Tibet and objecting China’s host status of the 2008 Olympics until Tibet’s question is peacefully resolved. According to a Tibet research organisation, Tibet Watch two of the nuns, Tadrin Tsomo and Choekyi Drolma, and one of the monks, Dargye Gyatso, have been sentenced to three years imprisonment while the third nun, Yonten Drolma, and second monk, Jamyang Samdrub, have both been sentenced to one and a half years imprisonment.
Inter Parliamentarian Group for Tibet, Italy and the President of Amnesty International, Italy will be visiting the hunger strikers tomorrow to convey their solidarity and support for the Tibetan Freedom struggle.
Contact Details:
Ms. Pema Yangchen, Organisational Secretary, TYC +393332542727
Mr. Tamding Chomphel, Vice President, Tibetan Community, Italy +393332542727
Mr. Lobsang Yeshi, Acting President, Tibetan Youth Congress, Dharamshala, India +91-1892-221554/9816106224 Email: tyc@vsnl.com
Established in 1970, Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) is the largest non-governmental organization within the Tibetan community fighting for the complete independence of Tibe, having over 30,000 active members in 80 Regional chapters across the globe.
