Mr. Javed Paza, General Secretary, Janata Dal, (United), National Political Party, along with Lama Chosphel Zotpa, Member, National Commission for Minorities, Govt. of India, and an active supporter of Tibet cause, and Mr. Tsering Samphel, Member, National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, Govt. of India, visited the hunger strikers to express their solidarity and support. They were accompanied by Acharya Yeshi Phuntsok, Member of Parliament, Tibetan Parliament-in-exile.
Mr. Javed Paza, General Secretary, Janata Dal, (United), addressed the hunger strikers with the following words, “Dear friends, today it is a proud moment for me that while our Tibetan friends have been struggling for several years, my party has always, at the regional and the central level, helped put forth efforts in resolving the issue. From my party, now also, we assure you that whenever there is a need for us to help, we will try to raise the issue and we will struggle with you shoulder-to-shoulder to work for the restoration of Tibetan Independence. Dr Ram Manohar Lohia has a vision of a free and Independent Tibet, and we firmly stand by this. Our party has always supported the cause of Tibet and still stands for their cause. We will work at all levels to realize the vision our leader saw for you, of a free and Independent Tibet. I hope and pray that the health of the hunger strikers continue to remain intact. Jai Bharat! Jai Tibet!”
Meanwhile, Janta Dal (U) also sent a letter to the Chinese government to listen to the demands of the hunger strikers.
Lama Chosphel Zotpa, a senior Indian Government official and a long-time friend of Tibet, said, “On behalf of the all the people living in the Himalayan region of Indian territory, from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh, I would like to express our deep support and solidarity for the cause of the hunger strikers, in their stand for proof of whereabouts of Panchen Lama, Trulku Tenzin Delek’s trial, and the human rights situation inside Tibet. We will continue to work shoulder-to-shoulder with you till the resolution of the Tibet issue.”
Mr. Tsering Samphel, said, “I will be with you (Tibetans). I express my solidarity with the hunger strikers of Tibet for their genuine demands. You have an issue of human rights violations to which the world should give attention.”
Members of the Tibetan parliament-in-exile, Mr Choekyong Wangchuk, (former General Secretary of T.Y.C (Centrex), Mr. Monlam Tharchin, and Mr. Kelsang Gyaltsen visited the hunger strikers to express their deep appreciation, solidarity and support . They also expressed gratitude to the fourteen Tibetans on indefinite fast for their courage and sacrifice with kind words. They lauded TYC executives for organizing such a movement.
Mr. Jamyang Choephel and Kusho Thinlay, both former Central Executives of the Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC), have been visiting the site to support the movement and to express solidarity to the hunger strikers.
Mr. Surinder Kumar, General Secretary, Gandhi Peace Foundation and Convener, Core Group, Eastern Region, Indo-Tibetan Friendship Society (ITFS), visited the hunger strikers, accompanied by Mr. Tsering Dorjee, Coordinator, India Tibet Coordination Office (ITCO). Mr. Surinder Kumar said, “I feel honored in meeting the volunteers of TYC on their fast.”
Mr. Bhupendra Kansil, Chief Coordinator, “Himalaya Parivaar”, an NGO looking after the welfare of people living in the Himalayan region and the ecology of Himalaya, visited the hunger strikers to show solidarity. Mr. Bhupendra said “It (Tibet) is not the cause of a few people, it is the cause of the whole world. Himalaya Parivaar is deeply concerned about the plight of the Tibetans in Tibet and the fragility of Tibet itself. It is a great tragedy to the whole of humanity and to the environment of the world that Tibetans inside Tibet are given inhumane and degraded treatments and the fragile ecology is devastated through rapid modernization. I call to the international community to deny China to host the 2008 Olympics. Unless China respects the human rights of the Tibetan people, it has no moral right to host the Olympics.”
Mr. Jambay Wangdi, President, Indo-Tibetan Friendship Society (ITFS), All Himalayan Region, said, “I am very lucky to be here and I wish TYC and the fourteen Tibetans a grand success in your mission. The world is behind you. I belong to Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh. China has been claiming Tawang for the last couple of years as a part of China. We people in Tawang believe that a free Tibet is a guarantee for genuine and lasting peace in Tawang, or Arunachal or for that matter in India as well as Asia. We from the Himalayan region of India have always been with you. We have great reverence for our Dharam Guru, His Holiness the Dalai Lama and his teachings. I am optimistic that soon the atrocities in Tibet will end and our mission will be accomplished in the near future. We need to work very hard for that. I call on all Tibetans to participate in the Mass People’s Protest led by TYC on 8 August 2007, and strengthen your hands for this movement to make it a success. As an Indian citizen, I strongly urge the Indian Government to raise the demands of the TYC-led movement with China.”
Mr. Himanshu Goswami, President, Assam State and Observer (AAGAI), Govt. of India, commented, “Tibet should be made free from China. The hunger strike publicises the atrocities being visited on the Tibetan people, I wish the strikers good luck in achieving their goal and hope they can carry on the agitation more vigorously internationally.”
Dr. Mahesh Yadav, Blood Campaigner for Free Tibet, visited the hunger strikers and wrote on the spot appeal letters with his blood to the Chinese Government, Prime Minister of India and International Olympic Committee, supporting the demands of the hunger strikers. Asking Tibetans to rise up for the 8th August action, “It is not the time to feel dukhi (sorrow). Abhi Jaagney ka Samai Aagaya (It is time to stand up). I appeal to my Tibetan friends to show up in huge numbers on 8 August in Delhi. Abhi Nahin to Kabhi Nahin (If it is not this time, then it is never).”
The Indefinite Hunger Strike is part of the Tibetan Youth Congress-led Mass People’s Movement, pressing demands for accountability from China regarding the Tibet situation. Current updates and photos at http://www.tibetanyouthcongress.org or here.
