NEW YORK—Three Tibetans sit outside the U.N. headquarters at 42nd Street and First Avenue on an indefinite hunger strike. They ask the U.N. to take immediate action to make China comply with the “principles of justice and international law.”
His Eminence 11 Shingza Rinpoche, Dorjee Gyalpo, and Yeshi Tenzin began their hunger strike on Feb. 22. The three men have not had any food and only had water to drink according to Tsewang Rigzin, president of the Tibetan Youth Congress, who was on site. All of the men have lost considerable weight, with Rinpoche losing the most—22 pounds so far.
Rigzin said they will not stop their hunger strike until the U.N. takes action.
A petition on The Tibetan Youth Congress website, organizer of the strike, explains that the Chinese Communist Party has completely sealed off Tibet, allowing no one in or out and denying foreign media access.
Reporters Without Borders declares that “out of sight of the world, a major crisis is unfolding.”
Jonathan Watts, a reporter for the U.K. newspaper, the Guardian, was able to sneak in recently. He writes, “On the roof of the world, Chinese paramilitaries are trying to snuff out Tibetan resistance to Beijing’s rule with spiked batons, semiautomatic weapons, and fire extinguishers.”
On March 10, thousands of Tibetans and Tibet supporters around the world are expected to march in commemoration of the Tibetan National Uprising. In 1959, the Dalai Lama was exiled shortly after this uprising against the Chinese regime’s oppression of Tibetan rights and freedoms.
In New York City, the march will take place from Cadman Plaza to Union Square starting at 8 a.m.
