[ the following article will be published on next issue of quarterly newsletter "Tibet News" ]

THE RADICAL PARTY'S INITIATIVES FOR TIBET

Recently the Transnational Radical Party has finished one campaign for Tibet and is starting another. For this past March 10th they succeeded in having over 600 cities around the world fly the Tibetan flag for a day to show their camaraderie with the Tibetan cause. There has perhaps never been such an overwhelming show of support for Tibet by local governments. In many cases central governments attempted to stop city governments from flying the flag, but the city governments refused, again demonstrating the strength of grassroots organization by the Radical Party and the grassroots support itself.

Currently the TRP is gathering signatures from parliamentarians asking Secretary General Boutros Boutros Ghali for a conditionless dialogue between the Tibetan Government in Exile and the Chinese Government. They have 500 signatures so far, and hope to have over three thousand before they deliver them to the Secretary General. Again this would be the largest international governmental sign of support for Tibet in recent memory.

These two examples demonstrate what the TRP can do with its network and resources for Tibet. Besides campaigns such as these, they have helped to fund Tibet conferences and marches such as the recent Tibet conference of the Americas in DC, and the largest ever Tibet demonstration in Europe.

The Radical Party was initiated in 1954, in a reaction to the political situation in Italy. The founders were disenchanted both with the current choice of ideology (Communists, Christian Democrats, and the general leaning towards fascism) as well as with the way that parties were always compromising their beliefs to stay in power. Therefore the RP was created to present views and objectives not currently articulated by a party, and yet they would not seek public election, and therefore maintain their integrity.

The founder studied the American Civil Rights movement, and Gandhism as models for what needed to be accomplished. The symbol became Mahatma Gandhi's head drawn with the words Radical Party in many languages, indicating the international message of Non Violence.

Through their intense efforts to present NV as a method of dealing with political situations, it is clear why the Tibetan cause has become such a prominent one for the Radical Party. Further, as they are not tied to electoral process or in danger of being manipulated by other governments, they can move forward as no government is willing. Such a unique approach to politics is particularly well suited to help Tibet, and will continue to be of much uncompromising service in the future.