(News Tibet is a source of information on the current conditions in Tibet and Tibetan civilizations. NT is published by the Office of Tibet , New York, and circulated in the USA and Americas.)

THE RADICAL PARTY'S INITIATIVES FOR TIBET

The Transnational Radical Party recently finished one campaign for Tibet and is embarking on their next. This past March 10th they succeeded in having over 600 cities around the world fly the Tibetan flag for a day

to show their solidarity with the Tibetan cause. This gesture was the most overwhelming show of support for Tibet by local governments. In

many cases central governments attempted to prevent city governments

from flying the flag, but the city governments refused, demonstrating

the strength of their support. Currently the TRP is gathering signatures from parliamentarians around the world, asking Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali to call for a dialogue without any preconditions between the Tibetan Government in Exile and the Chinese Government. They have collected 500 signatures so far and hope to have over three thousand before they deliver them to the Secretary General. This would be the largest international governmental show of support for Tibet in recent memory. These two examples demonstrate what the TRP can do with its network and resources for Tibet. In addition to such campaigns, TRP has helped to fund Tibet conferences and marches, including the recent Tibet conference of the Americans in DC and the largest ever Tibet demonstration in Europe. The Radical Party was formed 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 toward fa

scism) and with the way that parties were always compromising their beliefs to stay in power. Therefore, the Radical Party was created to present views and objectives not currently articulated by a party. They would not seek public election and thereby maintain their integrity. The founder studies the American Civil Rights movement and Gandhism as models for what needed to be accomplished. The symbol of the radical Party became Mahatma Gandhi's head drawn with the words Radical Party in many languages, indicating the international message of nonviolence. As the TRP is an avid proponent of non-violence as a method of dealing with political situations, it is suitable that the Tibetan cause has become such a prominent one for the radical Party. Further, as the TRP is not tied to electoral process or in danger of being manipulated by other governments, they can move forward where no government is willing. Such a unique approach to politics is particularly well suited to help Tibet and will continue to be of grea

t service in the future.