April 19, 1998

48 hour fax jam campaign to commence April 20th:

Tomorrow will complete the sixth week of the Hunger Strike Unto Death. The UN has yet to give a favorable response. On this occasion a 48 hour fax jam campaign directed at the UN Secretary General - starting from 5:00pm (Indian Standard Time) - will be a fitting response to the indifference of the UN. The fax number of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan is: 001-212-963-4879. We urge all Tibet supporters to join us in this campaign.

Hunger strike mentioned during 54th UN Commission on Human Rights:

Mr. Jonathan Sission delivered a statement to the Chairman on behalf of the International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR). The entire statement dealt with Tibet and within it Mr. Sission expressed IFOR's solidarity with the six Tibetan hunger strikers in New Delhi. He said that IFOR called upon the Commission "to appoint a Special Rapporteur to investigate the situation of human rights in Tibet, and to support all efforts to promote a peaceful settlement in Tibet through a UN-supervised referendum to ascertain the wishes of the Tibetan people as to the future of their country."

Mr. Suhas Chakma, speaking on behalf of the Asian Cultural Forum on Development (ACFOD), representing the Asia-Pacific Human Rights NGO's Facilitating Team (a coalition of over 200 NGO's in the region) informed the Commission that: "For over a month, six Tibetans including a 70 year old man have been on a hunger strike unto death in New Delhi seeking the United Nations intervention to realise freedom and justice in Tibet. The condition of the hunger strikers is deteriorating and there is need to respond to their specific demands. ACFOD calls upon the Chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights and the UN Secretary General to make appropriate gestures to bring an end to the hunger strike."

Solidarity hunger strike held in South Africa:

On April 16th ten members of the Dewachen Tibetan Cultural Centre staged a solidarity hunger strike outside the UN offices in Pretoria. Seven of the strikers were South African, one was Tibetan, one Swedish, and one Kenyan.

They were very successful in getting signatures for petitions to the UN General Secretary and President Nelson Mandela and in achieving widespread media coverage. They were visited by the UN Representative Co-ordinator for South Africa Mr. David Whaley. Mr. Whaley commended them on their peaceful demonstration and assured them he would hand deliver the petition to the UN Secretary General on May 1st. He stated that he was impressed with the solidarity of the South African public for the plight of the Tibetans, and that it opened new doors for South Africa and Tibet. He felt that this was a clear sign that support for Tibet was growing all over the world.

Tibetan students demonstrate support for hunger strikers:

About 50 Tibetan students from the Tibetan Homes Foundation School in Mussoorie and Tibetan Day School at Majnu-ka-Tilla, Delhi, gathered on April 18th in front of the UN office in Delhi. They asked the UN to attend to the demands of the six Tibetans and submitted a memorandum which said, "China may be a big country, but its leaders are very poor at heart.

They do not have the wealth of truth on their side. They have created misery and sorrow wherever they set their eyes on, be it Tibet or China."

They then marched from Jantar Mantar to Parliament Street where they began a 36 hour fast.

Italian media coverage of hunger strikers spurs action:

As the result of three articles by free lance journalist Matteo Incerti for the Italian paper La Padania (Milan), numerous faxes were sent to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on behalf of the hunger strikers. Mr. Incerti expressed his regret that other Italian papers seemed to be silent on the topic and hoped that this would soon change.

Released by:

Yangchen Dolkar (Mrs.)

General Secretary

Tibetan Youth Congress

Central Executive Committee Phone: 91-1892-21554

P.O. Mcleod Ganj - 176219 Fax: 91-1892-21849

Dharamsala, H.P., India Email: tyc@del2.vsnl.net.in

Contact in Delhi:

Tseten Norbu (Mr.) Phone: 09811163081

President Fax: 91-11-646-1914