Date: April 14, 1996

To: Tibet Supporters

From: Larry Gerstein - Coordinator, March for Tibet's Independence

Re: The Ferry to Tibet's Independence & Gendhun Choekyi Nyima's Birthday

Our March for Tibet's Independence continues to be quite successful. We have now completed 260 miles & are getting very close to New York City. Our presentations at Trenton State College, Princeton University, & The George School were well received. The secondary school students at The George School are highly committed to fighting for Tibet's independence & will contact other Quaker schools for additional support.

On April 11th, the Mayors of the town & borough of Princeton proclamed the day "Tibetan Independence" Day. An orange azalea bush was also planted at the Peace Pole in Princeton to symbolize the community's support for Tibet. This Peace Pole was originally constructed when the Peace March of the 1970's passed through Princeton. Fourteen orange ribbons were placed on the azalea bush to honor His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama.

During their visit to The George School, Thubten Jigme Norbu & Palden Gyatso received walking sticks from the school's administration to support our "March for Tibet's Independence." These walking sticks are 100 years old & were made by the founder of The George School, John George. Thubten Jigme Norbu also received an eating bowl as a birthday gift to be given to Gendhun Choekyi Nyima. The clay bowl was made by Ethan Devine, a George School student.

On April 25 at 9AM, the "March for Tibet's Independence" will board the Staten Island Ferry on a passage by the Statue of Liberty & on to the United Nations. Since the Statue of Liberty is such a powerful symbol of freedom & independence, we highly encourage all of you to join us. Our goal is to fill up the Staten Island Ferry on April 25 with Tibet supporters. By filling up the ferry, we will definitely attract the worldwide media. We anticipate that 400-500 Tibetans will join us along with a similar number of westerners, including some celebrities. When we reach Battery Park, we will be greeted by a group of Tibetans with tea & we will then begin our walk to the United Nations. The schedule for this event is as follows:

9:00 AM Staten Island Ferry Plaza (Staten Island)

9:30 AM Battery Park (Manhattan, NYC)

10:00 AM Walk up Trinity-Broadway (N)-City Hall (12PM)-6th Ave (N)-42nd St (E)-UN

2:00 PM Arrive at the United Nations

2:00-5:00 PM Demonstration at the United Nations

6:00-9:00 PM Reception & Gendhun Choekyi Nyima's Birthday Celebration (Location to be determined)

As a reminder, April 25th is Gendhun Choekyi Nyima's birthday & we will demand that China release the 7 year old Panchen Lama. Therefore, a major goal of our ferry ride & walk to the U.N. is to educate people about the Panchen Rinpoche & call upon world leaders to secure his release & safety. We strongly request that you help celebrate Gendhun Choekyi Nyima's birthday & help set him free by immediately sending him a Birthday Card at the address that follows. Please ask others to do the same.

Gendhun Choekyi Nyima

c/o President Bill Clinton

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Ave

Washington, D.C. 20520

Check our website (http://www.nuvo.net/tibet) for further information. We look forward to all of you joining us for the final day of our "March for Tibet's Independence."