World Tibet Network News Thursday, April 09, 1998 - Special Issue

NEW DELHI, April 9 (Reuters) - The United Nations's human rights chief on Thursday urged six Tibetan protesters to end a month-old death fast.

The protesters, who began their fast in New Delhi on March 10, are campaigning for independence for Tibet. China flatly rejects statehood for Tibet, an autonomous territory which it has ruled since 1950.

"The young people had displayed considerable courage and succeeded in bringing their issues to the attention of the international community," U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, said in a statement released in New Delhi.

Robinson said the lives of the six should not be lost by continuing the hunger strike.

"I hope they will now find the additional courage needed to end the fast and preserve their lives," she said.

There was no immediate reaction from the activists who had vowed not end the fast unless the United Nations reopened a debate on the future of their Himalayan homeland.

Robinson's statement said she had indicated to the Chinese authorities her desire to go to Tibet during her official visit to China in September this year "in order to be more fully informed about the situation there."

The hunger strikers, members of the Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) wanted the U.N. to appoint a special envoy to initiate a U.N.-supervised plebiscite to allow Tibetans to decide their future.

TYC is also demanding a special U.N. rapporteur to investigate human rights issues in Tibet.

The protesters, who are living on lime juice and water, have been drawing international attention, supporting activists said.

"We have received letters of support from U.S. Congressmen, European Parliament members, Australian senators and Lithuanian parliamentarians," TYC President Tseten Norbu said.