World Tibet Network News Saturday, April 18, 1998

BY KRISHNAN GURUSWAMY Associated Press Writer

NEW DELHI, India, Saturday, April 18, 1998 (LA Times) -- After 40 days without food, Dawa Gyalpo's lips barely moved as he chanted Buddhist hymns Saturday in a tent in India's capital. Gyalpo, and five others have been on a fast-unto-death in New Delhi to protest China's rule of Tibet.

"I'm feeling weak," whispered the 50-year-old man, his chest and cheeks sunken from living on only water and lemon juice and a daily puff of Tsampa barley smoke that is said to strengthen the "invisible winds of energy" inside the body.

Gyalpo's hunger strike is the most dramatic protest in India against China's 48-year rule of Tibet and reflects a growing frustration among the 100,000 exiles in India over Beijing's iron grip over the disputed region, which it considers a Chinese province.

"We'll be on strike until our demands are met," he told a reporter, his words measured and slow that seemed to tire him. The Tibetans want a United Nations-sponsored referendum to determine if Tibetans want independence, autonomy within China, or some other status; appointment of a Tibet human-rights investigator; and resumption of debate on Tibet in the United Nations General Assembly. "We have been cheated in the past," Gyalpo said, referring to past strikes by other Tibetan exiles in India that were called off following assurances from officials that were never kept. Gyalpo has lost more than 10 kilograms (22 pounds) since the strike began. "I've fasted before for one month. I can go on," he said.

On Saturday, about 50 Tibetan school students held a brief demonstration in front of the United Nations office in the capital to highlight their demands.

"We can't understand why the U.N. is not listening to us," some of the demonstrators shouted. "Listen to the voice of the Tibetans," they chanted.