by Daniel Wakin; The New York Times, May 1, 2004
Tibetan Hunger Striker Hospitalized
On the 29th day of their hunger strike against China’s policies in Tibet, one of three Tibetans collapsed yesterday, and was taken to Bellevue Hospital Center. The two other hunger strikers promised to keep fasting until their demands are met.
The hunger strikers and their doctor say they have taken only three cups of water a day since April 2. At about 7:30 p.m. yesterday, one of the strikers, Dolma Choephel, called for help and said she was hallucinating, said Kalsong Phuntsok, president of the Tibetan Youth Congress, which is sponsoring the protest.
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| Tibetan sand mandala |
” ‘It’s pain all over,’ that’s all she said,” Mr. Phuntsok recounted. Her eyes closed and she fell motionless, he said, and someone called an ambulance. She was later reported in stable condition at Bellevue.
Ms. Choephel, 30, of Dharamsala, India, had appeared to be in the worst condition of the strikers. She said listlessly in an interview on Thursday that she was suffering from chest pains. “But the spirit is still there,” she said. “The lives of three people are nothing compared to six million people.”
Each day, beginning at 7:30 a.m., Ms. Choephel and the other strikers, Sonam Wangdu and Gyatso, have lain feebly on mattresses, blankets and pillows on Dag Hammarskjold Plaza until 8 p.m., when they go to an apartment in Queens because they are not allowed to sleep on the sidewalk. The protesters are demanding that the United Nations urge China to repeal the death sentence of a Tibetan religious leader; to disclose the location of the Panchen Lama, a boy who is the second-most important figure in Tibetan Buddhism, and allow his religious education; to appoint a special monitor of religious and other human rights in Tibet; and to release Tibetan political prisoners. The hunger strikers also want the United Nations General Assembly to take up debate on Tibet, and called on Secretary General Kofi Annan to pay them a visit.
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| Dag Hammaskjold Plaza, NY |
A spokesman for Mr. Annan, Farhan Haq, would not comment on the request. “It’s part of the trickiness of this particular issue,” he said. China, a permanent member of the Security Council, is strongly opposed to United Nations intervention in Tibetan matters, United Nations officials say.
The New York Times, May 1, 2004
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/01/nyregion/01protest.html
http://www.tibetanyouthcongress.org
Originally published May 2, 2004