On September 3 in New Delhi, India, three executive members of the Tibetan Youth Congress began an indefinite hunger strike to demonstrate “solidarity with the self-immolators inside Tibet and to appeal for immediate international intervention.”
Photo via thetibetpost.com
That next day the three strikers, TYC Cultural Secretary Jigme Sholpa, Vice-President Dhondup Lhadar, and Organizational Secretary Penpa Tsering, were detained by police (along with some 30 or so activists) for, according to phayul.com, protesting against the Chinese Defense Minister. The three were said to have been injured during a “mishap” on their way to the police station in Jihar.
The three men, along with the 30 or so activists, were released from jail last night and spoke to a crowd of supporters in the exile community of Majnu Ka Tilla. One of the strikers, TYC Cultural Secretary Jigme Sholpa, explained how the ordeal was difficult for all three of them, but that they are determined to continue, saying: “But our determination and our willingness to continue has not been reduced by even an ounce,” he said. “We will continue our hunger strike till our demands are met.”
Although reportedly weakened, the men have refused medical treatment, stating that it would violate the oath they had taken to not consume any food products until their demands are met. in February of this year, three Tibetans staged a hunger strike at the United Nations building in New York. That strike lasted for about a month.
