ICT Board Chairman Richard Gere and Ambassador Sichan Siv, the U.S. Representative to the UN Economic and Social Council, met this morning with three Tibetans on the morning of Tuesday, April 13, the 12th day of their hunger strike for UN action on Tibet.
A crowd of supporters and press gathered while Gere and Siv met privately with the hunger strikers. Afterwards, Gere, described the hunger strike as a spontaneous effort born from frustration to draw international attention to the plight of the Tibetan people.
Ambassador Siv conveyed the intention of the U.S. government to further the cause of human rights in Tibet, an effort being carried out simultaneously with the hunger strike at the UN Human Rights Commission where U.S. delegates are working for the passage of a China resolution.
Ms. Dolma Choephel, one of the three Tibetan hunger strikers, expressed their commitment to non-violence only as long as there remains hope of a resolution to the Tibet issue.
Kelley Currie, Director of Government Relations of ICT U.S., reported that Siv was sympathetic and responsive to Gere’s interventions on behalf of the Tibetans.
“There is a sense of a common mission,” Currie said.