'Self-immolation - an inspiration' says cycling students/ENG

2012. február 7./Phayul.com/TibetPress

DHARAMSHALA, February 7: The three cycling students who have been on the road for the last 20 days, covering more than a thousand kilometres told Phayul that they are inspired by the fiery wave of self-immolations in Tibet.

"We felt very sad upon hearing the news of three more self-immolations in Tibet but their sacrifices are our inspiration," Tselo Gyal, one of the students said.

The three Tibetan school students, with a mission to pedal through the length of India, demanding an international monitoring team to be allowed inside Tibet, began their ‘Cycling for Tibet’ campaign from the Tibetan settlement of Bylakuppe in Karnataka state.

Gyaltsen, Lugoen Thar, and Tselo Gyal, all students of the Tibetan Children Village School, Gopalpur, hope to reach the Indian capital New Delhi by mid-March.

The students reached the tourist destination of Panjim, the capital of Goa state in the evening today after resuming their journey from the Tibetan settlement of Mundgod on Sunday.

“Along the way, we have been informing the local Indians about the ongoing crisis in Tibet,” Gyal said.

Speaking to Phayul over phone, the students said they will be joining tomorrow’s global vigil for Tibet announced by the exile Tibetan leadership.

"Coinciding with the worldwide protests tomorrow, we will hold a press conference in the capital besides joining Tibetans in Goa to show solidarity and to raise our voice in support of the fundamental rights of the Tibetan people,” the group said.

“We know what is going in Tibet, we can't remain mere spectators," the students added.

According to their Facebook page, the next stop for the student activists will be Pune and its sister city of Mumbai, India’s commercial capital.

In a statement released at the beginning of their rally, the three students said they were undertaking the ‘Cycling for Tibet’ campaign to highlight the “plight of Tibetans suffering under China’s repressive rule” and to appeal for support in the resolution of the ongoing crisis in Tibet.

“The suffering and the injustice meted out to Tibetans in Tibet must end soon if truth, freedom, and peace are to sustain this world,” the release said.
By Tendar Tsering