Tibetans begin hunger strike to protest against China

(6 Aug 2008) SHOTLIST
August 6, 2008
1. Pan across group of Tibetan protesters seated on ground, praying
2. Close-up of monk chanting
3. Wide of second group of Tibetan protesters starting their hunger strike
4. Monks chanting
5. Mid of Tibetan woman clapping
6. Pan from Tibetan protesters to hunger strikers
7. Close of protester wearing free Tibet head band
8. SOUNDBITE (English): Tsewang Rigzin, President of Tibetan Youth Congress:
"We will continue as long as we can, you know, that's our goal and the main thing is that it's the participants, these volunteers, they are wanting to do this for our country, they are wanting to highlight, you know, the serious situation inside Tibet and we don't have any other options but this, to, you know, highlight our situation."
9. Protester settling down on bedding inside tent to start his hunger strike
10. Various of protesters on hunger strike
11. Wide of poster reading (English): "Rise Up For Tibet"
August 4, 2008
12. Wide of first batch of protesters on hunger strike lying in beds
13. Close of protester on fast
14. Mid of doctor examining protester on hunger strike
STORYLINE:
A second group of Tibetan protesters began an indefinite hunger strike in the Indian capital New Delhi on Wednesday to attract the attention of the international community towards the alleged Chinese atrocities in Tibet.
An earlier group of six fasting Tibetans was forcibly taken away by the police late on Tuesday.
"We will continue as long as we can, you know, that's our goal and the main thing is that it's the participants, these volunteers, they are wanting to do this for our country, they are wanting to highlight, you know, the serious situation inside Tibet and we don't have any other options but this," said Tsewang Rigzin, President of Tibetan Youth Congress.
AP Television filmed Tibetan monks chanting and praying as the hunger strikers settled themselves into tents on Wednesday, in preparation for their fast.
In recent months, Tibetan exiles have been staging protests and trying to march to Tibet to show their support for the uprising that erupted in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa in March.
They were also protesting against the fact that Beijing had been allowed to stage the Olympic Games, which begin Friday.
India, home to the largest Tibetan exile community, has generally allowed the exiles to protest peacefully, but as anti-China protests gathered momentum before the Olympics, the government has said that it would not tolerate actions that embarrassed China.
Tibetan exile groups said they were trying to lend their support to those inside Tibet.
Violent anti-China protests that started in Lhasa on March 10 resulted in a clampdown by the Chinese authorities resulting in many deaths and arrests in the region, Tibetan activists and officials allege.
China has governed Tibet since communist troops marched into the Himalayan region in the 1950s.
While many Tibetans oppose China hosting the Olympics, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama says he supports the Beijing games.
The Dalai Lama, who fled to India amid a failed uprising in 1959, has said he wants some form of autonomy that would allow Tibetans to freely practice their culture, language and religion.

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