Tibet PM in exile urges protesters not to set themselves on fire
(5 Oct 2012) SHOTLIST 1. Wide of Lobsang Sangay, Prime Minister of Tibetan Parliament-in-exile, talking to media 2. Picture of Dalai Lama, Tibetan spiritual leader, on the wall 3. SOUNDBITE (English) Lobsang Sangay, Prime Minister of Tibetan Parliament-in-exile: "In the last I think four days, four-five days, two self-immolations, so it's you know, it's really sad. It's the message of urgency that they are sending." 4. Media 5. SOUNDBITE (English) Lobsang Sangay, Prime Minister of Tibetan Parliament-in-exile: "We do not encourage any protest inside Tibet because of harsh reality, the ones who participate in protest, you get arrested and then you go to prison, you get tortured, you get dying, so why would I encourage any form of protest when you know the consequences. Having said that, our stand is once there's a protest inside Tibet, it becomes our duty to show solidarity and support the aspirations because aspirations is always for Tibet and Tibetan people. So that has been our stand. Same on self immolation, now we discourage drastic actions including self immolation inside Tibet." 6. Cutaway of hands 7. SOUNDBITE (English) Lobsang Sangay, Prime Minister of Tibetan Parliament-in-exile: "It is definitely putting pressure on them (China), that's why they are sending in more military personnel, more police, more check points. Army should be in the border defending one's country. Now they are patrolling the streets of towns and cities, including villages, that way. But unfortunately the pressure seems to be at least in their mind instead of reforming and introducing more liberal oriented attitude, they are cracking down more." 8. Cutaway of media 9. SOUNDBITE (English) Lobsang Sangay, Prime Minister of Tibetan Parliament-in-exile: "Tibetans have rallied around this major change. So that was one of my primary concerns because if Tibetans still feel anxiousness then it might be problematic, but that has rallied. And international community wise also of course we expect more, but generally the interest on Tibet remains." 10. Wide of Lobsang and media STORYLINE The Tibetan government-in-exile said on Friday that it does not support any protest inside Tibet against China, due to China's "harsh" reaction, and called on the Tibetans to stop self immolations as a form of protest against China's rule over their homeland. Speaking to media from the Indian capital New Delhi, Lobsang Sangay, Prime Minister of Tibetan Parliament-in-exile said the Tibetan government-in-exile does not encourage any form of protest because they "know the consequences." "Having said that, our stance is once there is a protest inside Tibet it becomes our duty to show solidarity and support the aspirations," he said. Sangay said that the continuing self-immolations by Tibetans were "sad" but reflected the "the message of urgency" that the people inside Tibet were sending. The self-proclaimed Tibetan government-in-exile said on Friday that 42 Tibetans have died from 53 attempts at self-immolation since March 2009. China has blamed the Tibetans' exiled spiritual leader for inciting the immolations, but the Dalai Lama denies the claim. The spiritual leader has never publicly supported or denounced the acts. Supporters say the self-immolators are protesting Beijing's heavy-handed rule in Tibetan regions and calling for the return of the Dalai Lama. Sangay said the Chinese crackdown on the protesters had intensified after the incidents of self-immolations. Sangay became head of Tibet's exile administration last year after the Dalai Lama stepped down as political leader of the Tibetan people. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: / ap_archive Facebook: / aparchives Instagram: / apnews You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...
