As the Dalai Lama continues his two week tour of the United States this week, Indian police have begun a crackdown on Tibetan activists on a hunger strike. Police hospitalized six strikers after 49 days, and six more have begun a strike in their place. One Tibetan activist died last week after he set himself on fire to protest the police crackdown. The self-immolation was the first by a Tibetan protesting Chinese occupation. The six activists who remain in the hospital have vowed to continue the strike once they are released. Meanwhile, Chinese President Jiang Zemin in Beijing last week refused to discuss Tibet with U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. We are joined now to discuss the situation of the Tibetan hunger strikers by Nancy Jo Johnson.

Guest:

• Nancy Jo Johnson, freelance photojournalist who traveled to India last month on assignment for the International Campaign for Tibet and Witness, part of the International Lawyers for Human Rights. She spent eight days with the Tibetan hunger strikers and was there when the Dalai Lama visited the camp in April.
• Yangchen Dolkar, general secretary of the Tibetan Youth Congress, which is sponsoring the hunger strike.