Peace riders to rally Saturday

To spread the message of non-violence and peace, 16 bike riders have undertaken a journey through treacherous mountains, temperatures of 30 degrees Fahrenheit, pouring rain and winds reaching up to 35 miles per hour.\n"The conditions in Tibet are horrible. There are human rights violations that have left people homeless. Between 1949 and 1959, the Chinese government killed about 1.2 million people; a number of people have been executed; people have been imprisoned and killed; and about 6,000 monasteries have been destroyed. There is no freedom of speech or religion. Families are destroyed and friends are separated," said Gendin Gyatso, one of the riders that started the bike ride.\nThe two-week trek started in Washington, D.C., April 10 and is expected to end this Saturday in Toronto.\nTour Coordinator Douglas Herman said they will stage a demonstration to let the international community know about the human rights violations being committed against the Tibetans. One of the riders is from New York. Two of them -- Rabten Gyatso, a monk, and Jigme Norbu, the Dalai Lama's nephew -- are from Indiana, while the rest are from Minnesota. The riders range from 19 to 24 years of age.\nGyatso said although he was born in Tibet and escaped when he was 15 years old. "I lived in India as a refugee for a little over four years and then came to the U.S.," he said. Gyatso said he has a number of Chinese friends who sympathize and help him in his cause. \n"They do not discriminate. We are all humans, and they help me out a lot. It is just that the Chinese government must give us our independence." \nHe said he also believes it is important people all over the world know the problems Tibetans are facing at the hands of the Chinese government. With the international community supporting the freedom of Iraq, Gyatso said he believes the day Tibet regains its independence is not far off.\n"We should not stop fighting for independence, but only through non-violent methods. Non-violence is very powerful," Gyatso said.\nThis is the first time these riders have come together as a group, said International Tibet Independent Movement President and Ball State University psychology Professor Larry Gerstein. "Some of them have been part of a few tours," he explained. \nThe inspiration for this tour, he said, came from the Dalai Lama's oldest brother, Thubten Jigme Norbu, about a year-and-a-half ago. The idea was the brain-child of Rimbo Tenzin of Minnesota, Gerstein said. Tenzin got together the riders from Minnesota while the others came together through the ITIM. \n"There have been bad weather conditions, and for some of us, the journey has been tough. But it is absolutely nothing when compared to the suffering that the people of Tibet are facing every single day of their life," said Tashi Dorjee, one of the other riders. \nDorjee was born in India and came to the U.S. 13 years ago.\n"I yearn for my country to be free one day soon," he said. "And the youth can play a major role in achieving this." \nHe said the youth all over the world are a powerful group with vibrant energy, new ideas and a spirit that refuses to die.\n"If they get together, then they can achieve anything they can set their hearts and minds to. This has been seen in numerous countries around the world and over the ages. We, the youth of Tibet, want to help achieve freedom of our land. We want to see the dawn of a new, bright and independent Tibet." \n-- Contact staff writer Hina Alam at halam@indiana.edu.