DHARAMSHALA, March 9: Tibetan Youth Congress, the largest pro-independence group in exile, has called for a change in the Central Tibetan Administration’s official Middle-Way policy, which seeks autonomy for the Tibetan people.

In its 53rd Tibetan National Uprising Day Statement, TYC said the “time has come for the Tibetan Government-in-Exile and the exile Tibetans to bring about clear strategies to restore Tibet’s independence” while asserting that such a change was in tune with the “ultimate demand of those who sacrificed their lives for Tibet.”

“The unclear policy that is being pursued over the last few decades and flawed strategies that depend too much on goodwill of our adversary will have to be changed,” TYC said. “We must go back to the same direction that our struggle took in the early years of exile, which must be promoted throughout the entire exile community.”

Paying homage to the Tibetans who have set themselves on fire in the ongoing wave of fiery protests, TYC noted that their sacrifices were “neither acts of desperation nor blind” but represented a “new and bold protest based on fervent belief in our freedom struggle by the younger generation.”

“Through their love for Tibet, aspiration and creative resistance, they are sending a clear message that a free Tibet is possible,” the statement read.

Outside the United Nations headquarters in New York, Shingza Rinpoche, one of the three hunger strikers said that the UN will be held accountable for the loss of lives in Tibet if it fails to immediately intervene in the ongoing crisis.

“If the UN does not take immediate actions to help douse the burning flames inside Tibet, UN becomes accountable to every growing casualty within the Tibetan population,” Shingza Rinpoche said. “So, the ball is definitely in the court of the United Nations.”

Shingza Rinpoche, Dorjee Gyalpo and Yeshi Tenzing began their indefinite fast on February 22, appealing the UN to immediately send a fact-finding delegation to Tibet and put pressure on China to stop the undeclared martial law in Tibet and allow international media inside Tibet.

Now, into their 17th day of hunger fast, a TYC release said that all three have suffered considerable physical deterioration, losing up to 10 kgs.

"All Tibetans and Tibet supporters need to write, call, email and fax the UN and the leaders in your respective countries for concrete support for the Tibetan people and not just words of sympathy,” Dorjee Gyalpo said.

“The time has come for the UN and world leaders to decide whether they are on the side of peace loving Tibetan people or the most dictatorial Communist Chinese regime in Tibet."