(10 Mar 2008) SHOTLIST
1. Pan from exterior of Chinese consulate to protesters
2. Close-up of Tibetan flags
3. Protester chanting into microphone
4. Protesters chanting
5. SOUNDBITE: (English) Sonam Wangdue, Tibetan Youth Congress:
"We are expressing behalf of Tibetans who are in Tibet right now suffering in Tibet Chinese prisons, so that's why we are requesting all over the world that Tibet has no oil, no gold, but we have honesty and we have truth. Please support us. And this is not only a Tibet issue."
6. Close-up of 'Free Tibet' sign
7. Protesters chanting, holding flags
8. SOUNDBITE: (English): Sonam Wangchuk, Regional Tibetan Youth Congress of New York and New Jersey:
"We're here to mark the 49th anniversary of the Tibetan national uprising and we are gathered here to protest, with the Olympics actually coming soon, to protest against the Chinese government's use of the Olympics as a political tool to, you know, legitimise the illegal occupation of Tibet and to cover up and whitewash the worsening human rights situation in Tibet."
9. Protesters marching, holding flags and chanting
STORYLINE
Hundreds of Tibetans and Tibetan supporters gathered for a rally in downtown New York on Monday, protesting against the Bejing Olympic Games and marking their 1959 uprising against Chinese rule.
Students for a Free Tibet and and the Regional Tibetan Youth Congress of New York organised the all-day demonstration, which started in downtown Manhattan, with a rally outside the United Nations (UN), and then continued with a march to the Chinese consulate.
The protest is one of several demonstrations around the world before the August 8-24 Beijing Games.
The groups say Beijing's preparations for the Games come at a time when China is attempting to stamp out Tibetan Buddhist culture and increase the government's presence in Tibet.
"We are gathered here to protest against the Chinese government's use of the Olympics as a political tool to legitimise the illegal occupation of Tibet and to cover up and whitewash the worsening human rights situation in Tibet," said Sonam Wangchuk, of the Regional Tibetan Youth Congress of New York and New Jersey.
Monday's events are also meant to coincide with the anniversary of a failed uprising against Chinese rule in Tibet that forced the Dalai Lama into exile in 1959.
Beijing maintains that Tibet is historically part of China, but many Tibetans argue the Himalayan region was virtually independent for centuries.
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