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After
triggering a storm in India for kissing actress Shilpa Shetty at a
public campaign in AIDS awareness, Hollywood icon and Tibet activist
Richard Gere arrived here unannounced, probably to cool off.
Even
as Nepal's media reported the brouhaha in Mumbai where Shilpa's fans
burned Gere's effigy, demanding an apology, the 58-year-old star traced
his way back to Nepal, where he had first been in the 70s, for a quick
visit.
While Nepal's media lay preoccupied with the happenings
in its southern neighbour, Gere, accompanied by his secretary, flew in
almost unnoticed by the local press.
The star of the 1990
blockbuster "Pretty Woman", which also featured Julia Roberts, Gere,
who chairs the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT), an organisation
striving to uphold Tibetans' rights, will focus fresh attention on
Tibetan refugees with his Kathmandu trip.
He is scheduled to
visit the Tibetan Refugee Reception Centre in Kathmandu, where
Tibetans, fleeing from China-controlled Tibet, stay under the
supervision of the UN High Commission for Refugees till their onward
journey to India is arranged.
Gere, one of the most high-profile
followers of the Dalai Lama, the exiled leader of the Tibetans, had
drawn fresh attention to the plight of the fleeing Tibetan refugees
recently when he released a report compiled by ICT, that also described
how Chinese border patrols had fired on unarmed women and children last
year, killing a 17-year-old nun and taking young children prisoner.
Gere,
known for his humanitarian work, is also a founding member of "Tibet
House," a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation of
Tibetan culture.
He has also been an active supporter of
"Survival International", a worldwide organization supporting tribal
peoples, donating them his Ј50,000 appearance fee after attending a
Harrods's opening.
Also involved in AIDS awareness campaigns,
Gere was in India earlier this week to take part in an event to promote
safe sex and raise AIDS awareness among truck drivers, a high-risk
group in India.
The campaign turned out to be hugely different
from the ordinary sedate ones when Gere bent back Shilpa Shetty in a
bear hug and kissed her several times on her cheek.
While his
delighted audience whistled lustily, Shilpa's fans however took umbrage
and the protests were taken up by the militant Hindu rightwing Shiv
Sena, who demanded Gere apologise and leave India.
Morning calls
at Dwarika's, Nepal's famed heritage hotel where celebrities prefer to
stay, went unanswered with the staff saying the visitors were still
sleeping.
Gere first came to Nepal in 1978 after getting his first break in Hollywood with "Looking for Mr. Goodbar".
Indo-Asian News Service
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