Mumbai, January 17 – Exiled Tibetans in India have said their struggle for freedom would continue but through peaceful means.
A delegation of over a 100 Tibetan activists revived the demand at the ongoing World Social Forum in Mumbai, urging the nations of the world to rise to their cause.
Ngawang C. Drakmargyapon, spokesman of the delegation, said, “As long as there is no real freedom in Tibet, the cause will continue. Yes, it is a continuous strugle but a non-violent struggle because we are struggling for our rights and nothing else.”
After almost a decade, Chinese government renewed contact with the Dalai Lama in 2002.
The spirtual leader’s envoys have visited China and Tibet twice since then but the talks have not made headway since the envoys’ last visit in May last year.
Tsering Yangkey, a member of the Tibetan Women’s Association, said Tibet should be made into a peace zone.
“At the World Social Forum, their slogan is that another world is possible, so we are saying that make Tibet a zone of peace. We make the roof of the world the first place of peace. It will be great,” she said.
The Dalai Lama has said he does not want independence but real autonomy for Tibet.
Beijing is suspicious of the 1989 Nobel peace laureate but the soft-spoken leader has managed massive international support.
The Tibetan population in Tibet is around six million. About 1,34000 Tibetans live in exile, the vast majority in India or Nepal, and of them less than half were born in their homeland.
