Six Hundred Tibetan Protesters Evicted From Rented Hall By Delhi Police
New Delhi – Chinese President, Hu Jintao will arrive in India today and face protests by Tibetans and people from Arunachal Pradesh, the northeastern Indian state claimed recently by the Chinese as a part of their territory.
China’s claim to Arunachal caused shock and outrage across India. In another development yesterday evening, more than six hundred Tibetans were surrounded by police at the hall they had rented to sleep in and, after a long standoff, were evicted because of their close proximity to the Chinese embassy and the hotel where Hu Jintao will stay. The group was forced to move to the Tibetan refugee camp in the north part of the city. Under the banner of The Tibetan People’s Movement and using the rallying cry “Chalo Delhi”, six major Tibetan Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) are holding three days of protest in Jantar Mantar, in the Indian capital. The protests kicked off yesterday with a march and rally of more than 600 people. More than 150 Arunachal people, along with 400-500 additional Tibetans from the Tibetan refugee camp in Delhi, will join today. Kirin Rijiji, Member of Parliament for Arunachal Pradesh, will also be in attendance.
“We are happy to join together with our friends from Arunachal Pradesh in this peaceful expression of our protest against China’s occupation of Tibet and shocking interference in the Indo-Tibet border issue ”, said B. Tsering, President of the Tibetan Women’s Association. “China is attempting to redraw the map yet again and this is unacceptable to Tibetans, Arunachalis and people of India.”
Despite continued efforts by the Tibetan government in exile to not offend the Chinese government, there has been no reciprocal effort from the Chinese side. Earlier this year in May, the Chinese government defamed His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Tibet and reinstated their patriotic re-education policy of the Tibetan population. Those who fought against this policy were imprisoned and tortured. Each year, thousands of Tibetans, including many children, risk their lives escaping over the Himalayas to freedom in India.
In September, video footage shot by foreign mountaineers showed Chinese border forces shooting and kill escaping Tibetan refugees at the Nepal-Tibet border.
“Tibetans inside Tibet need us to speak out for them while Hu Jintao is in India”, said Chemey Youngdung, President of the National Democratic Party of Tibet. “The issue of Tibet is of global concern and we hope that Hu Jintao will see this through our protests and the support we are receiving from Indians and many other people.”
The three-day protest includes rallies, traditional cultural displays, Tibetan freedom songs performed by professional musicians, stories of political prisoners, poetry readings, street theatre, and candle light vigils.
Contact:
B. Tsering (Tibetan Women’s Association): +91 94183 35 155
Tenzin Tsundue (Friends of Tibet India): +91 94180 79 832
Tenzin Choeying (Students for a Free Tibet India): +91 98163 68 335
Tenzin Chime (National Democratic Party of Tibet): +91 94180 69 179
Ngawang Woeber (Gu Chu Sum): +91 94181 02 483
* Tibetan Women’s Association *GuChuSum * Tibetan Youth Congress * National Democratic Party of Tibet * Friends of Tibet India * Students for a Free Tibet *
