Tibetan exiles stage protest demonstration in Dharamsala

Scores of Tibetan exiles on Thursday gathered in Dharamsala, the seat of Tibetan government in exile, to protest against violation of human rights by Chinese authorities in Tibet.

Dharamsala/New Delhi, August 14 : Scores of Tibetan exiles on Thursday gathered in Dharamsala, the seat of Tibetan government in exile, to protest against violation of human rights by Chinese authorities in Tibet.

The protesters gathered at the Tsuklag Khang Buddhist temple in the picturesque hill town, also known as 'Mini Lhasa' because of the large population of Tibetans in the town, to protest against China.

Dressed in black with black bands tied over their eyes, the protesters sang a patriotic song to motivate their fellow Tibetans.

The protesters also marched down the hilly roads of Dharamsala chanting slogans like 'Free Tibet' and 'Long Live Dalai Lama'.

Some of the protesters also chained themselves symbolizing the political prisoners languishing in jails in Lhasa, allegedly suffering under Chinese brutality.

The protesters said, they were not against the Olympics but were against the inhuman treatment meted out by the Chinese to people in Tibet.

"We are really concerned that a nation who is hosting the Olympics has certain moral responsibility of having good standards of human rights and freedom within its country, which China doesn't have. So our concern is, that the nation which is holding such a big event does not meet the requirement," said B. Tsering, President of Tibetan Women Association.

Meanwhile in New Delhi, police forcibly took away the Tibetan exiles to hospital, who were sitting on hunger strike for the past few days.

The protesters were on an indefinite hunger strike under the 'Indefinite fast for Tibet-without Food and Water' movement, to attract the attention of the international community towards the Tibetan cause.

The police had to shift them forcibly for medical assistance as their condition was deteriorating.

The police have also commissioned two policemen at the Tibetan camp to keep a check on the hunger strikers.

"We have replaced the real hunger strikers with other six volunteers and they took six wrong people. But, today police have planned and have kept two policemen to watch the hunger strikers whether we are replacing them or not," said Thunduk Dorje, Vice President, Tibetan Youth Congress.

China has accused followers of the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan Buddhist leader, of stirring riots and protests in Tibetan region in March in a bid to upstage Olympic preparations. The Dalai Lama has denied the charge and said he does not oppose the Games.

The Dalai Lama has rejected accusations that he is behind the unrest and has supported the Chinese right to host the Olympics.

But groups campaigning for Tibetan independence have said they will use the Games to voice their demands and concerns over the alleged Chinese atrocities in Tibet.

China has controlled Tibet since People's Liberation Army troops marched into the region in 1950 and Beijing considers Tibet as an integral part of its territory.

Critics accuse China of repressing Tibetans' religious aspirations, especially their veneration for the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.

ANI