New Delhi, April 10: Four Tibet activists today displayed a banner reading “No Olympic Torch through Tibet” in front of the India Gate amidst tight security.
The latest action in India’s capital comes a week before China’s torch relay arrives in India. The day also coincides with a completion of one month since the protests in Tibetan capital Lhasa that eventually spread across other parts of Tibet.
The group representing Tibetan People’s Uprising Movement (TPUM) were protesting against China’s rule over Tibet and the brutal crackdown going on inside Tibet.
China’s latest deadly attack on Tibetans came on April 3 in Tongkor Township (Kardze County), in southern Tibet killing at least 8 Tibetans after Chinese armed police and troops opened fire on a crowd of over 700 people – nearly half of whom were monks.
Tibetan Government-in-Exile say at least 150 Tibetans have been killed since the Chinese authorities began violent crackdown on Tibetan demonstrators. Several more are said to be injured and a thousand more have been reportedly arrested.
Despite international pressure and condemnation, China’s brutality in Tibet continues unabated and unreported.
A handful of foreign media selectively taken into Lhasa and other parts of Tibet were not given free access to report on the situation in Tibet. Yesterday a group of about 15 monks defied Chinese authorities to stage a protest in front of foreign reporters in Labrang with banners and voicing support for the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. This was the second time demonstrating monks upstaged a government-controlled foreign media tour of Tibetan regions that indicated simmering resentment against the Chinese rule over Tibet.
“Despite China continuing its brutal and violent crackdown on Tibetans crying out for Freedom in Tibet, the Chinese government is bringing the Olympic torch to New Delhi in its attempt to legitimize its Human Rights violations and Illegal Occupation of Tibet” said Gaphel, one of the protesting activists at the India Gate.
“When the International Olympic Committee meets in Beijing today, they must immediately withdraw Tibet from the Torch Relay route. Carrying the Olympic torch through Tibet would aggravate the crisis and cause yet more suffering for the Tibetan people,” he said.
20 Tibetans and Indian supporters were detained by the Indian police in New Delhi on Monday after holding a peaceful candle light Vigil at India Gate.
“As an Indian and having our own history of foreign invasion, I feel inclined to support the Tibetan people in their struggle for a Free Tibet. What we have been witnessing for many years and especially this past one month, it’s a shame that such brutality still exist in a much civilized world,” says Shibayan Raha, Grassroots Coordinator Students for a Free Tibet – India.
“I appeal to all Freedom loving Indians to show up at China’s Torch Relay on the 17th and be a voice for the Tibetans who continues to suffer under the Chinese brutality,” he added.
Pro-Tibet protests have overshadowed the torch relay from the moment it was lit in Greece on March 24. In London and Paris the torch relay had to be dramatically cut short due to disruptions by hundreds of campaigners protesting over Tibet, media freedoms and other issues. On Sunday, the torch relay in San Francisco went through a hide-and-seek episode fearing uncontainable protests from demonstrators.
For more information, contact:
Tenzin Choeying – +91 981 636 8335
Tsering Choedup – +91941 822 1605
Shibayan Raha – +91 989 184 9844
