Posted on 04/07/2005 3:19:56 AM PDT by Gengis Khan
Tibetan welcome for Wen The Statesman[Thursday, April 07, 2005 09:54] NEW DELHI, April 6 — The Chinese Prime Minister, Mr Wen Jiabao, will be arriving in India within three days, Besides the Indian government, another group is also waiting to give the Chinese leader a welcome, albeit of a different sort.
The two stops in the Chinese leader’s visit in India, Bangalore and Delhi, will also see demonstrations by Tibetan activists. Speaking to The Statesman, the public relations officer of the Tibetan Youth Congress, Mr Dhondup Dorjee said, “Our members have started to assemble in the two cities to hold demonstration during the visit.”
In Bangalore, where Mr Wen will arrive on 9 April, members of the southern chapters of TYC have already started to congregate and make plans. Similarly, in Delhi, about 200 members of the Uttaranchal and Himachal partners are arriving to “greet” the Chinese leader on 11 April.
The Indian authorities would be embarrassed if there were any major demonstrations during Mr Wen’s visit. India considers Tibet a part of China.
Hundreds of Tibetans living-in-exile staged a protest here against the Chinese occupation of Tibet.
Around 150 activists of Tibetan Women's Organisation, holding banners and flags, also participated in the march, which culminated in the national capital after starting on March 12.
The activists set a five-point charter of demands, which includes releasing political prisoners and a direct talk between the Chinese authorities and the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.
"The main aim of the peace march is to tell the Indians that why we are here and what are our demands. We think that if Indians come to know about us then they can pressurise the Indian government to ask the Chinese government to talk to Dalai Lama and solve the problem of Tibet. Our main demands are that there should be a direct talk between the Dalai Lama and the Chinese authorities. Secondly, release the political prisoners, thirdly, stop the environmental exploitation in the name of development in Tibet, fourth Tibetans should not be restricted to visit other countries," said B. Tsering Yeshi, a woman activist.
The protest comes weeks ahead of Chinese premier Wen Jiabao's visit to New Delhi from April 9.
In 1959 His Holiness the Dalai Lama fled from Tibet into exile in India. Thousands of Tibetans have since followed him.
Facing systematic persecution in Tibet, they continue to flee to this day. The flow of refugees out of Tibet continues 50 years on.
Now, over 50 years after the first refugees left Tibet for India, great poverty exists in most Tibetan Refugee Settlements. The problems for Tibetan Refugees in India continue, and are growing.
His Holiness the 14th the Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso, is the head of Tibet and the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people.
Dalai Lama was given political asylum in India. Some 80,000 Tibetan refugees followed His Holiness into exile. Today, there are more than 120,000 Tibetan in exile. Since 1960, he has resided in Dharamsala, India, known as "Little Lhasa," the seat of the Tibetan Government-in-exile.
http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?id=9405
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