Tibetan protesters vow to march to homeland
NEW DELHI - About a hundred Tibetan exiles on a six-month protest march to their homeland defied the Indian government's orders to halt today, and could be headed for a conflict with the local police.
The protesters, mostly monks and nuns, began their march on Monday, the anniversary of a failed uprising against Chinese rule in Tibet in 1959, and planned to walk 13 miles yesterday despite a restraining order the Indian government issued Monday evening, organizers of the march said.
The order, served by Indian police officers after marchers had finished walking Monday, states that they are not to leave Kangra district, which includes Dharamsala, seat of the Tibetan government in exile in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, until further notice. The marchers expect to reach the district's border within the next two days.
"We are determined to continue our march," said Tsewang Rigzin, the president of the Tibetan Youth Congress, in a telephone interview from the march. Rigzin, 37, moved from Vancouver, Wash., to Dharamsala five months ago to lead the congress, an activist group.
"Our issue is with the Chinese government, not the Indian government," he said. "We trust the Indian government will not intervene."
The march is one of several international protests related to Chinese rule in Tibet that are underway before the Summer Olympics in Beijing this August. Tibetan immigrants worldwide held protests Monday, the anniversary of the uprising, which led to the exile of the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan Buddhist leader. Organizers of the march said they were being joined for the first few days by a representative from Italy's Parliament.
Chinese officials in Beijing said that about 60 monks in Tibet who took part in the protests Monday were arrested.
India is home to an estimated 130,000 refugees from Tibet who are promised protection from repatriation and issued papers to work. Their Indian-born children receive Indian citizenship.
But the Indian government does not support outspoken activists critical of China.
Several telephone calls to Indian government ministries for comment on Monday's restraining order were not returned, or were referred to other ministries that did not respond to calls or e-mail messages. One government official said that India's agreement with the Dalai Lama prohibits Tibetan exiles from taking part in political protests.
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