Tibetans Defy Indian Police With Protest
Tibetan exiles defy Indian police ban, continue protest against Beijing.
RANITAL, India, March 12, 2008— -- Several hundred Tibetan exiles in India pressedahead Wednesday with a march protesting Beijing's hosting of this summer'sOlympic Games, in defiance of an Indian government ban.
The march was one of several events launched Monday as Tibetans around theworld commemorated their 1959 uprising against China, including a protest by300 Buddhist monks in the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, one of the boldest publicchallenges to China's rule in recent years.
The exiles plan a six-month march from India that could arrive in Tibetduring the Aug. 8-24 Beijing Games, in a bid to turn the Olympic spotlightonto China's often-harsh 57-year rule over the Himalayan region.
But India, fearing the march could embarrass Beijing and jeopardize theincreasingly close ties between the countries, banned the exiles from leavingthe Kangra district that surrounds Dharmsala, the headquarters of the Tibetangovernment-in-exile.
Marchers vowed to defy the ban.
On Wednesday, police were stopping marchers and demanding to see theirofficial identification certificates - an apparent attempt to disrupt themarch - in Kangra district, organizers said.
"This is just another ploy to stop us," said Tenzing Cheying, a marchorganizer. "We will carry on."
In New Delhi, nearly 50 Tibetans protested outside the Chinese Embassy.They tried to get close to the mission, but were pushed back by policecarrying batons, witnesses said.
Police loaded the protesters - who were carrying signs denouncing theOlympics - into vans and drove them away, witnesses said. Police were notimmediately available for comment.
In northern India, some 350 exiles walked single-file, carrying Tibetanflags and pictures of the Dalai Lama and Indian pacifist Mohandas K. Gandhi.
The protesters set off Wednesday morning from the town of Ranital, about32 kilometers (20 miles) from the Kangra district border.
Tenzin Tsundue, one of the march leaders, said the protesters would likelyreach the border by Wednesday and would try to evade the police.
