INDIA:A GROUP of Tibetan exiles living in India resumed a protest march to their homeland yesterday despite a ban on the demonstration.
The roughly 100 activists began their walk on Monday from Dharamshala, 450km (280 miles) north of New Delhi and home to the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government-in-exile. They hope to highlight what they claim are serious human rights violations in Tibet.
The group had gone only 20km from Dharamshala when police served them with a restraining order. The order came from the federal authorities in Delhi, who are believed to be anxious not to upset China, with whom India has burgeoning political, commercial and diplomatic relations.
But the marchers remained defiant. "We will continue on our homeland march despite the order that has been served on us," said B Tsering, of the Tibetan Women's Association, one of five organisations sponsoring the march.
China has ruled Tibet since 1951, a year after it sent in troops to "liberate" the country. It continues to denounce the Dalai Lama for what it says are his efforts to seek independence for his homeland. The Dalai Lama, who won the 1989 Nobel peace prize, insists that he is not aiming for independence, but rather for cultural autonomy and an end to Chinese repression.
In a speech to coincide with the anniversary of the 1959 uprising the Dalai Lama criticised China's human rights record and accused the Chinese authorities of "unimaginable and gross violations" in his homeland. "For nearly six decades Tibetans have had to live in a state of constant fear under Chinese repression," the 72-year-old monk said.