Exiles plan protest march to Tibet

Hundreds of Tibetan exiles made preparations today for a six-month march from India to Tibet to protest against Beijing’s hold on the Himalayan region and China’s hosting of the Olympic games.

Tibetan exile groups said the march – scheduled to begin tomorrow – will be one of several protests around the world during the buildup to the to the August 8-24 Beijing Games.

The groups say Beijing’s preparations for the Games come at a time when China is attempting to stamp out Tibetan Buddhist culture and increase the government’s presence in Tibet.

“This is a people’s march,” Lobsang Yeshi, one of the co-ordinators, said of the planned six-month trek. “It could potentially be our biggest protest since we came into exile in 1959. We are determined to go home and nobody could stop us from doing that.”

Hundreds of members of several exile groups plan to depart from Dharmsala in northern India on Monday – the day Tibetans commemorate a failed 1959 uprising against Chinese rule.

Dharmsala has been a centre for Tibetan exiles since the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader, fled there after the failed uprising and set up a government in exile.

“We are determined to go home and it’s our right to do so,” said Lhadon Tethong, president of the Students for a Free Tibet, International Chapter. “There is no better way for Tibetans to demonstrate that we belong to Tibet.”

Organisers said they had not yet determined the route for the march.

The groups also called on all Tibetans to protest peacefully against the Olympics and China’s plans to have the ceremonial torch paraded through Tibet.

Beijing maintains that Tibet is historically part of China, but many Tibetans argue the Himalayan region was virtually independent for centuries.

Tibet’s government-in-exile has not issued any official statement on the march.