Tibetan Uprising

For Immediate Release
May 24, 08

INDIAN AUTHORITIES BLOCK RETURN MARCH TO TIBET; 19 TIBETAN MARCHERS DETAINED
MARCHERS VOW TO CONTINUE IN SOLIDARITY WITH TIBETANS IN TIBET

Nainital - Nineteen Tibetans on the March to Tibet have been arrested and taken to the Berinag police station in Pithoragarh District, Uttarakhand State, adjoining the Tibet border. The remaining marchers have declared that they are determined to continue their march to Tibet.

“We are marching in solidarity and support for our Tibetan brothers and sisters inside Tibet who are living under a state of siege by Chinese authorities” said Tsewang Rigzin, President of Tibetan Youth Congress. “We must continue to remind the world that Tibetans continue to face killings, beatings, arbitrary detentions and disappearances, an ppressive military presence, and a terrible limate of fear under Chinese occupation”.

March coordinator Lobsang Yeshi and 18 others have been detained.

“We appeal for the immediate release of all those detained and expect that the matter will be resolved quickly, and that the March will resume soon,” said B. Tsering, President of Tibetan Women’s Association.

The marchers noted that even in the wake of the tragic earthquake that devastated many Tibetans and Chinese, Beijing is intent on going ahead with plans to parade the Olympic torch through Tibet. China taking the torch through Tibet is a serious provocation that will likely result in more bloodshed and suffering of the Tibetan people. Tibetans and supporters worldwide have been calling on the International Olympic Committee to withdraw authorization for the Tibet leg of the torch relay at its upcoming meeting in Athens, June 4-6.

The March to Tibet started on March 10th from Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, and reached Seraghat after traversing many states over the course of 76 days. Tibetans living in exile in India launched the March to Tibet as part of the Tibetan People’s Uprising Movement. On the same day the march was launched, monks of monasteries in Lhasa, as well as in eastern Tibet, led peaceful protest, shouting slogans calling for return of the Dalai Lama to Tibet and independence for Tibet. Chinese authorites brutally suppressed the wave of large peaceful public demonstrations that have rippled across the country which resulted in killings and detentions of thousands of Tibetans by the Chinese Police.

The March to Tibet and the Tibetan People’s Uprising Movement aim to revive the spirit of the Tibetan National
Uprising of 1959, and engage in nonviolent direct action to bring about an end to China’s illegal occupation of Tibet.

Contact:

Tsewang Rigzin: +91 9805 247 259
B. Tsering: +91 9418 792 810