Tibetans fear 'huge massacre' after deadline

New Delhi, Mar 17: The India-based Tibetan government-in-exile said Monday it feared the possibility of a huge massacre of Tibetans after the Chinese government's ultimatum to protestors to surrender expired at midnight Monday and urgently appealed to the international community to intervene.

Qiangba Puncog, governor of Tibet, says those who fail to turn themselves in to local authorities before tonight's midnight deadline will be dealt with "harshly". By contrast those who come to police with information about others will be given the most lenient treatment, he stressed. "The current situation in Tibet is extremely serious ... we are extremely concerned that there is every possibility of a huge massacre of Tibetans taking place after the ultimatum," a statement by the government-in-exile said.

Meanwhile, Tibetan refugee groups across India held demonstrations on Monday also appealing for international intervention, as China's deadline for "surrender" neared. At least 1,000 Tibetan refugees gathered outside the Jantar Mantar monument in central Delhi to express their solidarity with the protestors in Tibet and handed a letter to the local UN office asking the secretary general to intervene with the Chinese government to stop the "inhuman suppression of Tibetans in Tibet" and release those arrested.

A candlelight vigil by Tibetan refugees and their supporters was scheduled to be held in India's financial hub Mumbai in the evening.

OneIndia News