Tibetans celebrate National Flag Day in Dharamshala

Dharamshala, Mar 17: Tibetans observed their National Flag Day on Monday here as a mark of solidarity with the Tibetans worldwide.

Tying Tibetan national flags outside their houses, markets and shops, Tibetans in Dharamsala displayed solidarity with their countrymen in Tibet. "We don't have any particular National Flag Day, but considering the situation out there in Tibet, we have initiated this stand. We are observing March 17 as national flag day as it was the day when the Dalai Lama fled Tibet in 1959," said Phuntsok Chomphel, a Tibetan-in-exile. Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, has demanded that there should be an investigation into whether China is committing cultural genocide in Tibet.

As Tibetan protests continue in India, prayer sessions were organised in Kathmandu to pay homage to victims of the Chinese crackdown in Lhasa. Last Monday, monks took to the streets of Tibet to mark the 49th anniversary of an uprising against Chinese rule.

The convulsion of Tibetan anger at the Chinese presence in the region has come as a sharp blow to Beijing's preparations for the Olympic Games in August, when China would want to showcase its prosperity and unity.

ANI