Tibetans protest crackdown in Lhasa

{image-tibetans protest_18032008.jpg news.oneindia.in}Siliguri, Mar 18: About 2000 Tibetans, condemning crackdown on their brethren in Lhasa and elsewhere in China, today paraded in this commercial town of North Bengal demanding stoppage of cultural genocide and return of their homeland, Tibet.

The members of North East Tibetan Youth Congress, monks, nuns and children, in their traditional costumes, also chanted Buddhist hyms and prayed in memory of those killed in recent crackdown by China. The Netyc, an apex body of many Tibetan groups, claimed that so far 170 people had been killed since the "uprising" against the Chinese authorites began on March 10 last. Netyc president Dawa Gyalpo and general secretary Ugyen Tsewang said the day-long rally that began from the Kalchakra monsatery at Salughora and criss-cross all important steets of Siliguri would focus the plight of their brethen in Tibet under communist China.

" Today's rally was to express solidarity with the Tibetan people in their homeland and to protest against 'chinese occupation' in Tibet", the two Netyc leaders said. The Tibetans, who arrived here from different places of Northeast, hills of Darjeeling and Gangtok, neighbouring Bhutan and Nepal, would also take part in a candle light rally here this evening. The hills of Gagntok and Darjeeling also had similar protest rallies by the Tiebtans early this week.

UNI