Tibetan protests cripple economy in Dharamshala

Dharamshala, Mar 20 : The ongoing crusade against Chinese suppression of Tibet by exiles living in Dharamshala has crippled the economy of Buddhist pilgrimage spots.

According to protestors, the economy of the state is the last thing on their mind and all they are concerned about is autonomy for Tibet.

For the last ten days, business establishments and shops have remained closed in the region due to the Tibetan protests.

The Tibetan-in-exile said that while they understand the adverse affect of their protests on the economy of the region, they couldn't help it, as they want to achieve their aim of 'reaching Tibet' before the Olympics.

"The reason is that in Tibet right now, lots of our brothers and sisters are being killing (killed) by Chinese. So that's why we are doing this protests and demonstrations. We don't care about our economy. We care about our freedom movement," said Tenzin, a Tibetan.

According to businessmen, they have lost almost 49,395 US dollars per day due to protests and shutdown.

Tibetan exiles across the globe are expressing their solidarity for Tibetans in China by protesting for a free Tibet.

They are demanding that the Beijing Olympic games be stopped. They also called for the exiled Dalai Lama to be allowed to live in Tibet.

The crackdown on the protests in Tibet and neighbouring Chinese provinces, which may have killed dozens of people, had sparked calls for a boycott of the Games.

ANI