Tibetans carry out protest march

New Delhi, Apr 10 (UNI) Hundreds of Tibetans today gathered at Jantar Mantar here carrying 154 symbolic dead bodies of their friends they claim have been killed in anti-China uprising in Tibet.

Draped in white clothes, the effigies bore names of those killed in red letters.

Carrying placards which read 'Stop Cultural Genocide in Tibet' and 'China has turned Tibet into a killing field,' the demonstrators demanded the authorities in Beijing to release imprisoned Tibetans and remove the armed blockade from the region nestled in the Himalayas.

While 270 protesters marched to New Delhi from Dharmsala -- the seat of Tibet's government-in-exile--the rest converged from the place in Delhi and other states, including Karnataka and Jammu and Kashmir.

The demonstrators also held Zangehoe Monlam or morning prayers for the 154 Tibetans killed in the unrest.

Later, a 'Freedom' cycle rally by 90 Tibetan school students was flagged off.

The Olympic torch is scheduled to pass through New Delhi on April 17. The international torch relay has faced chaotic protests in London and Paris.

UNI NAB SW RK1628