Support for Tibetan cause by Trans-Himalayan delegates in Shimla

Shimla, July 4 : Hundreds of delegates from the entire Himalayan region assembled here to express solidarity with the Tibetan exiles to mark the 94th anniversary of 'Simla Agreement of 1914'.

Simla agreement was a tripartite among the governments of India, Tibet andhina creating an external line, called McMohan line covering the three countries. It became controversial because only India, then under British rule, and Tibet signed the agreement and not China.

A day-long conference was organised by the Trans-Himalayan Parliamentaryorum and The Himalayan Parivar, an umbrella organization of countries and states connected with the Himalayas, to highlight the importance of the July 3, 1914 Simla Agreement.

"McMohan line was not the line that divided Tibet and India, but was the line (that) actually joined India and Tibet. Today, Tibet has been occupied by China. The Chinese Government is not ready to accept McMohan line. Thus it is a very important thing for us that representatives from Arunachal Pradesh to Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Himachal, Ladakh and people who reside in all Himalayan regions and people linked to the societies are here," said Kiren Rijiju, President of Trans-Himalayan Parliamentary Forum. Dolma Tsering, organiser and a member of the Tibetan parliament-in-exile, said that such forums are important as it draws attention towards the Tibetan cause.

"I think these kind of symposiums, meetings and gatherings mean a lot to the Tibetan people because at this time Tibet issue is at a very critical stage. It is very high time that world as a humanity who believe in justice and truth should come together, voice their voice against injustice and oppression that's being caused in Tibet," said Tsering.

China resumed fence-mending talks with envoys of Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama on Tuesday in a move that could burnish its international image weeks before the Chinese capital hosts the Olympics.

It is their second closed-door meeting since rioting erupted in Tibet in March and heaped international pressure on China to deal with the Nobel laureate, who fled into exile in India in 1959 after an abortive uprising against Chinese rule.

ANI