Tibetan refugees plan protests as Wen visits India

Tibetan refugees living in India are planning to stage protests against Chinese rule of their homeland during a three-day visit by Prime Minister Wen Jiabao (溫家寶), an official said Friday.

Tenzin Tsundue, general secretary of Friends of Tibet, an organization comprising 4,000 Indian and Tibetan members, said protests would be held in the southern city of Bangalore and New Delhi where Chinese Premier Wen is slated to visit.

Wen was to arrive in the technology hub of Bangalore yesterday where he will kick off his Indian visit.

"We will follow him everywhere he goes," Tsundue told reporters in Bangalore amid a backdrop of posters which read: "Wen Jiabao what about peace in occupied Tibet? We need human rights in Tibet."

India has played host to Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, 69, and officials of the Tibetan government-in-exile since the monk fled Tibet in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule.

He has since recognized Chinese control and encouraged renewed ties in 2002 between representatives of both sides who have met three times to discuss a possible return of Tibetan exiles.

Tibet's exiled prime minister Samdhong Rinpoche attempted Friday to distance the Tibetan government-in-exile from the planned protests.

"I hope the Chinese premier's visit to India turns out to be a success," he said in a statement.

He also appealed to the Tibetan community "to refrain from indulging in aggressive demonstrations" in a bid to create a "conducive atmosphere" for China and the exiled government to hold talks.

But Samdhong's appeal for restraint is unlikely to stop many Tibetans from continuing to call for an end to Chinese rule in Tibet.

Tsundue said the Tibetan refugees living in India wanted to convey the message to Wen that they were not happy with Chinese occupation of Tibet.

"Since they occupied Tibet the Chinese have carted away its mineral resources, cut down trees, drained the nation and flooded the region with their people. This we will not tolerate," Tsundue said.

Three Tibetan organizations said in a joint statement that they had failed to get permission from Indian authorities to stage a protest.

Bangalore Deputy Commissioner of Police G.B. Chebbi said the Tibetan refugees were given the option of holding a protest after Wen left the city.