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Indian police arrest 100 Tibetan protesters

Indian police yesterday arrested 100 Tibetan exiles trying to walk to their homeland as part of a major protest ahead of the Beijing Olympics. Despite the setback, the demonstrators vowed the march would go on.

The marchers were rounded up as they approached the border of Himachal Pradesh state's Kangra District in defiance of a restraining order barring them from heading further north into the Himalayas toward Tibet.

"We have arrested 100 people," police official Atul Fulzele said, adding that five women were among those arrested.

The march began on Monday in Dharamsala, home to the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government-in-exile and had reached Dehra, about 56km away when the arrests took place.

Tibetan activists, who have vowed to step up their protests in the run-up to the Beijing Olympics, said they were saddened by the Indian government's position, but insisted the arrests were only a temporary setback.

APPEAL

"We appeal to the government of India not to appease China by restraining us," said Sonam Dorje, a spokesman for the Tibetan Youth Congress, one of five pro-independence groups sponsoring the trek to Tibet. "This march will continue regardless of the government action."

The head of the activist group, Tsewang Rinzin, said Indian police would soon have to deal with a hunger strike.

"The marchers who are in police custody are refusing to eat and if this detention is prolonged then we would be compelled to go on a hunger strike," he said.

"We are very disappointed. We have been living in India for 50 years and we uphold the non-violent values of Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation. And this march was a peaceful journey according to his principles, back to the land which legitimately belongs to all Tibetans," he said.

About 100 police swooped on the marchers in the early hours of the morning and bundled them into buses before driving them back in the direction of Dharamsala, witnesses said.

Two or three people were also hurt in scuffles, they said.

At least 100,000 Tibetan refugees live in India.

The protest march -- which organizers say could take up to six months -- also coincides with the 49th anniversary of the Dalai Lama's escape from the Tibetan capital Lhasa after a failed uprising against Chinese rule.

CONDEMNATION

The Dalai Lama, however, has not given his blessing to the demonstration. Many younger Tibetan activists say his demands for autonomy within the Chinese state do not go far enough.

Still, the deputy speaker of the Tibetan parliament-in-exile did condemn the arrests.

"If they are going to be thrown jail like this in India, they might as well be in Tibet," Dolma Gyari told reporters. "The Tibet march was totally a non-violent one."

In Beijing, foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang (秦剛) condemned the march and repeated China's rejection of the Tibetan activists' demands for independence.

"We're resolutely opposed to the Dalai Lama's group engaging in separatist activities," he said.

"No country in the world has recognized Tibet as an independent country," he said.

Qin said China had received assurances from Indian officials that they would not support any "splittist" activities from the Tibetan government-in-exile.
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