Tibetans Protest Ahead of Torch Arrival in India

India's capital city has been turned into a well-guarded fortress. Security agencies are gearing up to clash with Tibetan human rights protesters. Here's more from New Delhi.

The Indian leg of the torch relay being touted as a potential attraction for the Tibetan exiles in India to converge the relay venue for staging anti-CCP protests.

Armed security personnel have been deployed on major roads just a kilometer away from the president's house, which is where the relay is scheduled to start.

The barricading of the venue located almost in the center of the metropolis and tight security elsewhere has led to peak hour traffic jams.

Tibetan exiles living in India have also stepped up protests. In the holy city of Varanasi in the state of Uttar Pradesh, protesters took to the streets on bicycles shouting anti-CCP slogans.

A group of 49 Tibetans made their way down the streets on their bicycles. They shouted slogans like "we want justice" and "long live Dalai Lama" as they cycled down the streets.

[Tsering, Tibetan Protester]:
"We want the Indian government to stand beside us. And we want the Indian government to raise a voice for Tibet. And this is what we really want to say. We really don't want the Indian government to stand there as a mute spectator. And we urge strongly to the Indian government to be brave and to make a voice for Tibet. This is what we really want to demand from the Indian government."

And in Mumbai Tibetan exiles attempted to storm the Chinese consulate today... just hours before the Olympic torch arrived in New Delhi.

More than 100 police officers were guarding the consulate when the exiles tried to storm it. Police dragged the protesters by force and took them away in a van.

The exiles are seeking an end to CCP repression in Tibet. We will continue to follow their protests.

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News & Politics

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