April 11, 2008
Updated 21:06:22 (Mla time)
Photo Courtesy:Epoch Times
KOLKATA, India -- Protests by
Tibetans in India spread Friday into eastern Kolkata city, home to thousands of ethnic Chinese, but the demonstrations went off peacefully, reporters and witnesses said.
Nearly 800 Tibetan exiles held a noisy rally against what they called Chinese "atrocities" in their Himalayan homeland and slammed Beijing's crackdown on riots which erupted after protests in Lhasa last month.
The demonstration was the first by Tibetan refugees in Kolkata, home to 8,000 people of Chinese origin who have embraced Indian nationality over the decades.
The Tibetan exiles waved banners and shouted slogans as police in riot-gear kept watch outside a Buddhist temple, witnesses said.
"Release all imprisoned Tibetans," "Stop the killings in Tibet," screamed the protesters who included scores of crimson-robed Buddhist monks.
"We want an end to the bloodshed in Tibet and we want freedom for Tibet," said Dhondup Dorji, a protest leader.
"Our rally is to demonstrate support and solidarity to our brothers and sisters in Tibet who are going through extensive atrocities by the Chinese authorities," he said.
Dorji said Tibetans will also hold candlelight vigils and rallies over the weekend in Kolkata, capital of West Bengal state.
A pro-Chinese Marxist-led leftwing coalition governs the state and has been prodding New Delhi to try to stem the wave of Tibetan protests that have swamped India since last month.
The exiles say more than 150 Tibetans have been killed in China's crackdown on the protests against its rule of the Himalayan region. Beijing says Tibetan rioters have killed 20 people.
India is home to Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, who fled after a failed 1959 uprising against Chinese rule, and at least 100,000 of his supporters.
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