Truemors
McLeod Ganj - 14th March 2008
As the support marchers returned back to McLeod Ganj today, full details of the arrests and the yesterday's events at Dehra have been coming through. The number of support marchers is said to be around 20 to 30. The marchers set off at round 5.30am and were met by the police soon after. Reports say an estimated 100 police came on the scene to arrest all 101 core marchers. As the police moved in, the marchers sat down and formed a human chain. The police forcibly arrested the core marchers as those from behind desperately clung on to those at the front as the police took away ten marchers at a time. The marchers were asked to show their RC - residence certificate issued to all Tibetan refugees living in exile. They said they would present their RCs at the border of Kangra. However, all marchers were arrested at Dehra, a distance of 22 kilometres from the Kangra district border. In an interview with the Superintendent of Police conducted by an Indian journalist, he was asked whether the restraining order premitted the marchers to continue to protest freely within Kangra, to which the answer was affirmative. Yet, the arrests wer made well within the boundaries of Kangra district, contradicting this statement.
Together with the 101 core marchers, Tenzin Choeying , National Director of Student for a Free Tibet (India), Lobsang Yeshi (coordinator of Tibetan Uprising Movement) and eight foreign supporters were also arrested. However, since their names were not taken nor were their passports inspected, they were deemed not to have been officially arrested by the authorities. Out of the eight foreigners arrested, three were placed in cells. Four were from the USA, one was from Poland, one was from Germany, one was from Canada and one from Scotland. The arrests took place at around 6.45am and the marchers were held at Jawalamukhi until 6.00pm when they were taken to the Magistrate. They were charged with disturbing the peace under article 107 and were sentenced to 14 days. All core marchers except two who were reported to be sick have now declared an indefinite hunger strike. One of those reported sick is said to be currently at the Delek Hospital in Lower Dharamsala, although this has not been confirmed. Those arrested are being held in a guesthouse under house arrest.
The support marchers who returned to Dharamsala said today that following the arrests, the conduct of the police was very good and they were even entertained by the music and singing led by the support marchers.
The marchers are said to have a legal representative from Human Rights Law Network who had also addressed the core marchers at a workshop organised prior to commencement of the march.
The Dharamsala area has now in effect been blocked off with the purpose of preventing local Tibetans leaving the area.
As these events were unfolding news of serious clashes has come through from Tibet. Further to the arrests of around 60-70 monks from Drepung Monastery and Sera Monastery near Lhasa, it has been reported that many more incidents have been taking place in Tibet and it is believed that large scale protests have been taking place all over Tibet. One report has come through of a protest in Labrang, Amdo of around 5,000 people where it has been reported that a girl aged 16 years old has been shot dead. Numerous monks and nuns in Lhasa have also started a hunger strike while all monaasteries and nunneries have been sealed off, in effect placing all monks and nuns under house arrest.
At 6.00pm today, another candle lit vigil was held in McLeod Ganj and a statement issued by the Dalai Lama was read out in which he expressed his deep concern for the grave events currently taking place inside Tibet. A number of speeches were given which fulled the collective spirit of the thousands present in the the crowd. Following these speeches, video footage was screened of various recent events including the storming of the Chinese Embassy in Delhi by female members of TYC, Bjork's performance in Shanghai where she called for a free Tibet, the two youths who scaled the building of the Chinese consulate to raise the Tibetan flag in place of the Chinese flag and the march from Dharamsala. When footage of various clashes between protesters and polics was shown, I saw an old Tibetan women standing close to me, inconsolable as she wept out loud.
For all of us present in Dharamsala monitoring events as they are happening, this has been an incredibly emotionally charged week and one that will remain in our minds, while everyone is deeply saddened by the reactions of the Indian authorities towards the epic march back to Tibet as well as the incidents currently taking place in Tibet. Nevertheless, there is an immense collective spirit throughout Dharamsala amongst the Tibetan exile community as well as their supporters and there is certainly a feeling that this is only just the beginning of something of a much greater magnitude that will put China's human rights situation under the spotlight at this crucial time in the lead up to the Beijing Olympics.
Dr Sonali Joshi
154d St Paul's Rd I London I N1 2LL I UK
5 Vesterfælledvej 3.tv. I 1750 Copenhagen V I Denmark
+44 78 76 79 67 35
sonali@day-for-night.org
www.day-for-night.org
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