Tibetan groups plan protests to 'welcome' Chinese premier

It's not just the Indian government that's gearing up to welcome Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. Tibetan organizations in the city are drawing up their plans as well, albeit for a different reason. HT reports.

It's not just the Indian government that's gearing up to welcome Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. Tibetan organizations in the city are drawing up their plans as well, albeit for a different reason.

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Students for a Free Tibet (SFT), Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC), Tibetan Women's Association and Friends of Tibet India have planned to stage protests across the city in the next three days, when the Chinese Premier will be in the Capital.

TYC members will hold a protest march starting from Rajghat at 11 am. This will wound up at Jantar Mantar in central Delhi. "Around 500 of us will march under the banner: 'Free Tibet W(h)en, Free Tibet now'," said Tenzin Norsang, joint secretary, TYC.

Protests have also been planned for December 16 and 17, but Norsang refused to give out further details.

Tibetan poet and freedom activist Tenzing Tsundue will also join the protests. Tsundue, in 2002, climbed the scaffolding of a Mumbai building, where then Chinese premier Zhu Rongji was staying. He carried a banner that read "Free Tibet", while he was frisked away by police. He repeated the performance in 2005 when Wen Jiabao was addressing a conference at IISC, Bangalore.

The SFT staged a protest at India Gate and Rajghat on Tuesday. "We have planned protests across the city, but can't give out any details as of now. The theme of the protests is to bring an end to Chinese occupation of Tibet and resolve the Indo-Tibetan border dispute," said Tenzin Choedon, national director, SFT India.

A panel discussion at the India Habitat Centre will also be held on Wednesday.