OCTOBER 19, 2011 By Girish Kumar Dubey
Hundreds of Tibetan activists and Buddhist monks held a massive demonstration in the Varanasi town of northern India's Uttar Pradesh state against alleged Chinese atrocities on Wednesday (October 19).
Shouting slogans and holding up placards, the irate agitators also called for the intervention of the United Nations in order to restore normalcy and peace in the ethnic Tibetan regions in China.
Voicing their ire, the activists and monks held a peaceful sit-in hunger strike to protest the rising atrocities of Chinese government that has prompted numerous young people to resort to self-immolation in Tibetan parts of China.
The highly charged protestors also mourned the death of a 20-year old nun, who had set herself alight outside a convent in Sichuan province of China's Tibetan Autonomous Region to protest alleged excesses.
She had called for the religious freedom in Tibet and for the return of their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. It was the ninth self-immolation case of this year in the Tibetan parts of China.
Swept by a wave of patriotic fervour, many Buddhist monks also signed petitions and write messages on a giant sheet with their own blood, in a bid to portray the deep-rooted angst against alleged Chinese excesses.
"We have written this with our blood. Today, China is so powerful economically, but we are the only group of people fighting against it since so many years. We have been fighting, we are fighting and even out coming generations would continue this struggle against China. We will fight, but only through peaceful and non-violent means," said Dorje, a Biddhist monk.
The self-immolations, along with protests, have been concentrated in Aba prefecture, a mainly ethnic Tibetan part of the southwestern province of Sichuan that has been the centre of defiance of Chinese control.
At least nine people have set fire to themselves in Tibetan parts of China in recent months in protests against Chinese rule and what they say are restrictions on their culture and faith.
However, the protests have yet to spread to what China calls the Tibet Autonomous Region, which Beijing has controlled since Communist troops marched in 1950.
Meanwhile, Tibetan activists extended strong support with the self-immolators, while condemning Chinese actions.
"Since the past few days, at least eight people have immolated themselves in China. We are extending solidarity with them by holding a hunger strike here. Four people have been killed in China, while at least three are injured due to excesses," Thono, a Tibetan activist, told mediapersons.
China has ruled Tibet with an iron fist, ever since its troops annexed the small Buddhist kingdom in 1950.
Despite all opposition by activists, Beijing considers Tibet as an integral part of its territory.
An estimated 80,000 Tibetans along with the Dalai Lama arrived in India in 1959 after an unsuccessful uprising against the Chinese rule.
Many Tibetans demand complete independence from China, even though in recent years the Dalai Lama has advocated for limited autonomy.
Hundreds of Tibetan activists and Buddhist monks hold a massive demonstration in India's northern Uttar Pradesh state against alleged Chinese atrocities and call for the intervention of the United Nations in order to restore normalcy and peace in the ethnic Tibetan regions in China.
PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS CONVERTED 4:3 MATERIAL
VARANASI, UTTAR PRADESH, INDIA (OCTOBER 19, 2011) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (ANI-NO ACCESS BBC)
1. BUDDHIST MONKS SITTING AT A PROTEST SITE
2. MONKS SITTING
3. MONKS HOLDING PLACARDS AND POSTERS
4. CLOSE OF POSTERS
5. A MONK DONATING HIS BLOOD
6. CLOSE OF THE SYRINGE USED FOR EXTRACTING THE MONKS' BLOOD
7. A TIBETAN ACTIVIST SITTING
8. A MONK WRITING ON A BANNER WITH HIS BLOOD
9. THE MONK WRITING WITH HIS BLOOD
10. THE MONK'S FACE
11. CLOSE OF THE BANNER
12. (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) DORJE, A BUDDHIST MONK, SAYING:
"We have written this with our blood. Today, China is so powerful economically, but we are the only group of people fighting against it since so many years. We have been fighting, we are fighting and even out coming generations would continue this struggle against China. We will fight, but only through peaceful and non-violent means."
13. TIBETAN ACTIVISTS SITTING
14. AN ACTIVIST HOLDING A PLACARD
15. FACE OF A TIBETAN ACTIVIST
16. ACTIVISTS SITTING
17. (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) THONO, A TIBETAN ACTIVIST, SAYING:
"Since the past few days, at least eight people have immolated themselves in China. We are extending solidarity with them by holding a hunger strike here. Four people have been killed in China, while at least three are injured due to excesses."
18. MONKS SITTING
19. A MONK SITTING IN PROTEST
20. A MONK HOLDING A PLACARD
21. ACTIVISTS AND MONKS AT THE PROTEST SITE
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