Dozens arrested in New Delhi over pro-Tibet protest near Chinese Embassy

Dozens of protesters were arrested Thursday near the Chinese embassy in New Delhi as they rallied on Tibetan National Uprising Day.

Around 10am (4.30am GMT) young people began gathering in front of the Chinese embassy waving Tibetan flags, and their numbers grew to about 30, a local witness reports.

More than 200 security personnel had been dispatched to guard the embassy ahead of the expected proTibet demonstration.

As the protesters shouted slogans such as “China go out” (of Tibet) and “Please support us”, some of them tried to go near the embassy but were pursued by policemen and arrested.

The protesters, who were undeterred by the police presence and refused to leave the site, were then arrested and taken away in vans.

The New Delhi protest was just one of several rallies taking place around the world today marking Tibet’s failed rebellion in 1959 against Chinese rule.

In the southern Indian IT hub of Bangalore, around 600 people Wednesday night commemorated the uprising by holding a peaceful march, a local witness reported.

The Tibetan Government in Exile, based in Dharamsala in northern India, today issued a statement on its website expressing solidarity with those people who sacrificed their lives in the rebellion against the Chinese Communist takeover of Tibet

The statement praises the virtues and support of the Dalai Lama, and closes by hoping for a peaceful settlement with China on “meaningful autonomy” for Tibet.