Hundreds jailed, many severely beaten in mass arrests/ENG

2012. március 26./Phayul.com/TibetPress

New Delhi, March 26: In one of the largest mass arrests, hundreds of Tibetans were arrested and many received severe beatings from the police while attempting to march to the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi today.

Tibetan activists had gathered at the Jantar Mantar from all over India to protest the imminent visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao to India and urge the international community to intervene in the ongoing crisis in Tibet.

Tenzin Norsang, joint secretary of the Tibetan Youth Congress said that around 14 bus loads of Tibetans were arrested while on their way to the Chinese Embassy.

The Tibetans carrying Tibetan National flags began their march from Jantar Mantar and sat on the streets when the police confronted them.

"The police then charged the protesters, which included many elderly people, with lathis (batons) and kicked and punched them while carrying out arrests," an eyewitness told Phayul.

All the arrested Tibetans are currently in the Tihar jail.

Earlier in the day, a 27-year-old Tibetan, Jamphel Yeshi had set himself on fire near the protest venue and charged out onto the street where the Tibetans had gathered.

Many Tibetans were in a sate of shock and crying as emotions ran high.

"I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do," wailed an old woman who had come all the way from south India to take part in the protests.

The Indian police are currently taking rounds of Tibetan residential areas in the capital and checking the registers of all the hotels and guest houses in Majnu Ka Tilla, a popular Tibetan residential area.

Ambedkar Bhawan, a large compound where many of the activists are currently staying has already been sealed as sources tell us that other Tibetan residential areas in the city will also be sealed for the next few days.

In Tibet, 30 Tibetans have set their bodies on fire since 2009 demanding the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and freedom in Tibet.

Thousands of Tibetans have carried out massive street protests against China's continued occupation of Tibet in recent months. The Chinese government has responded with indiscriminate firings, arbitrary arrests, and continue to clamp down on dissent with an unprecedented climate of fear and repression.

The Tibetan exile leadership has repeatedly urged China to address the genuine grievances of the Tibetan people and end the undeclared martial law in Tibet.