The following is a press update from the Tibetan People's Uprising Movement:

100 Tibetan marchers and 2 organizers, arrested early this morning while on a protest March to Tibet. They were sentenced to 14 days in judicial custody after appearing before the Senior Division Magistrate in Dehra. The protesters refused to sign a bond saying that they will not participate in any further protest activities for the next 6 months. They will now be held under house arrest in Yatri Niwas, a government run guesthouse at Jwalamukhi some 53 kilometers from Dharamsala. Indian police have set up checkpoints on the roads leaving Dharamsala and are reportedly checking all buses for any Tibetan protesters that may be trying to leave the area. Some buses have even been turned around.

"We condemn this decision by the Indian authorities to treat these peaceful Tibetan marchers as criminals," said Chime Youngdrung, President of the National Democratic Party of Tibet and member of the Organizing Committee of the Tibetan People's Uprising Movement. "The March to Tibet is a non-violent initiative meant to help end the suffering of the Tibetan people living under brutal Chinese occupation. All of the participants in this march remain committed to continuing their journey home. We demand their immediate and unconditional release and we call on the Indian authorities to guarantee their safe passage through Indian territory."

Background
On orders from the Central Government, at approximately 6:30am, Indian police blocked the March to Tibet and forcibly removed all Marchers from the road at Dehra bridge, 63 kilometers from Dharamshala. The police first detained Tenzin Tsundue, a high profile Tibetan activist, carrying him away as he shouted "Bhoe Gyalo, Victory to Tibet." The 100 Tibetan marchers then sat down on the road, linking arms and chanting Tibetan Buddhist prayers. Indian police broke up the crowd, carrying each marcher away and loading them into 5 police buses.

The Tibetan People's Uprising Movement is a global movement of Tibetans inside and outside of Tibet taking control of our political destiny. The March to Tibet, the heart of the Tibetan People's Uprising Movement, aims to revive the spirit of the historic national uprising of 1959, and by engaging in direct action, bring about an end to China's 60 years of illegal and brutal occupation of Tibet.