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Tell the Indian Government to Release the Tibetan Marchers!
Early this morning, on orders from the central government, Indian police blocked the March to Tibet and arrested all the Tibetan marchers. They were then made to appear in court and ordered to sign a bond saying they would refrain from protest activities for the next 6 months. The marchers refused to sign and were sentenced to 14 days in detention. Indian police have set up checkpoints on roads leaving from Dharamsala to block any Tibetan protesters from leaving the area.
Please send the letter below now to Ronen Sen, Indian Ambassador to the United States, urging him to ensure the immediate release of the marchers.
| Sample Letter for Campaign |
Subject: Release the peaceful Tibetan Marchers
Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,
I am deeply disappointed that your government has sentenced 101 Tibetan refugees to 14 days in detention. The Tibetans are peacefully marching home to Tibet from Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh. I urge you to ask your government to (i) immediately and unconditionally release the marchers and (ii) guarantee their safe passage through Indian territory.
As Your Excellency said in Houston on October 2, 2004, "for the world, the Mahatma was an embodiment of peace and non-violence." You recalled the Mahatma's "historic Salt March at Dandi," which is very similar to the Tibetans' nonviolent march to their homeland. Indeed many of them were carrying the Mahatma's photograph as they were being arrested by Indian police.
As a friend of India and an admirer of its history of nonviolent resistance, I believe that arresting and detaining peaceful marchers is a stain on the Indian nation's conscience. India, as the world's largest democracy, should respect the Tibetans' right to march to Tibet.
The March to Tibet has gained enormous international support. I hope India will also support the Tibetan people in their just cause and facilitate their journey home.
I call upon the Indian government to immediately release all of the marchers and permit this march to continue. This movement is a tribute to the spirit of Mahatma Gandhi, whose teachings are being practiced by the Tibetan people in their struggle for freedom.
Jai Bharat, Jai Tibbat
Sincerely,
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Campaign Launched:
March 13, 2008
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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.
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