By NNN-PTI,
New Delhi : Tibetan refugees held large-scale demonstrations in the capital Thursday to coincide with the Olympic flame run, including taking out a parallel torch relay to protest against alleged Chinese atrocities in Tibet.
About 60 Tibetans were detained in various parts of the capital, which was turned into a fortress for the event, with thousands of policemen keeping a hawk-eye vigil to prevent any attempts by the protesters to disrupt it.
Hundreds of Tibetans took out a parallel torch relay run from Rajghat, the samadhi of Mahatma Gandhi, to Jantar Mantar, which has been the epicentre of Tibetan protests over the past several days.
The torch was lit at Rajghat after an inter-religion prayer meeting and the large number of Tibetans, who had assembled there took a pledge to ensure that the torch, which “signified the freedom of Tibet and humanity”, keeps on burning.
The protesters, who took part in the rally, carried Tibetan flags, placards and banners with messages such as “Azad Tibet, Surakshit Bharat” and “Free Tibet”.
Among the participants in the rally were a large number of monks attired in traditional red robes, women and children besides prominent personalities like George Fernandes, Khiren Rijju, Ramdas Athavale, Jaya Jaitley, Kirti Azad, Swami Agnivesh and Nafisa Ali.
“The official relay has little spirit of Olympics as it is being organised under extreme security. So we decided to live up to the original spirit of Olympics and organised a parallel run,” Tseten Norbu, spokesperson of Tibetan Solidarity Committee, organising the protests here, said.