Hu Jintao's Visit: Local Dharamsala Movement
November 20, 2006 A candlelight-vigil march preceded by a daylong hunger strike passed from McLeod main bus stand to Tsuglagkhang temple in the evening of November 20. This and other protest activities throughout India the Tibetan Women's Association organized in collaboration with five other NGOs during Chinese President Hu Jin Tao's visit from November 20 to 23.
Dharamsala became an important stage for demonstrators to protest President Hu's intentions to discuss Sino-India relations, including the border issue, with the Indian Prime Minister, and to give voice to the crimes against humanity that continue in Tibet.
On Nov 21, a peaceful protest march from Tsuglagkhang temple to Kachari brought out large numbers of protestors and temporarily paralyzed normal life on the hill station. Crowds gathered in the morning at Tsuglagkhang while speakers rallied everyone's fervor.
With "Free Tibet" paraphernalia, watchwords, and banners Tibetan demonstrators and foreign friends of Tibet emptied into the streets, headed for the main square in Lower Dharamsala. Along with decrying President Hu's track record of human rights violations in Chinese-occupied Tibet, activists exhumed other campaign issues such as releasing the 11th Panchen Lama, the world's youngest political prisoner, and stopping the Golmund-Lhasa railway as a weapon of cultural destruction. One young Tibetan student summed up the Tibet crisis on his banner: "Nangpa Pass genocide tip of an iceberg."
Loaded with feverish Tibetans, a goods carrier truck flying an Indian and Tibetan national flag escorted activist Tenzin Tsundue among the throngs of people. Tsundue, under house arrest by the Indian government, was instructed not to leave Dharamsala during President Hu's visit. Indian security forces accordingly policed the demonstration to make sure no incidents happened.
The protest march ended at Kachari where Tsundue delivered a moving speech, addressing Tibetans, foreign activists and Indians. He thanked foreigners and big brother India for their support of the Tibet issue and made a pact with all the Tibetans in exile to never give up the struggle for Tibet, even in the face of persecution and death. On a final note, Tsundue appealed to the Indian public present at the demonstration and warned them to wake up to communist China's schemes before it is too late. Do not compromise your country's independence, he admonished Indians, further commenting that an unoccupied Tibet is imperative to India's national security.