India treads carefully over Tibet diplomacy
Wednesday, 19 March 2008
Amy Yee
FT syndication Service
NEW DELHI: India, home to the Tibetan government-in-exile, is walking a diplomatic tightrope as the largest pro-Tibet demonstrations in decades erupt in violence in neighbouring China.
The Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader, on Sunday suggested New Delhi's response to China's crackdown in Tibet was "over cautious".
He expressed helplessness at the plight of Tibetans in China and called for an independent international inquiry into Beijing's suppression of the demonstrations, which is reported to have left 10 dead.
After a Tibetan uprising in 1959, the Dalai Lama fled China for India. As many as 3,000 Tibetans arrive in India from China each year and India is home to an estimated 120,000 refugees, 12,000 of whom live in the northern town of Dharamsala, seat of the government-in-exile.
But India discourages political activity from the Dalai Lama and refugees. Indian police last week blocked a march of 100 Tibetans who had set out to walk to the Chinese border in protest against the Beijing Olympics and alleged human rights violations. More than 30 protesters from the advocacy group Tibetan Youth Congress were also arrested in New Delhi last week after demonstrating outside the Chinese embassy.
This cautious stance illustrates India's delicate diplomacy with its powerful neighbour over Tibet, one of China's most sensitive political issues. India and China fought a brief border war in 1962 and are attempting to warm historically tense relations.
FT syndication Service
NEW DELHI: India, home to the Tibetan government-in-exile, is walking a diplomatic tightrope as the largest pro-Tibet demonstrations in decades erupt in violence in neighbouring China.
The Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader, on Sunday suggested New Delhi's response to China's crackdown in Tibet was "over cautious".
He expressed helplessness at the plight of Tibetans in China and called for an independent international inquiry into Beijing's suppression of the demonstrations, which is reported to have left 10 dead.
After a Tibetan uprising in 1959, the Dalai Lama fled China for India. As many as 3,000 Tibetans arrive in India from China each year and India is home to an estimated 120,000 refugees, 12,000 of whom live in the northern town of Dharamsala, seat of the government-in-exile.
But India discourages political activity from the Dalai Lama and refugees. Indian police last week blocked a march of 100 Tibetans who had set out to walk to the Chinese border in protest against the Beijing Olympics and alleged human rights violations. More than 30 protesters from the advocacy group Tibetan Youth Congress were also arrested in New Delhi last week after demonstrating outside the Chinese embassy.
This cautious stance illustrates India's delicate diplomacy with its powerful neighbour over Tibet, one of China's most sensitive political issues. India and China fought a brief border war in 1962 and are attempting to warm historically tense relations.