‘Tibetan leaders detained ahead of Wen's visit to Bangalore’
(The Hindu | April 9, 2005)
Bangalore, April 9 (PTI):
Police have detained two leaders of the Regional Tibetan Youth
Congress (RTYC) as a preventive measure ahead of the arrival of
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, here this evening on a four-day visit to
India. Police said the RTYC leaders, Pema Tseten and Gelek Passang,
were taken into custody today to prevent them from mobilising
Tibetan students to stage a "surprise" protest here.
"They have been detained as a preventive measure," Bangalore Police
Commissioner S Mariswamy, told PTI. Bangalore is home to over 100
Tibetan families while nearly 500 students pursue their studies in
the city.
Police have also stepped up security near the Tibetan hostel in
Koramangala, screening people who enter and venture out, as a
security measure during the two-day stay of the Chinese leader in
the city.
Members of the Friends of Tibet and RTYC yesterday said "impromptu"
protests will be held in the city, as the city police had denied
permission to hold a 24-hour fast in front of the Mahatma Gandhi
statue during Wen's visit.
Karnataka is home to 40,000 Tibetans who are staying at Bylakuppe,
Kollegal, Mundgod and Hunsur settlements. Karnataka was the first to
offer land to the Tibetan refugees soon after the Tibetan spiritual
leader Dalai Lama, was offered asylum by India in 1959.
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