(dpa) - Tibetan refugees, who were stopped and detained on Thursday by the police on proceeding with their protest march from India to Tibet, said they would not eat until they were allowed to resume their march, organizers of the protest said.
A group of about 100 Tibetan refugees set off on the march on Monday from the northern hill town of Dharamshala, headquarters of the Tibetan government-in-exile, on a route across India to their homeland as part of protests leading up to the Beijing Olympics.
The march has been organized by five Tibetan groups which are not directly affiliated to the Tibetan government-in-exile.
The organizers of the "peace march" say they want to use the occasion of the build-up to the Beijing Olympics to draw attention to the oppression in Tibet under Chinese rule.
The march was stopped by the police about 20 kilometres away from the border of Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh state, B Tsering of the Tibetan Women's Association, one of the five groups that organized the march, said in a telephone interview.
She said the protestors were being detained at a guest house at Jwalamukhi town, about 50 kilometres from Dharamshala. "They had no breakfast when they set off in the morning. Now they have refused to eat till they are allowed to resume their march," she said.
"The police asked them to sign a bond saying they would not proceed. But they have refused. These people are very committed. When they signed up for the march, they were prepared for the consequences," she added.
"We have taken into custody about 100 Tibetan refugees for violating provisions of the Indian government's agreement with the Tibetans in exile," police official Baldev Singh said. He said the protestors would be produced before a judicial magistrate very soon.
The Himachal Police had given the protestors restraining orders on Tuesday telling them not to move beyond the jurisdiction of Kangra district.
The order was given under instructions from India's federal government and was based on an agreement the government had with the Tibetan refugees according to which they were provided asylum on condition that they would not carry out demonstrations that disturbed public peace.
The protest organizers said there had not been one instance over four days when the marchers created a disturbance. "We are disappointed. We have been living in India for 50 years and we uphold the non-violent values of Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation. This march was a peaceful protest following the Mahatma's way to lead Tibetan people back to the land which legitimately belongs to them," Tsering said.
The campaign organizers are not working with the permission of the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama or the Tibetan government-in-exile.
The Dalai Lama's spokesman said earlier this week that the leader had always and consistently supported China's right to host the 2008 Olympic Games. The Dalai Lama consistently protests against Chinese repression of Tibetans and their culture, but has in the past few years been advocating a "middle path of reconciliation" where Tibet is given greater autonomy.
The Tibetan spiritual leader fled to India in 1959 after Chinese troops cracked down on a Tibetan uprising against the occupation of their homeland. China occupied Tibet in 1949.
More than 80,000 Tibetan refugees followed the Dalai Lama, who has operated since from his base in Dharamshala. Currently more than 100,000 Tibetan refugees live in designated areas in India. Many of the Tibetan youth have never seen their homeland.
The long march from Dharamshala to Lhasa began on March 10 to coincide with the 49th anniversary of the failed uprising against Chinese occupation.
Tsering said the government-in-exile had not been in touch with the march organizers over the arrests. The Dalai Lama has so far not commented.
Dolma Gyari, deputy speaker of the Tibetan parliament-in-exile refused to comment on the march but condemned the arrests. "These people were totally peaceful. If these people have to be detained, let them be jailed in Tibet, let them be jailed in China, not in India," she said.
Organizers of the march said they should have been allowed to at least march to the border of Tibet. "India is giving in to pressures from Beijing. They fear that Beijing may protest if the march goes on. Why else would we be stopped from marching even to the border of Kangra district?" a campaign organizer said on condition of anonymity.