Tibet Activists Storm Chinese Embassy in New Delhi
(With inputs from Phayul.com | April 09, 2007)

New Delhi: Shibayan Raha, Campaigns Coordinator of Friends of Tibet and another activist Migmar Tsering were arrested on April 9, 2007 while attempting to storm into the Chinese Embassy located in Chanakyapuri, New Delhi. The two activists were demanding the release of Gendhun Choekyi Nyima, the 11th Panchen Lama, the second most important religious figure, next only to HH the Dalai Lama.

The protest act was planned just in time before the forthcoming birthday of the Panchen Lama, who will be turning 18 on April 25 this year. He has been held incommunicado by China since 1995 after he was recognised by the Dalai Lama as the next Panchen Lama. He was by then only six years old. After years of worldwide protests and routine international pressure, whereabouts of him still remain unknown.

Wearing a "Free Tibet - Free Panchen Lama" t-shirt and holding a Tibetan national flag in his hand, Shibayan Raha, tried to self-immolate and ran towards the main gate of the Chinese Embassy shouting 'Free Tibet' and 'Release the Panchen Lama' slogans. He then started climbing the fence surrounding the Embassy before he was brought down by the security guards.

"As an Indian, I am ashamed of my government for constantly appeasing China in the name of Hindi-Chini bhai bhai and for failing to take any action for Tibet," said Shibayan Raha who had also earlier protested outside the Taj Hotel in Bombay on November 23, 2006 just before Chinese President Hu Jintao's speech at the India-China Economic, Trade and Investment Cooperation Summit.

Both Shibayan Raha and Migmar Tsering are currently detained in Chanakyapuri Police Station and will be possibly transferred to the Tihar Central Jail later in the evening. This is one of the rare incidents in which a non-Tibetan activist has taken such an aggressive stance for the cause.

November 23, 2006: Shibayan Raha, Campaigns Coordinator of Friends of Tibet unfurls the banner reading: "China Get Out of Tibet and Aksai Chin" outside the Taj Hotel, Bombay just before Chinese President Hu Jintao's speech at the India-China Economic, Trade and Investment Cooperation Summit. (Photo: Vikas Khot/Hindustan Times)".

Following is the copy of appeal letter addressed to the Chinese Embassy by the activists:

April 9, 2007

To,
His Excellency Mr. Sun Yuxi,
The Ambassador, People’s Republic of China,
Chanakyapuri, New Delhi, India.

His Excellency,

Ever since Gendhun Choekyi Nyima was recognized as the 11th Panchen Lama, the second important religious leader of Tibet after The Dalai Lama in 1995 at the age of six, he along with his parents had been held incommunicado by the Government of People’s Republic of China. The Chinese government had turned down repeated appeals for his release from UNO, European Union and leading human rights organizations. His ongoing detention is a gross violation of the United Nation's Charter on the Rights of the Child. In his place, The Government of People’s Republic of China, which calls itself secular, had installed their own Panchen Lama in their final push to erase the Tibetan Freedom Movement.

We the undersigned won't let the world and the Chinese Government sit in peace till the 11th Panchen Lama is released. Till out last breath we will continue to protest his ongoing detention. We will remain non violent and protest just as we are doing today and will continue to do so to remind the world of Chinese atrocities in Tibet and the 11th Panchen Lama who is the World’s Youngest Political prisoner and turning 18 years on 25th April, 2007.

We urge the Chinese Government through you to release the 11th Panchen Lama immediately and let him have his freedom and take his seat in the Tashi Lhunpo monastery, the official seat of the Panchen Lama.

Yours truly,

Migmar Tsering and Shibayan Raha

'Hunger Strike in Indian Prison Asking China to Release Spiritual Leader'
(The Associated Press | April 11, 2007)

New Delhi: Two Tibet protesters have begun a hunger strike in a New Delhi prison after they were arrested for trying to hold a protest at the Chinese Embassy, a Tibetan rights group said Wednesday. Shibayan Raha and Migmar Tsering, both members of the Friends of Tibet group, had been demanding the release of the Panchen Lama, Tibetan Buddhism's second-highest spiritual leader, chosen by the Dalai Lama, said Aprajita Sarcar, a spokeswoman for the India-based group.

China installed Gyaltsen Norbu, 16, as the 11th Panchen Lama in 1995, rejecting the boy chosen by the Dalai Lama whose whereabouts in China are not currently known, Sarcar said. Police detained the two men as they tried to scale a wall of the Chinese Embassy on Monday, and held them in New Delhi's Tihar prison, Sarcar said.

"The protesters are neither eating solid food, nor drinking any liquid since Monday," she said. Today in Asia - Pacific Chinese leader arrives in Japan on trip to bolster ties India's river delta islands washing away. Last year, Raha was arrested for carrying a banner reading "China Get Out of Tibet and Aksai Chin," territory China took control of after its 1962 war with India, outside a hotel in Mumbai just before a speech by Chinese President Hu Jintao at the India-China Economic, Trade and Investment Cooperation Summit. He was later released on bail.

India has given shelter to hundreds of thousands of Tibetan refugees, but does not allow them to engage in political activity. Protests were banned during Hu's visit. The group said in a statement that it was gravely concerned about the health of the two activists. It asked the New Delhi police to release them immediately. The Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959 following an abortive uprising against Chinese rule in Tibet. He has been living in the northern Indian town of Dharamshala since then.

Held at Chinese Embassy, Tibetan Activists on Hunger Strike in Tihar
(By Tanvi Sirari | Indian Express | April 11, 2007)

New Delhi: Shibayan Raha and Migmar Tsering have been on a hunger strike at Tihar Jail since they were arrested on April 9 for allegedly trying to enter the Chinese Embassy by force. They said they would continue their strike unto death if their demands are not met. The activists claimed they wanted to submit a memorandum to the Chinese ambassador to India, Sun Yuxi, demanding the release of the 11th Panchen Lama, Gendhum Choekyi Nyima - a Tibetan religious leader who was arrested by Chinese authorities in 1995 when he was six-years-old. He has not been seen since then. He would turn 18 on April 25, they said. They further say they want the charges against them dropped because they are 'fighting for freedom'.

When the two were denied permission to meet the ambassador, they tried to scale the embassy's walls and enter the premises forcefully, said sources. They were booked for unlawful assembly, which is a bailable offence.

However, their lawyer, Jaishree, says, "They have been refused bail because they want to draw attention to the Tibetan cause. However, FOT members will be convincing them to agree for release."

Sunil Kumar, Law Officer, Tihar Jail, said, "We are keeping a watch on their health and if need be, preventive action will be taken." Their lawyer, Jaishree, however, said, "They have been transferred to jail 3, which is a hospital cum jail."

While Tsering, 22, is a Tibetan refugee living at the Tibetan settlement at Majnu-ka-Tila, Shibayan, 25, has been working with the Kolkata chapter of Friends of Tibet (FOT), an organisation fighting for Tibetan freedom.

Police say Shibayan was earlier arrested for unfurling a banner - China get out of Tibet and Akshai-Chin - outside the Taj Hotel in Mumbai before Chinese President Hu Jintao's speech at the India-China trade summit.

Free Panchan Lama protest was held in New Delhi on April 09, 2007.