Tibetan exiles gather to debate future of their land
Hundreds from around the world meet in northern India to discuss their homeland's future amid a wave of self-immolation protests
Tibetan exiles began their biggest gathering in four years yesterday, eyeing a change of leadership in China and seeking ways to end a gruesome wave of self-immolation protests.
About 400 Tibetans from around the world came together in the home of the exile community in mountainous northern India for the four-day meeting, called to highlight the plight of Tibetans under Beijing's rule.
The general meeting is the first since the Dalai Lama, the revered spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, decided to retire from political duties, passing responsibilities in theory to new prime minister-in-exile Lobsang Sangay, who was elected last year.
The speaker of Tibet's parliament-in-exile in the Indian town of Dharamshala kicked off proceedings by denouncing Beijing's repression, which he held as the cause of the deaths of 51 Tibetans in a recent spate of self-immolations.
"A state of undeclared martial law remains in force in Tibet," Penpa Tsering said in an opening address at the conclave, held in a school hall.
"[China] has converted Tibet into a territory resembling a prison camp. The question [is] how and in what ways we, the Tibetan people living in exile, should respond to the tragic situation in Tibet today."