XI visit marred with Tibetan protests

By Lobsang Tenchoe

DHARAMSALA, Oct 15: Around 60 Tibetan students and activists were detained by police as Chinese President Xi Jinping landed in Goa for the 8th BRICS Summit.

14657674_1285997844777956_946408856_nOrganized by the Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC), hundreds of Tibetan students and activists gathered outside the venue of the summit as Xi landed at Goa international airport Dabolim.

The protesters carrying Tibetan National flag shouted slogans such as ‘Free Tibet’ and ‘China out of Tibet now’.

Around 60 Tibetan students and activists were detained by the police and the area was swiftly cordoned off. Tenzin Jigmey, President of the TYC along with executive member Penpa Tsering was rounded up by the police as well.

In a parallel protest, an activist from Student for a Free Tibet (SFT) took the aerial route and parasailed hundreds of feet in the air with an inscription “Free Tibet’ written on a white banner to protest against the Chinese President.

14620056_1285978381446569_1348792771_nA day before Xi Jinping arrived for the summit, SFT activists defaced his posters donned across the streets. A short video clip of the SFT activists carrying out the action has been circulating widely on various social media platforms ever since.