Tibetans gather in India to plan protests

Tibetan exiles met in India yesterday to discuss how to respond to dozens of self-immolations by Tibetans and find new ways to increase global support for their people’s cause.

More than 400 delegates gathered in Dharmsala for the second three-day meeting. The first in 2008 followed protests in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa that resulted in a brutal crackdown by the occupying Chinese. The Tibetan government-in-exile says 41 Tibetans have died from 51 attempts at self-immolation since March 2009. “Tibetans are still protesting the occupation of Tibet and repressive policies of the Chinese,” Lobsang Sangay, prime minister of the government-in-exile, said. He replaced the Dalai Lama as political leader last year.