India cracks down on Tibetan protests during Chinese leader's visit

Tibetan exile who set himself on fire dies as Hu Jintao arrives for summit

A Tibetan exile is detained by police during a protest in Delhi against the visit of the Chinese president, Hu Jintao. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters

A Tibetan exile who set himself on fire in Delhi earlier this week has died, as Indian police and paramilitaries launch a security crackdown to prevent further protests or self-immolations during the visit of the Chinese premier, Hu Jintao.

Jamphel Yeshi, 27, suffered 90% burns after dousing himself with petrol during a protest on Monday, and authorities fear that more Tibetans will follow suit to protest at Chinese policies in their homeland. About 30 Tibetans have died and another dozen have been seriously injured in the past 13 months in similar protests, mainly inside China.

"Martyr Jamphel Yeshi's sacrifice will be written in golden letters in the annals of our freedom struggle," Dhondup Lhadar, an activist with the Tibetan Youth Congress, told the Associated Press. "He will live on to inspire and encourage the future generations of Tibetans."

Hu arrives in Delhi for a two-day summit of emerging nations, along with leaders from Brazil, Russia and South Africa.

Dharmendra Kumar, a senior police official, cited "international security concerns" to justify a ban on protests and press conferences by Tibetan activists in Delhi. "The law and order shouldn't deteriorate in the capital during the Brics summit," Kumar told the Hindustan Times.

Hundreds of armed security personnel patrolled areas of the Indian capital where Tibetans live on Wednesday, erecting barricades and refusing to let young people leave, but police spokesmen denied that thousands of Tibetans were under effective "house arrest".

Rajan Bhagat of the Delhi police said: "There is no confinement. We are just keeping watch to make sure they are not coming into [the area] where the summit is happening."

Students of Tibetan origin have been confined to halls of residence and barred from meeting the media. Tenzin Kalsang, 18, said the police were escorting students at her hostel to and from classes. "When some students tried to protest .… then the police visited each hostel room and told us: 'If you do not listen, then we will put you in jail,'" she said.

Tempa, a travel agent in the area, said: "If we go out, then the police ask us to go inside our house." The usually bustling district, where tens of thousands Tibetan exiles live, was quiet.

India offered a haven to the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader, when he fled after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959. Since then the Tibetan population in India has grown to an estimated 100,000.

Tenzin Jigdal, an activist in Delhi, said: "I was born in India and feel really privileged to live in a free country. This is where the non-violent Tibetan movement was nurtured and inspired by the ideas of Mahatma Gandhi. It pains me that a freedom-loving democratic country like India bows down to China."

A well-known Tibetan writer, Tenzin Tsundue, was arrested by policemen in plain clothes during a tea break at a seminar on Tibet and India on Tuesday. Delhi police officials told the Times of India newspaper that Tsundue had been arrested due to his "notorious activities" in the southern city of Bangalore, where he had publicly protested during a previous visit by the Chinese premier.

Elsewhere, students of Tibetan origin were reported to be confined to halls of residence and barred from meeting media.

Indian authorities have repeatedly been criticised for failing to protect free speech in recent months. In January, protests by hardline local Muslim groups forced the author Salman Rushdie to cancel an appearance at a major literary festival.

Chinese relations with India are variable. The two emerging economic powers have extensive trade links and top Indian officials frequently visit Beijing, but India is concerned about growing Chinese military might. There is also tension over unresolved border disputes and Chinese support for India's hostile neighbour, Pakistan.

Many Indian analysts accept their country is unlikely to make good the economic and developmental gulf that separates the two regional rivals, but say that India's "soft power" and "cultural influence" is an advantage.

Beijing blames the Dalai Lama, who is based in the Indian hill town of Dharamasala, for fomenting unrest among the Tibetan population in China.

Monday's was the second self-immolation in India in recent months. Late last year, Sherab Tsedor, a young Tibetan exile, set himself on fire outside the Chinese embassy, suffering minor burns.

Tsedor said on Tuesday that he still supported self-immolation. "This is very important. World leaders and the United Nations still are not paying attention to us," he said. "They are always talking about human rights all over the world but when it comes to China or Tibet then they are silent."