India blocks Tibetan protesters

Dharamsala: One hundred Tibetan protesters leaving India for China to protest the Olympics and call for independence have been blocked by police.

The marchers left Dharamsala – the Dalai Lama's home - on Monday night to join global demonstrations marking the 49th anniversary of an uprising against Chinese rule.

Indian police barred them in the Kangra district in Himachal Pradesh, but the marchers vowed to press on anyway.

India, which had been sympathetic to the Tibetans' cause, has clamped down on public protests in recent years, fearing they could embarrass Beijing and damage relations between the two Asian giants.