Tibetan Buddhists begin march to Lhasa

LHASA, China, March 11 (UPI) -- Tibetan Buddhists are marching from their Indian base to Lhasa to protest the continued denial of religious freedom by the Chinese government.

The march began as news arrived of the arrest of several monks in Lhasa for holding a march and demonstration on the 49th anniversary of a failed uprising.

"I am returning home," Tenzin Tsundue told The Independent. "Why should I bother about papers from the Chinese colonial regime who have not only occupied Tibet, but are also running a military rule there, making our people in Tibet live in tyranny and brutal suppression day after day, every day for 50 years?"

The Dalai Lama, brought up to be Tibet's religious ruler, has been living in exile in Dharamsala for almost half a century.

Chinese officials have accused the Dalai Lama and Tibetan dissidents of trying to sabotage the Beijing Olympics, the British newspaper reported.

"Some ignorant monks led by a small handful of people did some illegal things that can challenge social stability," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters when asked about the arrests in Lhasa.