Activists of the Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) on Friday (November 12) kicked off a motorcycle rally from Dharamsala in India's northern state of Himachal Pradesh to New Delhi to protest the Asian Games being hosted by China. Tibetans and pro-Tibet activists gathered in good numbers in the city to support the rally.
A leader of the TYC said that China does is not worthy of hosting the prestigious Asian Games.
"When we talk about Olympics, those have to do with great human rights issues, you know human values, and all that and China does not respect human rights in any form or shape anywhere. Not inside China, in Tibet, not anywhere else. If you look at China, they have so many relations with regimes all over the world so if you look at that, they are indirectly assisting these other nations also. That's why we strongly believe that China does not deserve Asian Games and we are organizing this bike rally," said Tsewang Rigzin, President of the Tibetan Youth Congress.
The XVIth Asian Games got off to a colourful start at Haixinsha Island in the Pearl River of southern Guangdong Province in China on Friday (November 12).
The fortnight-long sporting extravaganza will conclude on November 27, in which around 10,000 athletes from 45 countries are taking part in 42 disciplines.
A group of ten bikers on six motorcycles would reach the national capital on the 15th of November.
One of the members of the bike rally said that since China violates human rights, it does not have the moral right to host such prestigious events.
"In Tibet there are no human rights. Human rights violation is still going inside the Tibet. So many brothers and sisters are being cracked down because the all the world has witnessed in 2008, March 10th. So we are conveying message to Chinese people that they have no rights to host this Olympics and Asian Games," said Yeshi, a biker.
The Tibet issue has been a topic of concern to India, as thousands of Tibetans have made India their adopted home after they fled their homeland. An estimated 80,000 Tibetans along with the Dalai Lama arrived in India in 1959 after an unsuccessful uprising against the Chinese rule.
China maintains tight control over the Tibet Autonomous Region but gives greater leeway to the larger Tibetan population in neighbouring provinces, such as Qinghai.
The struggle for 'Free Tibet' has gained momentum and the demands for it as an autonomous region has also received significant support from people across the globe.
Many Tibetans demand complete independence from China, even though in recent years the Dalai Lama has advocated for limited autonomy.
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