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| Tibet exiles begin protest march | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| More than 100 Tibetan exiles have begun a march from India to Tibet to protest against Chinese rule in the region. | |
| The marchers left Dharamsala on the 49th anniversary of the Dalai Lama's escape from Tibet after a failed uprising against Chinese rule. | |
| The Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader, has called for greater pressure on China over its human rights record. | |
| Tibet activists are hoping to use China's hosting of the Olympics to publicise their cause. | Tibet activists are hoping to use China's hosting of the Olympics to publicise their cause. |
| 'Great impact' | |
| Before the marchers set off, the Dalai Lama said he approved of China hosting the games because it provided the world with a chance to pressurise the Beijing government to uphold the Olympic ideals of freedom of speech and equality. | |
| "China should prove herself a good host by providing these freedoms. Therefore, besides sending their athletes, the international community should remind the Chinese government of these issues," he said. | |
| He added that the international community should "explore ways of investing their collective energies in producing a continuous positive change inside China even after the Olympics have come to an end". | |
| The Dalai Lama has previously been seen as less radical than some exiled activists, says the BBC's Chris Morris - for example no longer advocating full independence for Tibet. | |
| But his call for greater freedoms in the region is a demand that China will hear with increasing frequency in the Olympics year, says our correspondent. | |
| 'Going home' | 'Going home' |
| Tibetan exile groups say the march is to be one of several protest events in the run-up to the games in Beijing in August. | |
| "This is a people's march," said Lobsang Yeshi, one of the co-ordinators, according to the Associated Press news agency. | |
| "It could potentially be our biggest protest since we came into exile in 1959. We are determined to go home and nobody could stop us from doing that." | "It could potentially be our biggest protest since we came into exile in 1959. We are determined to go home and nobody could stop us from doing that." |
| Organisers say they represent tens of thousands of Tibetan exiles, and want to draw attention to what they see as Chinese suppression of Tibetan identity. | Organisers say they represent tens of thousands of Tibetan exiles, and want to draw attention to what they see as Chinese suppression of Tibetan identity. |
| The precise route of the march has not yet been decided, and organisers will not say exactly where or when they will attempt to cross into Tibet from India. | The precise route of the march has not yet been decided, and organisers will not say exactly where or when they will attempt to cross into Tibet from India. |