TIBETAN REFUGEES: INDIA RELEASING DETAINEES,

C O N F I D E N T I A L NEW DELHI 000824 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/19/2028 TAGS: PREF PREL CH NP IN SUBJECT: TIBETAN REFUGEES: INDIA RELEASING DETAINEES, ALLOWING LAWFUL PROTESTS REF: STATE 27872 Classified By: Ambassador David C. Mulford for Reasons 1.4 (B, D) ¶1. (C) Ambassador delivered reftel demarche to Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon on March 19. Responding to SIPDIS reftel points, Menon stated that the Indian government has spoken with both the Dalai Lama's representatives and four Tibetan non-governmental organizations and assured them that peaceful, legal demonstrations would be allowed. However, the GOI had made it clear to the Tibetans that it cannot allow demonstrations to bring Indian law into disrepute, nor could it allow demonstrators to attack the Chinese Embassy. Citing international news clips which showed rough treatment of protesters who had attempted to breach the Chinese Embassy on March 14, Menon said that even though police had been instructed to be gentle, when it becomes necessary to make arrests, the police must take necessary action to stop intruders, adding the police have a delicate balancing act in such situations. ¶2. (C) Menon reported that protesters who had been detained were being released "as we speak" on March 19. Those who had participated in the protest march in Himachal Pradesh were being returned to where the march began in Dharamsala. Menon speculated that the released Tibetans would likely be involved again in future protests. (Note: Since the meeting we have checked with a Tibetan representative of the Dalai Lama and were told that of the 100 detainees in Dharamsala, only 10 had been released by COB March 19; according to the source, none of the 150 detained in Delhi have been released. Post is seeking clarification. End Note.) ¶3. (C) Tibetan protesters have a wide base of sympathy among the Indian public, Menon said, which the GOI recognizes. Menon pointed out that Foreign Minister Mukherjee had called for China and the Tibetans to "address the root causes" of the uprising, a call, Menon noted, which India had not made in several years. ¶4. (C) Noting that the Chinese government had come out and publicly praised India for its "positive" handling of the protesters, Menon intimated that the Indian government was a bit surprised by Premier Wen's remarks, considering that India allowed protests to continue as long as they were done within legal confines. Wen had made the comments, Menon felt, as a measured tactic in order to put its best public relations face forward, while trying to drive a wedge between India and the Dalai Lama, as well as between India and other countries who supported an autonomous Tibet. MULFORD