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Security breach by Tibetan protester embarrasses hosts
By Mahesh Vijapurkar
A Tibetan activist being arrested by plainclothes police while releasing a banner on the 10th floor of a hotel in Mumbai where the Chinese Prime Minister, Zhu Rongji, was addressing a meeting on Wednesday. - AP
MUMBAI, JAN. 16. Much to the embarrassment of the hosts, a Tibetan activist managed to get to the 10th floor of the hotel where the Chinese Prime Minister, Zhu Rongji, was staying and suspended himself from a window to mark his protest against at the ``occupation of Tibet.''
At the time of the incident, Mr. Zhu was addressing a luncheon meeting with Indian businessmen at the hotel. That the protester managed to breach the high security in and around the high-rise hotel in South Mumbai was both a matter of surprise and concern. Policemen near the place were shocked when he suddenly emerged into view at the 10th floor level.
Two days before the arrival of the Chinese dignitary, top representatives of the Chinese mission here had met Maharashtra officialdom and sought an assurance that there would be no demonstrations against Mr. Zhu. While this was declined, they were assured that their security concerns would be met.
The hotel had played host to Bill Clinton when he visited India as the U.S. President and security had been ``air tight'', as a police official told The Hindu then. It was conceded that today's incident was ``embarrassing and also unnerving.''
The 27-year-old Tenzig Tsundueman - born in Manali of Tibetan refugee parents - general secretary of the `Friends of Tibet' organisation, managed to reach the ledge of the 10th floor window and unfurl a banner proclaiming ``Free Tibet.'' It took much time and effort to bring him down.
When Mr. Zhu visited the Prince of Wales Museum, now re-named after Chatrapati Shivaji, there were some Tibetans demonstrating. Several of them were on a 24-hour protest at the Azad Maidan, angry at the Chinese ``aggression'' of their homeland. There were, however, no untoward incidents.
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