Exiled Tibetans offer prayers in Delhi to express solidarity with self-immolators

Exiled Tibetans and monks offered prayers here today on the occasion of the 'International Tibet Solidarity Day' to express solidarity with the self-immolators, who sacrificed their lives for the cause of Tibet.

Exiled Tibetans and monks gathered at Rajghat, the memorial of the father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi, to show support to the self-immolators.

A member of Tibetan parliament in-exile, C Wangchuk said that the prayer session was held to pay homage to the self-immolators and to create awareness about the missing 11th Panchen Lama.

"We have organised a prayer session at Rajghat (the memorial of the father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi) to express our solidarity and pay homage to 117 people who have self-immolated since 2009 for the cause of Tibet. It was also held to create awareness about the missing 11th Panchen Lama," said Wangchuk.

The Central Tibetan Administration had announced May 17 as the 'International Tibetan Solidarity Day', which symbolizes international community's solidarity with the aspirations of the Tibetan people.

The day also marks the anniversary of the disappearance of the 11th Panchen Lama, Gedhun Cheoki Nyima who went missing in 1995.

More than 100 Tibetans have set themselves on fire to protest against Chinese rule since 2009 across a large swathe of ethnically Tibetan regions, with most of them dying from their injuries.