11 Tibetans trying to gatecrash BRICS summit venue detained

New Delhi, March 29 (IANS) Eleven Tibetans, attempting to gatecrash into the Taj Palace Hotel -- the venue of the ongoing BRICS summit in New Delhi, were detained by the Delhi Police Thursday afternoon, a Tibetan organisation said.

At around 12.20 p.m., two Tibetans unfurled banners on the nearby Satya Niketan footbridge. A few other Tibetan demonstrators joined them and the group then ran down the footbridge onto the heavily-policed San Martin Marg, where officials nabbed them before they could get closer to the summit venue.

Leaders of the five-nation grouping BRICS -- comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- were meeting here Thursday for a daylong summit.

The activists, while being arrested, continued to display banners and shout slogans. One large banner read: "Hu Jintao Failed Leader Free Tibet Now".

"Swaraj, my birthright" was the slogan hand-lettered on one protestor's back. "Swaraj" is Hindi for self rule, and the entire phrase was widely-used during India's struggle for independence from the British.

The action took place following the death of Jamphel Yeshi, 27, who succumbed Wednesday morning to severe burns suffered when he set himself on fire March 26 at Jantar Mantar to protest Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit here for the summit.