Gangtok: The Tibetan exiles, who are agitating against "Chinese atrocities" in Lhasa, today called off their planned peace march to Nathu La pass on the Sino-Indian frontier.

The protesters are already holding an indefinite hunger strike at the Rangpo check post on the Sikkim-West Bengal border. "We have decided to call off the hunger strike as well as other agitation programmes with effect from today following advice from senior exiled Tibetan leaders," North-East Tibetan Youth Congress (NETYC) leader Ugen Tsewang told PTI here from Rangpo check post.

Several protesters, who had gathered at the check post for taking out the peace march to protest alleged Chinese atrocities against Tibetan freedom fighters, have started leaving for their respective destinations in the north-eastern states, Tsewang, the general secretary of NETYC, said. "As of now, we have shelved our agitation programmes on Tibet issue.....but we will sit together and finalise our future course of action after some time," Tsewang said.

Police officials, deployed on the Sikkim side of Rangpo check post, also confirmed that the Tibetan agitators had called off their indefinite hunger strike. The Tibetan protesters were seen leaving Rangpo check post on way to their destinations in the north eastern states, they said, adding additional policemen would continue to be deployed on the border check for some more days as a precautionary measure.

Source : PTI