Gangtok: A Tibetan organisation today thanked Indian football captain Bhaichung Bhutia for his decision to stay away from the Olympic torch relay function to be held in New Delhi later this month in an expression of solidarity with them.
"We thank you for your selfless support for Tibet and Tibetans ... We shall remain ever grateful (to you)," an advertisement published in a local English daily by the Tibetan Youth Club (TYC), Gangtok, said. Bhutia, a Buddhist from Sikkim, had in a letter to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) on March 31, decided to boycott the Olympic Torch relay function to express solidarity with the Tibetan people.
The TYC also thanked the people from various parts of Sikkim for their support, assistance and understanding during the peace march taken out by the Tibetan people from the north east states last month to protest against the crackdown by the Chinese authorities against the Tibetans in Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) recently.
