DHARAMSHALA (India) - POLICE on Monday banned about 100 Tibetan exiles in India from going ahead with a historic trek to their homeland as part of pro-independence protests ahead of the Beijing Olympics.

The ban came hours after the marchers began their trek, and on the same day as their spiritual leader the Dalai Lama attacked China's human rights record, accusing it of 'unimaginable and gross violations' in his Himalayan homeland.

District police chief Atul Phuljile said the ban followed an advisory that he received from New Delhi to stop the march.

'We have issued a restrain order to the marchers not to leave the Kangra district and if they violate the order then all necessary actions will be taken,' he said.

Dharamshala, in the northern Indian district of Kangra, is home to the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government-in-exile. Monday marked the 49th anniversary of the spiritual leader's escape from Lhasa after a failed uprising against Chinese rule.

The marchers, including 10 girls and some Tibetan leaders, were at a Buddhist monastery, 15 kilometres from Dharamshala when the police order was issued.

Tibetan exiles in Dharamshala appeared stunned and their leaders were meeting about the surprise development.

The New Delhi advisory said the action was 'in clear violation of the understanding between the government of India and his holiness the Dalai Lama that there will be no anti-China political activities on Indian soil.'

Five Tibetan groups who organised the march had remained tight-lipped about the trek route because of India's opposition to their anti-China campaign.

Indian police had suspected the marchers could break into tiny squads upon reaching the border, either with Nepal or China, and would try to sneak across the militarised mountainous frontiers undetected.

Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama earlier spoke to flag-waving supporters from his palace in Dharamshala to mark the anniversary of the uprising.

'Repression continues to increase with numerous, unimaginable and gross violations of human rights, denial of religious freedom and politicisation of religious issues,' he said.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner's angry comments contrasted with what his critics say has been a 'soft' approach to China in recent years.

The Dalai Lama said he would not abandon his call for autonomy in Tibet even though six rounds of talks with the Chinese since 2002 had yielded little.

He also said August's Beijing Olympics could be a golden opportunity for the international community to expose China, which has ruled Tibet since 1951, over its treatment of Tibetans.

Samdhong Rinpoche, the government-in-exile's prime minister, also lambasted China and backed the Dalai Lama's calls for autonomy - a demand which many younger Tibetans say is not enough.

The Tibetan parliament-in-exile, or Kashag, joined the protests.

'Since the restoration of direct contact with China in 2002, no positive change has taken place in Tibet. The Chinese authorities are continuing to take many actions that can be described as inhuman behaviour,' it said.

Detention
In nearby Nepal, more than 100 Tibetan activists were detained after clashes with police broke out when hundreds of protesters tried to march to the Chinese embassy, an AFP reporter said.

Meanwhile in New York several hundred Tibetan activists marched though the city on Monday calling for a boycott of the Olympics and urging the United Nations to listen to their appeals for independence from China.

Waving Tibetan flags and banners reading 'China out of Tibet Now!' and dragging a Chinese flag along the ground, marchers chanted anti-Chinese slogans accusing Beijing of genocide in the Himalayan region.