Dharamsala, September 23 – The Dag Hammerskjold Plaza opposite the United Nations building in New York was filled with angry protesters yesterday as Chinese president Hu Jintao arrived to deliver his first address at the United Nations on climate change.

Tibetans, Chinese, Taiwanese, Burmese, and Falun Dafa followers voiced their angst in unison against the Chinese president who they accused of oppressing thousands of innocent peoples.

Meanwhile, the Tibetan Youth Congress, the largest pro-independence group of the Tibetan diaspora, condemned the United Nations for kowtowing to China by inviting Hu, who it accused of carrying out “gross violation of human rights in Tibet, East Turkestan and China”. Hu Jintao’s previous commitments of promoting and safeguarding world peace and seeking a harmonious society are no more than blatant lies, it said. While reiterating its demand for complete independence for Tibet the Tibetan Youth Congress appealed to the UN and the world leaders to raise the issue of Tibet through these UN Summits with the leaders of People’s Republic of China.

The outgoing Executive Director of Students for a Free Tibet, Lhadon Tethong, and Tibetan activist Tenzin Tsundue spoke to the gathering that was organized jointly by the Regional Tibetan Youth Congress, Students for a Free Tibet, Regional Tibetan Women's Association, US Tibet Committee, and Tibetan Community of NY/NJ. Representatives of the Tibetan NGOs also spoke to the gathering.

Tsundue argued that the solution to the issue of climate change for which the world leaders had to listen to Hu lies in the political situation of Tibet. The only solution to fix global warming is to free Tibet that has geographical significance to the world climate, Tsundue said.

Protests were also carried out later at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel where Hu will be staying during the UN general assembly.