, traditionally the spiritual and political leader of the Tibetan Buddhists , lives in exile in India . Tuesday marks the 50th anniversary of a failed 1959 uprising against Beijing 's rule that sent the Dalai Lama into exile . Protest organizers said the march was meant to draw public attention to what they say is a deepening crisis a year after China cracked down on protests across Tibet . '' -LRB- British Prime Minister -RRB- Gordon Brown and other world leaders must respond urgently and publicly to the Tibet crisis by taking immediate action , '' said Stephanie Brigden , director of Free Tibet . `` They should demand that China calls off its security stranglehold in Tibet as an essential first step towards backing the Dalai Lama 's initiative in finding a long-term and negotiated settlement to China 's occupation . '' Tibetan Buddhists say they resent the slow erosion of their culture amid an influx of Han Chinese , the largest ethnic group in China . That resentment spilled over last March , when Buddhist monks initiated peaceful anti-Chinese protests in the regional capital , Lhasa , on the 49th anniversary of the uprising . The protests
LONDON , England -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Protesters draped themselves in the colorful flag of Tibet and shouted slogans at the Chinese embassy in London on Saturday at the start of a demonstration to mark the 50th anniversary since the Tibetan uprising against China . Protesters have gathered in London to mark the 50th anniversary of the Tibet uprising . `` Tibetans in Tibet -- we are with you ! '' they shouted . `` China , China , China -- out , out , out ! '' The small but fervent group marched from the embassy through west London to Trafalgar Square , where they were due to hear a speech by Thomas Shao Jiang , a Chinese dissident who was one of the student organizers of the Tiananmen Square protest in Beijing in 1989 . `` I think it 's important that Tibet is kept in the world 's eye , '' protester Chris Last told CNN amid placards declaring `` 50 years too long '' and `` We are Tibetans , not Chinese . '' While Tibet is technically autonomous from the central Chinese government , its current government is directed from Beijing . The Dalai Lama