On Thursday 22 May the Dalai Lama gave a speech at the Royal Albert Hall, after which he was set to come out and start a human-chain handshake, which would run all the way up a line of over 2,000 participants to the Chinese embassy. The event was orchestrated by Avaaz.org, a worldwide organisation of political campaigners connected by the internet.However, instead of thronging hordes of pro-Tibet protesters, Kensington was filled with the angry faces of pro-China protestors and the hostile chanting of the words, “Dalai Lama, stop lying.”

The purpose of this symbolic, three-mile handshake was to deliver a 1.7 million person signature petition to the embassy urging for an open and meaningful dialogue on the subject of Tibet. However, the street in front of the Hall was barricaded off and lined with hundreds of protestors.

There were two major groups demonstrating. By far the biggest was the Western Shugden Society (WSS), a newly formed group of Buddhists who campaign for the rights of those who follow the Dorje Shugden deity. The worship of this deity has caused a major rift in Tibetan Buddhism. The WSS claim that the current Dalai Lama has outlawed worship of the deity and actively encourages the violent persecution of its worshippers. “His words and actions are causing people to suffer,” said Kelsang Pema (birth name: Helen Gradwell), spokesperson for the group. Speaking to me from the front line of the protests, she said: “He is trying to stop protests in Indian monasteries under force. He should start practising what he preaches.”

The Dalai Lama has denied all knowledge of violence against the group and within the Tibetan community worshipers of Dorje Shugden are treated with suspicion, especially following the murders of three of the Dalai Lama’s closest disciples in 1997. Though the group was never proved to be involved with the murders, mistrust is rife. Across the street from the WSS a small group of Tibetans were holding their own counter-protest. A young man with the group, who preferred not to be named for fear of reprisals, spoke to me about the Shugden followers. “They are a dangerous cult,” he said. “They should be supporting the Dalai Lama instead. They are ignoring the fact that Tibetans are being killed. We do not support them.”

A few metres east of the Tibetans stood the second major protest group - the Chinese. Sporting “One China” t-shirts, the group were objecting to the Dalai Lama’s involvement in political issues. One of its members, Jonsson Li, explained: “We do not recognise the Dalai Lama as a political leader. He is a religious leader, not a prime minister and should not be involved in issues concerning China.” When I asked him whether Tibet had a legitimate claim to independence, he produced various documents, which he claimed proved irrefutably that Tibet was and always would be a Chinese province. However, my scepticism forced me to move on after he started talking about the Dalai Lama being on the CIA’s payroll.

At 4.45pm the Dalai Lama finally emerged from the back of the Royal Albert Hall. We caught a very brief glimpse of him, surrounded by a heavy entourage walking out of one of the exits in the distance. The shouts of “stop lying” intensified, creating a thunderous crescendo of hostility. A young boy waving a Tibetan flag ran to the barricades and screamed, “Stop lying” right back at the WSS before being hustled off by the police. After a few tense minutes three Tibetan children (the first participants in the handshake) were escorted through the barricades. With that, the Dalai Lama disappeared and the children were left to continue the human-chain.

The rest of the event continued smoothly with many of the participants further down the line oblivious to the melee at its start. It culminated outside the Chinese Embassy where the petition was presented. Speaking through a megaphone atop an open top bus, Avaaz.org campaign director Paul Hilder congratulated the participants. “I think it’s been a really successful and beautiful day,” he told me. I asked him about the conflicting views and protests at the beginning of the event. “We’ve sent out a message promoting dialogue between the divides,” he said. “These issues need to be resolved. We’ll see how successful we’ve been in coming days.”

More information on Avaaz and their activities here.