Home > News Archive > Nepal police detain protesting Tibetans

Nepal police detain protesting Tibetans

AFP

Tibetan exiles shout slogans against the Chinese government as they are detained during a protest at the entrance of a United Nations office in Katmandu, Nepal on 14 August 2009. A group of Tibetans participated in a demonstration urging the UN to draw attention to the Chinese government’s suppression and human rights violations in Tibet.AP/Gemunu Amarasinghe/Nepal

At least 25 Tibetan exiles were detained Friday as they staged an anti-China demonstration in front of a United Nations office in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu, police said.

The protesters shouted “Free Tibet” and “We want Justice” as they were dragged into waiting police vans and driven to a nearby police station.

“We have rounded up 25 Tibetans as they protested in the restricted zone,” police officer Ramesh Thapa told AFP.

“They will probably be freed by evening time,” he said.

Authorities in Nepal have stepped up security around the United Nations office and Chinese embassy building to prevent anti-China demonstrations this year.

Nepal is home to around 20,000 exiled Tibetans who began arriving in large numbers in 1959 after the Dalai Lama fled the region after a failed uprising.

The government has repeatedly said it will not tolerate anti-China activity as it seeks to preserve friendly ties with its northern neighbour.

Sandwiched between India and China, Nepal has upheld Beijing’s “One China” policy that views Tibet as an integral part of China.

Some 2,500 Tibetans used to make the dangerous trip from Chinese-controlled Tibet to Nepal every year.

But activists say the number has fallen sharply since China mobilised its military in Tibet in March 2008.

Copyright © 2009 AFP

Published in Google News