Kathmandu - Nepalese police Tuesday arrested scores of
Tibetan exiles taking part in anti-Chinese demonstrations in the
capital Kathmandu.
Dozens of Tibetan youth with their bodies painted with pro-Tibet
slogans tried to march to the Chinese visa office and consular
section, prompting police action.
'Free Tibet' read one sign, while another read 'Stop killings in
Tibet.' The protestors included Buddhist monks and nuns.
Police said they arrested nearly 120 Tibetan protestors as they
tried to cross police lines.
Police dragged the demonstrators and pushed them unto waiting
trucks and vans before driving them off to detention centres.
Police said they expected most protestors would be released later
in the day.
Tibetan exiles have vowed to continue their protests until their
demands are met. The demands include autonomy for Tibet,
investigation into recent violence in Lhasa by international
observers and return of the Dalai Lama to Tibet.
The new protests came as China expressed its unhappiness over the
Nepalese government's handling of the demonstrators and called for
tougher action.
The Kantipur newspaper quoted the Chinese ambassador to Nepal,
Zheng Xianglin, as saying Nepal needed to take stern action against
Tibetans involved in protests in the capital Kathmandu.
'Arresting Tibetan demonstrators and releasing them hours later is
nothing but a drama,' Xianglin said. 'The Nepalese government must
take tougher measures against such demonstrators and not release
them.'
He described the demonstrators as 'separatists' and accused
anti-Chinese demonstration as being supported by 'foreign forces.'
'Some United Nation offices and human rights groups are trying to
instigate the protests,' Xianglin was quoted by the newspaper as
saying. 'UN officials are present during each and every demonstration
that occurs in Kathmandu.'
Kathmandu has seen almost daily street protests by Tibetan exiles
around the Chinese embassy, its visa office and consular section and
the United Nations office since March 10.
On Sunday, Nepalese police arrested more than 550 Tibetan women
protestors, including elderly women and Buddhist nuns.
It was the largest number of arrests of Tibetan protestors by
Nepalese police in a single day.
Nepal has a large Tibetan exile community settled mainly in
Kathmandu and Pokhara in western Nepal.
According to government figures, there are about 20,000 Tibetan
refugees in the country. But the figure does not include many
thousands of arrivals after 1989 because the Nepalese government
stopped according them refugee status.
The Nepalese government maintains it recognises Tibet as an
integral part of China and has vowed to stop anti-Chinese activities
in its territory.
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