Beijing - Chinese police on Saturday detained five members
of groups supporting independence for Tibet after they staged a
'die-in' in Beijing Tiananmen Square, the London-based Free Tibet
Campaign said in a statement.
Four of the protesters wrapped themselves in Tibetan flags and lay
down on the square to stage a 'mock die-in' while the fifth
protesters explained to onlookers that they were 'calling for an end
to the Chinese government's occupation of Tibet', the statement said.
Police took them away about 10 minutes later, it said.
The protesters reportedly included three US citizens, one German
and one Canadian.
'The Chinese government is seeking to cover up its ugly occupation
of Tibet with the bright lights of the Olympics,' Matt Whitticase of
the Free Tibet Campaign said in the statement.
'Our action at Tiananmen Square today highlights the determination
of Tibetans and people of conscience that no amount of repression
from the Chinese government will extinguish the desire of Tibetans
for freedom and to speak out against China's worsening abuses in
Tibet,' Whitticase said.
'The Chinese government will not be allowed to use the Olympics to
hide the reality of its harsh rule inside Tibet,' said Lhadon
Tethong, Executive Director of Students for a Free Tibet.
Despite the heavy security in Beijing, foreign activists have
managed to stage other protests in recent days.
Two US and two British citizens were detained on Wednesday after
the Britons scaled a 40-metre lighting post near the Olympic Green
and unfurled a huge banner calling for independence for China's Tibet
region.
The Free Tibet Campaign said three more protesters were detained
one hour before the opening ceremony on Friday, after they displayed
Tibetan flags near the Olympic Green.
All seven people involved in the two earlier protests were quickly
deported from China, the group said.
Three US anti-abortion campaigners also staged a brief sit-in on
the edge of Tiananmen Square on Wednesday afternoon, state media
said.
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