KATHMANDU (AFP) — Authorities in Nepal's capital on Thursday detained at least 250 Tibetan exiles as they staged a protest in front of a Chinese embassy building, police and witnesses said.
The protesters, including monks and nuns, waved flags of the Tibetan government-in-exile and shouted "Liar China," "Free Tibet," and "Stop the killing in Tibet" in front of the Chinese consular and trade section.
After briefly tussling with police they were bundled into waiting vans, an AFP reporter at the scene said.
"We have taken around 250 Tibetans into custody after they tried to protest in a restricted area," Anupam Rana, a police officer at the scene told AFP.
"They have been driven to various detention centres and will be released in the evening," the police officer said.
Exiled Tibetans in Nepal began staging almost daily protests in Kathmandu in March after deadly unrest in their homeland.
They played a daily cat and mouse game with police whereby hundreds of protesters would be detained, released without charge in the evening and then return the next day to be detained again.
The protests were suspended after the massive earthquake hit China in May.
"We took a break to pay respects to the victims of the earthquake, but we are compelled to continue our protests as China is not addressing the problems in Tibet," Tashi Lama, 31, told AFP before being dragged into a van by five police officers.
Nepal officially respects its giant northern neighbour's "One China" policy that sees Tibet and Taiwan as indivisible parts of China.
More than 20,000 Tibetan refugees live in Nepal and around 2,500 still arrive annually in Kathmandu before heading to Dharamshala in northern India, home of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government-in-exile.
Copyright © 2010 AFP. All rights reserved. More »
