Tibetan demonstrators detained near Chinese embassy in Kathmandu

Apr 17, 2008, 8:05 GMT

Kathmandu - Nepalese police Thursday broke up demonstrations by Tibetan exiles near the Chinese embassy in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu and detained about 30 protestors.

Small groups of protestors carrying Tibetan national flags and placards calling for 'Free Tibet' were rounded up by police and taken to detention centres.

The protestors, including monks and Tibetan youths, chanted 'stop killing in Tibet' and 'Long live Dalai Lama.'

The protest was second to target the Chinese embassy since the anti-China demonstrations by Tibetan exiles in Kathmandu resumed earlier this week.

The protests were suspended on 4 April in view of Nepal's elections.

Organizers said the protests will continue until their demands are met, including human rights in Tibet, return of Dalai Lama to Lhasa, investigations by UN and international bodies into recent violence in Tibet, and greater autonomy.

They also said they remained undeterred by Nepalese government's crackdown on the protestors.

Nepal has come under severe criticism for its handling of the protests by Tibetans since 10 March that resulted in several injuries during police actions.

According to the US based Human Rights Watch, Nepalese government detained as many as 1,500 Tibetan protestors and pre-emptively arrested others since protests began.

Nepal has more than 20,000 Tibetans concentrated mainly in the Kathmandu Valley and Pokhara in western Nepal.

The figure does not include Tibetans who arrived in the country after 1990 because the Nepalese government stopped registering them as refugees.

Rights groups say about 3,000 Tibetans arrive in Nepal each year crossing dangerous mountain passes and risking their lives to flee Chinese rule.