More than 200 Tibetan exiles arrested in fresh protests

May 8, 2008, 14:39 GMT

Kathmandu - Nepalese police Thursday arrested more than 200 Tibetan exiles demonstrating in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu even as China thanked Nepal for its efforts to stop possible activities on Mount Everest aimed at disrupting Olympic torch.

Police said they arrested the Tibetan demonstrators after they tried to storm a Chinese embassy visa office as part of their growing protests in Nepal.

Tibetan exiles, including dozens of monks and nuns, ran through the police lines and kicked the gates of the visa office in an attempt to storm it.

Police punched and kicked the demonstrators as they were loaded onto police vans and trucks, witnesses said.

Many protestors carried Tibetan national flag as well as placards denouncing Chinese rule in Tibet.

The anti-China protest by Tibetan exiles was the first in more than a week in Kathmandu.

The protests first began on 10 March and until last week, they were held on an almost daily basis.

Human rights organizations have criticized the Nepalese government for use of force to break up demonstrations.

They have also accused the Nepalese government of threatening to deport refugees involved in the demonstration back to Tibet.

Meanwhile, media reports in Kathmandu said Chinese government had thanked Nepal for its cooperation in ensuring smooth transportation of Olympic torch to the summit of the world's highest peak Mt Everest.

Independent Kantipur Television quoted officials at the prime minister's office as saying the appreciation was conveyed in a letter from the Chinese Wen Jiabao to his Nepalese counterpart Girija Prasad Koirala.

The letter said Nepal's efforts to stop anti-Chinese demonstrations and ensure safe passage of the torch on Mt Everest would further consolidate ties between the two countries.

Nepal had banned climbers from attempting to climb the peak for the first 10 days of May coinciding with the Chinese plans to take the Olympic torch to the summit of the 8,848 metre high peak.

To implement the ban, Nepal deployed two dozen soldiers and police on Camp 2 of the mountain located at nearly 6,500 metres above sea level as well as additional troops at the base camp nearly 1500 metres below.

The Nepalese government was expected to officially announce the lifting of the ban on the climbing from Friday.

It followed the Chinese announced that the torch had reached the summit.