Nearly 140 Tibetan exiles arrested at anti-China demonstrations

May 9, 2008, 10:09 GMT

Kathmandu - Nepalese police Friday detained nearly 140 Tibetan exiles during anti-China demonstrations in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu.

For the second consecutive day, Tibetan exiles tried to breach police lines outside China's visa office building which also houses the consular section and the offices of Xinhua news agency.

Police said they detained the demonstrators after they tried to cross the police lines and storm the building.

Many demonstrators, including Buddhist monks, carried Tibetan flags and chanted anti-Chinese slogans.

On Thursday, police detained more than 200 Tibetan protestors after they breached the police lines and ran to the gates of the Chinese visa office, kicking and shaking it in an effort to open it.

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

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

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

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.

Nepal's government has made it clear that it will not tolerate anti-Chinese activities in the country.