Dozens of Tibetans arrested in anti-China protests in Kathmandu

Oct 1, 2009, 7:38 GMT

   Kathmandu - Nepalese police broke up an anti-China demonstration Thursday in Kathmandu, detaining more than three dozen Tibetan exiles.

   The demonstrations were organized by a group calling itself Voluntary People of Tibet in Nepal and coincided with the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

   The protestors were detained after they tried to march toward the Chinese embassy's consular section in the central part of Nepal's capital.

   'We want justice in Tibet,' the demonstrators shouted. 'Down with Chinese rule.'

   Police in riot gear moved in and dragged the demonstrators to nearby police trucks and vans to be driven to detention centres.

   Kathmandu police said 40 demonstrators were detained and were likely to be released later in the day.

   Protest organizers said the demonstration was an attempt to show the world the true plight of Tibet and Tibetan people under Chinese rule.

   The protest by Tibetan exiles was the latest in a series of anti-China demonstrations in Nepal.

   The Nepalese government has stepped up its crackdown on Tibetan exiles in recent months amid growing concern by the Chinese government.

   Last year, thousands of Tibetans were detained in similar protests that targeted the United Nations office and the Chinese embassy.

   The protests stopped after the Maoist-led government took office and threatened to deport back to China the Tibetans involved in protests who did not have valid refugee documents.

   However, with the fall of the Maoist-led government in May, sporadic protests have taken place.

   Nepal has more than 20,000 Tibetans refugees 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 said it recognizes Tibet as a part of China and will not tolerate any activities that might harm its relations with its northern neighbour.