RR Phantom
Location : Wasted Space
Job/hobbies : Cayman Islands Actuary
 |  Subject: Kathmandu: Torch relay protesters held  Sat Jun 21, 2008 9:11 pm | |
| ABOUT 500 Tibetan exiles were held by police in Nepal yesterday after demonstrating outside the Chinese embassy in Kathmandu against the Olympic torch relay's visit to Tibet.
Hand-picked spectators cheered runners as the flame passed through Tibet's capital, Lhasa, earlier in the day, just three months after deadly riots against China's rule in the region.
"We have rounded up over 500 Tibetan protesters. They have been driven to various detention centres," police officer Ramesh Thapa said.
"All of them will be released later in the evening," he said.
Protesters, mostly women and monks, waved flags of the Tibetan government-in-exile and screamed "China liar, leave Tibet" and "We want a free Tibet" plus other slogans.
Riot police broke up the rally and protesters were bundled into waiting vans and trucks after a brief tussle.
Some of the protesters carried banners reading, "No human rights, no 2008 Olympic torch in Tibet".
"Tibet is not a part of China. The Chinese Government doesn't have any rights to take Olympic torch in Tibet," 20-year-old Tsering, who goes by one name, said before police dragged him away.
"China should not be allowed to hold Olympic Games," said Sonam, 24, another protester.
There have been almost daily protests in Kathmandu since unrest erupted in Lhasa, prompting a crackdown by Chinese security forces in March.
Authorities last week detained more than 700 Tibetan protesters from Kathmandu, the largest number in a single day.
The same day police also arrested three top Tibetan activists for alleged anti-China activities in Nepal.
Sandwiched between India and China, Nepal recognises Beijing's "One China" policy that regards Tibet and Taiwan as integral parts of China.
Nepalese officials have repeatedly said no anti-China activity will be allowed as they seek to preserve friendly ties with their giant northern neighbour.
Nepal is home to about 20,000 exiled Tibetans who began arriving in large numbers in 1959 after the Dalai Lama fled Tibet following a failed uprising against the Chinese.
Under tight security, the relay started when Tibetan mountaineer Googbu held the flame aloft below the towering Potala Palace.
Lhasa's Communist Party boss, Qin Yizhi, said at a public ceremony: "We are convinced the Beijing Olympic Games's torch relay in Lhasa will further inflame the patriotic spirit of the people."
He added the relay would also help "smash the scheming of the Dalai Lama clique".
The torch has never been far from controversy and never more so than in its run through the streets of Lhasa which is 3650 metres above sea level.
Police and troops lined the streets, watching the residents chosen to cheer on the torch.
Groups of students from Lhasa University waved Olympic banners, the Chinese national flag, as well as the hammer and sickle banner of the ruling Communist Party.
But some students seemed hesitant in giving an answer when asked of the meaning of the torch passing through Tibet.
For many exiled Tibetans and human rights groups, the Lhasa torch relay serves as a reminder of China's overbearing influence.
LNK
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