KATHMANDU, JUL 06 -
Police on Tuesday detained around 300 Tibetan exiles celebrating the Dalai Lama’s 75th birthday from various parts of the Capital. The Metropolitan Police Range, Hanumandhoka reported that some 300 Tibetan exiles, including monks, nuns, elderly and children were detained for their involvement in the anti-China demonstrations. Elderly and children were handed over to monasteries while others were freed after interrogation, said the police. SP Ramesh Kharel said the Tibetans were briefly detained for interrogation. “It was only a preventive measure to avert any untoward incident,” said SP Kharel.

Hundreds of riot police personnel were deployed in the major monasteries in Boudhha and Swayambhu areas. The police, however, did not intervene in the prayer session inside the monasteries. The Tibetan community held mass prayers at Jwalakhel Tibetan Refugee Camp and other monasteries to wish a long life and good health to the revered leader who turned 75 on Tuesday. There were no reports of scuffles and injuries.

Nepal restricts Tibetan demonstrations against Chinese government as the country has adopted the “One China” policy.

On Monday, Foreign Ministry asked all the 601 Constituent Assembly members not to accept invitations by the Tibetan community to attend the birthday celebrations. The measure came after three parliamentarians met the Dalai Lama in Dharmashala in India, where his “government exile” is based. The Chinese government criticised the government and political leaders, saying that the meeting was a violation of Nepal’s “One China” policy that regards Tibet as an integral part of China. It is estimated that around 20,000 Tibetan refugees have been living in Nepal.


Posted on: 2010-07-07 08:13

Post Your Comment

Please note that all the fields marked * are mandatory.

* Full Name

* Address

* Email Address

* Comment
[Some of the HTML tags you can use : <b>, <i>, <a>]

* Captcha

Get another CAPTCHA code