Tibetan exiles in Nepal clashed with local police when the police tried to take down a picture of the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, as well as a banner accusing China of violating their rights in Tibet, a Taiwanese witness said.
The clash happened during a memorial service at a Tibetan settlement in Nepal for Tibetans who have immolated themselves.
“At around 10am today [Tuesday], Tibetan exiles held a memorial service at Jawalakhel Settlement on the outskirts of Kathmandu.
“As they were hanging up a giant picture of the Dalai Lama and a banner accusing China, a large number of police officers rushed towards them and took the picture and banner away,” a Taiwanese academic currently in Nepal — who wished to remain anonymous — told the Taipei Times via e-mail.
“Police officers actually surrounded the venue for the religious service and blocked the entrance before the service started, but only acted after seeing the picture and the banner,” the academic said.
The academic added that police officers apparently stepped on the picture of the Tibetan spiritual leader and thus angered the Tibetans on the scene.
“The angry Tibetans then rushed into the streets to protest, whereupon the police immediately began to arrest the protesters,” the academic said.
“Many of the protestors were beaten by the police — some were hit with rifle butts — and many people were injured as they were arrested,” the academic added.
Some elderly Tibetans and women decided to stage a sit-in at a nearby park, but they were also arrested, the academic said.
The police threatened to confiscate the video camera that the scholar had in hand as the academic tried to record the scene.
“A young Italian tourist staying in the same building came out and tried to take pictures, but was told to stop and chased down the street by police,” the academic said.
“The Italian tourist told me that he never thought the situation was so bad for Tibetan exiles in Nepal and that he also was frightened by the police brutality even though he was just a tourist,” the academic added.
Local Tibetans told the academic that about 60 people were arrested and that they started a hunger strike while in detention before being released later on Tuesday night.
Tibetans yesterday delivered petition letters to the embassies of G20 countries in Kathmandu.
However, Nepalese police broke into the houses of Tibetan exiles and arrested about 20 young Tibetans, the academic said, adding that it was not clear whether the arrests had anything to do with the protest on Tuesday or the delivery of the petition letters.
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