Hundreds of Tibetans arrested on Uprising Day anniversary

Hundreds of Tibetan monks and civilians were arrested by the Nepalese police as they staged a rally to mark the 50th anniversary of the Uprising against the Chinese rule.


More than 2,000 Tibetan monks, students, men and women marched to attend a prayer meeting organised at the oldest Samtenling Monastery of Kathmandu near Bouddhanath Stupa, the largest Buddhist shrine of Asia.

They were chanting slogans like 'Free Tibet' and 'Tibet belongs to Tibetans'. Police arrested several protesters after the prayers and put them into a van, but later released them after issuing a warning.

A dozen Tibetan national were arrested on Monday night as police raids on the houses near the Stupa, an Tibetan activist said. Last week also the police had arrested some 50 Tibetans from different parts of the capital.

The police, on the Uprising Day, stopped several vehicles carrying Tibetans on main points that leads to the Bouddhanath Stupa. There was tight security around Chinese Embassy and Chinese Consulate Office in Kathmandu where hundreds of policemen and security men were deployed.

No vehicle was allowed to move on the road leading to the Chinese Consulate and embassy offices. Due to massive mobilisation of security forces in the capital, demonstrations could not take place. 

The prayer, which started at 9 am and lasted for two hours, was led by chief of the 1962 monastery Dhondup Lama, who read out the Dalai Lama's message, in which the Tibetan temporal head said "We Tibetans are looking for a legitimate and meaningful autonomy, an arrangement that would enable Tibetans to live within the framework of the People's Republic of China."

The Dalai Lama in his message further added that "there has been a brutal crackdown on the Tibetan protests that have shaken the whole of Tibet since March last year."

The Tibetans participated in the prayer in front of a picture of Dalai Lama in the monastery. They offered flowers, lighted traditional lamp and prayed for peace. There were hundreds of policemen deployed outside the Boudhanath Stupa.

A Tibetan national flag was also raised and Nepalese and Tibetan national anthems were played during the prayer.

"This prayer is held for peace in the world," a Tibetan monk said.

After the Maoists formed the government six months ago, they have tightened security and banned demonstrations by Tibetans. Prime minister Prachanda has time and again reiterated that Nepal follows one China policy and anti-China activities will not be allowed from its territory.

Last year, Kathmandu witnessed almost daily anti-China rallies in the streets for months after Chinese military cracked down on peaceful demonstrators in Lhasa on March 10, 2008.