A top representative of the leader Dalai Lama in Nepal was today arrested, amid mounting pressure from China on the Communist-led government to halt anti-Beijing activities by the exiled community here.
A top representative of the Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama in Nepal was today arrested, amid mounting pressure from China on the Communist-led government to halt anti-Beijing activities by the exiled community here.
55-year-old Thinley Lama, the representative of the Dalai Lama in Nepal, was arrested from his residence at Lazimpat on the outskirt of the capital Kathmandu, shortly after he addressed a press conference.
The police have detained Thinley along with his aide Jhampa Dhumdup, for interrogation, according to sources close to Tibetan Refugee Welfare Office (TRWO) in Kathmandu.
Thinley, the head of the TRWO in Nepal, clarified that he had no political engagements in the country. He underlined that his office was apolitical in nature and was not involved in activity directed to any person, society or state.
He asked the Nepalese authorities for protection of the rights of the refugees. He had asked the government to address the issues of all refugees uniformly in the new constitution being drafted by parliament and to allow the Tibetan diaspora to run businesses and obtain higher education.
The arrest comes days ahead of the swearing in of the new Prime Minister of Tibetan government in exile in the Indian town of Dharamsala.
Superintendent of Police Kedar Rijal, the Kathmandu Metropolitan City's police chief, however, said he has no information about the arrest of Thinley.
Nepal's government has recently intensified vigilance against the Tibetan refugees in the wake of the celebration of the Dalai Lama's birth day last month.
Monasteries have been raided amid mounting pressure from China and allegations that they were involved in anti-Beijing activities.
Nepal supports 'one-China policy' that views Tibet as an integral part of China. It has repeatedly assured its giant northern neighbour that it will not allow its territory to be used for anti-Beijing activities.
Last month, Nepal police arrested six Tibetan exiles from the country's Dolakha district after they had crossed the Nepal-China border on their way to Dharamsala.
Despite tight security enforced by the Nepalese and Chinese government in the border areas, every year 2,500 Tibetans cross the border on their way to meet the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, where he is based since fleeing from his motherland in 1959.
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