Police arrested over a dozen Tibetan monks and nuns from Chabahil area in Kathmandu on Friday afternoon. While the nuns were freed later in the evening, nine of the monks are still in police custody.
The arrests come a day after visiting Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Hu Zhengyue asked Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal to effectively curb possible anti-China activities in Nepal.
"The arrested do not have necessary documents and visas to legally live in Nepal," said Superintendent of Police Nawa Raj Silwal, chief of Metropolitan Police Range Office, Kathmandu. "We will hand them over to Immigration Office for necessary legal action."
March 10 this year marks the 50th anniversary of the Tibetan Uprising that took place in Lhasa in 1959. Following the annexation of Tibet by China, Dalai Lama fled to India.
The request from China came in the wake of the announcement made by Dalai Lama supporters that they would commemorate the 50th anniversary of the uprising against “China´s illegal invasion of their homelands” all over the world in March and all through 2009.
Chinese government has termed 2009 as a “sensitive year” for China and urged increased surveillance to curb anti-China activities in Nepal.
Demonstrations banned around Chinese missions in Kathmandu
In view of possible protests by Tibetan activists, Kathmandu District Administration Office on Friday banned protests and demonstrations at Chinese embassy at Baluwatar and the embassy’s consular section in Hattisar. Police have been ordered to arrest anyone staging protest, demonstration or holding meetings at the “prohibited zones”.
Tibetans refugees in Nepal had staged peaceful demonstrations in front of the Chinese embassy and consular section on a regular basis since March 10, 2008, protesting against the ´crackdown´ on Tibetan protestors in Lhasa. They had put off the protests in August, 2008, as police started overnight detention and also handed over many protestors to Immigration Office, alleging that they did not have legal documents to live in Nepal.
Earlier, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi during his visit to Nepal in December, 2008, had expressed concern about “Free Tibet” protests in Nepal.
Sources at the Home Ministry said China has also asked Nepal government to tighten security along Nepal-China border for fear of Dalai Lama supporters infiltrating into Nepal.
Tibetan community in Kathmandu has alleged that police were arresting innocent people and making Tibetans unable even to come out from their residence. "Tibetan people are unsafe now even to go to the city on their daily business," said a Tibetan refugee, asking to be unnamed.
He said the monks and nuns were arrested near Gopi Krishna cinema in Chabahil on Friday afternoon when they were heading for citycenter on personal business. "Where is our right? Aren´t we Tibetans human beings," he vented his ire. "Stop treating us like animals."
koshraj@myrepublica.com
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