Nepal police beat pro-Tibet protesters, detain 230

Sun Aug 10, 2008

KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Nepali police kicked Tibetan protesters and beat them with batons on Sunday before detaining some 230 people marching to a Chinese consular office in Kathmandu, police and witnesses said.

Police stop an injured Tibetan protester trying to reach a Chinese consular office in Kathmandu August 10, 2008. REUTERS/Gopal Chitrakar

At least two people were seen bleeding from their heads after a scuffle broke out with riot police trying to protect the walled Chinese office. At least 10 people were injured.

Police said they had rounded up 230 protesters for opposing the Chinese crackdown in Tibet in March and shouting "Long live the Dalai Lama" and "Shame, shame, China, shame". Monks and nuns were among those held.

Nepal is home to more than 20,000 Tibetans who fled Tibet after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959. But the country bars them from engaging in political activities against Beijing.

Kathmandu says Tibet is part of China, its influential neighbor and trade partner, and has cracked down on near-daily protests against Beijing since the past five months.

Those detained are usually released the same day.

On Friday, authorities detained more than 1,300 Tibetans who protested in Kathmandu as the Olympic Games opened in Beijing.

Police drag a Tibetan protester by her hair as she tries to reach a Chinese consular office in Kathmandu August 10, 2008. REUTERS/Gopal Chitrakar

A police officer kicks a Tibetan monk trying to reach a Chinese consular office in Kathmandu August 10, 2008. REUTERS/Gopal Chitrakar

A Tibetan monk, injured by police beating while trying to reach a Chinese consular office, is seen in Kathmandu August 10, 2008. REUTERS/Gopal Chitrakar

(Reporting by Gopal Sharma; Editing by Krittivas Mukherjee, editing by Mary Gabriel)