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1068 Tibetans detained, freed in biggest anti-China protests

Police broke up one of the largest anti-China demonstrations by exiled Tibetans in the capital Kathmandu on Thursday, rounding up 1,068 protestors calling for 'Free Tibet' in front of Chinese embassy consular section.

Scores of Tibetan protestors chanting anti-Chinese slogans were forced into waiting police vans and trucks and driven off to various police stations. However, the massive arrests didn't deter the Tibetans exiles from continuing their protests in small groups through out the day. Police said all the protestors were freed later in the evening.

Reports quoting senior police officials said that 1,068 Tibetan protestors were detained as they tried to break a police cordon outside the consular section, protesting against the recent Chinese crackdown on Tibet.

Tibetans have been staging anti-China demonstrations in various parts of the capital city almost on a daily basis after the Tibetan unrest in March this year. They stepped up their protests just a few days before the August 8 Olympics in Beijing "to draw the world's attention to the gross human rights violations committed by China in Tibet".

When asked why the Tibetans protestors were denied the right to stage peaceful protests in the area, the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) who was in charge there said that the area has been declared a restricted zone where all kinds of protests have been prohibited.

The country, which is home to 20,000 Tibetan refugees, says that it sticks by its "One China" policy that views Tibet as integral part of China. nepalnews.com Aug 15 08