Protests Continue in Kathmandu : 120 arrested
Kathmandu, 28 August - Today over 120 Tibetan protesters were arrested on Hattisar road, close to the Consulate of the 'People's' Republic of China. Most of the protesters arrived in a hired bus, pulling out swathes of Tibetan flags as they walked towards the Consulate. However, the Nepalese police were already waiting. The protesters, joined by others who were waiting in the area threw paper signs with slogans such as 'Free Tibet', 'Tibet is not part of China' and 'Allow free press in Tibet' into the air, whilst others brandished TCHRD posters with pictures of victims of China's bloody crackdown in Tibet. Some protesters staged a die in, symbolic of the suffering of their brethren in Tibet. The protesters chanted various slogans including 'Hu Jintao, liar, liar!' and 'UNO wake up, wake up!' whilst UN 'observers' stood by. The protesters demands were that Hu Jintao meets the Dalai Lama face to face to resolve the ongoing Tibet issue, and guarantee the safety and freedoms of Tibetans in all of 'historic' Tibet- Amdo, Kham and Ü-Tsang.The protest lasted around thirty minutes, before the Nepalese police, who greatly outnumbered the protesters managed to round up the final few Tibetans. Nepal's 'One China' policy means that Tibetan protests are illegal in the valley, despite Nepal supposedly adopting 'democracy'. In recent months, the Nepalese police have often reacted violently against the Tibetan protesters, and many Tibetans in Kathmandu fear their situation could worsen after the leader of Nepal's Maoist party, Prachanda was elected as Nepal's new Prime-Minister. Many feared that today's protests would be met with extreme violence, as the Maoist party, leading Nepal's governing coalition seeks to show it's loyalty to their Chinese donors. One protester reported from prison that all of the protesters were fine, and that they expected to soon be released. He and his fellow protesters, from the self-organised, consensus based 'Volunteer Organisation' had organised the protest four days after the Olympics Closing Ceremony. Their message was clear- the Olympics might be over, but the Tibet issue has yet to be resolved.



