By Tenzin Sangmo
New Delhi, June 22 – Some 500 Tibetans were arrested outside the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu on Saturday for demonstrating against the gross display of power by China which paraded the Olympic torch through Tibet’s Capital, Lhasa.
“We have rounded up over 500 Tibetan protesters. They have been driven to various detention centers. All of them will be released later in the evening,” police officer Ramesh Thapa told AFP.
The day saw a strong contingent of women and monks protesting with the Tibetan National Flag in tow and raising slogans for a free Tibet carrying signs that read ‘No human rights, no 2008 Olympic torch in Tibet.’
“The torch relay through Lhasa is to show that Tibet is under the control of China,” Tashi Lama, 32 told Reuters. “If China feels that the relay of the torch through Tibet will receive support from the Tibetan people then they are wrong.”
An elite group of accredited spectators cheered the torch as it began its journey through Lhasa, a city that is paralyzed with stiff security control. The much resented relay embarked on its journey shortly after 9 am (local time) in front of Norbulingka the former summer palace of the Dala Lama and ended at the Potala Palace, the traditional seat of the Dalai Lama after a roughly six mile run.
Hundreds of police and paramilitary kept watch every few meters along the relay path and business establishments were ordered to shut down for the local spectacle.
Meanwhile, Nepal landlocked between India and China recognizes Beijing’s ‘One China’ policy that accepts Tibet and Taiwan as vital parts of China. The Nepalese authorities do not tolerate anti-Chinese activities on its soil and even though is home to some 20,000 Tibetan refugees prefer not to jeopardize their standing with their great Northern neighbor who is a key aid donor and trade partner.
