By Phayul Stringer
KATHMANDU, November 2: 61 Tibetan refugees including the President of the Regional Tibetan Youth Congress (RTYC) Kathmandu, Tsewang Dolma, General Secretary Yeshi Dolma and executive members of RTYC Pokhara were arrested from Machhindra Park in Lalitpur and detained at the local police station early Tuesday after they broke into a street demonstration demanding the withdrawal of China’s repressive policies in Tibet.
Those arrested were among the hundreds of Tibetans who had gathered at Samdupling settlement area in Jawlakhel to participate in a three-day campaign as part of the Global Action campaign for Tibet. Tibetans from different parts of the country had gathered at Jawlakhel in solidarity with the ten Tibetans who set themselves on fire this year protesting China’s continued occupation of Tibet.
The settlement area saw police presence since Monday and the numbers grew further on Tuesday morning with more than 300 members of the Armed Police force (APF) surrounding the Tibetan settlement area, blocking all entry and exit points.
Organised by the TYC, the three-day campaign plans to hold peaceful solidarity activities which include a mass prayer service, fasting, hand-written letters in blood, Lhakar oath for Tibet and shaving heads.
Earlier in the morning, a scuffle broke between the Tibetan refugees and the Nepal Police after members of the Nepali APF grabbed the portrait of the Dalai Lama, which was hung at the terrace of the building where Tibetans were offering mass prayers.
Around 30 policemen charged into the middle of the crowd and seized all banners, placards and Tibetan flags reasoning that the word ‘Tibet’ itself had a serious political connotation and is therefore prohibited from being used.
While in detention, the 61 Tibetans refused to accept food and observed a fast.
The detained were released late at night.
