by Kalpit Parajuli

Despite a ban on anti-Chinese protests, Tibetan exiles mark the 51st anniversary of Tibet’s invasion by China, insulting the Chinese president. The Nepal government deploys more than 500 police agents. A young Tibetan says he wants the Chinese government to leave his country, adding that Tibetans cannot forget the cruelty inflicted on innocent people.

Kathmandu (AsiaNews) – Shouting, “We want justice” and “death to Hu Jintao”, hundreds of Tibetan refugees held a demonstration to mark China’s occupation of their country 51 years ago. Preceded by five minutes of silence to remember those who were killed during the Chinese invasion, the protest began peacefully enough but eventually turned nasty in some sectors of the Nepali capital with protesters clashing with police, who arrested 34 people. Fearing incidents, Nepal’s Interior Ministry had deployed more than 500 agents, including riot police, in sensitive areas like the Chinese Embassy.

“We want the Chinese government to leave our country [. . .]. We will continue to fight until this is achieved,” said Tsultrin Tenzin, a demonstrator, who added that no Tibetan could ever forget China’s invasion and the cruelty it inflicted on innocent people.

Tibetan exiles say that the Chinese invasion cost the lives of a million people, because of military action, persecution and famine.

Following the occupation of Lhasa in 1951 and the Dalai Lama’s flight in 1959, Nepal has received waves of Tibetans seeking refuge.

Since the fall of the Nepali monarchy in 2006 and the rise to power of the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) and the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Marxist-Leninist), Nepal has sought closer economic ties with Beijing.

The Nepal government has also banned all anti-Chinese protests. In 2008, when protests were held to mark the Beijing Olympics, the government cracked down with force.

This morning, police confirmed the arrests. Chief Administrative Officer Laxmi Prasad Dhakal said that four people were sentenced to 90 days in prison; the case of the other 30 would be determined after a background check with the government eventually deciding what to do.

Dhakal added that on the eve of the demonstration, the Dalai Lama’s representative to Nepal, Thinley Gatso, had urged people to protest peacefully out of respect for the host country.

• tibet
• china
• nepal
• kathmandhu
• anniversary
• uprising
• dalai
• lama
• refugees
• 51