China has snapped most links between Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) and its neighbor Nepal in a bid to foil anti-China demonstrations in the former Buddhist kingdom as March 10 marks the 51st anniversary of a failed Tibetan uprising against Chinese annexation.
According to a press statement issued by International Campaign for Tibet (ICT), Chinese authorities have effectively closed the Friendship Bridge, the bridge connecting Nepal with Tibet. The rights body also said that flights to Lhasa were grounded at Kathmandu airport from March 5 to thwart possible protests on the part of Tibetans.
The ICT claimed that Nepalese travel agents have also been warned that tourists may not be able to enter the Tibet Autonomous Region from Kathmandu until several days after March 10.
Senior police officials in Kathmandu admitted that police have been asked to strict vigil against Tibetans living in Kathmandu for they might involve in anti-China protest activities.
Authorities have also beefed up security around the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu and its consular section in Hattisar keeping in view of Tibetans’ protests, according to Home Ministry Spokesperson Jaya Mukunda Khanal.
A demonstration in Lhasa, the capital city of Tibetan Autonomous Region, on March 10, 2008 sparked a wave of protests across Tibet, prompting brutal Chinese police crackdown and enhanced security presence in many Tibetan areas.
The Tibetan community in Kathmandu demonstrated its solidarity with Tibetans in Tibet by protesting repeatedly in front of the Chinese Embassy and its consular section in the aftermath of the crackdown in Tibet. The protests had often provoked brutal responses and numerous
arrests by Nepal police.
Tibetans activists in Kathmandu alleged that there have been numerous police raids on houses and hotels in the area around the Tibetan stupa, Boudhanath, a major pilgrimage destination for Tibetan Buddhists, since past few weeks.
According to them, Nepali authorities on Sunday arrested Dalai Lama’s unofficial representative Thinley Gyatso and subsequently released after warning him not to take part in any protest activities. Police, however, denied to have arrested Gyatso.
- Asian Tribune -
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