More Tibetans arrested in Nepal

Recent days have seen protests by monks in Kathmandu

Dozens of Tibetan exiles in Nepal have been baton-charged and many arrested in the latest anti-China protest in Kathmandu, police say.

The city is home to thousands of Tibetan exiles and over the past fortnight they have mounted almost daily protests against Beijing.

Several hundred of the demonstrators have been detained.

Meanwhile, Amnesty International and the UN have both criticised the government's handling of the protests.

Chanting "Free Tibet" and "Chinese thieves leave our country", the protesters approached the visa office of the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu.

Police stopped the protesters at the gate of the fortified embassy compound and tried to remove them from the area.

Correspondents say that when the demonstrators refused to leave, about 100 were forced into vans and trucks and driven to detention centres. About 50 ran away.

Tibetans have been protesting near refugee camps or near the UN office in Kathmandu since 10 March, but correspondents say this was the first anti-Chinese rally near the Chinese Embassy.

Police at the scene said they had been ordered not to allow any protests or slogans against China, which Nepal's government considers an ally.

The Tibetan government-in-exile says that 140 people have died in Tibet since riots began this month.

'Impairing rights'

In a statement released on Monday, Amnesty International called on the authorities immediately and unconditionally to release all those arrested in connection with demonstrations on Tibet.

"Nepal is sending a message of no-tolerance of dissent by arresting peaceful demonstrators," an Amnesty statement said, cautioning that the latest wave of repression extends beyond Tibet-related protests.

"This is the latest in a series of clampdowns on peaceful demonstration as elections approach," the statement said.

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal said that the actions by police violated individuals' basic rights to freedom from arbitrary detention and freedom of movement, in addition to impairing rights to peaceful assembly and expression.