Thursday, May 08, 2008
KATMANDU, Nepal —
Several hundred Tibetan protesters tried to storm the Chinese Embassy's visa office in Nepal on Thursday, kicking the gates and throwing banners inside the fortified compound. More than 200 were detained.Thursday's protest by about 300 people, including many Buddhist monks and nuns, was the latest in a series of demonstrations by Tibetan exiles in Nepal and one of the largest in front of the visa office. The office is in the heart of Nepal's capital, Katmandu.
Protesters were able to slip past a police line and reach the compound, kicking the metal gates and throwing banners and wood into the office compound until police pushed them back.
"We want our freedom. Stop China," they chanted as they tussled with police.
Police had difficulty controlling the protesters and occasionally kicked and slapped them.
Hundreds of police have been posted around the building since Tibetans began protesting there in March against China's crackdown on protests in their homeland.
Nepal has said it will not allow protests against China that might jeopardize close relations between the countries. Police have broken up almost all of the demonstrations.
Detained protesters are generally freed later in the day.
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