Kathmandu

28 Tibetan refugees detained from Kathmandu on Dalai Lama birthday

28 Tibetan refugees detained from Kathmandu on Dalai Lama birthday

By THT Online

Bouddhanath Stupa, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Kathmandu, undergoing reconstruction after the April 25 earthquake. Photo: Skanda Gautam

KATHMANDU: At least 28 Tibetan refugees were arrested from Bouddha-based Srongtsen Bhrikuti School while preparing to celebrate Buddhist spiritual leader Dalai Lama's 81st birthday, on Wednesday. The refugees were arrested for allegedly breaching the public peace while preparing for the ceremony from the school premises. They were initially taken to the Metropolitan Police Range, Bouddha, and then to the Gaushala-based Metropolitan Police Range before they were kept in detention at the Nepali Police Club in Bhrikutimandap. Meanwhile, the INHURED International has expressed its concern over the arrest of Tibetan refugees stating it was an act against the Constitution and national and international human rights laws. The organisation has also urged the government not to suppress 'rights of the refugees irrespective of any political views' in the future.