Beijing, April 16:

Chinese authorities have detained a popular Tibetan singer amid a major crackdown on unrest in and around the remote Himalayan region, a source close to her and reports said today.

Jamyang Kyi, who also worked as a producer for state-run Qinghai TV in northwestern China, has not been seen for more than two weeks, a person close to her, who could not be named for fear of repercussions, told AFP.

“It has been 16 days since she was taken away from her office, and there is no news about her,” the person said. “I’m very worried about her.”

Plainclothes security officers escorted Kyi from her office at the television channel based in Xining, the capital of Qinghai province, according to Radio Free Asia, a US-funded broadcaster. Another source told Radio Free Asia that the Xining Public Security Bureau had formally arrested Kyi, although the charges against her were unknown. “Security people went to Jamyang Kyi’s house to search her computer, her mailing list, and contact numbers and took all these away,” Radio Free Asia reported.

A Tibetan exile group in India, the Khawa Karpo-Tibet Culture Centre, also told AFP that its sources in China had confirmed that Kyi had been detained.

Xining police station told AFP that officers had not heard of the case, while a man who answered the phone at Qinghai TV refused to comment.

Kyi is well-known among Tibetans as an activist on women’s issues and a singer, Radio Free Asia said.

She had worked for Qinghai TV for more than 20 years, according to the Latse Contemporary Tibetan Cultural Library, which promotes Tibetan culture.

Tibetans’ bid to storm embassy foiled

NEW DELHI: A bout 100 Tibetan activists tried to storm the Chinese embassy on Wednesday - a few hours before the Olympics torch reaches here. However, the protesters were whisked away by the police.

The activists, under the banner of Tibetan Youth congress, arrived at the embassy at around 10.30 am. They were wearing yellow jerseys and headbands with messages like ‘Stop cultural genocide’, and ‘Free Tibet’.

A large posse of policemen and central paramilitary forces was present around the embassy. A minor scuffle ensued between the security personnel and Tibetans who resisted being detained.

The protesters, who were chanting slogans like “Hu Jintao murdabad” (Down with Hu Jintao), were taken to a nearby police station.

Fearing a repeat of the disturbances that marred the torch relay in London and Paris, commandoes from paramilitary forces and thousands of policemen have been posted along the two-kilometre route. — HNS

Czech PM to shun Olympics

PRAGUE: Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek will not attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic games, his spokeswoman Jana Batosova told AFP on Wednesday.

“The Prime Minister has decided not to attend the opening ceremony,” she said, adding that Topolanek’s decision

was taken after discussions with some of

his ministers. — AFP