450 Tibetan protesters detained

Kathmandu, June 7:

Police today detained 450 Tibetan activists, beating some with bamboo sticks and punching others, as they staged a pro-Tibet protest in the capital, officials and witnesses said.

“We detained around 450 Tibetan exiles mostly monks and nuns, crying ‘Down with China’ and ‘Free Tibet’ as they tried to march into an off-limits area for protests,” police officer Bharat Lama said. “We had to hit them as they forcibly tried to enter the restricted zone despite repeated warnings,” Lama said.

Police dragged the protesters to waiting police vans and shoved them inside, punching and kicking those who resisted, an AFP reporter said.