Five security personnel, one agitator injured • China denies use of force

Lalitpur, March 17:

Tibetan refugees clashed with police outside the UN complex in Pulchowk today.

The clash ensued when police tried to disperse the refugees, who were staging a protest outside the complex. Following the clash, police detained 59 refugees. They were freed later. Calling for a free Tibet and protesting the killing of pro-Tibet demonstrators, the Tibetans have been staging protests since March 10.

Fifty-nine protesters were detained for a few hours, said SP at the Metropolitan Police Range Lalitpur Pashupati Upadhyay. “We used minimum force to bring the situation under control,” he said adding, “Five security personnel, including an inspector, were injured in the scuffle.”

Police fired two tear gas shells to disperse the refugees. A Tibetan was seriously injured.

The Tibetan refugees have been demanding an end to killings in Tibet and cancellation of 2008 Olympic scheduled to be held in China. They have also been urging China to facilitate the return of Dalai Lama to Tibet.

Meanwhile, the Chinese embassy has denied using force to “control” the violence unleashed by a group of people in Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR). It said the group went

on a rampage, killed civilians, caused damage to public property and set schools, hospitals

and banks on fire.

“So the charge of suppression is baseless. The government shoulders the responsibility to ensure the safety of people and their property. The measures adopted by the government are not only legal but also wholeheartedly welcomed and supported by the people,” the Chinese embassy said in a press release today.

The release added, “There is enough evidence to prove that a sabotage was organised, premeditated and well-planned by the Dalai clique with the sinister intention of instigating discord during the sensitive period before the Beijing Olympics, deliberately exacerbating the incidents by causing bloodshed in the sabotage and trying to use this excuse to exert pressure on the government, to interrupt the Olympics and undermine the social and political stability in China.”