DPA
Kathmandu, April 3 (DPA) China has asked Nepalese government to prevent pro-Tibetan groups from operating in Nepal, official media said Thursday. Terming the growing protests by Tibetans in Nepal as “illegal political activities,” China asked Nepal to take stringent measures to prevent anti-Chinese activities, the official Rising Nepal newspaper reported.

China has sought to quell Tibet-related demonstrations in the region, which have proven an embarrassment as it steps into the international spotlight as host of the Summer Olympic Games in August.

Human rights groups have criticized both China and Nepal for their handling of the Tibet protests. Rights groups charged them with violating protesters’ basic rights, including the right to assembly and freedom of speech, and with using excessive force.

The Chinese reaction followed Tibetan protests Tuesday and Wednesday in Kathmandu during which demonstrators tried to march on to the Chinese embassy in the latest of nearly daily protests in the Nepalese capital since March 10, the 49th anniversary of a failed uprising in Tibet against Chinese rule.

“The ringleaders of Tibetan organizations here, some of whom are plotting behind and some are conducting protests, urged the Tibetans demonstrators to storm the embassy,” Chinese Ambassador Zheng Xialing charged, according to the newspaper report.

Xialing claimed anti-Chinese forces were operating in Nepal camouflaged as Tibetan protestors and were attempting to sabotage relations between the two countries.
DPA