Nepali police scuffle with Tibetans, detain 239
KATHMANDU, June 10 (Reuters) - Hundreds of Tibetan exiles scuffled with Nepali police on Tuesday during an anti-China rally in the streets of Kathmandu before 239 refugees were detained, police and witnesses said.
Shouting "China thief, leave the country" and "Long live the Dalai Lama", protesters got off buses and rushed towards a consular office of the Chinese embassy, only to be stopped by riot police outside.
Some of the refugees carried toy guns and wore uniforms like those worn by the Chinese army, acting out their version of a crackdown on Tibetan protests inside China in March.
Exiled Tibetans have been protesting regularly since the deadly riot in the Tibetan capital Lhasa on March 14.
On Tuesday, police dragged protesters into vans and drove them to detention centres.
"We'll release them later, we can't keep them for long with us and feed them," one police officer said.
More than 20,000 Tibetans have been living in Nepal since 1959 when they fled after a failed uprising against China.
Nepal allows them to stay as refugees but has banned anti-China activities, although they have managed to stage regular protests against China. (Reporting by Gopal Sharma; Editing by Bappa Majumdar)
