China detains protesting Tibetan monks - report
BEIJING, March 11 (Reuters) - China has detained a group of Tibetan monks who protested in Tibet's capital Lhasa, according to a report by a U.S. government-funded radio station, as Tibetan refugees around the world held marches to mark a past uprising.
Radio Free Asia cited a source as saying at least 300 monks marched from a monastery outside Lhasa to demand the release of monks detained last year after the Dalai Lama was awarded a Congressional medal in the United States.
"Authorities at a checkpoint along the way stopped and detained between 50 and 60 monks," the report paraphrased the source as saying.
"Witnesses reported seeing about 10 military vehicles, 10 police vehicles, and several ambulances at the checkpoint. No information was immediately available on where the monks were taken or why ambulances were summoned," it added.
"Another witness reported that official vehicles then blocked off access by road to Drepung monastery, and that many monasteries in and around Lhasa were surrounded by members of the paramilitary People's Armed Police," the report said.
Calls to the Tibetan government went unanswered.
Tibetans all over the world on Monday took to the streets to commemorate the 49th anniversary of an uprising against Chinese rule and to press their demand for independence ahead of the Beijing Olympics.
In Nepal, many people were hurt when police used batons to break up a march on the Chinese embassy, while in neighbouring India 101 refugees set off on a five-month march to Tibet accompanied by thousands of well-wishers.
As the Olympics approach, Tibetans are trying to reinvigorate their freedom movement and protest against what they see as China's illegal occupation of their homeland.
The protests marked the anniversary of a 1959 uprising in Tibet against Chinese rule, which was crushed by the People's Liberation Army, driving the Dalai Lama into exile.
The Dalai Lama last week rejected a Chinese accusation that he was trying to sabotage the Olympics, saying he always supported Beijing's right to host the Games. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Ken Wills and Alex Richardson)
Radio Free Asia cited a source as saying at least 300 monks marched from a monastery outside Lhasa to demand the release of monks detained last year after the Dalai Lama was awarded a Congressional medal in the United States.
"Authorities at a checkpoint along the way stopped and detained between 50 and 60 monks," the report paraphrased the source as saying.
"Witnesses reported seeing about 10 military vehicles, 10 police vehicles, and several ambulances at the checkpoint. No information was immediately available on where the monks were taken or why ambulances were summoned," it added.
"Another witness reported that official vehicles then blocked off access by road to Drepung monastery, and that many monasteries in and around Lhasa were surrounded by members of the paramilitary People's Armed Police," the report said.
Calls to the Tibetan government went unanswered.
Tibetans all over the world on Monday took to the streets to commemorate the 49th anniversary of an uprising against Chinese rule and to press their demand for independence ahead of the Beijing Olympics.
In Nepal, many people were hurt when police used batons to break up a march on the Chinese embassy, while in neighbouring India 101 refugees set off on a five-month march to Tibet accompanied by thousands of well-wishers.
As the Olympics approach, Tibetans are trying to reinvigorate their freedom movement and protest against what they see as China's illegal occupation of their homeland.
The protests marked the anniversary of a 1959 uprising in Tibet against Chinese rule, which was crushed by the People's Liberation Army, driving the Dalai Lama into exile.
The Dalai Lama last week rejected a Chinese accusation that he was trying to sabotage the Olympics, saying he always supported Beijing's right to host the Games. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Ken Wills and Alex Richardson)
© Thomson Reuters 2008 All rights reserved
Sphere
Rocker Monk
Iran rules out enrichment freeze
