Nepali police attack and beat Tibetans in prayer
In fact, the prayer vigil that was held yesterday was supposed to end today. For this reason, Tibetans had congregated at the temple. However, police moved in today as well. Wielding batons, they injured scores of worshippers, arresting dozens of them.
Police spokesperson Bigyan Raj Sharma rejected claims that police intervened during a prayer meeting because “Nepali police does not attack prayer groups; it respects them. However, when it was informed that a demonstration was being prepared in a sensitive location, it moved in. those arrested will be released as soon as the investigation is concluded.”
According to some analysts, the police statement confirms that law enforcement acted pre-emptively against a peaceful meeting.
“Police attacked us during a peaceful prayer at out shrine,” Buddhist monk Ringmoche Lama said. “In secular nations, people from every religion are free to gather to pray in their holy places, but in Nepal we are attacked and injured.”
“The attack against our peaceful prayer shows that we do not have religious freedom or rights in this country. We were not in the streets, and we were not planning any protest,” he added.
Officially, some 20,000 UN-registered Tibetan refugees live in Nepal. The actual number is probably much higher. Since 2008, Nepal authorities have heeded Chinese pressures and cracked down on anti-Chinese protests, especially in front of the Chinese Embassy, and similar places.
Tasi Lama has bruises on his back as evidence of the crackdown. “I was offering my prayer, with my eyes closed, my hands joined, in the prayer room, when all of a sudden, police attacked,” he said.
Today, Nepali police is again out in force to prevent other possible protests at key locations in the capital, like the Bauddha temple, the Chinese Embassy and the United Nations offices.
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