For more information | Tibetan students sit on hunger fast in jail
Feb 28, 2012 | In Featured, News
Phayul:HARAMSHALA, February 28: The thirteen Tibetan students, including two girls, arrested last week for carrying out a demonstration outside the United Nations office in Kathmandu, began a hunger fast Monday to further highlight their demands and also press for their release.
A group of young Tibetans, mostly students, had taken out a street protest outside the UN office in the Nepali capital on February 24, appealing for intervention in the ongoing crisis in Tibet.
In a memorandum, the demonstrators appealed the UN to send a fact-finding delegation to Tibet amidst the ongoing wave of self-immolation that has witnessed 23 Tibetans torch their bodies, demanding the return of Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama and freedom in Tibet.
“With this rightful street protest we urge the UN to pressurise the Chinese authorities to stop killing peaceful protesters in Tibet,” local media reports had quoted the Tibetans youngsters as saying.
Mass protests in recent weeks in eastern Tibet had turned bloody after Chinese security personnel opened fire on unarmed Tibetans, killing and wounding scores of demonstrators.
Meanwhile, parents of the detained students have approached government authorities appealing for an early release. The parents say their children were missing important classes while some have examinations shortly.
Nepal, which is home to over 20,000 Tibetans, witnessed continued anti-China protests during the 2008 uprisings in Tibet. Nepalese authorities have since heightened security around Tibetans areas, barring the community from even observing cultural events.
However, Bhutuk, 45, a Tibetan monk set himself on fire in Kathmandu in November last, triggering a large scale manhunt and clampdown by the Nepali police. Bhutuk later escaped to India.
The monk had told Phayul that the wave of “inspirational” sacrifices by Tibetans inside Tibet and the growing repression by Nepali authorities on Tibetans “forced” him to take the step.
The Nepal government, which officially follows the one-China policy, last month received Chinese premiere Wen Jiabao on an official visit.
In a joint statement issued by the two sides after the meeting, Nepal renewed its commitment to one-China policy while re-affirming that it will not allow anti-China activities on its soil.
“The Nepalese side reiterated that there is only one China in the world, and the Government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China,” the statement read.
“Both Taiwan and Tibet are integral parts of the Chinese territory”.
Interestingly, when Nepal applied for membership to the UN in 1949, it cited its treaty and diplomatic relations with Tibet to demonstrate its full international personality.
A group of young Tibetans, mostly students, had taken out a street protest outside the UN office in the Nepali capital on February 24, appealing for intervention in the ongoing crisis in Tibet.
In a memorandum, the demonstrators appealed the UN to send a fact-finding delegation to Tibet amidst the ongoing wave of self-immolation that has witnessed 23 Tibetans torch their bodies, demanding the return of Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama and freedom in Tibet.
“With this rightful street protest we urge the UN to pressurise the Chinese authorities to stop killing peaceful protesters in Tibet,” local media reports had quoted the Tibetans youngsters as saying.
Mass protests in recent weeks in eastern Tibet had turned bloody after Chinese security personnel opened fire on unarmed Tibetans, killing and wounding scores of demonstrators.
Meanwhile, parents of the detained students have approached government authorities appealing for an early release. The parents say their children were missing important classes while some have examinations shortly.
Nepal, which is home to over 20,000 Tibetans, witnessed continued anti-China protests during the 2008 uprisings in Tibet. Nepalese authorities have since heightened security around Tibetans areas, barring the community from even observing cultural events.
However, Bhutuk, 45, a Tibetan monk set himself on fire in Kathmandu in November last, triggering a large scale manhunt and clampdown by the Nepali police. Bhutuk later escaped to India.
The monk had told Phayul that the wave of “inspirational” sacrifices by Tibetans inside Tibet and the growing repression by Nepali authorities on Tibetans “forced” him to take the step.
The Nepal government, which officially follows the one-China policy, last month received Chinese premiere Wen Jiabao on an official visit.
In a joint statement issued by the two sides after the meeting, Nepal renewed its commitment to one-China policy while re-affirming that it will not allow anti-China activities on its soil.
“The Nepalese side reiterated that there is only one China in the world, and the Government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China,” the statement read.
“Both Taiwan and Tibet are integral parts of the Chinese territory”.
Interestingly, when Nepal applied for membership to the UN in 1949, it cited its treaty and diplomatic relations with Tibet to demonstrate its full international personality.
