Nepal detains over 600 Tibetan protesters+

KATHMANDU, June 21 Kyodo - Nepalese police broke up an anti-China protest in Kathmandu and temporarily detained over 600 Tibetan protesters on Saturday, police said.
About 1,000 Tibetans had gathered in front of the Chinese Embassy's consular office in central Kathmandu to protest against the Olympic torch relay in Tibet by China when police intervened, taking away more than 600 protesters in vans and trucks.
China held the Olympic torch relay in the Tibetan capital Lhasa on Saturday amid tight security.
Nepal considers Tibet a part of China, a key donor of development aid to Nepal, and prohibits anti-China protests by Tibetans here. Over 20,000 Tibetan exiles live in Nepal.
China has repeatedly asked Nepal to do more to contain anti-China protests.
As part of the ongoing effort to check such protests, police arrested three Tibetan leaders in Kathmandu on Thursday.
Kathmandu police chief Sarvendra Khanal said Kelsang Chung, Ngawang Sangmo and Tashi Dolma were arrested from their houses.
''We arrested them under Public Security Act after receiving orders from the government,'' Khanal told Kyodo News. ''They can be detained for three months or more.''
Chung is the chief of Tibetan Reception Center in Kathmandu where Tibetans who illegally migrate to Nepal are accommodated until they are taken to Dharmashala in India.
Sangmo and Dolma are the president and vice president, respectively, of the regional Tibetan women's association.
Khanal said the three were arrested for organizing anti-China protests and being involved in other illegal activities.