By Tenzin Dharpo
DHARAMSHALA, May 11: Four Chinese nationals are facing ‘indecent behaviour’ charges for attacking the police after Chinese protestors asking for passage back to their homes got physical with the police in Kathmandu on Friday.
47 Chinese nationals stranded in Nepal due to the nationwide Covid-19 lockdown staged a demonstration in front of Singha Durbar demanding that they be allowed to return home. The police tried to move the protestors from the prohibited zone and later got into a scuffle where six people including two Chinese nationals and four Nepal police personnel got injured.
“Four Chinese nationals are facing indecent behaviour charges for attacking police personnel. The arrested four have been kept at Metropolitan Police Circle, Singhadurbar,” Senior Superintendent Shyam Lal Gyawali, chief of the Kathmandu Metropolitan Police Range told Kathmandu Post. The rest of the protestors, most of them students and professionals working at Chinese firms in Nepal, were released the same day.
The protestors had earlier gathered in front of the Chinese embassy and the Nepal Tourism Board complex. Senior Superintendent Kiran Bajracharya, spokesperson for the Ranipokhari Metropolitan Police Office said, “They were not maintaining social distancing and were trying to enter the restricted zone outside Singha Durbar, which is when the clash ensued.”
The protestors carrying placards that read “No money, need go home”, among others were seen getting aggressive and clashing with the police in a video clip that is being shared on many social media and micro messaging apps since the incident happened two days ago.
The Chinese embassy in Nepal has urged its citizens to abide by the rules of the country and has called on the Nepalese government to protect the rights and concerns of Chinese citizens. “In consultation and cooperation with the Chinese embassy in Nepal and the Nepali police, the incident has been properly dealt with,” said the embassy.
The incident has attracted Tibetan exiles to draw differences between the treatment of Tibetan refugees who are beaten mercilessly for peaceful vigils and mundane activities like celebrating the birthday of the Tibetan leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama and in contrast, the Chinese nationals who are seen attacking the police in a prohibited zone.
