Nepal asked to respect rights of Tibetan exiles
Updated
The U-S ambassador to Nepal has asked the Prime Minister to respect the rights of Tibetan exiles protesting in Kathmandu.
Presenter: Liam Cochrane
Speaker: Nepali police officer; Johan Olhagen, head of UN Officer of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal; Kelsang Phuntsok, injured Tibetan protester.
COCHRANE: Whether it's outside the Chinese consulate or the UN headquarters in Kathmandu, the scene of Tibetan protesters facing off with Nepali riot police has become a common one.
Almost daily, groups of Tibetan exiles try to hold noisy but peaceful demonstrations and are bundled into police vans for temporary detention.
The police on the scene say they are simply obeying orders and upholding Nepal's support for the "One China Policy".
One commanding officer admitted the Tibetans were detained to silence their protest and wasn't sure of the legality of his actions.
Is there something that they're charged with or they're just held?
POLICE OFFICER: No, no, we have to arrest, keep them silent, arrest.
COCHRANE: Just one more question, Human Rights Watch says that's an illegal arrest, is that legal or illegal?
POLICE OFFCER: Ahh, well what can I say, you have to talk to question my SP and district administration officer, you have to question.
COCHRANE: The spokesman for the Home Ministry was not available for comment on the police deployment against the protests.
But the United Nations and Human Rights Watch say the ongoing arrests of the Tibetans, as well as the use of excessive force are illegal.
The UN says Nepal has ratified international conventions protecting the right to free speech and movement, which can only be restricted if protesters are breaching other laws, such as trespass or destruction of property.
Johan Olhagen is the head of Kathmandu's UN Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
OHAGEN: These international obligations, they cite very clearly that you need to have a direct legal basis in national law, if you restrict those principles. So far, in our work, OHCHR's, we have not seen situations which would validate the police to restrict those freedom of movements, so we do consider the vast majority of these arrest to be illegal.
COCHRANE: Olhagen says the international conventions apply not just to Nepali citizens, but to anyone in Nepal.
OHAGEN: These rights, according to international law, applies to everyone within the territory of the state, they're not limited to only citizens.
COCHRANE: Another big issue for the UN is the use of excessive force against peaceful protesters.
Some of the first demonstrations last month quickly turned into riots, with police hitting monks and other Tibetans with batons, kicking and punching them, and in one instance resorting to firing tear gas shells on a busy Kathmandu street.
The UN office for Human Rights has been monitoring the demonstrations.
OLHAGEN: In the way that they carry out the arrests, also we have serious concerns, in the use of baton charges and the injuries that we have documented as a result of those arrests.
COCHRANE: One of the most violent cases involved 25-year-old exile Kelsang Phuntsok. He was part of a pro-Tibet protest outside the Tibetan demonstration broken up by police on March 14.
KELSANG: I was beaten on my head by one of those police people. I fell down and I could not understand what was going on because I was in a state of shock at the time. And again three more police came and beat me with their stick, bamboo sticks, bamboo batons, for about five minutes continuously. At that time one European gentleman came and helped me and took me to a corner and from there again I tried to cross the road by crawling, because I could not stand up, there was a pain in both my legs.
COCHRANE: Later, x-rays revealed the heel bones in both Kelsang's feet had been cracked. Doctors said he must spend three months with his feet in plaster and aren't sure whether the injuries will ever fully heal.
But as the protests have continued, the Nepali police have moderated their use of force.
Aggressive baton charges are now rare and female police are used to confront female protesters, after allegations of sexual harassment during the detention process.
The UN's Johan Olhagen.
OLHAGEN: We've also see a reduction in the use of baton charges targeting the head of people, and other things. Although in individual cases it still happens, but it has lessened to a large extent.
COCHRANE: With less than a hundred days until the Beijing Olympics, the Tibetan exiles in Kathmandu are showing no signs of ending their protests.
And Nepal's government is equally determined not to allow Tibetan protesters the chance to shout their messages in Kathmandu city.
So, regardless of Nepal's laws and international human rights conventions, the face off between police and Tibetans is set to continue.
