China pressuring Nepal over Tibet: rights group

25/07/2008 19:25:19

China has rejected accusations that it has put pressure on authorities in Nepal to use excessive force and arbitrary arrest against hundreds of Tibetan protesters.

Human Rights Watch says Nepal is turning the screws on peaceful Tibetan protesters at the behest of China, with its police using force, sexual assault and threats of deportation to China against the demonstrators.

Nepal's capital, Kathmandu, has seen almost daily anti-China protests since unrest erupted on March 14 in the Tibetan capital Lhasa against Chinese rule.

China's foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao says while Beijing appreciates its neighbours not allowing anti-China actions on their soil, they are not pressurised to do so.

Nepal is home to at least 20,000 Tibetans.

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