Some Western media use Nepali soil to defame China's image - Press Union Chief

NEPAL: Editor of Arpan Weekly and President of Nepal's Press Union Munju Ratna Shakya said Wednesday that a section of the Western media is using Nepali soil to defame the image of China and the protests were well-orchestrated dramas.

"It's ridiculous that some of the Western media are using the photographs of Nepali police trying to prevent protestors from storming into Chinese Embassy premises as the image of police actions in Tibet," he said.

The RTL Aktuell, a main news program of RTL TV, along with the German Bild newspaper and the Washington Post, have been found using on their websites pictures of baton-wielding Nepalese police in clashes with Tibetan separatists in Kathmandu, claiming that the officers were Chinese police.

Since March 20, 11 pictures and footage broadcast that claimed to be of the Lhasa riots on March 14 by Western media have been collected and uploaded on the internet by some Chinese overseas students.

Tibetan separatists have been making troubles in front of the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu in recent days and scuffled with police. On Sunday, around 100 Tibetan separatists made troubles in front of the embassy. Police dispelled them and detained some 20 people.

Meanwhile, two police officers sustained injuries Monday while preventing the separatists from vandalizing the embassy's visa section. The chaos caused by Tibetan separatists has drawn dissatisfaction from local residents in Kathmandu.

One pedestrian who identified himself as a high school teacher told Xinhua here Tuesday, "When the Tibetans are in Nepal, they should respect the local law and refrain from using our country to attain their objectives." Enditem

Kathmandu, Thursday, Xinhua