On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Chinese Massacre of Tibetans in Lhasa in 1959, protests were today held throughout the world. Here in Kathmandu, it was a relative low-key affair, not nearly as violent as last year. One notable new tactic was used by a British activist who tried to scale the wall of the Chinese Consulate here, in the early hours of the morning.

Karen Wood, British national, 37, who was last year deported from China, started her preparation for the assault early in the morning, by blowing up several hundred balloons and attaching a Tibetan flag to them. She also wore a t-shirt with text saying “Human rights in Tibet and China”.

At around 6 o’clock in the morning, she had managed to reach the wall of the Chinese Consulate, without being seen by police officers on guard there. But her attempt to climb the wall failed, and instead she released half of her balloons, on which she had written “Free Tibet”. She then tried to go around the building, but was spotted and arrested by police officers.

Nepal has banned all anti-Chinese activities on its soil and special measures are taken these days to stop any such protests. This even after a Nepal Supreme Court ruling last year stating that “chanting slogans does not threaten Nepalese sovereignty and so should not be banned”.

In an interview the night before her attempt, Karen Wood told me that she was doing this as a “rebellion against religious oppression in Nepal” and because she wanted people to know that “Nepal was becoming a property of China, just like Burma has already been”.

Later in the day, several hundred Tibetans defied a police ban and gathered around Boudha Stupa, shouting slogans such as “Shame on China” and “Stop the killings in Tibet”.

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Text and photos by Morten Svenningsen, all rights reserved. This material is available for editorial use, please contact me for further details if you are interested.

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Photos from later on the same day, 10. March 2009: