A demonstration marking the 1959 Tibetan uprising against Chinese occupation, held every year in Kathmandu, Nepal, where many Tibetans fled, has been met this year with a particularly violent response. This likely reflects China's unhappiness over the recent defection of a religious leader according to PNS commentator Mike McPhate. McPhate works with the Kathmandu Post in Nepal and studies journalism at the University of Wisconsin.

KATHMANDU, NEPAL -- Riots broke out here as nearly 600 Tibetans celebrating the 41st anniversary of National Uprising Day faced off with at least 100 Nepalese police. A 1-year-old baby was killed as he clutched his mother's back when a policeman fatally struck the child with a lathi (Nepali billy club).

Witnesses estimate that between 25 and 50 Tibetans were hospitalized after the commotion of flying bricks and tear gas with three arrested. An organizer said only one police officer was injured.

Kathmandu's Boudha Stupa, one of the world's most important Buddhist pilgrimage sites, hosts the ceremony each year in remembrance of the March 10, 1959 uprising against China's occupation during which the communist regime took the lives of several thousand Tibetans.

In the days leading up to this year's observance though, the Nepali government, which recently banned the possession and sale of any type of "Free Tibet" paraphernalia, explicitly refused permission to hold the program.

The response from Tibet activists was equally explicit. The local chapter of the Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) defiantly produced 700 Tibetan flags and 1500 "Free Tibet" headbands, distributing mostly amongst schoolchildren.

"We have to do something," says a leading monk at Santeling Monastery, the second oldest in Boudha. "If they put me in jail that's okay."

China's heightened pressure on Nepal to contain its large Tibetan population is a predictable response to the flight of the 14-year-old leader of the Karmapa Buddhist order from Tibet in late December.

The "17th Karmapa," as he is called, is recognized as a reincarnate leader by both the Dalai Lama and Beijing, and Beijing has been embarrassed by the fact that, since arriving in India, the Karmapa has criticized Tibet's lack of religious freedom, warned that Tibetan culture is faced with extinction and paid tribute to the Dalai Lama.

The ceremony in Kathmandu, which in past years has been marked by flying bricks and burning Chinese flags, was expected to be less raucous this year. To insure a minor turnout, police carrying large rifles were stationed around the Stupa for three days before the protest, and the Home Ministry warned leaders of local monasteries they would be held responsible for any violence.

Nepal has always bowed readily to Chinese pressure. Indeed, not a disparaging word about China ever appears in any of Nepal's leading newspapers. "Nepal can't do anything without permission," scorns Kalsang Phuntsok, president of the local TYC branch. "They are the real refugees."

Phuntsok, who had four uncles killed by Chinese during the uprising, says Nepal is the one country that Tibetans always have problems. The local TYC branch, he says, must operate under an alias to avoid persecution and NGOs shy away from the Tibet question.

"India is a much freer place for Tibetans," he says. "There is no future for us in Nepal."