China protest halts Bangladesh Tibet exhibition

Bangladeshi police in the capital Dhaka closed a photography exhibition on Tibet following complaints from Chinese diplomats, the government and organisers said Monday.

Shahidul Alam, who set up the exhibition "Into Exile, Tibet 1949-2009," said the gallery doors had been locked by police officers.

"We were scheduled to open on Sunday, but the police didn't allow us inside," he told AFP. "Chinese embassy officials had earlier come to meet me and requested (that we) cancel the show."

Mohammad Imran, spokesman for the Bangladesh foreign ministry, told AFP that "the Chinese ambassador called on our foreign secretary and formally expressed concern over the exhibition on Tibet."

Jointly organised with the Bangladesh branch of Students for a Free Tibet, the exhibition was to display pictures of Tibetans who had fled their homeland because of Chinese rule.

Police chief Shah Alam told AFP they stopped the show on the "orders from higher authorities."

The Chinese embassy in Dhaka could not be contacted for comment though a spokesman told a local newspaper that it had lodged a formal protest with the Bangladeshi government -- a staunch ally of China.

"Bangladesh is a friend of China and supports (the) one-China policy," the Chinese spokesman told the Prothom Alo. "Tibet is an integral part of China and we hope Bangladesh will not allow its territory to be used against China."

China has ruled Tibet since 1951 after sending in troops to "liberate" the region the previous year.