People protested in a Tibetan area in western Sichuan after the authorities arrested a man calling for the return of the Dalai Lama, Xinhua reported yesterday.

More than 200 Tibetans protested outside a detention centre in Lithang town in Sichuan after an incident on Wednesday at an annual horse festival that attracted thousands of people. A resident, Runggye Adak, was detained after he climbed onto a stage which had been erected for officials, grabbed a microphone and shouted 'separatist messages'.

The protesting residents appealed to police outside the detention centre to release him, Xinhua said, adding that the rally was peaceful and the crowd dispersed. But a Radio Free Asia report claimed about 200 people had been arrested.