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RIGHTS-NEPAL: Tibetan Refugees Left in Limbo With Office Closure

Damakant Jayshi

KATHMANDU, Jan 30 2005 (IPS) - Most people passing through the Lazimpat area in Nepal’s capital hardly know that a very low profile organisation, close to the French Embassy, shelters hundreds of Tibetan refugees in its premises at any given time.

Most of them are runaways, coming all the way from Tibet, trying to escape not only the Chinese army and police but also their Nepalese counterparts. The mountainous terrain and bitter cold are unable to prevent those daring to escape the communist China-controlled homeland of the Lama sect Buddhists that borders the world’s only Hindu Kingdom.

Last week, however, the low profile place in Lazimpat became the cynosure of all eyes, more so of the national and international media, thanks to Jan. 21 order of the Nepalese government to close the Office of the Representative the Dalai Lama – Tibet’s spiritual leader -and the Tibetan Refugee Welfare Office (TRWO).

The Kathmandu district administration, upon instruction by Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ordered the closure of the two offices, saying they would not be allowed to carry out any ”political activities”.

Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Prakash Sharan Mahat admits the difficulty of the Tibetans to register their offices, insisting at the same time that Nepal’s policy regarding Tibetan refugees remains unchanged despite the closure notice.

”We are not against any socio-cultural and welfare activities of and for the refugees but we cannot allow any political activities,” emphasised Mahat.

Wangchuk Tsering, the Dalai Lama’s Representative in Nepal, firmly denies that the two offices he heads indulge in political campaign of any sort. But the Home (Interior) Minstry told Tsering that the Dalai Lama’s name could not be used anymore.

It runs contrary to the Nepalese government’s ”one-China” policy, the media-shy Tibetan was told in an official statement from the Home Ministry. Nepal supports the Chinese government’s claim that both Tibet (and Taiwan) are part of mainland China.

This blow came after 45 years of the offices functioning in Kathmandu smoothly, despite the Chinese government’s displeasure and pressure on the Nepalese government to close them down. The immediate cause of this sudden action is not known although many Tibetans feel that the decision was taken at the behest of the Chinese government.

Nepal is home to more than 20,000 Tibetan refugees who left the Himalayan region after the Dalai Lama fled in 1959 following a failed uprising against Chinese rule. The Dalai Lama, who lives in India, has long ceased visiting Nepal.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch said that as many as 3,000 Tibetans risk their lives annually, coming over the Himalayas into Nepal. Tibetans who arrive at the TRWO centre often suffer from frostbite and other life-threatening medical conditions.

”The Refugee Welfare Office has been a critical safety net for tens of thousands of persecuted Tibetans,” said Brad Adams, Asia director for Human Rights Watch in a statement. ”Closing the office leaves thousands of Tibetan refugees without crucial support.”

The Chinese leadership continues to limit Tibetan religious and cultural expression and seeks to curtail the Dalai Lama’s political and religious influence in all Tibetan areas. Severely repressive measures limit any display of support for an independent Tibet.

On Jan. 26, the Chinese government commuted the death sentence of Tenzin Delek, a highly respected Tibetan monk renowned for his efforts to protect Tibetan culture and lifestyle. Tenzin Delek was imprisoned in 2002 for allegedly ”causing explosions and inciting the separation of the state.”

His alleged co-conspirator, Lobsang Dondrup, was executed two years ago, immediately following a high court review of the case.

Tsering, who is also chairman of the TRWO requested not to try to meet the refugees taking shelter, fearing the Nepalese government’s ire. Most of the refugees speak no language other than Tibetan or Chinese.

He reveals to IPS that the Home Secretary and the other officials told him to register the two offices ”in some other way so as not to hurt Nepal’s sensitive foreign policy stance” over Tibet.

”But we cannot register the offices unless the Nepalese government makes changes in its laws, allowing us to proceed with the registration,” said Tsering, while expressing his helplessness.

Now their hope is counter-pressure from the international community to allow them to re- open. Tsering has already sounded out the U.S. and European Union embassies in the capital as well as the offices of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR).

Constance C. Jones, spokesperson of U.S. Embassy told IPS that the closure of the offices had been brought to the notice of the U.S. State Department.

”We are working with the Nepalese government to ensure that the well-being of the Tibetan refugees in Nepal is not adversely affected,” she said.

She firmly ruled out asking the Nepalese government to change its laws so as to allow the refugees open their offices. ”The changing of laws is an internal matter of the government of Nepal. We are not going to demand that.”

David Johnson, senior human rights advisor in Nepal from the Geneva-based United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, declined to comment as to whether his office would request the Nepalese government to reconsider its decision.

”I am aware of the problem but I cannot comment on it right now,” added Johnson.

A UNHCR official, however, told IPS that the closure of the Tibetan Refugee Welfare Office ” will not affect the protection and assistance by the UNHCR to the Tibetan new arrivals.”