Kathmandu, January 31 – The Kathmandu post interviewed to Nepal home secretary Mr. Chandi Prasad Shrestha about closure of the Dalai Lama’s office in Kathmandu.
Post Reporter: Why did you shut down the office of the Dalai Lama?
CP Shrestha: i think you should rather ask me: Why didn’t we shut down the office of the Dalai Lama when it had been operating illegally for so many years? We believe in one China policy. There should not be any political activity in Nepal against China. We do respect Tibetan refugees. I am sure the government will allow them to have an office for the refugees. But it should genuinely work for the welfare of the refugees rather than representing the Dalai Lama’s government in Nepal.
Post Reporter: how did the Dalai Lama’s office manage to function without formally registering for the past 45 years?
CP Shrestha: The Tibetan refugees began to enter Nepal in 1959. I helped and rehabilitated them. I genuinely respect them. And I am very much concerned about their problem. We are very much clear on the refugee issue. We have to abide by the international law. Yet they must understand that Nepal sticks to one-China policy.
The office was operating illegally in this country. We have, therefore, asked the Tibetan authority representing the Dalai Lama to close it down. They must draw the lines between the office of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan refugees, and work accordingly.
