By Tenzin Choephel
Phayul Correspondent
Kathmandu, August 26 – A delegation of four members of the US House of Representative headed by Jim Kolbe (R-Arizona) who are on a four day visit to Nepal from 25-28 August to assess the latest political developments in Nepal also visited the Tibetan Refugee Transit Center in Kathmandu today.
Mr. Lhoudup Dorji, the Director of the Center welcomed the Congressmen with traditional Tibetan scarf and briefed them about the Center and the problems faced by the newly arriving Tibetans. There are currently about 80 newly arrived Tibetans at the Center who are waiting to go to India to seek an audience with His Holiness the Dalai Lama and then join schools or monasteries in India.
The Tibetan Refugee Transit Center is supported by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and is administered by Lutherin World Foundation (an American NGO) and staffed by Tibetans. The UNHCR Nepal chief Abraham Abraham and Associate Protection Officer Douglas DeSalvo were also present.
Mr. Jim Kolbe is also the Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, Export Financing and Related programs. The other visiting members are Ander Crenshaw (R-Florida), Fred Upton (R-Michigan) and Brian Baird (D-Washington). The visiting Congress Delegation however declined to talk to Tibetan Media, as there is a general press conference on Monday. It is not yet known whether the visiting Congress delegation talked to authorities in Nepal about the two concerning Tibetan issues of Re-opening of the Tibetan Welfare Office in Nepal and Resettlement of about 5,000 Tibetan Refugees from Nepal to the USA.
