By Phurbu Thinley
Dharamsala, Feb 15: U.S. Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs Maria Otero has expressed concern with Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal about the problems faced by Tibetan refugees in Nepal.
Otero, who is also the U.S. government’s Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues, arrived in Kathmandu on Saturday on a three-day visit to Nepal.
The US Under Secretary on Monday called on Khanal at Prime Minister’s Office, Singha Durbar.
At the meeting Otero raised the issue of hardships and problems faced by Tibetan refugees living in Nepal, media reports cited the prime minister’s foreign relation advisor Milan Tuladhar as saying.
During the meeting, media reports also said Otero urged the Nepalese government to treat Tibetan refugees as per the international human rights obligations.
Otero told the prime minister Khanal that children of Tibetan refugees living in Nepal for several years had been facing problems due to lack of identity cards.
Prime Minister Khanal, according to Tuladhar, said that they have been dealing with the issue of Tibetan refugees as per the international human rights obligations.
“We will deal with the issue taking into account the concerns of our immediate neighbors — China and India,” Tuladhar quoted the prime minister as saying.
After the meeting Otero told media persons, “We made it clear that this is an important issue for us and that we are concerned about. And we will proceed to look at it very carefully.”
Earlier on Sunday, the U.S. Under Secretary visited Tibetan Reception Center in Kathmandu with the American Ambassador to Nepal, Scott DeLisi, to meet and talk with the newly-arrived Tibetan refugees. She also met with Tibetan refugee leaders to know about the problems and hardships they face in Nepal.
