DHARAMSHALA, March 7: Nepal has denied permission for Tibetans to hold any kind of public gathering this year on March 10, the 56th Tibetan National Uprising Day. A circular was issued today by the Kathmandu based Tibetan Refugee Welfare Office read that it has sought permission from the district authorities but was turned down. It also said that the Tibetan government in exile based here has also directed the office to abide by the laws of the land.
Nepal, which is home to some 20,000 Tibetans, has accommodated Tibetan exiles for decades, but has come under increasing pressure from China, a major donor for the impoverished country, to crack down on the political protests by Tibetans.
Tibetans and foreign tourists visiting Nepal say that the erstwhile Himalayan Kingdom has become an extension of Chinese territory where anything against China is not tolerated. “Even religious freedom of the Tibetans are being curbed now. They don’t even let the Tibetans celebrate the Dalai Lama’s birthday,” said Lhundup, a Tibetan from Kathmandu. Police in civilian clothes are constantly monitoring Tibetans and their movements in the capital.
Nepal has long been a transit for Tibetans fleeing repression under China with an average of 2000 Tibetans crossing the border to until 2008 when widespread protests across the Tibetan plateau was crushed by the Chinese government. The number has now dwindled with only 200 Tibetans recorded to have crossed into Nepal in 2013.
The country’s increasing dependence on China for financial aid has meant that the freedom of Tibetan refugees has been curtailed. Also, several Tibetans caught trying to escape Tibet through Nepal have been repatriated in recent years.
