Dharamshala September 11 – Nepal’s Maoist-led government has threatened deportation of Tibetan exiles staying in the country illegally, Kantipur newspaper reported Thursday.
The Nepalese government said it would investigate the status of Tibetans involved in anti-China protests and deport them if they were staying in the country illegally, the newspaper reported.
Police and the immigration department began demanding RC (a government – issued permit required for a Tibetan to stay in Nepal) from the Tibetans in Nepal. Nearly 20,000 Tibetans in Nepal are officially classified as refugees. Many more are living in the country illegally as the Nepalese government stopped giving refugee status to Tibetans arriving in the country after 1989.
More than a hundred Tibetans arrested on Tuesday and Wednesday have been handed over to the immigration department.
However, officials did not say where the illegal Tibetans would be sent.
Home Ministry officials said anti-China demonstrations were affecting the country’s foreign relations.
There have been frequent anti-China protests by Tibetan exiles in Nepal since March despite Nepalese police breaking up demonstrations and detaining protesters.
Nepal has come under growing criticism of its handling of the protests by rights groups accusing the police of using excessive force to disperse protesters and arresting more than 9,000.
The Nepalese government denied the charge but remain firm on its stand of not allowing anti-China protests in the country. Nepal also says it recognizes Tibet as an integral part of China.
Update – 30 more Tibetans have been arrested today (11 September, 2008) for protesting at the Chinese Embassy’s Visa section. The 115 Tibetans arrested earlier in the week are still in custody.
