The government’s latest decision to close down offices of the representatives of the Dalai Lama in Nepal and Tibetan Refugee Welfare Office in Kathmandu has drawn flak from international community and rights groups.
“The Refugee Welfare Office, which began operation after the Dalai Lama fled into exile in India in 1959, has helped to ensure the safety and well-being of tens of thousands of Tibetans crossing in Nepal, many of them on the way to India,” said Human Rights Watch—a New York-based rights group—Friday.
“The Nepali government should allow the Tibetan Refugee Welfare Office (TRWO) to reopen and continue assisting thousands of Tibetan refugees in Nepal,” Human Rights Watch said.
Reports quoted the British embassy spokesman in Kathmandu as saying that Britain regretted the (Nepal) government’s action. The embassy also made a representation to Foreign Affairs ministry Thursday, reports said.
Meanwhile, talking to Nepalnews Friday, Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai’s Lama’s representative in Kathmandu, Wangchuk Tsering, confirmed that he had received a letter from the District Administration Office in Kathmandu dated January 21 to shut down the refugee center “as they were not been registered with the local administration.”
The Organisation and Association Registration Act, 2034 B. S., makes it mandatory for people to produce their citizenship certificates while registering an organisation with the local authorities. The provisions obviously bars foreigners, including refugees, to register their associations or institutions.
Experts, however, say as per international law, Nepal is expected to provide safety, security and welfare of the refugees taking refuge in its territory. Article 15 of the Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, that came into force on 28 July 1951, says, “As regards non-political and non-profit making associations and trade unions the Contracting States shall accord to refugees lawfully staying in their territory the most favourable treatment accorded to nationals of a foreign country, in the same circumstances.”
Nepali rights groups have also condemned the government’s decision saying that it violates international humanitarian laws.
“There is no ground to justify the latest decision of the government to close down the TRWO. We can assume that there may have been some sort of political trade off prompting the government to abruptly close down the Tibetan refugee welfare office,” said Dr. Gopal Krishna Siwakoti, executive director of Inhured International, a leading human rights group.
“Though Nepal is not a signatory to the Refugee Convention of 1951, we have been offering hospitalities to refugees of over a dozen countries for the last several decades. Unfortunately, our government’s policies towards the refugee community has remained discriminatory,” said Siwakoti, who is also a visiting scholar at Refugee Study Centre of the Oxford University. “It is an ample evidence of blatant rights violations by an authoritarian regime,” he added.
Nepal doesn’t have an elected government for more than two years now.
The latest decision of the government came as a shock to nearly 20,000 strong Tibetan community in Nepal—nearly half of which reside in Kathmandu. Nepal houses the second largest Tibetan refugee community in the world after India. Nearly 100,000 Tibetan refugees reside in India including Dharmashala in northern India where the Dalai Lama resides.
“The Nepal government knows very well that we have been providing welfare services to Tibetan refugees with the help of international community for the last several decades, “ said Tsering, who worked out of his office at posh Lazimpat area in the Nepali capital. “As a law-abiding citizens, we will follow what the government says.”
Hundreds of Tibetan refugees continue to enter Nepal illegally on their way to Dharmashala, India, to meet their religious leader. Upon investigation, Nepali authorities usually hand these refugees over to Kathmandu-based office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). In May 2002, the royal-appointed government of Lokendra Bahadur Chand, however, deported 18 Tibetan refugees to Chinese authorities drawing sharp criticism from international community. The government has, hence, stopped such activities.
When contacted by Nepalnews for their comment on the latest episode, officials at the UNHRC office in Kathmandu said Friday, “UNHCR is aware of the closure of the Tibetan Refugee Welfare Office. But this will not affect the provision and assistance to the Tibetan of concern to UNHCR.”
In his statement, Brad Adams, Asia director for Human Rights Watch, said the Refugee Welfare Office has been a critical safety net for tens of thousands of persecuted Tibetans. “Closing the office leaves thousands of Tibetan refugees without crucial support,” he added.
Not only with Tibetan refugees, successive Nepali governments have also been dilly-dallying with the fate of Bhutanese refugees in Nepal, say critics. The previous government had said it would allow local assimilation to a section of the Bhutanese refugees, if they so desired. Bhutanese refugee leaders, however, say it is against the international law and that it would obstruct the prospects of exercising their fundamental right to return to their homeland.
Nobody seems to have any idea what may have prompted the Nepal government to order closure of the Tibetan Refugee Welfare Office last week but reports quoted officials as saying that they did not do so under pressure from the Chinese government.
Nepal strongly supports One-China policy and doesn’t allow anti-China activities on its soil. Tibetan refugees have been living quietly in Nepal for the last several decades and there were no indications that they had posed security threats to China.
So, could it be a message to New Delhi that Nepal was trying to cosying up with her northern neighbour?
Whatever the reason, analysts say, it could have far-reaching ramifications for Nepal in view of western countries’ sustained interests in Tibet.
