By Kelsang Rinchen,
Phayul Reporter
Dharamsala, May 31, – The Tibetans received a major setback today with the extradition of 18 Tibetan refugees to China by the Nepalese government.
Condemning the act as shocking and ‘not a good gesture’, the Kalon Tripa of the Tibetan government based in Dharamsala said in a press statement issued here that his government is deeply disappointed by this unprecedented act.
“In the past 40 years the Royal Government of Nepal has provided whole hearted hospitality and assistance to the Tibetan refugee community in Nepal,” the statement quoted the first democratically elected Prime Minister of the Tibetans as saying.
According to the statement, a van bearing Chinese Embassy license plate huddled the refugees who were in the custody of Nepalese police into the van and drove towards the Tibetan border.
Thousands of Tibetan refugees cross the Nepalese border every year in search of education and blessing of the Dalai Lama who is living in exile in the north Indian town of Dharamsala, where the government headed by the exiled leader provides education to the refugees.
Cases of frostbites and even deaths during the long ordeal between their native villages and India have been reported in the past.
The Nepalese government has in the recent past tightened its control over the flow of Tibetan refugees into its territory and the political activities of the Tibetans understandably to keep China happy.
“We don’t consider it as an action as a policy of the Royal Government but as unilaterally taken by junior officials”, he added.
With the Tibetan delegation touring China presently, this act with a severe degree of likeliness to spoil the budding relationship between Dharamsala and Beijing is unexpected of.
The act seems to be a deliberate effort by China to support its claim that the visit of the Dalai Lama’s envoys to China is entirely private. But whether this will lead to a spoiled atmosphere of dialogue between the two sides will be clear only after the much-awaited return of the envoys.
Meanwhile, the Tibetans have expressed concerns over the safety of the extradited refugees whose fate now lies in the hands of Chinese government. The Kalon Tripa has urged the international community to exert pressure on both the Chinese and Nepalese governments to release the Tibetans into the care of UNHCR.
The United Nations High Commission for Refugees and the embassies of the United States, Germany and few others have made representations to the Nepalese government.
The refugees were locked up at Hanuman Dhoka Police station from where they were driven towards the Nepal-Tibet Highway. Three minors aged between 6 and 9 have been handed over to the UNHCR but three minors of 14 years are still in the group.
However, whether the extradition of the refugees came on directions from Beijing or was solely carried out by the Chinese Embassy in Nepal is to be seen if the process of dialogue between the two sides is to continue.
Kelsang Rinchen can be contacted at kalsangr@yahoo.com.
