Mikel Dunham
September 18, 2008 – Kathmandu, Nepal
This morning I conducted a filmed interview with Deputy Prime Minister Bam Dev Gautam at the Ministerial Residence Compound in Pulchok. Gautam serves as Deputy Prime Minister, the number-two man in Nepal’s new government. He has also been appointed Home Minister, a position that oversees all matters of security in Nepal. Known as a long-time advocate of a multi-party democracy in Nepal, Gautam played an integral role in 2004 when he helped orchestrate meetings between the rebel Maoists and the Seven Party Alliance -a political merging that eventually led to the demise of the 260-year-old monarchy. This morning, Gautam and I spoke on a variety of issues including corruption, gang violence, rule of law in Madesh, sex trafficking, intra-party strife and the question of Tibetan deportation. As far as I am aware, it was during my interview that Gautam said for the first time, unequivocally, that Tibetans would not be in danger of being deported to China – not now nor in the future.
THE TIBET ISSUE
DUNHAM: Last week it was announced that Tibetans who do not have refugee certificate (RC) cards face deportation. It’s reported that those Tibetans who are currently detained at the Tibetan Reception Center – those who lack RC cards — will be sent on to India. Does that mean that India has been designated as the standard destination for Tibetans without legal residence status, or is it also possible that Tibetans could be deported to China sometime in the future?
HOME MINISTER GAUTAM: Nepal is a country that has a very close and friendly relationship with both of its neighbors, India and China. We have enjoyed this relationship for a long time. From the very beginning, we have not let anyone use Nepal territory as the base for anti-Indian or anti-Chinese activities. Nepal has always been consistent in honoring this policy. We will continue to do so.
Regarding the Tibetan refugees: They have been living in Nepal for a long time. We have provided them with identity cards. However, we cannot continue to keep all the Tibetans who arrive in Nepal as refugees.
The Nepalese government recognized those who came at the beginning, especially those who arrived during the 1960s, as refugees. We have limited capacity to take care of refugees, so it must be limited to those who are recognized as refugees. All other Tibetans who come to Nepal, we hand them over to the UNHCR and, in turn, the UNHCR takes them to India. Once in India, the UNHCR coordinates with the Dalai Lama’s office in Dharamsala, where they will be settled. We do not send them to India ourselves.
In the recent past, [since March 2008] Tibetans in Nepal have become involved in many activities [that have been problematic to the Nepalese government]. We told them that, while they are living in Nepal as refugees, they should honor the law of the land. We told them that they were not allowed to be involved with whatever they desired. We made ourselves clear on that point.
If they break the law, we arrest them and hand them over to the refugee camp and warn them against getting involved with such activities again.
Regarding the Tibetans who lack RC cards: They cannot be involved in any unlawful activities. If they do so, they are abusing the Nepalese government’s friendliness and openness, which the government has extended to them.
If they are involved in such activities, we have been arresting and handing them over the UNHCR. We arrested those who were protesting in front of the Chinese embassy and then we talked to them. It was at this time that we discovered that none of them were refugees living in Nepal. As a result, we handed them over to the UNHCR. That is what we did.
We have not arrested nor deported any Tibetans to China. We will not deport them to China.
DUNHAM: In the months leading up to the Beijing Olympics, the Chinese and Nepalis very effectively sealed off the northern border of Nepal in an effort to prevent movement between Tibet and Nepal. Will the northern border of Nepal remain sealed now that Olympics are over?
HOME MINISTER GAUTAM: We tightened the Nepali-Chinese border because of the Beijing Olympics. Chinese officials closely monitored all the border points. At the request of the Chinese government, Nepal also tightened those border points.
Some people tried to disturb the march of the Olympic torch to the summit of Mt. Everest. In order to prevent that from happening, it was necessary for us to tighten security measures.
But it will not remain like that forever. We are in the process of easing those measures.
The Nepal government will request that the Chinese government do the same on their side. Some of the border points have already returned to normality. For example, the Tatopani border point, the border in Mustang, and in Humla [a northwestern district] have become very easy [to cross]. The Nepalese government sincerely hopes that, soon, all the border points where there was public movement along the Nepali-Chinese border will be as before [the Olympics].
Above is an extract from an interview conducted by Mikel Dunham with the deputy prime minister of Nepal, we have published the part on Tibet. For the full interview click here
