DANGEROUS CROSSING: - International Campaign for Tibet

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DANGEROUS CROSSINGS: CONDITIONS IMPACTING THE FLIGHT OF TIBETAN REFUGEES, 2011 10 Findings: The fact that Nepal has not ratified the 1951 UN Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol exposes it to political pressure regarding the treatment of refugees. China has instigated a process of delegitimizing the Tibetan community in Nepal, which began in 1994 when Nepal stopped issuing or renewing refugee identification cards, and continued when the Office of the Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Welfare Office were forced to close in 2005. There is a fundamental need for documentation – whether refugee identification or citizenship – for Tibetans in Nepal. The status quo means that large numbers of bona fide Tibetan refugees in Nepal, including all those born after 1978, are effectively stateless, vulnerable to political exploitation, and unable to partake in state services or travel without threat of harassment, extortion or detention. There is a correlation between China’s post-2008 engagement with Nepal and the suppression of the Tibetan community by the Nepali security forces and bureaucracy. China’s increased aid, support for security forces, high-level political visits, infrastructure construction projects and trade have all been openly contingent on Nepal’s demonstrated commitment to a ‘one China’ policy through prevention of ‘anti-China’ activities by Tibetans. Over the same period, Tibetans’ rights to freedom of movement, expression, assembly, cultural life and religion have been significantly curtailed in Nepal, including as follows: Peaceful protests are swiftly clamped down on, participants are arrested, and indications of Tibetan nationalism, such as flags or t-shirts, are confiscated. Cultural and religious gatherings are often interpreted as ‘anti-Chinese’ by the Nepali authorities and interrupted by police. Suspected would-be Tibetan protesters are preemptively arrested before ‘sensitive’ days, such as March 10, the anniversary observed as Tibetan Uprising Day. Politicized arrests of large numbers of Tibetans are also common around official Nepal-China meetings and high-profile Chinese visits. Undocumented Tibetans, including most youths, are at risk of detention by police corrupted by Chinese pay-offs. Threats and harassment by Nepali police of Tibetans involved in Tibetan media, NGOs and community organizations, with the aim of stopping their work, have been increasingly reported.
INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN FOR TIBET Chinese government security agents work openly with Nepali police on the coordination of policing related to the Tibetan community. This significantly raises the pressure on Nepali police and increases the likelihood of arrest, detention and police maltreatment of Tibetans. Nepal and China’s 2010 information-sharing agreement has been followed by unprecedented levels of surveillance of the Tibetan community by both Nepali and Chinese state agents, which facilitates arrests and threats. Since 2008, Nepali police have tightened up security related to Tibetans on the border between India and Nepal and have increasingly harassed, delayed, extorted and detained Tibetans attempting to cross. This threatens the quality of life of thousands of Tibetans who visit India for Buddhist pilgrimages, education, and to visit family. Economically, Tibetans face issues in common with Nepalis that relate to Ne- pal’s fragile post-conflict situation, but these are compounded by restrictions on their owning property, registering businesses and working in the public sector. Of great concern, recent policy changes have effectively excluded Ti- betans from applying for further education or motorcycle driving licenses, policies which will potentially have a significant long-term impact on the Ti- betan community’s economic standing. As a result of Chinese pressure, Tibetans in Nepal have had their official links substantially stressed with Tibet’s India-based exile government, the Central Tibetan Administration. In 2010, Nepal’s interference in exile elections led to the disenfranchisement of thousands of Tibetans in Nepal. Tibetans in Nepal have been left without effective community leadership, well-instituted welfare services or political representation, all of which significantly increase their vulnerability. 11
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and in private for someone who lost
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CONCLUSION INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN F
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24 ‘Nepalese police seize ballot
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224 Information from ICT source. 22
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DANGEROUS CROSSING: - International Campaign for Tibet

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