Tricycle | Awake in the World

There are three questions weighing heavily on Tibetan refugees who live in Nepal: Whether they or their loved ones will be deported, whether they will be given the opportunity to be repatriated to America, and whether the Nepali-Tibetan border will return to its pre-Olympic porosity.

After the Spring 2008 eruption of anti-Chinese demonstrations in Tibet, Tibetan refugees staged daily protests at the Chinese embassy in Kathmandu. In the fifty-plus years since Tibetan exiles first sought safe haven in Nepal, their recent public displays of outrage are unprecedented. From March to August of this year, an average of 100 demonstrators were arrested each day, only to be released that same evening. Beijing, intent on enjoying controversial-free Olympics, became ever more furious with Nepal’s interim government for not doing more to punish the demonstrators.

All of this changed in August, when a new Maoist-predominant government came into power. Maoist leader Prachanda, the new Prime Minister, immediately lowered the boom: “Anti-China demonstrations will no longer be tolerated on Nepali soil.” Prachanda proved to be a man of his word.

In the second week of September, Prachanda’s Deputy Prime Minister Bam Dev Gautam ordered 137 Tibetan protestors arrested. Unlike prior arrests, however, these refugees would not be released from prison. In fact, all those who did not possess Refugee Certificate (RC) cards “would be deported to India.”

Over half of the 20,000 Tibetans now living in Nepal do not have RC cards—documents that were issued prior to 1995. The Tibetan community ceased demonstrating as of September 10 and its members have stayed clear of public gatherings ever since, afraid that they will be rounded up and deported. Particularly unnerving to the refugees was that the Deputy Prime Minister did not clarify his position about future Tibetan detainees: Might they be deported to China? Even the State Department was unclear about Nepal’s future deportation policy.

On September 18, I conducted a filmed interview with Deputy Prime Minister Bam Dev Gautam at his heavily guarded home in the Ministerial Residence Compound in Kathmandu. We spoke for over an hour. Halfway through the interview, I posed my central question about the future of Tibetan refugees in Nepal: “Has India become the official destination for Tibetans to be deported, or is it also possible that Tibetans could be deported to China sometime in the future?” Here was his answer, which was later picked up by the media as a major policy clarification:

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.

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. 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.