FUTURE OF TIBETAN REFUGEES IN NEPAL REMAINS

C O N F I D E N T I A L KATHMANDU 001018 SIPDIS STATE FOR SA, SA/INS, EAP/CM, DRL-A/S CRANER, AND PRM E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/02/2013 TAGS: PREF PHUM PREL CH NP SUBJECT: FUTURE OF TIBETAN REFUGEES IN NEPAL REMAINS UNCERTAIN REF: A. (A) BEIJING 6004 ¶B. (B) KATHMANDU 0998 AND PREVIOUS Classified By: CDA ROBERT K. BOGGS FOR REASONS 1.5 (B,D) ¶1. (U) PolOffs met June 3 with Wangchuk Tsering, Office of Tibet and Official Representative of the Dalai Lama in Nepal to discuss the status of Tibeten refugees in Nepal, after the May 30 deportation described Ref B. Tsering said he appreciated USG efforts to delay the deportation of the 18 refugees as well as the Embassy's June 2 press release deploring Government of Nepal's (GON) actions. ¶2. (C) Tsering admitted that one of the 18 refugees had been engaged in political activism in Tibet, for which he had been arrested three separate times in China. A different source close to the Tibetan community reported that three others of the 18 refugees, including the guide, were suspected by other Tibetans of criminal activity in Tibet. ¶3. (C) The fate of the three Tibetan refugee children (two age 6 and one age 9),now under UNHCR's custody at the reception center in Kathmandu, remains uncertain. Tsering reported that the UNHCR has not requested exit visas for the children from the GON for fear that the Immigration Service's standing request to hand the children over would be renewed. ¶4. (C) Tsering said he fears that the deportation of organized groups, such as this one coming from Lhasa, will dampen the flow of refugees, at least until the GON proves it has returned to its previous policy of allowing refugees to transit to India. Because of the Office of Tibet's fears that the GON will seize and arrest refugees for immigration violations, Tsering confided that he has not bothered to inform UNHCR of the few Tibetans who have made it across the border since the May 30 incident because he believes it unlikely the GON would grant them exit permits. ¶5. (C) Comment: Because of the diplomatic outcry in response to the GON's deportation of the 18 refugees, it is unlikely the GON will force UNHCR to hand over the three child refugees to the immigration authorities. However, the fall-out of this incident on the flow of refugees from Tibet may be significant as fears of deportation circulate in the Tibetan refugee community. Post will continue to impress upon the GON the importance the U.S. and international communities place on this issue. Our ongoing effort to arrange an appointment with the Home Ministry to discuss this issue with senior officials has, so far, been denied. End Comment. BOGGS