NEPAL: TIBETANS STILL IN DETENTION; MOVED TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L KATHMANDU 000997 SIPDIS STATE FOR SA/INS AND PRM LONDON FOR POL - GURNEY GENEVA FOR THOMAS-GREENFIELD BEIJING PLEASE PASS CHENGDU E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/29/2013 TAGS: PREF PREL NP CH SUBJECT: NEPAL: TIBETANS STILL IN DETENTION; MOVED TO HOLDING FACILITY REF: A. STATE 144931 ¶B. KATHMANDU 0984 ¶C. KATHMANDU 0753 ¶D. KATHMANDU 0991 Classified By: CDA ROBERT K. BOGGS. REASON: 1.5 (B,D). ¶1. (C) Charge delivered Ref A demarche to Foreign Secretary Madhu Raman Acharya on May 30. Acharya denied that there has been any change in Government of Nepal (GON) policy toward Tibetans transiting Nepal. He said that he would look into reports of Chinese diplomats attempting to pressure immigration authorities and accosting UNHCR personnel (Ref B). Charge consulted with EU colleagues, who demarched the Foreign Ministry in parallel, emphasizing the real possibility of economic boycott by Europeans if Nepal deports the Tibetans. The Cabinet reshuffle that began on May 30 (Ref D) thwarted our repeated attempts to engage with high-ranking officials at the Ministry of Home, who claimed to remain closeted in meetings throughout the day. ¶2. (C) Office of Tibet Representative Wangchuk Tsering told poloff that the Tibetan detainees were moved from the Dili Bazaar jail to the Hanuman Dhoka holding facility in downtown Kathmandu. Tsering said that the move indicates that the GON is preparing either to deport the Tibetans or to hand them over to UNHCR. As of COB May 30, police at Hanuman Dhoka were telling the Office of Tibet that they were awaiting further instructions regarding the Tibetans. Tsering reported that unlike the previous day, no Chinese diplomats were observed by his staff in the area where the Tibetans were being held until after COB May 30. He expressed hope that no definitive action would be taken regarding the detainees until after the shape of a new Cabinet (Ref D) becomes clearer. UNHCR Protection Officer Giulia Ranawat advised that her office was able to interview just one of the 18 detainees for the first time on May 29. She added that the Department of Immigration had requested her again on May 30 to hand over the three children previously released to UNHCR. ¶3. (C) Comment: The possibility remains that GON authorities may take advantage of the weekend hiatus to deport the Tibetans. Given the uncertain make-up of a new Cabinet--and the distinct possibility that a different Home Minister may be named within a week--we doubt the typically cautious line officers at the Ministry would take such an initiative. That said, we will continue to monitor the situation throughout the weekend. BOGGS