NEPAL: TIBETAN REFUGEE UPDATE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KATHMANDU 001096

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SA/INS, EAP/CM, PRM/ANE; G:KFRIEDRICH, LONDON FOR
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E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/09/2014
TAGS: PREF PHUM PREL PBTS PTER NP CH
SUBJECT: NEPAL: TIBETAN REFUGEE UPDATE

REF: A. KATHMANDU 350


B. KATHMANDU 466

C. BEIJING 3561

D. MAHONEY-PITOTTI EMAIL 31MAY04 (NOTAL)

Classified By: CDA Janet Bogue for reasons 1.5 (b) and (d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: No deportations of Tibetan refugees have
been reported since the last refugee update of February 26,
2004 (Ref A). However, refugees who make the dangerous
passage continue to face other risks. For example, the
reports of abuse of three female refugees in April appear to
have led to a police investigation, but its results, if any,
remain unclear. UNHCR hopes to add a permanent post near the
border crossing at Kodari to intervene sooner in refugee
cases, but prospects appear dim. Once in Kathmandu, the
refugees find an improved situation. Reduced inflows and
speedier processing have reduced the number of refugees at
the Tibetan Refugee Reception Center in Kathmandu. The
Office of Tibet in Nepal is presently focused on convincing
the Government of Nepal to create a registration process for
the children of Tibetan refugees who registered before 1989.
Meanwhile, a recent border agreement between Nepal and China
has frayed nerves in the Tibetan community, but appears to
mean no real changes for refugees. END SUMMARY.

========================
NUMBERS DOWN AT THE TRRC
========================


2. (U) PolOff visited the Tibetan Refugee Reception Center
(TRRC) in Kathmandu on June 9, accompanied by Wanchuck
Tsering, the Dalai Lama's representative in Nepal (Office of

SIPDIS
Tibet),and Lhoudup Dorjee, the new Camp Director. (NOTE:
Dorjee worked for many years as Wanchuk Tsering's Secretary
in the Office of Tibet, speaks English well, and appeared to
be attentive to and caring of his charges at the TRRC. END
NOTE.) According to Dorjee, the number of refugees at the
camp had dropped to about 600, significantly improving
conditions at the camp. The camp has a planned maximum
capacity of 130-150 people. The past winter's backlog had
been caused by a slow pace of interviews at the TRRC, a
limited interview capacity at the Indian Embassy and the
frequent bandhs (forced closures) called by the Maoists,
reducing the days when refugees could be bussed to the Indian
Embassy for interviews or to the border for crossing to India.


3. (SBU) The recent reduction in numbers was a result of
several factors, according to Dorjee. First, the TRRC
initially had only one part-time UNHCR staffer conducting
interviews. Since the addition of two new UNHCR staff, the
rate of interviews completed has increased significantly.
Next, both Dorjee and Tsering commended the efforts of the
Consular Chief at the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu, a Tibetan
speaker, for his efforts to interview a large number of
refugees, usually about 17 a day. (NOTE: UNHCR has
approached the Indian Embassy here informally to request
additional refugee processing staff, and plans to make a
formal request in writing soon. END NOTE.) Finally, the
largest number of Tibetans attempt crossing into Nepal in the
fall, after the glaciers have hardened but before the passes
have become snow-bound. When the passes are closed and
during hotter months when the glaciers are soft and
dangerous, the numbers decline to a trickle. Tsering added
that since many Tibetans are afraid of the heat, most will
only attempt passage during colder periods. In any case,
refugees who had reached the camp in February were starting
to make the journey to India, and the camp staff hoped the
backlog would be cleared in the next few months.


4. (SBU) Considering the overcrowding at the TRRC this past
winter, Tsering told PolOff that the Tibet Office had made a
request to UNHCR for funds to add an additional floor to the
center for increased sleeping capacity, as well as funds to
drill a well (the center previously received shared water
from a nearby school, but the school's well is insufficient
for the increased Tibetan population). Tsering thought that
the funds for the well would be approved, but was less
optimistic that the extra floor would be approved this cycle.

===============
CLAIMS OF ABUSE
===============


5. (SBU) There have been no reported cases of refoulement
since the last Tibetan refugee update (Ref A). However, an
event that occurred in late April demonstrates the continuing
difficulty faced by refugees in their encounters with often
insufficiently trained Nepali security authorities.
Moreover, such incidents are evidence of the Ministry of
Home's continued unwillingness to inform border officials of
Nepal's official, albeit unwritten, refugee policy (Ref B).


6. (SBU) According to the Office of Tibet and UNHCR, on April
25, a group of three females (aged 12, 17 and 24) were
segregated from a larger group of 47 asylum seekers by five
or six policemen in civilian clothes just before reaching
Lukla. The females were reportedly assaulted physically and
groped sexually. The girls reportedly later identified the
policemen to a local Deputy Superintendant of Police, who
promised to "take action" against them. According to
reports, the girls as well as some of the other asylum
seekers were also robbed of money and possessions. The girls
and the rest of the asylum seekers eventually made their way
to the TRRC in Kathmandu.


7. (C) UNHCR officials told PolOff on June 2 that they had
met with Nepali Armed Police Force (APF) Additional Inspector
General of Police (AIGP) Rabi Raj Thapa to protest the
treatment of the refugees by the police. UNHCR Protection
Officer Giulia Riccialrelli (please protect) told PolOff that
she found the AIGP to be fairly engaged on the issue. Thapa
told her he would investigate the events. He also said that
he would appreciate any training that could be given to "his
boys" to help them better understand and more appropriately
handle refugees. Ricciarelli is planning to adapt UNHCR
training materials used in India for use with Nepali security
forces.


8. (C) The Embassy also raised the reported mistreatment with
AIGP Thapa on June 5. Thapa, who heads APF's human rights
cell, emphasized to PolChief that such behavior was
unacceptable, inappropriate and a clear violation of Nepal's
policy and promised to look into the matter (Ref D).

===================
UNHCR AT THE BORDER
===================


9. (C) UNHCR staff confirmed to PolOff on June 2 that UNHCR
was waiting for permission from headquarters to open a
permanent post near the Kodari border crossing. (NOTE: The
Kodari crossing area is a frequently used crossing point by
refugees from Tibet. Post has seen it commonly referred to
by the name of the nearby town "Tatopani." In fact, there
are a number of towns named "Tatopani" in Nepal. END NOTE).
However, several factors could complicate such a move.
First, approval from UNHCR headquarters was not assured,
since questions about ensuring the security of UNHCR staff at
a permanent post in the face of the Maoist insurgency would
have to be considered. Moreover, even if approval from UNHCR
HQ were granted, approval from the Government of Nepal was
required. Short of a permanent post, UNHCR Nepal could send
their staff on regular missions to the border (something like
two weeks near Kodari, a weekend back in Kathmandu, and then
back up),but frequent bandhs and security concerns could
complicate even a less formal arrangement.

==========================
FOCUS ON PRE-1989 REFUGEES
==========================


10. (C) During a June 9 conversation, Wangchuk Tsering,
Director of the Office of Tibet in Nepal, told PolOff that he
hoped for Embassy help to resolve problems of documentation
of the approximately 4,000 now-adult children of Tibetan
refugees who registered in Nepal before 1989. Tsering
explained that when the pre-1989 registration had occurred
(i.e., refugees were given IDs and allowed to stay in Nepal,
but not to work),only adults were included. About 4,000
children of those who were registered in that tranche have
become adults, but have no documentation as to their status
in Nepal. Tsering lamented that due to the Maoist insurgency
and increasing security checks by authorities, these young
adults had increasing difficulty moving about Nepal, and
faced additional risks for being undocumented. Tsering said
he had passed a list of names to UNHCR for transmission to
the Government of Nepal, and had raised the issued with the
Ministry of Home, but thus far unsuccessfully. The Embassy
plans to raise this issue as appropriate with officials at
the Ministry of Home and Foreign Affairs.

===================================
NEPAL-CHINA BORDER MOU FRAYS NERVES
===================================


11. (C) A three-day meeting between Nepali and Chinese
officials in Kathmandu on May 23-25 resulted in a new
Memorandum of Understanding on border issues between the two
countries, as well as raised anxieties within the Tibetan
community in Nepal. China seeks to monitor and thwart
Tibetan refugees. Nepali authorities, on the other hand, are
increasingly concerned about illegal trade and
insurgency-related supply flows across the border. (NOTE:
Some months back, Chinese authorities reportedly captured a
"large load" of weapons and supplies close to and on the
Chinese side of the border. END NOTE). Although the
agreement reportedly includes beefed-up security on the
border, Nepali authorities appear to have refused to accede
to Chinese requests on the Tibetan issue.


12. (C) Dr. Madan Bhattarai, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Joint Secretary for South Asia, told the DCM on June 7 that
the Sino-Nepal meeting was held at a relatively junior level
of Home Ministry officials and was not exceptional. This
view was echoed to the Charge on June 9 by Foreign Secretary
Madan Acharya. Since the first protocol between Nepal and
China in 1979 that demarcated the border between the two
states, the two sides meet regularly to review and renew the
agreement. In any case, Bhattarai told the DCM, the meeting
would have no effect on Nepal's "tighrope walk" on the issue
of Tibetan refugees. Confirming Bhattarai's view, the
Foreign Secretary told the Charge that at this year's
meeting, the Chinese had asked that any Tibetans coming over
the border be treated by Nepal as illegal immigrants (i.e.,
as deportable). Nepal had refused, saying that under
international humanitarian law, people announcing themselves
as refugees had to be treated as such. Further, it would
hurt Nepal's image abroad "to turn back a single Tibetan,"
particularly since this would be a change from past practice.
There was apparently even a tussle over the agreed minutes
of the meeting, with the Chinese insisting on the phrase
"illegal immigrant." Acharya intervened personally, he told
the Charge, to persuade the Chinese to back off and leave
that phrase out of the document. A week later, the Chinese
Political Counselor told the DCM his Embassy had not received
a copy of the agreement.
BOGUE