TIBETAN WELFARE SOCIETY JUNE 8 UPDATE

C O N F I D E N T I A L KATHMANDU 001248 SIPDIS DEPT FOR SA/INS, DRL, EAP/CM, PRM/ANE, G LONDON FOR POL:BELL GENEVA FOR PLYNCH NEW DELHI FOR JNAIR BEIJING PLEASE PASS TO CHENGDU E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/18/2015 TAGS: PREF PHUM PGOV PINS NP SUBJECT: TIBETAN WELFARE SOCIETY JUNE 8 UPDATE REF: A. KATHMANDU 1134 NOTAL ¶B. KATHMANDU 1193 Classified By: CHARGE ELISABETH MILLARD; Reasons 1.4 (b/d). ¶1. (C) On June 7, the Charge pressed Foreign Minister Pandey to act to register the Tibetan Welfare Society. Pandey said he understood the importance of registering the Tibetan Welfare Society, but noted that the Home Ministry would have an important say. He thought it would be better to work through the King to obtain Home Ministry concurrence, which was again necessary following recent pressure from the PRC (ref A). Pandey explained that he would take the opportunity of his upcoming travel with the King to discuss the issue in depth. Pandey stressed that His Majesty's Government of Nepal (HMGN) had no intention of interfering with the processing of Tibetan Refugees. Snowlion Option -------------- ¶2. (C) UNHCR Resident Representative Abraham Abraham reported to us a June 7 conversation he had with Nepal Foreign Secretary Acharya on June 7 to push the registration of the Tibetan Welfare Society. Abraham said he had also suggested the option of an operational agreement with the organization that currently works with pre-1989 Tibetan refugees in Nepal, the Snowlion Foundation. Acharya had responded that HMGN would not need to approve an operational agreement between UNHCR and Snowlion, as that body was already a registered NGO. Abraham said he now intended to contact Snowlion to see if such an agreement would be acceptable to them. Comment -------------- ¶3. (C) Embassy continues to press HMGN to register the Tibetan Welfare Society. However, we agree with UNHCR that the Snowlion option is worth pursuing to ensure that all Tibetan refugees are protected and processed in the safest manner possible. End Comment. MILLARD