NEPALI GOVERNMENT BACKTRACKING, "STILL

C O N F I D E N T I A L KATHMANDU 000024


DEPT FOR G, PRM, DRL; GENEVA FOR RMA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/06/2019
TAGS: PREL PREF PHUM CH IN NP
SUBJECT: NEPALI GOVERNMENT BACKTRACKING, "STILL
CONSIDERING" TIBETAN REGISTRATION

REF: KATHMANDU 01136 (08)

Classified By: Ambassador Nancy J. Powell, Reasons 1.5 b,d

Summary
--------------


1. Following the Government of Nepal's (GON) previous
commitment to a registration and limited resettlement program
for Tibetan refugees in Nepal in November 2008 (reftel),post
learned in late December that the Government might be
reconsidering its support. Ambassador Powell received
confirmation from both the Home Minister and Foreign
Secretary that the GON was having second thoughts. The
Ambassador reminded them that registration was an essential
component of an orderly resettlement program. Post will be
seeking support from other interested countries for
additional rights for Tibetan refugees, including
registration and ID card issuance -- a process which would
also serve to reveal those Tibetans most in need of
resettlement.

Government Backtracks on Registration
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2. (C) UNHCR Representative Daisy Dell recently informed
Refcoord that the Government of Nepal (GON) might be
reconsidering its interest in a new registration/ID card
issuance program for Tibetan refugees. Dell was surprised
during a meeting with Foreign Secretary Acharya when he
mentioned (contrary to his own and other senior Nepali
officials' previous statements) that the Government was still
considering the registration issue. Since the registration
process is linked to plans to resettle a limited number of
Tibetan refugees, Ambassador Powell approached Home Secretary
Gautam and Foreign Secretary Acharya to seek clarification on
the registration issue.


3. (C) In separate meetings, both the Home Minister on
December 30 and Foreign Secretary Acharya on December 31
confirmed that the GON had not yet committed to registration
and that additional work within the Government would be
needed before a decision could be taken. Ambassador Powell
pointed out to both men that they had previously stated to
her, personally, that they would support registration in
conjunction with a limited, below-the-radar resettlement
program. Even so, both were firm that the GON had many
things to consider before committing to registration.

Meeting with the Home Minister
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4. (C) Home Minister Gautam in particular seemed anxious to
wash his hands of the whole issue. When first approached by
the Ambassador, Gautam responded that everything was moving
along perfectly. Home Secretary Kusum then interrupted to
say that, no, the GON still had not taken a decision on
registration. Gautam agreed, and added that the GON had
turned the issue of the 92 protesters detained in September
and other Tibetan "illegal immigrants" over to UNHCR. He
said that the GON would be having nothing further to do with
this issue. The Ambassador reminded Gautam that India had
refused to take the 92. She also reiterated that
resettlement absent registration could have unwelcome
consequences such as inspiring additional protests
(especially given the fast approaching 50th anniversary of
the Dalai Lama's exile) or new Tibetan immigrants from India
hoping to take advantage of a resettlement opportunity.
Ambassador Powell also reminded Gautam of the GON's
commitment to issue new ID cards, especially to those with no
ID or proof of status who have clear entitlement to refugee
registration. Gautam prevaricated and replied that yes, ID
cards were perhaps another issue. The Ambassador concluded
the meeting by saying that Nepal had been a generous host to
Tibetan and Bhutanese refugees and that it would be a shame
if anything were to diminish Nepal's good reputation in that
regard. She also restated that the U.S. stood ready to
assist the GON with both registration and resettlement.

Meeting with the Foreign Secretary
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5. (C) During the subsequent meeting with Foreign Secretary
Acharya, Ambassador Powell elaborated further on the link
between registration and resettlement and asked for a
timeline and point of contact within the GON. Acharya
responded by confirming that Tibetans would be allowed to
remain in Nepal but that protests created a great problem.
He said that Nepal would permit Tibetan activities so long as
they were not political. Acharya said that he believes that
the current balance among interests -- including Chinese
interests -- was working and that existing ways of doing
things should go on. Comment: Both Acharya and Guatam
seemed unconcerned about the fate of the 92 individuals
turned over to UNHCR in September. Out of sight and out of
mind seemed the order of the day. End Comment.

UNHCR Tries to Brief Home Secretary
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6. (C) UNHCR's Daisy Dell followed up the Ambassador's
meetings by meeting with the Home Secretary on January 5. She
reported that she presented materials prepared by UNHCR for
the Bhutanese refugee registration and left a general outline
of a proposal for Tibetan registration. She said that the
Home Secretary took the materials but would not engage with
her to discuss the issue. He stated firmly that Home and
Foreign Ministry officials would need to meet to consider the
issue further. He also said the future point of contact on
the registration/resettlement issue would be the Foreign
Ministry, specifically, Foreign Secretary Acharya.

The Way Forward
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7. (C) The Ambassador will be hosting another meeting of the
Tibetan Discussion group on January 14. She plans to
emphasize the need for registration so that new ID cards can
be issued and those who need resettlement as a durable
solution can be identified and rights for resident Tibetans
can be expanded.

Comment
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8. (C) Comment: The Home Ministry purged itself of senior
officials believed to be NC supporters at the beginning of
December and replaced them with United Maoist Leninist Party
(UML) officials. At least in regards to refugee issues, this
has left post with a new interlocutor with no political clout
and only limited knowledge of the issues. The new cast of
characters combined with a genuine lack of knowledge relating
to the earlier Bhutanese effort may be coloring, if not
causing, the GON reconsideration.


POWELL