Nepal urged to respect rights of Tibetan refugees

[Ensapa]

....so more demands and no talks? I find this odd.

Nepal urged to respect rights of Tibetan refugees
Phayul[Saturday, June 22, 2013 22:41]


Kai Müller and Martin Reiner of the International Campaign for Tibet submitting a petition to the Nepalese embassy in Berlin on June 20, 2013, World Refugee Day. (Photo/ICT)

DHARAMSHALA, June 22: Coinciding with World Refugee Day, Tibet campaigners in Germany on Thursday called on Nepal to respect the fundamental rights of Tibetan refugees living in the Himalayan country.

The International Campaign for Tibet submitted a petition to the Nepalese embassy in Berlin, signed by 5,000 supporters, urging Kathmandu to “respect the right to freedom of expression of Tibetans in Nepal, stop deportation of escaping Tibetans to Tibet, and provide a safe passage to Tibetans fleeing Tibet on their onward journey to India.”

In recent years Nepal has increasingly clamped down on the cultural and political expression of its Tibetan community numbering over 20,000. The country’s increasing dependence on China for financial aid has meant that the freedom of Tibetan refugees have been curtailed. Several Tibetans caught trying to escape Tibet through Nepal have been repatriated in recent years.

While thanking Nepal for offering protection to Tibetan refugees in the past, ICT expressed concern over the deteriorating situation of Tibetans in Nepal, caused primarily by “strong pressure from the Chinese government.”

Kathmandu, which officially follows the ‘one-China policy,’ has promised Beijing to prevent any anti-China activities on its soil.

“Nepal should not give in to this pressure and must comply with international human rights law,” Kai Müller of the ICT said. “The large number of signatories to the petition submitted to the Nepalese Embassy is an impressive sign of support for the Tibetan cause in Germany."

Earlier this year, on February 13, Drupchen Tsering, 25, who came into exile from Tibet, set himself on fire in Nepal's capital city Kathmandu protesting China’s continued occupation of Tibet. He passed away on the same day with 96 percent burns.

Druptse's body was then later declared "unclaimed" and was secretly cremated by Nepalese police at Pashupatinath cremation site despite repeated appeals and protests by exile Tibetans to hand over the body.

The global rights group, Human Rights Watch, in its annual report released in February cited that Nepal's failures on human rights included a lack of movement on measures to improve the rights of women, children, and Tibetan refugees.

HRW accused Nepal of increasing restrictions on Tibetan refugees under pressure from the Chinese government and noted that the country continued to deny Tibetans the right to openly celebrate their holidays, including the Tibetan New Year and the Dalai Lama's birthday.

World Refugee Day was established by the United Nations on June 20 to honor the courage, strength and determination of women, men and children who are forced to flee their homes under threat of persecution, conflict and violence.

A UN report released ahead of World Refugee Day finds that we’re experiencing the worst refugee crisis in nearly two decades. More than 45.2 million people have been displaced from their homes because of conflict or violence, up from 42.5 million a year earlier, making it the highest number since 1994.

[Rinchen]

I guess this is just a way for Nepal to remind the Tibetans residing at their land that they are just refugees staying in their land and they cannot ask too much in return.

But I think that it is a reasonable for the refugees to have some basic freedom for their own personal human rights. They should be at least allowed to celebrate days that are importance to them, and give them a roof to stay under.

[Ensapa]

I guess this is just a way for Nepal to remind the Tibetans residing at their land that they are just refugees staying in their land and they cannot ask too much in return.

But I think that it is a reasonable for the refugees to have some basic freedom for their own personal human rights. They should be at least allowed to celebrate days that are importance to them, and give them a roof to stay under.

They are getting basic human rights in Nepal, but when the refugees do things without the government's approval such as opening a reception center without the proper permits or application forms and thus without the consent of the Nepalese government, and when the government closes down this reception center, the Tibetans cry "see? we're being denied our rights and they hate us! we're being discriminated against! they're with China!" this is what actually happened, and the westerners with white knight syndrome did this kind of reminder.

[Rinchen]

They are getting basic human rights in Nepal, but when the refugees do things without the government's approval such as opening a reception center without the proper permits or application forms and thus without the consent of the Nepalese government, and when the government closes down this reception center, the Tibetans cry "see? we're being denied our rights and they hate us! we're being discriminated against! they're with China!" this is what actually happened, and the westerners with white knight syndrome did this kind of reminder.

If this is the case, the blame would still go back to Nepal, because of their lack in caring for the Tibetan refugees, the Nepalese government is not able to control the Tibetans that are under their nose.

If they had been more strict to the refugees, there will not be a chance for the refugees to complain that they are not having their basic rights. Hence, the westerners do not have to step in and have articles and actions like these.

[Ensapa]

If this is the case, the blame would still go back to Nepal, because of their lack in caring for the Tibetan refugees, the Nepalese government is not able to control the Tibetans that are under their nose.

If they had been more strict to the refugees, there will not be a chance for the refugees to complain that they are not having their basic rights. Hence, the westerners do not have to step in and have articles and actions like these.

Not really. You cannot blame nepal because they are not a developed nation and they lack the resources to manage and take care of even their own people. How can they spend resources that they do not have to take care of those that are not of their own country? If a developed nation does something similar, then the blame lies squarely on the government, but this is not the case. It is not like the Nepalese government is oppressing the Tibetans, they are allowed to do what they please in nepal including building temples and the like, which I have seen. To say that they are suppressing the rights of the Tibetan refugees is to impose rules that prevent them from owning land or property and so forth.

[Benny]

I agree with Ensapa , Nepal being an under developed country is already facing scores of problems such as poverty and unemployment . How else can it be expected to help the Tibetans , they are already kind enough to have even allowed them entry and permission to take refuge there . So we are are talking about their welfare demands too ? Some if not most developed countries , defend and guard their borders and sovereignty meticulously that no refugee can past through at all . When the vietnamese boat people wanted to seek refuge in Singapore , they are turned away by the Navy or risk being shot at . So , to me the Nepali Government is already doing its level best to be a good host country . 

[Ensapa]

I agree with Ensapa , Nepal being an under developed country is already facing scores of problems such as poverty and unemployment . How else can it be expected to help the Tibetans , they are already kind enough to have even allowed them entry and permission to take refuge there . So we are are talking about their welfare demands too ? Some if not most developed countries , defend and guard their borders and sovereignty meticulously that no refugee can past through at all . When the vietnamese boat people wanted to seek refuge in Singapore , they are turned away by the Navy or risk being shot at . So , to me the Nepali Government is already doing its level best to be a good host country .

This is my point exactly. The example you gave with singapore is a very apt one. However, the richer countries such as Switzerland and the US openly accept these refugees...but its a trickle compared to the huge amounts of refugees that come into Nepal constantly as these developed countries make it very hard for the Tibetans to even go to their countries. Which means that, at the end of the day, the amnesty that these kinder countries give to the Tibetans are nothing but an illusion of sorts and what Nepal is doing is very good compared to them.

[Rinchen]

The richer countries do not openly accept refugees because they do not want the refugees to come in and mess around with the system that they already have. More over for Singapore's case is that they do not allow refugees in because they do not have the proper documents and that it would be against the policies and laws that Singapore has for the Singaporeans.

It is true that Nepal may not have enough resources, but by enforcing stricter laws, things like that can be prevented.

[Ensapa]

The richer countries do not openly accept refugees because they do not want the refugees to come in and mess around with the system that they already have. More over for Singapore's case is that they do not allow refugees in because they do not have the proper documents and that it would be against the policies and laws that Singapore has for the Singaporeans.

It is true that Nepal may not have enough resources, but by enforcing stricter laws, things like that can be prevented.

They already have laws that have been enforced, but the Tibetans are not following them. they are just doing what they please and like in Nepal which is the reason why the Nepalese government is unhappy. They should, at least, follow the Nepalese law rather than doing what they did. They should go to nepalese soil and then break the law, and then claim that the Nepalese are mistreating them. What they did is wrong and will only cause Nepal to be more hostile to them and their people in the near future.

[Rihanna]

I feel the situation in Nepal and Switzerland are different. They are of different stature. Each country has different policies in terms of accepting refugees. For Nepal, they are a poor country. The Nepalese government cannot afford to upset China by creating a passage for Tibetans refugees to flee to India. In fact, I feel it is appropriate for the Nepalese government to repatriate illegal immigrants back to where they were from.

Even there are many Tibetans who stay in Nepal. I think the Nepalese government is already doing their very best to help when they themselves are finding it hard to generate enough jobs for their own people.  Tibetans who stay in Nepal should be thankful to the kindness given to them by at least not creating any trouble for the Nepalese government by holding demonstrations and protests against China.

 

[Rinchen]

Yes, I agree with Rihanna. It is because Nepal is not being able to upset China, the more they should be setting up more regulations for the Tibetans to follow. And if they do not follow, make them go back to where they come from. Like this not only can Nepal keep the situation under control, but also please China.

[Ensapa]

I feel the situation in Nepal and Switzerland are different. They are of different stature. Each country has different policies in terms of accepting refugees. For Nepal, they are a poor country. The Nepalese government cannot afford to upset China by creating a passage for Tibetans refugees to flee to India. In fact, I feel it is appropriate for the Nepalese government to repatriate illegal immigrants back to where they were from.

Even there are many Tibetans who stay in Nepal. I think the Nepalese government is already doing their very best to help when they themselves are finding it hard to generate enough jobs for their own people.  Tibetans who stay in Nepal should be thankful to the kindness given to them by at least not creating any trouble for the Nepalese government by holding demonstrations and protests against China.

But sadly, they do lack gratitude as not too long ago a monk, no less, self immolated near Nepal's holiest site, the Swayambuth stupa. To the pios and spiritual Nepalese, this was a blatant act of desecration. Although one can argue that this is just the act of one person and cannot represent the rest of the Tibetans in Nepal, it does prove that the Tibetans in Nepal are not really grateful as someone could have done something to stop this. And the CTA being even more ungrateful accused Nepal of violating the human rights of the Tibetans...

[Rinchen]

The CTA is really nonsensical. They spend so much time fighting for issues that are not even there in the first place. If they use the same amount of effort to build up Dhramsala, they might be able to have gotten back Tibet already.