Following the recent incident of arresting two Tibetan refugees trying to enter into Tibet without proper permits, Nepal government is now all set to send eight other Tibetan refugees to the Indian town of Dharamsala, the exile headquarter of Tibetan refugees on Saturday. The government is coordinating with its Indian counterpart and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in this matter.
“The refugees are being sent to India based on an informal agreement among Nepal, India and the UNHCR on matters related to Tibetan refugees. The UNHCR and DoI have already verified the nationality of the refugees and are allowing the refugees to proceed to India “to protect their religious rights” said the report in The Himalayan Times on Friday.
The report added that the Tibetan refugees will be given exit passes to enter India via the border in Sunauli tomorrow, according to the Department of Immigration. The Indian Embassy in Kathmandu is overseeing the matter, the DoI said.
The refugees who are leaving for India according to the report are: Lobsang Phuntsok, 17, male, Thupten Tsering, 13, female, Sherab Kunsel, 19, male, Rinchen Namgyal, 19, male, Sonam Chokdue, 19, male, Yung Tsuk, 22, male, Tenzin, 23, male, Ngawang Choeying, 38, female.
While these Tibetans had entered Nepal from border points in Dolakha and Rasuwa less than a year ago verified as Tibetan refugees on July 20 by Tibetan Reception Centre at Halchok, Kathmandu, the government had detained two Tibetan refugees; Wanbo, 20, a resident of Shigatse, and Kunga, 25, from Lasha from Tatopani border in Sindhupalchow and they have been sent to Dharmashala.
Nepal is host to around 20,000 Tibetan refugees and there have been many instances of arresting many Tibetans fleeing out of China occupied Tibet into exile through Nepal border. Since Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1959, Nepal has been the route for thousands of Tibetans who fled into exile across the world from China occupied Tibet.
Leave a Reply