Phayul
March 31, 2015
Banners put up in Boudha following 25-year-old Tibetan monk Drupchen Tsering’s self-immolation protest on February 13, 2013 /file photo
Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the 900 Million RMB package for Nepal during his meeting with the Nepal’s president Ram Baran Yadav on the sidelines of the Boao Forum for Asia in Hainan province in China on Sunday.
“China appreciates Nepal’s firm support on issues concerning China’s core interests, including issues related to Tibet and Taiwan,” Xi was quoted by media reports.
Yadav assured Xi that Nepal will never allow its territory to be used for anti China activities by Tibetans.
Nepal, which is home to some 20,000 Tibetans, has accommodated Tibetan exiles for decades, but has come under increasing pressure from China, a major donor for the impoverished country, to crack down on the political protests.
Nepal has long been a transit for Tibetans fleeing repression under China with an average of 2000 Tibetans crossing the border to until 2008 when widespread protests across the Tibetan plateau was crushed by the Chinese government. The number has now dwindled with only 200 Tibetans recorded to have crossed into Nepal in 2013..”
According to University of Colorado professor of anthropology Carole McGranahan, “This is the worst period ever for Tibetan refugees in Nepal. In the political chaos following the end of Nepal’s civil war in 2006, successive governments grew closer to the People’s Republic of China with clear repercussions for the Tibetan community. The arrest and detention of a U.S. Citizen for wearing clothing with the word ‘Tibet’ on it reveals to the world what Tibetans in Nepal have known for some time now: China’s influence in Nepal has grown exponentially in the last decade.”
Tibetans and foreign tourists visiting Nepal say the erstwhile Himalayan Kingdom has become an extension of Chinese territory where anything against China is not tolerated. “Even religious freedom of the Tibetans is being curbed now. They don’t even let the Tibetans celebrate the Dalai Lama’s birthday.”
Under Beijing’s influence and lack of stable government in the impoverished nation, rights groups say Tibetans refugees in Nepal are increasingly vulnerable and at risk of arrest and repatriation.
