US embassy cable - 04KATHMANDU350

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KATHMANDU 000350 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR SA/INS, EAP/CM, PRM/ANE, G:KFRIEDRICH, GENEVA FOR 
PLYNCH, LONDON FOR POL/GURNEY, NSC FOR MILLARD, BEIJING 
PLEASE PASS TO CHENGDU 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/24/2013 
TAGS: PREF, PHUM, PREL, NP, Tibetan Refugees 
SUBJECT: NEPAL: TIBETAN REFUGEE UPDATE 
 
 
Classified By: DCM Robert K. Boggs for Reasons 1.5 (b,d). 
 
1. (C) Summary.  In January, two groups, comprising 18 
undocumented Tibetans, are believed to have been deported 
from Nepal at the Kodari border crossing in Sindhupalchowk 
District.  No incidents were reported in February.  Despite 
consistent denials by Government of Nepal (GON) officials in 
Kathmandu that these deportations occurred, one low-level 
official at the Kodari border confided to a UNHCR staff 
member that he witnessed one of the deportations.  UNHCR 
believes that the Home Ministry has not conveyed to border 
officials, either verbally or in writing, the content of the 
GON refugee policy of August 2003.  UNHCR plans to conduct 
two more border missions in coming weeks and seeks a 
permanent presence near the Kodari border.  Actions taken by 
Home Ministry officials seem designed to avoid responsibility 
for the fate of undocumented Tibetans.  On February 22, 
religious celebration of the Tibetan New Year was permitted 
by the GON and was carried out peacefully, but restricted to 
private, monastic premises.  End Summary. 
 
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January Deportations 
-------------------- 
 
2. (C)  According to UNHCR, two groups, comprised of 18 
undocumented Tibetans, have been deported at the Kodari 
border in Sindhupalchowk District since January 1.  Security 
personnel, possibly under the unified command structure, 
reportedly arrested 11 Tibetans on/about January 1 and 
subsequently released them into the custody of immigration 
officials at the Kodari border.  The 11 Tibetans, along with 
4 others detained several days earlier, reportedly were 
turned over to Chinese officials on/about January 3.  On 
January 13, immigration officials at the Kodari border forced 
a family of 3 Tibetans back across the border.  The assistant 
immigration officer in Kodari privately confirmed the 
deportation of the family shortly after the incident. 
Another two young women, ages 18 and 15, were arrested by 
security forces in Barabisi, but managed to escape while 
being transported to Kodari.  These two young women arrived 
safely in Kathmandu on/about January 30. 
 
3. (SBU) The Home Ministry has denied any knowledge of either 
deportation, although Home Secretary U.P. Mainali suggested 
that the deportations may have occurred due to 
miscommunication between refugees and border officials or 
because of misunderstanding about the Government of Nepal's 
(GON) policy of August 2003 of non-refoulement.  Mainali 
claimed that the Home Ministry had informed verbally all 
border officials and relevant district officers of the GON 
refugee policy. 
 
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UNHCR Border Mission 
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4. (C) During January 27 - 29, UNHCR Protection Assistant 
Suraj Bhattarai, accompanied by two GON officials from the 
Department of Immigration (DOI) and the Home Ministry, 
visited the Tatopani border area in Sindhupalchowk District 
to sensitize border officials to treatment of Tibetan 
refugees.  UNHCR Junior Protection Officer Cecilia Becker was 
unable to attend the border mission at the last minute due to 
an illness.  According to Bhattarai, neither the Chief 
District Officer (CDO) based in Chautara, immigration 
officers in Kodari nor security personnel in Barabisi were 
aware of the GON's refugee policy adopted in August 2003.  No 
written or verbal instructions have been communicated by the 
Home Ministry to border officials, he said.  The two GON 
officials who accompanied Bhattarai on the border mission 
refused to describe the GON refugee policy, claiming it was 
inappropriate for low-level officials to discuss a high-level 
policy issue. 
 
5. (C) According to UNHCR's Bhattarai, the senior immigration 
official in Kodari denied that any deportations had occurred 
since January 1.  The officials suggested that if Tibetans 
had been deported, it would have been the fault of the Royal 
Nepal Army (RNA) unit present in Kodari.  The RNA Major in 
Kodari, on the other hand, blamed the alleged deportations on 
the immigration official, accusing him of corrupt practices. 
"He would do anything for a bribe," he said.  The RNA Major 
has sent an official letter of complaint to his headquarters 
regarding the immigration official's behavior.  (Since 
UNHCR's January border visit, the RNA Major has been 
transferred to another post.)   On February 13, the DCM 
raised reports of refugee refoulement with Chief of Army 
Staff Pyar Jung Thapa, who denied that the unified command 
structure is operational in border areas.  In any case, he 
argued, it is immigration officials, not military personnel, 
who have responsibility for illegal aliens who are 
apprehended.  UNHCR has concluded that the security forces 
are not the problem in the recent deportations. 
 
6. (SBU) UNHCR's Becker and Bhattarai are planning two 
additional border missions:  one to Rasuwa District on March 
2-3 and another to Sindhupalchowk District during the third 
week of March.  UNHCR also plans to open a one- or two-man 
post in the Tatopani area, which is the most commonly-used 
transit point for undocumented Tibetans.  UNHCR believes that 
a permanent presence in Tatopani will prevent deportations in 
the area.  Since January 1, UNHCR has intervened in 11 cases 
involving 54 undocumented Tibetans who were escorted 
successfully to the Tibetan Reception Center in Kathmandu. 
In every case of UNHCR intervention, deportations have been 
averted. 
 
7. (SBU) Becker noted that the Director General of 
Immigration has changed the procedures for handing over 
Tibetans to UNHCR.  Prior to the May 2003 deportations, 
police officers were instructed to escort Tibetans to 
Kathmandu where they would be handed over to the DOI.  The 
DOI would then release them into UNHCR's custody.  UNHCR 
would cover the costs of transportation and two nights 
lodging for the police escorts.  Since May 2003, however, 
UNHCR must send a TRC staff member to the location where 
Tibetans have been detained, present a letter from UNHCR to 
obtain their release, and escort them to Kathmandu.  Police 
officers have complained to UNHCR that the DOI refuses to 
provide written confirmation of the transfer of Tibetan 
detainees from police to DOI custody.  Similarly, the 
Director General will only discuss Tibetans with UNHCR on an 
informal basis, refusing to address anything in writing. 
Becker believes these changes are an attempt by the Home 
Ministry and Department of Immigration to avoid taking 
responsibility for undocumented Tibetans. 
 
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Losar Celebrations Kept Private 
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8. (SBU) On February 22, the Tibetan refugee community in 
northern Kathmandu conducted religious ceremonies for the 
Tibetan New Year, or Losar, at the Samtenling Monastery.  The 
Nepal Police met with Wangchuk Tsering, the Dalai Lama's 
representative in Nepal, that morning to ensure that all 
religious ceremonies would be held only on private grounds. 
(Note.  Tibetan religious ceremonies always involve 
displaying the Dalai Lama's picture, which has been treated 
by the GON since 2001 as an anti-Chinese activity and, 
therefore, restricted.  End Note.)  Despite the GON's 
warnings, the Tibetan community leaders briefly paraded 
around the public Boudhanath Stupa with a large, framed 
picture of the Dalai Lama before returning to the private 
compound of the monastery.  Roughly 1,000 Tibetans were 
present at the Stupa for the religious ceremony.  No police 
were visible at any time during the celebrations. 
 
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Comment 
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9. (C) Pressure by Chinese officials on the GON to prevent 
Tibetans from transiting Nepal likely continues unabated. 
One Chinese diplomat in Kathmandu remarked candidly at an 
evening reception that the Tibetans are the most important 
bilateral interest of the Chinese Embassy here.  The same 
official acknowledged that his government had refused to 
accept Abraham Abraham as the designated new UNHCR 
representative in Beijing because he was considered "hostile" 
here to his efforts to prevent the refoulement of Tibetans 
from Nepal during a temporary assignment in Kathmandu. 
Anecdotal evidence also suggests that the Chinese offer 
bribes to Nepali border officials who hand over undocumented 
Tibetans.  Considering these factors, it is surprising that 
so few deportations occur.  Post will follow up with the GON 
on the apparent failure to inform border officials of the new 
refugee policy.  End Comment. 
MALINOWSKI