US embassy cable - 02KATHMANDU497

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 000497 
 
SIPDIS 
 
GENEVA FOR RMA 
LONDON FOR POL/RIEDEL 
BEIJING PASS CHENGDU 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/07/2012 
TAGS: PREF, PGOV, PHUM, PREL, NP, Tibetan Refugees 
SUBJECT: UPDATE ON TIBETAN REFUGEES 
 
REF: A. KATHMANDU 101 
 
     B. KATHMANDU 411 
 
Classified By: A/DCM Michael S. Hoza, Reasons 1.5 (b),(d). 
 
1. (C) Summary:  A UNHCR monitoring visit to the Tibet border 
was postponed after a promised Home Ministry permit failed to 
materialize.  The Australian Embassy has expressed an 
interest in helping to coordinate representations on Tibetan 
refugee issues.  One of ten Tibetan refugees in custody on 
immigration charges gave birth February 19.  UNHCR met with 
her March 7; she and the baby are fine.  A self-described, 
but undocumented, Tibetan "tourist" from China at first 
claimed to police that he was not seeking refugee protection, 
but changed his story after meeting with Tibet Office staff. 
End Summary. 
 
UNCHR Monitoring Visit Pushed Back 
---------------------------------- 
 
2. (SBU) UNHCR cancelled a planned March 4-6 monitoring visit 
to Kodari, on the Nepal-China border, at the last minute 
after a promised letter of permission from the Home Ministry 
failed to materialize.  UNHCR had obtained oral permission 
for the mission from Home Ministry Joint Secretary Tikka 
Niraula, but hesitated to proceed without an official 
document in hand.  Home Ministry officials have pledged to 
provide the letter, and UNHCR staff plan to travel as soon as 
they obtain it. 
 
Australian Interest in Tibetan Refugees 
--------------------------------------- 
 
3. (C) Emboffs met March 6 with the Australian Ambassador and 
DCM to discuss Tibetan refugee issues.  The Australian 
Embassy had received inquiries from Members of Parliament 
about the year-on decline in refugees transiting Kathmandu 
(Ref A) and the ten refugees in detention on immigration 
charges (Ref B).  The Australian Ambassador expressed 
interest in coordinating representations to Nepal on refugee 
issues with the U.S. and other nations.  We agreed to keep 
one another informed and to coordinate our approaches in 
future.  (Note:  When Poloff contacted the Australian DCM in 
mid-February to inform him that Post was urging the Home 
Ministry to consider granting amnesty to the ten refugees, he 
replied that his Embassy had not yet made a decision on 
whether or not to weigh in.  End Note.) 
 
Detained Tibetan Refugee Gives Birth 
------------------------------------ 
 
4. (SBU) One of the ten Tibetan refugees currently detained 
on immigration charges (Ref B) gave birth January 19.  The 
child, a boy, was healthy and had apparently been carried to 
term.  The mother, aged 19, was also in good health following 
the delivery.  She had concealed her pregnancy until the very 
end.  Her condition became apparent only after labor pains 
began and she was taken to a hospital.  Nepali authorities 
provided the new mother with Nepali Rupees 100 (USD 1.30), 
special rations for sixty days, and at least five meters of 
swathing cloth, as they do to every female inmate who gives 
birth.  A UNHCR protection officer met with her jailers and a 
representative of the police women,s cell March 1, and 
informed them orally that UNHCR would pay all expenses 
related to the care of the woman and her child, and 
subsequently met with the woman herself March 7. 
 
5. (SBU) Initially, the woman refused to see visitors, and at 
first declined visits from both the UNHCR protection offer 
and the Dalai Lama,s representative to Nepal.  She also 
refused to see a staff member from the Tibetan Reception 
Center, who had visited the jail to deliver food and clothing 
to her.  The UNHCR protection officer, an ethnic Tibetan, 
suspected that the woman, who is unmarried, avoided meeting 
visitors because she felt ashamed and dreaded having to 
answer questions about her baby. 
 
6. (SBU) Children born to women in Nepal,s jails typically 
remain with their mothers in custody until they reach 
primary-school age.  The woman has not revealed the identity 
of the father; the child was apparently conceived when the 
woman was in India, before she traveled to Nepal.  Nepali 
citizenship is not conveyed automatically to the native born, 
but rather only through patrimony.  Nepali law allows for the 
release of a jailed mother for 60 days so that she can return 
home to care for her newborn, and UNHCR is exploring the 
possibility of taking responsibility for her during that 
period. 
 
Another Arrest in Kathmandu 
--------------------------- 
 
7. (SBU) On January 28, an undocumented Tibetan from China 
was picked up by police on the main street in front of 
Nepal's Royal Palace and detained on immigration charges.  He 
reportedly told authorities that he had come to Nepal as a 
tourist, that it was "easier" to travel without papers than 
to take the trouble to get a passport and visa, and that he 
had no fear of returning to China.  The man, who speaks 
English, signed an English-language statement to that effect. 
 He was fined Nepali Rupees 11,000 (USD 142), plus USD 46 in 
visa fees. 
 
8. (SBU) The Tibet Office Representative has offered to pay 
the fine in order to secure man's release.  UNHCR has 
discouraged this approach for the precedent it would set. 
Further complicating matters, after a meeting with a Tibetan 
Welfare Center staffer, the man claimed he had changed his 
mind and now wanted to go to India.  A UNHCR officer plans to 
interview the man in coming days to determine his real wishes 
regarding refugee status.  (Comment:  Tibetans transit 
through Nepal for a variety of reasons; this arrest is yet 
another example of how Tibetan migration has become a two-way 
street.  Post will continue to work with Nepal to ensure that 
Tibetans fleeing persecution in China can pass safely through 
Nepal.  End Comment.) 
MALINOWSKI