US embassy cable - 05NEWDELHI4091

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 06 NEW DELHI 004091 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/28/2015 
TAGS: PREF, PHUM, PREL, CH, BT, NP, IN, Human Rights, India-China 
SUBJECT: USG ASSESSMENT OF TIBETAN REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT 
PROPOSAL 
 
REF: KATHMANDU 1028 
 
Classified By: Acting DCM Geoffrey Pyatt, for Reasons 1.4 (B, D) 
 
1.  (SBU) Summary: In response to the Dalai Lama's request 
that the US consider a resettlement program for some 10,000 
Tibetan refugees, a USG delegation traveled to India and 
Nepal from May 2-10, meeting with Tibetan, Indian, Nepalese, 
and Embassy officials to assess the political and logistical 
implications of such a program.  In India, the delegation 
considered whether the Tibetan population might meet the 
three elements of admissibility as refugees to the United 
States:  a well-founded fear of persecution; not to be firmly 
resettled; and have no other conditions which may preclude 
admission.  The delegation found that most Tibetans living in 
exile communities in India may be able to demonstrate a 
well-founded fear of persecution in their homeland.  Further, 
other conditions that might exclude individuals from 
admission to the US (e.g., HIV/AIDS) are not common among 
this population.  Tibetans in India, however, enjoy 
considerable political, legal, and social stability (albeit 
in a poor economic environment), which may make it difficult 
for many to prove that they are not "firmly resettled" in 
their host country.  End Summary. 
 
2.  (U) The USG delegation was comprised of PRM Admissions 
Office Director Terry Rusch; DRL Senior Advisor Susan 
O'Sullivan; G Special Advisor Kate Friedrich; DHS Immigration 
Officer June Tancredi; Embassy New Delhi PolMilOff Stacy 
Gilbert; and was accompanied by International Campaign for 
Tibet (ICT) Director Mary Beth Markey.  The delegation met 
with Indian and Embassy officials in New Delhi, and with the 
Dalai Lama and officials of the Central Tibetan 
Administration (CTA) in Dharamsala before traveling to Nepal. 
 (See Kathmandu 1028 for reporting on the Nepalese portion of 
the mission.) 
 
Background 
---------- 
 
3.  (SBU) In September 2004, the Dalai Lama asked Under 
Secretary Dobriansky to consider a US resettlement program 
 
SIPDIS 
for Tibetan refugees, reversing a policy to discourage 
dispersal of the Tibetan community beyond well-established 
communities in northern and southern India.  More details 
were provided in a letter from the Dalai Lama's Special Envoy 
Lodi Gyari to Secretary Powell in November 2004, requesting 
resettlement for 10,000 Tibetan refugees from India and Nepal 
over a period of three years, or as necessary. 
 
4.  (SBU) In his letter, Gyari outlined the political, 
economic, and social reasons for this request.  Asylum in 
Nepal is becoming more tenuous because of increasing pressure 
from Beijing to limit the number of Tibetans departing via 
Nepal.  Gyari, however, extolled India's generosity toward 
the large Tibetan population, stating that "Tibetans have 
found a sufficient measure of freedom to continue our 
political struggle and preserve our national identity," but 
lamented that although the excellent educational 
opportunities in India drew hundreds of children from Tibet 
every year, economic opportunities in India were severely 
limited.  Gyari asserted that a resettlement program could be 
seen as a burden-sharing effort with India, and would provide 
more financial and political resources for the Tibetan 
community.  "As (the Dalai Lama) studies the Tibetan 
diaspora, it is evident that Tibetans in the West are not 
only better prepared to be successful members of the global 
community, but they are also more able to provide assistance 
to our people struggling for a better future inside Tibet. 
Tibetans resettled in the US and elsewhere in the free world 
could very well provide the kind of assistance necessary to 
sustain our culture and livelihoods inside Tibet." 
 
5.  (SBU) The Dalai Lama's request seems to have been 
informed by the exile government's experience with the 
special immigration program for Tibetans undertaken in the 
early 1990s.  By amendment to the Legal Immigration Act HR 
4300 (P.L. 101-649, signed in November 1990), 1000 
individuals from the Tibetan exile community in India and 
Nepal were given special immigrant visas to resettle in the 
US.  The amendment overrode the requirement that the new 
immigrants prove they have sufficient resources to support 
themselves.  Resettlement costs were borne by a network of 
charitable organizations in approximately 30 sites in the US, 
organized by the New York Association for New Americans 
(NYANA).  Upon arrival in the US, these immigrants could 
petition to have family members join them under standard US 
immigration procedures. 
 
Profile of Current Population 
----------------------------- 
 
6.  (U) According to the CTA, there are approximately 108,000 
Tibetans in India, 15,800 in Nepal, and 1,800 in Bhutan. 
Tibetan refugees in India generally live in well-established 
communities in Dharamsala in the Himalayan foothills, the 
seat of the CTA, and in larger cluster communities in the 
southern Indian state of Karnataka. 
 
Legal Status and Citizenship 
---------------------------- 
 
7.  (U) The legal status of Tibetans in Indian is neither 
permanent nor well-defined, but it is not tenuous either. 
India is not a signatory to the Refugee Convention and as 
such, does not recognize the authority of UNHCR to determine 
refugee status.  India generally does not recognize Tibetans 
as refugees, but designates them individually as religious 
pilgrims, students, or immigrants in a GOI-issued 
Registration Card (RC).  "Pilgrim" and "student" designations 
are temporary and can easily be changed to "immigrant," 
provided the person has not violated Indian law.  One's 
status must be renewed annually with the GOI, a perfunctory 
process that seems to go smoothly for most.  Children born in 
India of Tibetan parents have the same status as their 
parents and are included on their parents' registration card 
until the age of 18 when they receive their own card.  Births 
within the community have only recently begun to be 
registered via GOI-issued birth certificates, but deaths are 
rarely registered.  The GOI allows Tibetans access to the 
same social services as the local Indian population, as well 
as many of the same protections. 
 
8.  (U) According to Indian immigration law, a foreigner may 
apply for Indian citizenship after 12 years of residence in 
India, provided he or she has not violated Indian law, and 
must renounce his/her previous citizenship.  The CTA does not 
encourage Tibetans to take foreign citizenship.  According to 
both CTA and Indian MHA officials, only a handful of Tibetans 
seek Indian citizenship each year. 
 
Arrival and Registration Process 
-------------------------------- 
 
9.  (U) Most Tibetans arrive in India through a network of 
processing centers in Kathmandu, Delhi, and Dharamsala. 
Typically, asylum-seekers depart Tibet on foot, traveling in 
small groups to avoid detection until they reach the Refugee 
Reception Center in Kathmandu.  The new arrivals must wait 
for an entry permit issued by the Indian Embassy, a process 
that can take up to five months due to GOI processing delays. 
 After receiving an entry permit, refugees are transported by 
bus to the Reception Center in Delhi, where they stay 
overnight before onward travel to Dharamsala.  Within 
approximately two weeks, the Refugee Reception Center in 
Dharamsala, staffed by CTA, issues a "Green Book" confirming 
the individual's  association with the Tibetan 
community-in-exile, and determines in which site to place new 
arrivals.  This determination is based on the location of 
other family members in India, if any, and space 
availability.  Unaccompanied minors are cared for in a 
network of five "children's villages" and seven residential 
schools for older children within the Tibetan community. 
 
Resettlement Proposal 
--------------------- 
 
10.  (SBU) CTA officials dealing with foreign affairs, health 
and human services, refugee issues, and religious and 
cultural affairs briefed the USG delegation about their 
resettlement proposal on May 4.  According to them, the Dalai 
Lama's proposal was meant to address the "uncertain fate of 
Tibetan refugees in Nepal, inadequate cultivable land and 
housing facilities, poverty and unemployment, and illegal 
immigration."  The proposal calls for resettlement of a 
limited number of Tibetans from the following target groups: 
 
-- Impoverished Tibetan refugees in Nepal (40%) 
-- Impoverished but able-bodied persons in India and Bhutan 
(40%) 
-- Ex-Mustang (US-supported anti-Communist fighters) or 
immediate family members (10%) 
-- Any bona fide Tibetan refugee in India, Nepal, or Bhutan 
(10%) 
 
11.  (SBU) According to the CTA proposal, an applicant would 
need to meet the following criteria to qualify for 
consideration: 
 
A.  Possess a "Green Book" confirming that the individual is 
a member of the Tibetan exile community; 
B.  Not hold citizenship or a passport of another country 
(including the country in which he/she is currently residing, 
i.e., India, Nepal, or Bhutan); 
C.  Have a medical fitness certificate; 
D.  Have resided in exile since before 1 January 2000; 
E.  For monks and nuns, a letter of recommendation from their 
monastic institution. 
 
12.  (SBU) According to the CTA proposal, applicants would be 
screened according to the criteria above by a local selection 
committee, which would then forward all valid applications to 
the Central Selection Committee (CSC) in Dharamsala.  The CSC 
would then select the successful applicants in the four 
categories above.  If demand exceeds the number of spaces 
available, the CSC would conduct a lottery to select the 
successful applicants.  The CSC would prepare the case files 
for interview by the Department of Homeland Security in New 
Delhi, Kathmandu, or another location.  An international 
organization may be asked to monitor the selection process 
and guide case preparation, obtain travel documents, and 
assist with transportation.  The CTA recommended that the 
refugees be resettled in one or two clusters in the US for 
the purpose of preserving their language and culture.  PRM's 
Rusch indicated that a program involving 10,000 persons would 
require a larger network of resettlement sites. 
 
13.  (SBU) The CTA told the delegation they envisioned this 
to be a limited processing exercise, both in terms of the 
total number of people who would be resettled and in terms of 
the time required to complete the processing, (i.e., not 
"rolling admissions").  They do not want this initiative to 
be seen as open-ended for fear of creating uncertainties 
within the larger Tibetan exile community regarding the 
durability of their situation.  PRM Director for Refugee 
Admissions Rusch asked the CTA how they estimated that 10,000 
Tibetans needed to be resettled.  CTA Head Professor Samdhong 
Rinpoche explained that it was a "rough estimate" based on 
the number of refugees in Nepal and the level of general 
poverty in India. 
 
14.  (SBU) In a meeting with members of the CTA on May 4 and 
with the Dalai Lama on May 5, Rusch noted the popular and 
bipartisan political support for Tibetans in the US, and 
raised questions about several aspects of the proposed plan 
that may require further discussion, e.g., selection of 
target groups, criteria for resettlement, process for 
selecting applicants, medical screening, and resettlement 
locations.  According to Rusch, refugee admissions are often 
sought for populations of concern because it is a 
discretionary program and provides more benefits than US 
immigration programs.  She noted, however, that refugee 
benefits in the US are less generous than in other major 
resettlement countries such as Scandinavia, Canada, or 
Australia.  Rather, refugees admitted to the US are expected 
to become self-sufficient as quickly as possible.  If 
resettlement is approved, she noted many of the details of 
the proposal would have to be revised to conform with 
standard operating procedures for US refugee admissions 
processing. 
 
The Dalai Lama on Preserving Tibetan Culture 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
15.  (SBU) The Dalai Lama explained the evolution of this 
proposal and his vision for preserving Tibetan culture in a 
meeting with the USG delegation on May 5.  He believed that 
the only way to preserve Tibetan culture was to maintain the 
current communities, but lamented the lack of economic 
opportunities for Tibetans in a poor economic environment 
like India.  "I'm a Buddhist monk and should not be concerned 
about money," he joked, "but people depend on jobs to 
survive, and likewise, our culture depends on the Tibetan 
people to survive."  Economic empowerment of even a small 
percentage of the Tibetan population means greater political 
and economic independence from Chinese authority in Tibet, he 
reasoned. 
 
16.  (U) Recalling his interaction with Tibetan communities 
in Switzerland, Canada, and the United States, the Dalai Lama 
expressed confidence that the emigres would maintain their 
heritage, although he admitted that the younger generation 
may not speak Tibetan.  He noted that the Tibetan community 
seemed to be most intact in smaller countries such as 
Switzerland, and hoped to emulate this model by having fewer 
resettlement sites in a large country such as the US. 
 
17.  (C) The proposal was also meant to lay the groundwork 
for what the Dalai Lama called "the worst case scenario," 
i.e., possible reversal of hospitality toward the large 
Tibetan refugee and immigrant communities in India and 
elsewhere upon his death.  Although the GOI and other host 
countries have not intimated that their asylum policy would 
change, according to the Dalai Lama, the CTA must be prepared 
for possible turmoil upon his demise that may test their 
hosts' hospitality.  Since the current Cabinet supports the 
proposal, he wanted to see the program completed before the 
induction of the new Cabinet in September 2006.  Rusch 
explained the timeframe for USG decision-making on this 
issue, i.e., that if the program is approved in a timely 
manner, processing will have begun by September 2006, but 
would not be completed by then. 
 
"Indian Generosity Cannot be Overstated" 
---------------------------------------- 
 
18.  (SBU) The Dalai Lama, the CTA, international 
organizations, and Tibetan refugees expressed unanimous 
praise for the generosity demonstrated by the GOI and local 
populations during more than four decades in exile.  Tibetan 
leaders stressed repeatedly that the resettlement proposal 
should not be viewed as a rebuff of Indian hospitality.  By 
all accounts, Tibetan refugees and immigrants enjoy 
considerable freedom and opportunities in India.  They have 
access to social services such as education, health care, and 
a monthly food ration, on the same grounds as the local 
Indian population (although many Tibetans do not avail 
themselves of these services because they can access better 
services within the exile community). 
19.  (SBU) Tibetan refugees in the 1960s were given free land 
and housing by the GOI, a practice that has long since 
ceased, although Tibetans may buy or rent property in India 
on the same terms as Indians.  They may work legally on the 
open economy; they may serve in the Indian army; and those 
who settled in India before 1962 and their offspring may even 
apply for the civil service.  They may enroll in Indian 
higher education institutions, although the cost for some of 
these institutions can be prohibitive.  They may travel 
freely in the country, and can leave and enter India with 
their RC and a "No Objection to Return to India" certificate 
issued by an Indian consulate (essentially, a re-entry visa). 
 The GOI readily offers Indian citizenship to any foreigner 
who has resided legally in the country for at least 12 years, 
but few Tibetans avail themselves of this opportunity, 
community leaders stated. 
 
Stable Asylum in Bhutan 
----------------------- 
 
20.  (SBU) Similarly, the CTA stated they faced no pressure 
from the Bhutanese Government regarding the small population 
of less than 2000 Tibetan refugees in the kingdom.  Like 
Tibetans in India and Nepal, Tibetans in Bhutan face 
extremely poor economic conditions.  Their legal status is 
unknown.  According to the CTA, Tibetans residing in Bhutan 
were included in the resettlement initiative to ensure equal 
consideration for all eligible Tibetans in exile, although 
they are not expected to generate large numbers of applicants 
for the US program.  The USG will need to follow up with 
appropriate RGOB officials to discuss the possibility of 
undertaking this resettlement program. 
 
Nebulous Asylum in Nepal 
------------------------ 
 
21.  (SBU) The political, economic, and social condition of 
Tibetans in India is stable compared to those in Nepal. 
Samdhong Rinpoche, CTA Minister of Home and Security, told 
the USG delegation on May 4 that since 1998, the Nepalese 
government has not issued refugee certificates to Tibetans, 
due to pressure from China not to recognize them as refugees. 
 Consequently, there are some 5000 Tibetans in Nepal at risk 
of imprisonment or refoulement, according to Rinpoche.  (See 
Kathmandu 1028 for more detail.) 
 
Government Reaction 
------------------- 
 
22.  (SBU) According to CTA Minister Rinpoche, CTA had 
informally notified the GOI of their intention to give the 
resettlement proposal to the USG.  He did not expect any 
objection from the GOI, nor from the RGOB, but predicted that 
HMGN may resist because of growing pressure from Beijing on 
Kathmandu to not facilitate Tibetan departures. 
 
23.  (SBU) The USG delegation, accompanied by PolCouns, 
Consul General, and EmbOffs in New Delhi, met with Ministry 
of Home Affairs Joint Secretary (Foreigners) D.S. Misra on 
May 6 to inform the GOI of the proposal.  Misra did not 
object to the proposal and offered suggestions for the USG to 
consider regarding the logistics of implementation.  Rusch 
asked if the USG could consider processing Tibetan or 
Bhutanese refugees from eastern Nepal in India because of 
open borders with Nepal, but Misra deferred on that decision 
pending a formal proposal from the USG. 
 
Next Steps 
---------- 
 
24.  (SBU) Delegation members promised to explore promptly 
the concept of Tibetan resettlement initiative with the 
appropriate policy makers in the USG.  S/STC will hold an 
interagency meeting to discuss next steps in early June. 
Assuming approval, PRM would commence the necessary steps to 
put in place an NGO or IO-based processing infrastructure 
that would help identify, prepare, and move approved 
applicants to the US.  Given the time involved, including 
that needed to obtain the necessary permission from HMGN 
authorities, it will likely take six to eight months before 
such an initiative would become operational. 
Comment 
------- 
 
25.  (SBU) For the first time, the US has been asked to 
assist the exiled Tibetan refugee community through refugee 
resettlement (vice an immigration program).  While serious 
policy questions will need to be addressed, such as Beijing's 
reaction to this program and whether Tibetans in India meet 
the criteria for refugee resettlement, the situation of the 
target population )- vulnerable Tibetans, particularly in 
Nepal -- contributes to the compelling case the CTA has put 
forward for USG consideration. 
 
26.  (U) This cable was cleared by PRM Director of Refugee 
Admissions Rusch. 
BLAKE