Tibetan refugees in Nepal

Tibet seems to be Nepal’s constant worry. Not because many Tibetans came to Nepal and got settled here as refugees. Nor is it because some Tibetans are illicitly crossing the treacherous mountains and are descending on Kathmandu even today. It is because Kathmandu is under constant pressure from the Western countries and China regarding its policy about the Tibetans who illegally come to Nepal and use it as a transit to a third country. As a small country and a weak state, Nepal often finds itself trapped in the conflicting interests of its powerful northern neighbor and the West. Chinese authorities want the Tibetan refugees, who cross the border and make it to Nepal, to be locked up behind bars, if not handed over to them. But the Western countries want the Nepali state to provide refugees a safe passage to Dharamshala in India and to the West.



It is time that Nepal had a candid conversation with both China and Western countries and stated its policy unambiguously. Nepal, as a democratic country, has certain human rights obligations, but at the same time, it also has its national interests inseparably tied to present geopolitical reality. We don’t want to default on our democratic and human rights commitments, but at the same time, we also don’t want to surrender our national interest to the illegitimate pressure from the West. Let us tell both the West and China that we will provide exit permit, as sought by UNHCR, to the Tibetans who make it to the Tibetan Reception Center. A democratic country cannot and should not deny rights to refugees. But let us also tell them that we will try to seal the northern border against Tibetans trying to enter Nepal illegally. And if they are arrested in Nepali soil, we will put them behind bars and penalize them according to law, and might even deport then back to their country of origin. We understand that deportation is an accepted international practice in case of foreigners violating immigration laws.



The Western countries, especially the US and Europeans, must understand that they have no right to exert pressure on Nepali authorities to deal with Tibetan refugees in a way that undermines our national interest. We want to remind the officials of these countries, especially ones stationed in Kathmandu, how their governments routinely make compromises with China to safeguard their trade and other interests. They seldom use leverage they have against China on refugee and other human rights issues and simply expect and often force weak states like Nepal to take on China on these issues. This is not just wrong but immoral too. If the West has issues with China, it should deal with it at its own turf. Nepal can no longer be a proxy for them.

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