Listen to the original Tibetan broadcast of this story
WASHINGTON, Aug. 8--Four Tibetans detained in Nepal were returned to Chinese authorities despite Nepal�s promise to no longer forcefully return Tibetan refugees to China, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reports.
�This is clearly a violation of a pledge made by the Nepalese foreignsecretary to the U.S. Senate during his recent visit to the U.S. that Nepalwill not forcefully return any Tibetan refugees to the Chinese authorities,�said one source who spoke to RFA on condition of anonymity.
At the beginning of August, four youths, including a 15-year-old boy fromthe Amdo region (Qinghai Province) of China, were hiding in the Nepaleseborder town of Tato Pani. After hiding several days, they were detained byNepalese border police. The four were then sent to the Nepalese ImmigrationOffice, and instead of bringing them to the U.N. High Commissioner forRefugees (UNHCR) in Kathmandu, the Tibetans were released into Chinesepolice custody. The current status of the Tibetans is unclear.
"This accusation is baseless," said one Nepalese government official whospoke on condition of anonymity. "The Nepalese government is maintaining itspolicy of sending [Tibetan] refugees to the UNHCR instead of back to China."
During a U.S. visit in mid-July, Nepalese foreign secretary Madhu RamanAcharya assured U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) that Nepal would nolonger force Tibetan refugees to return to China. The promise came amidthreats from Feinstein to withdraw support of a favorable trade bill withthe Nepalese garment industry because Nepal had returned 18 Tibetan refugeesto China in May. Eight of the refugees were later released by the Chineseauthorities and the Nepalese government promised to no longer deport Tibetanasylum-seekers. Feinstein then resumed her push to pass the Nepalese garmentbill.
Senator Feinstein�s office and the UNHCR told RFA they are still trying toverify the story and neither made further comments.
Each year, hundreds of Tibetans travel through Nepal on their way toDharamsala in India, where the Dalai Lama has lived since his departure fromTibet more than 40 years ago. They are usually required to stay in a transitcamp in Kathmandu pending interviews with the UNHCR, which facilitates theirtravel to India.
RFA broadcasts news and information to Asian listeners who lack regularaccess to full and balanced reporting in their domestic media. Through itsbroadcasts and call-in programs, RFA aims to fill a critical gap in thelives of people across Asia. Created by Congress in 1994 and incorporated in1996, RFA currently broadcasts in Burmese, Cantonese, Khmer, Korean, Lao,Mandarin, the Wu dialect, Vietnamese, Tibetan (Uke, Amdo, and Kham), andUyghur. It adheres to the highest standards of journalism and aims toexemplify accuracy, balance, and fairness in its editorial content.###