In the matter of refugees, Nepal is considered to be liberal in South Asia, but it seems that refugees are becoming scarce at the present time. A novel has also been written about Tibetan refugees (Dungal-Pir's chapter). Although it is a love story of a Tibetan woman and a Nepali youth, the suffering of Tibetan refugees is the subject of the novel. The social, political, legal and mental sufferings faced by the refugees are realistic.
The suffering of non-citizens who had to flee their country and were chased is the reality of Tibetan refugees. After the annexation of Tibet to China, the Tibetan refugees who fled have their own stories and sorrows. Some are born in Nepal, some remember the land of their ancestors, not being able to get close to the country they have taken refuge in is a matter of concern among refugees. Refugee means the pain of non-existence, the pain of not being able to live with freedom.
After the Dalai Lama went to India in 1959, 20,000 people left Tibet. There are 22 thousand Tibetans in 12 camps in Nepal, the census of their children has not been done. Some have reached third countries. If the Tibet issue is raised in Nepal, the relationship between Nepal and China will be disturbed. Nepal has taken a single policy, so the parties and leaders who are practicing Nepali democracy hesitate and hesitate to speak about the Tibetan refugee Mamital. Even most of the rights workers do not dare to write and speak about the meaning, importance, pain, and rights of refugees. In the case of Tibetan refugees, the border wall is higher than humanity.
The story of Tibetan refugees' hunger, thirst, and freedom is indescribable. There are refugees from more than 12 countries, including Myanmar, Bhutan, Tibet, Burma, Syria, Ukraine, Afghanistan, in large or small numbers, either recognized as refugees by the United Nations or illegally. There are many stories about the struggle and suffering of refugees. It is difficult to get an identity card, that's why some people cannot go abroad, study higher, work and do business.
Bhutanese refugees seem to be more important than Tibetans. Who will raise a voice about the rights of Tibetan refugees due to China's pressure or influence? Their return home has become impossible.
The Tibetan refugees are not looking for mercy, they are not even looking for sympathy, they are fighting the battle of existence that humans deserve. The terrible pain of living the life of a refugee without a country is hating the immutability of border lines between countries. Tibetan refugees say - Why are we not children of this earth? Why inequality on us?
Nepal and Bhutan have a relationship of gold and salt. There is friendship, there is trade, there is war. A new relationship is developing. But the Tibetan refugees have not been able to call their homeland.
Democracy has been established in Nepal, but who will protect the democratic rights of Tibetan refugees?
The main demand of Tibetan refugees is formal identification. Which ensures the future of the offspring. The future of the children who became refugees in 1959 is in doubt. Although the Dalai Lama's undeclared embassy in Khangsar has been closed, the representative says that refugees in 12 camps are in trouble.
Demonstrations on the Dalai Lama's birthday with the slogan "Free Tibet", Nepal bans demonstrations, arrests and monitors refugees who may be engaged in anti-Chinese activities or distribute various types of leaflets, vandalism, arson and beatings, or monitor matters related to crime. is According to the police, no event related to Buddhism was interrupted.
Countries including the US have been holding the view that the religious freedom of refugees has been violated and restricted. Experts say that America should understand Nepal's geopolitical sensitivity. Nepal Police says that they cannot give their concessions to control anti-Chinese activities and criminal incidents.
A few months ago, the top leaders of the ruling and opposition parties protested in the parliament regarding the visit of the US Deputy Secretary of State Azra Zeya, who is also the Tibetan affairs coordinator, to the Tibetan refugee camps in Kathmandu. The United States has been showing high interest in the human rights of refugees.
The US Department of State's International Religious Freedom Report for 2021 states: "There has been a high level of police surveillance of Tibetans and, in particular, the number of Tibetans connected to the Dalai Lama and the number of security personnel monitoring Tibetan culture and religious ceremonies has increased in some cases."
Tibetan religious leader Dalai Lama is in exile in Dharamsala, India.
Countries including America have been holding the view that the religious freedom of refugees has been violated and restricted. Experts say that America should understand Nepal's geopolitical sensitivity. Nepal Police says that they cannot give their concessions to control anti-Chinese activities and criminal incidents.
A few months ago, the top leaders of the ruling and opposition parties protested in the parliament regarding the visit of the US Deputy Secretary of State Azra Zeya, who is also the Tibetan affairs coordinator, to the Tibetan refugee camps in Kathmandu. The United States has been showing high interest in the human rights of refugees.
The US Department of State's International Religious Freedom Report for 2021 states: "There has been a high level of police surveillance of Tibetans and, in particular, the number of Tibetans connected to the Dalai Lama and the number of security personnel monitoring Tibetan culture and religious ceremonies has increased in some cases."
Tibetan religious leader Dalai Lama is in exile in Dharamsala, India.
According to the US report, in the Lhosar festival organized by the Tibetan Refugee Welfare Office in 2019, 10 people including the deputy head of mission and one senior official of the US Embassy, Ambassadors of Australia, European Union, Switzerland and officials of the French and German embassies participated in the Lhosar ceremony.
According to a WikiLeaks disclosure, it was claimed that Beijing gives financial incentives to Nepali security personnel who arrest Tibetans trying to escape from China.
At the end of 2020, the then US President Donald Trump signed a law on Tibet policy and cooperation, which had a direct impact on areas inhabited by Tibetans, including Nepal. The law pledged that the US would establish an office in Tibet and build an international coalition to ensure that a future Dalai Lama would be appointed without interference from China. The American administration promised to help ensure various rights of Tibetans.
The Tibet issue seems to add more challenges to Nepal. After the Chinese President visited Tibet, the Tibetan administration has started tightening the borders of Nepal. They have started providing electricity to the border villages, providing other facilities and working for the security of Tibet. China expert Sanjay Upadhyay, foreign expert Dinesh Bhattarai, official of the China Studies Center say - the closer the issue of choosing the Dalai Lama's successor comes, Nepal will be at risk of geopolitics. China has selfish interests with Nepal. I see signs that he will come more aggressively and clearly.
China is developing a special relationship with the Nepali Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police. For this, it is conducting continuous visits, training and meetings with Nepali security personnel.
In 2019, China's President Xi Jinping left Kathmandu with a warning to crush anyone who divides China.
Now Xi says that efforts to divide China will be suppressed. Obviously, it will take a few years to complete the selection of the Dalai Lama's successor, it is sure to have a big impact in Nepal.
On March 10, the refugees seem more aggressive. On this day, China occupied independent Tibet. Some of the Dalai Lama's followers, Tibetans, have started to become rebels as weapons of the Dalai Lama. India wants to visit Dalai Lama in Lumbini, Nepal to provoke China. Nepal has been disagreeing with this. It seems that China is concerned that there should be no activities related to independent Tibet from the Sino-Nepalese land.
Nepal's dilemma - On the one hand, international human rights organizations including Western countries continue to put pressure on the human rights of Tibetan refugees in Nepal, while a decade and a half ago, the Nepal branch of the world human rights organization Amnesty International submitted a memorandum with a peaceful procession to the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu regarding human rights violations in China and China's autonomous region of Tibet. After widespread arrests and repression by the Nepalese government, Amnesty stopped conducting such campaigns.
No one has the exact statistics of how many Tibetan refugees there are in Nepal now. Even though the Federal Convention on Refugees, 1951, which ensures the legal and economic rights of refugees, has not yet been approved and no domestic law has been made on the subject of refugees, Nepal is providing asylum to Tibetan and Bhutanese refugees with the support and coordination of the Federal High Commission for Refugees.
Experts say - Nepal is a democratic country. It respects human rights. Even though it has not ratified the international treaty on refugees and has not made any domestic laws related to it, Nepal has already committed itself to human rights by signing various international declarations, treaties and conventions on human rights. Since the rights of refugees are also human rights, it is the government's responsibility to protect the human rights of refugees in Nepal. But the government of Nepal has been failing in this matter and it is justified to raise its voice on the rights of Tibetan refugees at the international level. It can be understood as a strategic strategy in front of China's growing power that the Americans are presenting themselves more aggressively on this matter.
Due to political instability and undemocratic character, Nepal has not been able to speak up on human rights and democratic values ??and norms on the international stage. What about the rights of refugees, the future of Nepali citizens' rights, freedom and democracy does not seem certain. There is a democratic constitution, there are no party practices. Therefore, the human rights of the refugees have not been respected. (google Translation)
