41. 18 Tibetans jailed in Nepal

Phayul - Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Dharamshala November 30 - 18 Tibetans who entered Nepal via Nangpala pass through Solokhumbu were arrested in Bara district on a high way leading to the capital Kathmandu on Sunday. As the winter approaches, the flow of Tibetans across the Himalayas into Nepal from Tibet is on the high. While the Nepalese government continues to play tough on the fleeing Tibetans, there have been cases of arrests reported from various areas of the Himalayan Kingdom. The 18 Tibetans were taken to the immigration office in Kathmandu and later sentenced to eleven months in jail or a fine of 8500 Nepalese Rupees each on Monday. Authorities say the Tibetans have entered Nepal without any valid documents. Despite attempts from the United Nations' Commission on Refugees and the Tibetan Reception Center to release the refugees the authorities did not release the Tibetans. Such incidences have been frequent in the recent years. The arrested Tibetans were aged from 16 to 30 years. Sources say that the Nepalese government has been put on high alert by the Chinese side as China fears that thousands of Tibetans will slip into India via Nepal for the Kalachakra initiation in Amaravati in January 2006. And with the recent unrest in Drepung monastery, China will surely be more careful on the borders. His Holiness the Dalai Lama, however, has said that the Tibetans from Tibet need not take the trouble of the going through the difficult journey to attend the Kalachakra and that they should pray on the day of the Kalachakra initiation which will be equivalent to actually attending the Kalachakara. There is a general consensus between the Nepalese government and the UNHCR that the Tibetans fleeing Tibet be handed over to the latter but the Nepalese government seems to be turning away from its promise. Amid high risk of being arrested Tibetans make the arduous journey into Nepal which acts as a transit for the hundreds of Tibetans entering India on a mission to get education in exile or be blessed with an audience with His Holiness the Dalai Lama.