On January 21, the Nepalese government shut down the office of the Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Nepal and the Tibetan Refugee Welfare office in Kathmandu, the country’s capital.  The Office of Dalai Lama’s Representative had been operating in Nepal since 1959 when a number of Tibetans fled Tibet due to the Chinese Army occupation. (1-FEB-05)

Latest: Chungdak Koren of the Norwegian Tibet Committee is having a meeting with the Norwegian Prime Minister’s office later today to brief the PM?s staff on the events reported in this article. A follow-up on the latest developments in Kathmandu, and on the meeting at the PM?s office, will appear on this site as soon as Koren is back.

The Refugee Welfare office, also established in 1959, has been helping to ensure the safety and well-being of thousands of Tibetan refugees crossing into Nepal, many of whom are on the way to India. There are currently nearly 20,000 Tibetan refugees living in various parts of Nepal. The Government?s official reason for the closure of these offices is that the offices were operating without proper registration. However, according to Human Rights Watch, Nepalese law does not give Tibetan refugees in Nepal the right to register associations or institutions in their name. Mr. Tseten Norbu, executive director of the India-based Tibetan Institute, urges human rights activists and organisations across the world to appeal to their nearest Nepalese authority to reconsider their decision and ensure the safety and well-being of Tibetan refugees in Nepal.

-First of all, never antagonise a stronger friend
-Although the two offices have been operating in Kathmandu for four decades, the status of Tibetans living in Nepal and the two offices has always remained fuzzy, says Chungdak Koren of the Norwegian Tibet Committee, one of the organisations in the Human Rights House in Oslo. -The reason for this fuzziness is the importance the Nepalese government has put on not antagonising China. 

-Timing particularly bad
-The welfare office was incredibly important, also as a partner of the UNHCR office in Kathmandu, in charge of co-ordinating the transitting of Tibetan refugees arriving from Tibet and going to India, adds Koren. -Every year, 2-3000 Tibetan refugees travel through Nepal following this route. At the moment, some 20.000 Tibetans are settled in Nepal. Mot of these came as far back as in 1959 and 1960. The timing of the current closing was particularly bad, since it is at this time of the year that the majority of refugees cross through the Himalayas on their pilgrimage to India. Now that the welfare office has been closed, there will be no reception and no medical attention paid to the new arrivals, often suffering from frost bites, starvation and dehydration.

-Norway must react
-The international community should take immediate action and demand of the Nepalese government to reverse its decision and re-open the two offices, continues Koren. -A particular responsibility lies on the Norwegian government, since Nepal is among the handful of so-called ?main co-operation countries for development?. The Norwegian Government must make direct contact with the Nepalese government with a clear condemnation of this blatant violation of universally recognised human rights. In this case, there should be no room for double standards, as in continuing to co-operate, while turning a blind eye to one?s partner?s human rights violations. 

-Human rights and refugees’ rights will be violated
Maria Dahle, Executive Director of the Human Rights House Foundation, has also worked closely with the Norwegian Tibet Committee and the radio station Voice of Tibet. In 1997, she visited the refugee centre in Kathmandu which has now been closed. -In the mid-nineties, says Dahle, -refugees were returned by Nepalese border police to the People´s Republic of China. There, they were sent straight to prison. Now, we fear that the same might happen again. Moreover, the refugee centre has served to secure both the general human rights the paerticular UN established rights of refugees. Now that the centre has been shut, neither of these will be observed. The situation is no doubt very serious, and Norwegian authorities must react, concludes Dahle.

 For more information about this case:

* Kathmandu Post “Govt Shuts Down Dalai Lama?s Office”:  http://www.wmd.org/documents/KathmanduPost.pdf
* Human Rights Watch : http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2005/01/28/nepal10085.htm

Special Envoy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Lodi Gyari, gave a keynote address at the World Movement?s Third Assembly in Durban, South Africa, in February 2004.  The full text of his speech is available at http://www.wmd.org/third_assembly/keynote_lodi.html.