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Dangerous Crossing DANGEROUS CROSSING: Conditions Impacting the Flight of Tibetan Refugees 2011 Update A report by the International Campaign for Tibet Washington, DC l Amsterdam l Berlin l London l Brussels www.savetibet.org DANGEROUS CROSSINGS: CONDITIONS IMPACTING THE FLIGHT OF TIBETAN REFUGEES, 2011 CONTENTS SUMMARY .................................................................................................. 6 Findings .................................................................................................................. 10 Recommendations ................................................................................................... 12 INTRODUCTION........................................................................................... 15 Chronology of Events in Nepal 2011 ........................................................................ 18 INFLUENCES AND ISSUES............................................................................ 33 History of Tibetan Refugee Settlements in Nepal ....................................................... 35 Shared Himalayan Identities ..................................................................................... 36 The Politicization of Refugee Assistance .................................................................... 37 China’s Increasing Influence in Nepal ....................................................................... 38 a) How the way was left open for China: Nepal’s political context ....................... 38 b) Nepal’s relationship with India and China ...................................................... 39 c) The developing China-Nepal relationship ........................................................ 40 1) High-level diplomacy ............................................................................. 41 1.i. The case of Lharkyal Lama ............................................................. 43 2) Buying Nepal ........................................................................................ 44 3) Infrastructure: the politics of road and rail construction .......................... 45 4) Beefing up Nepal’s security forces .................................................................. 47 4.i. The two armies .............................................................................. 47 4.ii. Policing the refugees .................................................................... 48 d) Chinese cultural export and influence on Nepali media ................................... 51 1) Cultural export ...................................................................................... 51 2) Media ................................................................................................... 52 The Situation for Long-staying Tibetan Refugees in Nepal ......................................... 57 a) Legal status ................................................................................................... 57 1) Refugee Cards ...................................................................................... 58 2) Citizenship ............................................................................................ 60 b) Socio-economic challenges faced by Tibetan refugees in Nepal ....................... 61 1) Remote Tibetan refugee settlements ...................................................... 62 2) Health and elderly care .......................................................................... 63 3) Property rights ...................................................................................... 64 4) Bike licenses ......................................................................................... 65 4 INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN FOR TIBET CONTENTS 5) Education .............................................................................................. 66 6) Employment ......................................................................................... 68 6.i. Decline of the carpet industry ....................................................... 68 6.ii. Farming ....................................................................................... 70 6.iii. Public sector demands ................................................................ 71 6.iv. Private sector dilemmas .............................................................. 71 6.v. Self-employment ......................................................................... 74 6.vi. The immigration dream ............................................................... 79 Suppression of Tibetan Culture and Religion in Nepal ............................................... 80 a) The Dalai Lama’s birthday .............................................................................. 81 b) Tibetan New Year or Losar ............................................................................. 83 Civil and Political Challenges Faced by Tibetans in Nepal .......................................... 83 a) Freedom of movement .................................................................................. 84 1) Tibetan religious pilgrims ...................................................................... 86 2) Refugee resettlement ........................................................................... 86 3) Travel documents for international travel ............................................... 87 4) Movement within Nepal ....................................................................... 88 b) Arrests, detentions, and Supreme Court action ............................................... 89 1) Supreme Court rulings .......................................................................... 92 2) The dangers of demonstrating .............................................................. 93 c) Disenfranchising refugees ............................................................................. 96 d) Political identity ............................................................................................ 98 e) Effects of intense political pressure on community relations ........................... 99 1) Nepali surveillance ............................................................................... 99 2) Meddling with monasteries .................................................................. 100 3) Police harassment ................................................................................ 100 4) Chinese surveillance ............................................................................. 101 Support for Tibetan Refugees in Nepal ..................................................................... 102 CONCLUSION.............................................................................................. 103 ENDNOTES.................................................................................................. 104 5 DANGEROUS CROSSINGS: CONDITIONS IMPACTING THE FLIGHT OF TIBETAN REFUGEES, 2011 SUMMARY The situation for the 20,000 or so long-staying Tibetans in Nepal – many of whom have lived as refugees in Nepal since the early 1960s – has worsened dramatically since 2008. During the same period, the dan- gers for Tibetans escaping Tibet via Nepal have intensified as China seeks to close this essential gateway into exile. This report examines the situation for Tibetans living in and transiting through Nepal. It shows that beyond the economic and political factors that impact the lives of all in post-conflict Nepal, Tibetans experience a second tier of challenges brought about by substantial and increasing Chinese influence on the Nepal state. Tibetans in Nepal are on the frontline of a high-stakes battle for regional influence between the two Asian giants, India and China. In 2008, Nepal’s Maoist Prime Min- ister Pushpa Kama Dahal (nom de guerre Prachanda), made his first foreign trip to Beijing, bucking a Delhi-first tradition and opening the flood gates to a steady stream of official Chinese visitors to Kathmandu. A counter indication of influence would not be signaled until 2011 when Nepal Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai made his maiden visit to Delhi. Since the People’s Liberation Army moved into Tibet in 1949, Nepal has taken on the role of buffer zone between India and China. As the two Asian powers compete for regional influence, Nepal’s position has become less ‘buffer’ and more battered. China’s acquired leverage in Nepal is used to control its interests in Tibet and Tibetan activities in Nepal; India’s influence, based on a traditional, some would say anachro- nistic, ‘special relationship’ is largely political and party-based, supported by ancient ties of ethnicity, culture and religion between the Nepali and Indian peoples. Tibet and Nepal also have a long history of cultural and religious exchange, inter- marriage and trade across the Himalayas. More than ten percent of Nepalis prac- tice Tibetan Buddhism, and the Hindu majority follows variants of Hinduism that incorporate many aspects of Tibetan Buddhism.1 Nepal’s Sherpa people share with many other Himalayan peoples a devotion to the Dalai Lama. Many Nepalis express support for the Tibetan struggle, but they too are struggling – against significant economic, social and political challenges following a decade-long armed conflict between government forces and Maoist fighters. Pressure on Nepal to comply with China’s dictates on Tibet is significant giv- en the resources and promises of much-needed assistance flowing to Ne- pal from its northern neighbor. China’s engagement on Tibetan issues in Nepal was stepped up in Beijing’s 2008 Olympic
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