Boudhanath Stupa,Kathmandu,Nepal. Photo : AFP
Nepal has reportedly started to collect data on Tibetan refugees in an attempt to keep close tabs on their number and monitor any “Anti-China” behaviour. The news was reported on February 26, by the English Edition of Online Khabar, which claimed that the Nepali government had begun compiling details of these refugees and recording them on software.
For approximately 40 years, many citizens of Tibet fleeing their home country in fear of Chinese persecution have pursued refuge in Nepal and India. These two governments have historically welcomed Tibetan refugees with warmth and hospitality, and have had very little conflict with them. However, there have been issues in the past pertaining to the flow of Tibetan refugees into Nepal surging due to political uprising in Tibet, resulting in Nepal setting restrictions on who could enter their country in 1989, through an informal arrangement with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
In more recent years, Nepal has faced pressure from China to deny Tibetan refugees any sort of legal status. As China’s influence over Nepal has grown, the Nepali government has restricted the political liberties of the Tibetan refugee community in their country which, according to the report, is around 14,000. As the Nepali government is heeding to this increasing Chinese influence, Tibetans living in the region are feeling the pressure.
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