Nepal's investigation on Tibetans 'international practice'

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-09-13 19:54

KATHMANDU - The Nepali government made the decision to investigate the Tibetans in the country on its own according to international practice, not under "pressure from China" as alleged by some media reports, a Nepali official told Xinhua on Friday.

"This decision was made on the basis of international practice. We are just verifying if they (the Tibetans) are legal or illegal. It's not due to pressure from China. It's our own decision," said Modraj Dottel, spokesperson of the Nepali Home Ministry.

Dottel was talking about the decision to let the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Nepal verify the identity of the 106Tibetans arrested in demonstrations outside the Chinese embassy, consulate and other establishments.

"They will only be allowed to stay in Nepal if they have documents to prove they are Tibetan refugees," Dottel said, "The United Nations refugees office in Kathmandu will decide what to do with the illegal migrants staying in Nepal."

"The Tibetans continued their anti-China protest in Nepal despite our repeated warnings. We won't tolerate any activities against our friendly countries," Dottel said.

Local newspaper The Himalayan Times on Friday quoted government sources as saying those failing to prove their refugee status would be sent to India via the UNHCR.

Reports by The Kathmandu Post said the Home Ministry has received what officials said was reliable intelligence that the refugees were backed by certain non-governmental organizations in Europe and the United States.

"We've tolerated the protests to date but we won't tolerate them any more," said a senior Home Ministry official, who asked not to be identified.

"Such protests are not even allowed in India," the official said.

The so-called "Tibet Independence" activists organized many demonstrations outside UN and Chinese diplomatic missions in capital Kathmandu and other regions in Nepal since March 10.

The activities often went ugly, leading to disruptions of city traffic and sometimes violent clashes with the police.