Fewer Tibetans fleeing to the Dalai Lama
Beijing has hit upon a way to weaken the Tibetan movement: starve it of new arrivals.
DHARAMSHALA:
Beijing has hit upon a way to weaken the Tibetan movement: starve it of new arrivals.
In March 2008, the date when arrivals in Dharamshala began falling, the capital of Tibet was convulsed by a wave of violent protests against Chinese rule that left an unknown number of people dead and injured.
Following the violence, China tightened its already firm grip on the region by sending reinforcements and clamping down on anyone suspected of dissent or fomenting unrest.
Increased border controls are a consequence and Beijing has also leaned heavily on Nepal, the tiny republic wedged between Tibet and India, to arrest anyone fleeing the region.
“We are deeply disappointed with the authorities in Kathmandu,” spokesman for the Tibetan government in exile, Thubten Samphel, said.
He says monitoring has increased on the Tibet-Nepal border, which is nowadays the only way out for those wanting to flee, and claims that Chinese routinely enter Nepalese territory to pursue refugees.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 26th, 2010.
Beijing has hit upon a way to weaken the Tibetan movement: starve it of new arrivals.
In March 2008, the date when arrivals in Dharamshala began falling, the capital of Tibet was convulsed by a wave of violent protests against Chinese rule that left an unknown number of people dead and injured.
Following the violence, China tightened its already firm grip on the region by sending reinforcements and clamping down on anyone suspected of dissent or fomenting unrest.
Increased border controls are a consequence and Beijing has also leaned heavily on Nepal, the tiny republic wedged between Tibet and India, to arrest anyone fleeing the region.
“We are deeply disappointed with the authorities in Kathmandu,” spokesman for the Tibetan government in exile, Thubten Samphel, said.
He says monitoring has increased on the Tibet-Nepal border, which is nowadays the only way out for those wanting to flee, and claims that Chinese routinely enter Nepalese territory to pursue refugees.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 26th, 2010.