– By Kamdev Khanal
The government has decided to back out from issuing travel documents to all refugees residing in the country.

A highly-placed government source told Nepalnews that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) recently approved this policy decision denying travel documents to refugees including those from Tibet.

“The MoFA took the decision just before the Dashain holidays,” the source disclosed.

This latest move of the government is likely to pose serious difficulty for all the refugees living in Nepal in traveling to third countries while it is also likely to raise international concerns especially from the West.

Travel documents issued by the host nation for refugees are regarded as passport for abroad journey.

The MoFA is responsible for issuing travel documents for refugees at the recommendation of the Home Ministry after substantiation of required documents by concerned district administration offices.

“The new provision would be applicable for both Tibetan and Bhutanese refugees currently residing in different parts of Nepal,” the source informed and added that administrations of districts where the refugee camps are located have already been informed about the latest decision.

More than 20,000 Tibetan refugees are reported to have been residing in various camps in Taplejung, Solukhumbu, Pokhara of Kaski district, Dhorpatan of Baglung, Mustang and in the Kathmandu Valley. There are three Tibetan refugee camps in Ekantakuna of Lalitpur and Boudha and Jorpati in Kathmandu.

Chief of Tibetan refugee camp at Ekantakuna of Lalitpur, Tsering Dhondup, said he didn’t have any idea about the latest decision of the Nepal government curtailing their right of movement.

“As we are here as refugees and Nepal has given us refugee status, we are obliged to follow whatever rules the host nation executes,” Dhondup, who was born in a refugee camp in Namche of Solukhumbu district, said. “But it certainly will create more difficulties for us to get on with our lives here.”

Talking to Nepalnews at the camp on Sunday afternoon, Dhondup said he was, however, hopeful for positive developments.

China has changed itself significantly in the last four decades and we are hopeful that the ongoing negotiations between the representatives of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Chinese government in order to explore solution to the [Tibetan refugee] problem may yield positive results, he said.

The Dalai Lama has already sent three delegations, representing him, to negotiate with the Chinese government. The latest round of talks between the Dalai Lama’s government in exile and the Chinese authorities was held at the Chinese embassy in Switzerland in the last week of June this year.

“Denial of travel documents would further isolate us from the outside world and our voice may not be audible to our friends more effectively,” Dhondup argued. It is estimated that 2,500 to 3,000 Tibetan refugees enter Nepal every year after a long and arduous journey through the Himalayan passes from the Chinese Autonomous Region of Tibet.

The Nepal government’s decision is supposed to be in effect for an indefinite period, the source revealed. The government claims that the total number of Tibetan refugees in Nepal is not more than 15,000.

Dhondup estimated that the total number of Tibetan refugees presently taking refuge in various parts of the world is less than 125 thousand. “But, most of the Tibetan refugees entering Nepal transit to India instead of staying here,” he said.

Dissident Tibetans started entering Nepal since March 1959 when the religious Tibet state governance confronted the communist China which resulted in the latter taking control over the first. Leader of the Tibetan refugees the Dalai Lama is currently residing in Dharmasala, a northern Indian town.

This, analysts believe, could be a result of the “China Card” that the royal government is playing as part of its “new foreign policy”, particularly after the political change of 1 February this year. And, on the other hand, in the case of Bhutanese, they say, it is due to the refugees’ love for freedom and their opposition to the latest political development in Nepal.

“In the case of Tibetans, it could be the government’s bid to appease China,” senior diplomat Prof. Lok Raj Baral said, “It may be a response to the Chinese government’s stance to the king’s February move.”

China has defined the king’s bid to retain direct power as an internal matter, contrary to the position of host of other countries including India, United States and the EU that have criticized the monarch’s step.

The MoFA decision is just as frustrating for Bhutanese refugees living in Nepal since nearly 15 years.

“Obviously, this is a serious violation of refugees’ human rights,” Ratan Gajmer, a Bhutanese refugee leader and human rights activist, commented. “It will change the condition of Bhutanese refugees for the worst.”

Gajmer demanded termination of the new policy at the earliest and described the host nation’s latest decision as condemnable and that it should concern all.

“It curtails our mobility and it will seriously hamper our advocacy process for garnering solidarity in our favour,” he remarked.

After being forcibly evicted by the Druk regime on ethnic grounds, about 110,000 Bhutanese refugees have been residing in seven camps in Morang and Jhapa districts, eastern Nepal, since February 1991 with assistance from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Solution to the refugee problem still appears elusive as the 15 rounds of Nepal-Bhutan bilateral talks have ended in deadlock.

“Nepal government’s decision to deny travel documents to refugees may further dilute the chances of a solution to the refugee impasse,” Gajmer added.

There hasn’t been any official word as yet regarding the latest decision of the government.