Insta
Nepal Bars Dalai Lama Birthday Celebrations
Swarajya Staff
Jul 06, 2019, 07:35 PM | Updated 07:35 PM IST
Save & read from anywhere!
Bookmark stories for easy access on any device or the Swarajya app.
The communist government of Nepal succumbed to pressure from China once again and barred Tibetan refugees in the Himalayan country from celebrating the birthday of their spiritual leader, the 14th Dalai Lama, who is living in exile in India.
The 13,500-odd Tibetan refugees in Nepal who stay in 12 settlements under harsh conditions had been planning a series of events in Kathmandu Valley to celebrate the 84th birthday of Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama. The main celebration was planned at the Mustang Gumba at Swayambhunath in Kathmandu and many western diplomats were scheduled to attend the celebrations.
The 14th Dalai Lama was born on 6 July 1935, at Amdo in Tibet and had fled his country in 1959 to escape incarceration by the Chinese military which had invaded and occupied Tibet since 1950 (read this, this and this).
The Nepal government asked the Tibetan refugees to cancel the celebrations and deployed a strong police contingent armed with assault rifles at Swayambhunath, which is an important pilgrimage site and attracts tourists from across the world. A Tibetan news portal said that the Tibetan Refugee Welfare Office in Kathmandu issued a notice cancelling the celebrations after being asked to do so by the Nepal government which, since 1990, has stopped recognising Tibetans fleeing persecution in China-occupied Tibet as refugees and has stopped issuing documents to allow them to live in Nepal.
In the past, too, Nepal had prevented Tibetans from celebrating the Dalai Lama’s birthday as well as other Tibetan cultural and political events like the anniversary of the 10 March Tibetan uprising and the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to the Dalai Lama.
A Nepal government spokesperson said that the Dalai Lama’s birthday celebrations planned in Kathmandu went against the Nepal government’s ‘One China’ policy. China is a major investor in Nepal and the communist government is perceived to be particularly close to Beijing. Diplomats from the missions of the USA, UK, France and Germany in Kathmandu who were to attend the birthday celebrations expressed severe disappointment at the event’s cancellation and have criticised its forced cancellation as a violation of the human rights of Tibetan refugees.
Save & read from anywhere!
Bookmark stories for easy access on any device or the Swarajya app.
Support Swarajya's 50 Ground Reports Project & Sponsor A Story
Every general election Swarajya does a 50 ground reports project.
Aimed only at serious readers and those who appreciate the nuances of political undercurrents, the project provides a sense of India's electoral landscape. As you know, these reports are produced after considerable investment of travel, time and effort on the ground.
This time too we've kicked off the project in style and have covered over 30 constituencies already. If you're someone who appreciates such work and have enjoyed our coverage please consider sponsoring a ground report for just Rs 2999 to Rs 19,999 - it goes a long way in helping us produce more quality reportage.
You can also back this project by becoming a subscriber for as little as Rs 999 - so do click on this links and choose a plan that suits you and back us.
Click below to contribute.