Kathmandu: Nepal has arrested 20 Tibetan
teenagers, including five girls who illegally entered its
territory from China, on their way to Dharamshala in India to
meet their exiled spiritual guru Dalai Lama.
Fifteen boys and 5 girls were arrested; weeks after Nepal
assured Beijing that it would crack down on anti-China
activities from its soil.
The teenagers were travelling on foot and were without
valid travel documents, the police said.
"We are unable to establish their identities as they
cannot speak Nepali Language," Birkha Bahadur Rawal, DSP of
Bajura was quoted as saying by Himalayan Times.
These Tibetans were arrested from Bauli of Bajura
district on their way to Dharamshala via Kathmandu to meet the
Dalai Lama, according to the police.
They had reached the district after 17-days of walk.
The police said that it was difficult to establish their
identity as they do not speak Nepali or English.
The arrested Tibetan nationals will be sent to the
Immigration Department in Kathmandu for taking further action
in the matter, police said.
Every year some 2,500 Tibetans illegally enter Nepal
crossing Tibetan border on their way to Dharamshala to meet
the Dalai Lama. Nepal houses more than 20,000 Tibetan exiles.
Nepal has promised China not to allow "anti-Chinese
activities" from its soil as a visiting top-level delegation
from the Communist nation recently announced a USD 50-million
aid package for the country.
China is a major donor to Nepal. Beijing has increased
pressure on Nepal to check the flow of Tibetans fleeing their
homeland.
PTI
