Nepal says to deport illegal Tibetans back to Tibet

By Gopal Sharma

KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Nepal's Maoist-led government will deport Tibetan exiles living illegally in the country, an official said on Thursday, a move likely aimed at stopping regular protests against its influential neighbour China.

More than 20,000 Tibetans live in Nepal. Thousands fled Tibet after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959.

Those early arrivals were given refugee status in Nepal. But new exiles from Tibet cannot stay in Nepal, which hands them over to the U.N. refugee agency for their onward journey to India, where their spiritual leader the Dalai Lama lives.

Now, Nepal wants to deport all Tibetans without either official refugee status or U.N. documents back to Tibet, where they could face action by Chinese authorities.

Tibetans are not allowed to organise any anti-China activities in Nepal, but in recent months they have staged near-daily demonstrations in Kathmandu against the Chinese crackdown on protests in Tibet in March.

The new Nepal move is seen as an attempt to discourage the exiles from organising anti-China protests.

Home Ministry Spokesman Modraj Dotel said police had detained 106 Tibetans to see if they had necessary papers to establish their refugee status.

"If they have the status they will be allowed to stay," Dotel said. "Otherwise, they have to leave the country."