Kathmandu (AsiaNews) - Tibetan exiles in Nepal have launched an appeal to the new Prime Minister Lobsang Sangay, to fight for their rights violated by the Chinese-backed government in Kathmandu. In the elections for the Kalon Tripa (Prime Minister of the Tibetan government in exile) held on March 20, Nepali police blocked polling stations and beat those who tried to vote. Less than half of the refugees managed to express their preference. Despite the restrictions, the Tibetan community in Kathmandu in recent days organized a prayer vigil for the new leader.
Funjok Lama, 36, says: "When we met to vote, the police broke into the voting station and dragged me out, kicking and beating me with batons." Lama, showing his injuries, added that "it is good that at least a group of exiles voted, despite the restrictions.
"The new prime minister - says Tsering Dolma, a woman of 56 - should begin to push the West to put pressure on the Nepalese government to ensure the exile community its right to free elections and an end to repression."
After the invasion of Lhasa in 1951 and the exile of the Dalai Lama in India (1959), Nepal has hosted thousands of refugees fleeing from Tibet, enabling them to support the government in exile. To date, there are more than 20 thousand refugees. With the fall of Nepal's monarchy in 2006 and the rise to power of the Maoist parties (Unified Communist Party of Nepal) and Marxist-Leninist Party (Unified Marxist-Leninist), the country has begun to sign a series of economic agreements with Beijing, prohibiting exiles any kind of anti-Chinese demonstrations. On 13 February, the police stopped the elections of the Tibetan community and seized election cards and material. China has rewarded Kathmandu’s efforts, with the provision of humanitarian aid and military equipment to the Nepalese army worth 13 million euro.