Chinese general visits Nepal to solidify anti-Tibetan alliance
Kathmandu (AsiaNews) – China is afraid of the Dalai Lama’s successor and has sent a representative of the People’s Liberation Army to Kathmandu to stop future anti-Chinese actions by exiled Tibetan communities.
General Chen Bindge arrived in the Nepali capitals yesterday, leading a delegation of 18 officers. The visit is scheduled to last until Saturday.
Its official purpose is to give Nepal humanitarian aid and weapons worth about US$ 20 million.
Experts believe however that the real reason for the general’s presence is to boost cooperation between Beijing and Kathmandu against anti-Chinese dissent among Tibetan exiles, especially now that the Dalai Lama is giving up all political functions.
“China’s concerns over Nepal are growing,” said Rameshwor Acharya, ex Nepali ambassador to China. “The country is close to the border with India and is home to thousands of Tibetan refugees who often organise anti-Chinese activities.”
“The visit shows that China wants the support of our army to control anti-Chinese activities following the resignation of the Dalai Lama”.
According to Acharya, the Tibetan spiritual leader loves peace, and Beijing is afraid that his successor might opt for confrontation.
Following the invasion of Tibet in 1951 and the flight of the Dalai Lama to India in 1959, Nepal began receiving thousands of refugees from Tibet, allowing them to support the Tibetan government-in-exile. At present, more than 20,000 Tibetans live in the country.
After the fall of the monarchy in 2006 and the rise of the Maoist (Unified Communist Party of Nepal) and Marxist-Leninist (Unified Marxist–Leninist) parties, Nepal drew closer to China, signing a number of economic agreements. It also agreed to ban all form of anti-Chinese protest by Tibetan exiles.
On 11 March, police violently stopped a prayer meeting at the Bauddha Buddhist temple in Kathmandu. Dozens of Buddhist monks had gathered to mark the 60th anniversary of Tibet’s invasion
On 13 February, police prevented the Tibetan community from holding its own internal elections, by bursting into polling stations and seizing ballots and other electoral material.
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17/03/2008
