Tibetans in Southern Tibet Face Restriction
Dharamsala 5 April 2005: Tibetans living in the border town of Dram between Nepal and Tibet were subjected to raids of their homes early this year. Sources told the department of security of the Central Tibetan Administration that some officials barged into the houses of the Tibetan residents and took away pictures and books that contained speeches of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The residents were told that the move was an attempt to prevent fire in the area.
Meanwhile, the residents of Dhingri in western Tibet were told by the authorities that they could not travel outside Tibet and that if they were caught travelling abroad they would be fined three thousand Yuans and imprisonment upto six months.
According to information received from the department of security, the merchants doing business between Tibet and Nepal were lured into providing information to the authorities on the Tibetan communities in Nepal and India, their leaders, schools and school heads, etc. They are charged arbitrarily with offence of indulging in illegal business and fined huge sums of money if they failed to provide information, the department added.