VZCZCXRO4630
OO RUEHCN
DE RUEHKT #2903 3570457
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 230457Z DEC 05
FM AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9633
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING PRIORITY 3778
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 3457
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 8951
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU PRIORITY 0254
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RHHMUNA/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY
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UNCLAS KATHMANDU 002903 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR SA/INS AND H 
DEPT PASS TO HOUSE STAFFDEL SZYMANSKI 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PREL NP
SUBJECT: STAFFDEL URGES HMGN TO ALLOW REFUGEES TO EXIT NEPAL 
 
 
Office of Dalai Lama in Nepal Unlikely 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) On December 21, House Staffdel Szymanski met 
separately with both Acting Foreign Secretary Nabin Bahadur 
Shrestha and Acting Home Secretary Chabbi Prasad Bant to 
discuss future parliamentary exchange and urge action on 
refugee issues.  Shrestha welcomed the possibility of future 
Congressional visits and assured the Staffdel that such 
visits would be given access to all levels of society. 
Szymanski urged both Secretaries to permit an Office of the 
Dalai Lama in Nepal.  Both Shrestha and Bant explained that 
Nepal had to consider "our close relationship with our 
neighbors."  Shrestha noted that Nepal had a long 
relationship with Tibet and was the only country to have a 
consulate in Lhasa.  Bant clarified that the Dalai Lama's 
representative office had been closed because it was 
unregistered.  He said that both India and China had 
diplomatic missions in Nepal and it would be inappropriate 
for Nepal to give "preference" to the Dalai Lama. 
 
HMGN "Studying" Tibetan Refugee Issues 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Shrestha noted that Nepal had a long history of 
protecting refugees.  Szymanski urged HMGN to allow those 
refugees who wished to leave to depart, including 5,000 
Tibetans whom the U.S. Congress proposed to allow to resettle 
in the U.S.  When pressed on refugee status and immigration 
issues, such as travel documents and exit permits for 
Tibetans, Shrestha replied that Nepal was studying the issue. 
 
 
HMGN Urges Bhutan to Begin Repatriation 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) Staffdel noted they would soon travel to Bhutan and 
asked Shrestha if there was any message from HMGN that they 
could convey to the Bhutanese.  Shrestha replied that the 
100,000 Bhutanese refugees in camps in Nepal wished to return 
home as Nepal had been a host for too long.  He added that 
the refugees needed certain guarantees from Bhutan before 
beginning their journey back.  Separately, Bant lamented that 
the Bhutanese had not acted with positive intentions.  He 
hoped that there could be a fruitful result of dialogue with 
Bhutan so that the refugees could soon be repatriated. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Staffdel: 
 
-- J. Matthew Szymanski, Chief of Staff, House Small Business 
Committee 
-- Christopher Szymanski, Staff Assistant, House Small 
Business Committee 
-- Dawn Petchell, Senior Policy Adviser, Bureau of 
Legislative Affairs (H Bureau) 
-- James Garrison, Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army House Liaison 
 
¶5. (U) Staffdel Szymanski cleared this message. 
MILLARD