(TibetanReview.net, Jul11, 2018) – Tibetans in Nepal’s capital Kathmandu have been able to mark the Dalai Lama’s birthday Jul 7 this year without any China-pressured ban or breakup from Nepalese authorities as in past years. The exiled spiritual leader of Tibet, based at Dharamshala, India, turned 83 this year.
Those who attended the birthday event, which was held at the Jwalakhel Tibetan settlement, included the ambassadors of the USA and France, besides senior officers from a number of other foreign embassies in Kathmandu, notably the UK, Japan, Germany, and Switzerland, besides representatives from the European Union, the office of the United National High Commissioner for Refugees, and others.
Permission for holding the event was sought by the office of the exile Tibetan administration’s coordinator in the capital but it was neither granted nor rejected. The chief guest was Acharya Karma Yeshi Sherpa, President of Nepal Buddhist Association.
Nepal has in the past heavily cracked down on Tibetans marking their exiled spiritual leader’s birthday, calling it anti-China and being a violation of the country adherence to the ‘one China policy’ of Beijing.
