CHINA-SWITZERLAND: TIBETAN REFUGEES TO BE DEPORTED
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The Dharamsala-based online newsoutlet Phayul reported on August 31, 2017, that Swiss immigration authorities have asked close to 300 Tibetans to leave the country as their documents are inadmissible for asylum application. Sporadic reports also suggested that the Swiss government is willing to bear expenses of travel as well as give monetary assistance of 5000 Swiss Franc to each Tibetan to leave the country. Radio Free Asia reported that on August 27, representatives from the Tibetan community including representatives from the Office of Tibet branch there and the Secretary of Immigration office along with local Tibetans gathered at the Swiss Tibetan Community hall in Zurich to discuss the rising number of refugees and their situation. There were lengthy discussions, but there has been no change in the government directive asking the Tibetans to leave the country. In July 2016, the Swiss government revised its policy to recognize Tibetans as ‘Chinese nationals’ thereby officially implementing the acceptance of ‘Tibet is a part of China’ into policy. Prior to that, Tibetans were accorded the “stateless/Tibetan” categorization in their documents. (Comment: Switzerland which holds the largest number of Tibetans in Europe has had a healthy record in providing asylum to Tibetan refugees. The Swiss government accepted the first batch of Tibetan refugees as early as the 1960s with the help of Red Cross. As per an exile Tibetan government (Central Tibetan Administration), there are currently over four thousand Tibetans living in Switzerland. Switzerland’s approval rating for Tibetan refugee applicants has fallen significantly over the years with only 54.8% qualified in 2016 compared to 71.8% in 2015 and 85.8% in 2014.) |