Eighteen Tibetan refugees of the 21 who were apprehended by the Nepali police at the Tatopani Nepal-China border last month were handed over to Chinese officials in Kathmandu this week and taken back to China, leading to international concern over their fate. The UN refugee body, UNHCR, dubbed the move a blatant violation of Nepal's obligations under international law, calling it a "refoulement". A 1990 agreement between Nepal and UNHCR allowed access to "persons of concern" and let refugees from Tibet transit through Nepal. This agreement had been generally followed until last week's deportation of 18 Tibetans.

There were also sharp rebukes from the United States, Britain and human rights groups. The US said the deportation violated international norms and practices regarding the treatment of asylum seekers and the British expressed dismay over the way the Nepali government ignored repeated appeals on behalf of the refugees by diplomatic missions in Kathmandu. While the government, which was in transition from the Chand administration, chose to retreat behind silence it was left to the Chinese Embassy to defend the Nepali action. "It was well within Nepal's jurisdiction and it is a common international practice," the embassy said in a statement. UNHCR officials told us the Home Ministry was not responding to enquiries on the deportation.

The Dalai Lama's representative in Nepal, Wangchuk Tshering, questioned the presence of Chinese officials who accompanied the refugees as soon as they were released from police custody. "This was quite strange," he said. "Why should the Chinese officials be here to take back the Tibetan refugees?"