KATHMANDU: A protest demonstration was held here against Chinese occupation of Nepal’s land in Humla district and against Chinese interference in Nepal’s internal affairs.
The protest held at Mahitighar Mandala in Nepal’s capital city was led by “Loktantrik Yuva Manch” (LYU) and saw the participation of about 200 cadres of the NGO, reported local media.
Ram Kishore Singh, President LYU led the protest where participants shouted slogans “China return our land”, “China-stop interfering in internal affairs of Nepal” and “Go back China”.
China has constructed 12-15 buildings inside Nepali territory in Humla District. Local people have been crying foul and demanding a probe into the encroachment. Reports have alleged that Beijing has secretly built structures in the Humla district, and has also stopped locals from entering the area.
Former Nepal government led by KP Sharma Oli had brushed off reports of encroachment by China stating that Kathmandu and Beijing do not have any boundary dispute.
Recently, the current government led by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba formed a five-member team to probe the boundary dispute with China. The committee will study the problems related to the Nepal-China border from Limi Lapcha to Hilsa of Namkha rural municipality in Humla district.
The issue emerged in August 2020, when a local village council president Vishnu Bahadur Lama visited this territory. He observed newly-constructed buildings by the Chinese PLA, nearly 2 km inside Nepal’s territory.
After the matter came into the limelight, Humla’s Assistant Chief District Officer (CDO) Dalbahadur Hamal conducted an investigation. He had confirmed China’s encroachment into the territory of Nepal.
A 19-member team comprising local politicians, civil society members, and journalists, led by former minister Jeewan Bahadur Shahi had conducted an 11-day-long field inspection amid conflicting reports of border encroachment.
The team observed that China has built physical infrastructure inside Nepal’s territory, and unilaterally replaced international border pillars numbers 11, 12, and is preventing locals from entering areas within Nepal territory. (ANI)