Published by: World Tibet Network News Friday, October 17, 1997

KATHMANDU, Oct 15 (AFP) - Thirty-nine Tibetans have been arrested for illegally entering Nepal, police said on Wednesday. "The Tibetans arrived in Besishahar via Manang and Gorkha districts, 165 kilometres (103 miles) northwest of here on Tuesday," police said, quoting the Chief District Office of northwest Besishahar.

"According to the arrested Tibetans, they had come to Nepal for pilgrimage and to pay homage to their religious leader, the Dalai Lama, who is living in Dharamsala in India," police said.

"Due to differences in language, it is difficult to communicate and record the statements of the Tibetans."

The arrested Tibetans, who comprise 32 men, four women and three children, will be sent to the immigration office in Kathmandu, the police added.

The Dalai Lama has been living in India since a failed Tibetan uprisal against the Chinese occupation of Tibet in the late 1950s.