Tibet conference in Nepal moved online amid dispute

An international academic conference on Tibet planned in Nepal this month will be held online instead, organisers said Saturday, while Nepal's government denied ordering the change.

The International Association for Tibetan Studies conference was expected to bring scholars to Kathmandu University from August 23 to 29 to discuss Tibetan history, culture, religion and society.

Francoise Robin, the association's acting president and a professor of Tibetan studies at France's National Institute for Oriental Languages and Civilizations, called the move a “very regrettable and worrying development” and said the conference would proceed online.

Sagar Raj Sharma, a Kathmandu University professor and the conference convener, said organisers had received a government request not to hold the event. “The government told us that this is not an appropriate time to conduct this conference,” he told AFP.

Hem Raj Aryal, a spokesperson at the prime minister's office, denied that the government had instructed organisers to cancel. “Neither have we sent a letter nor given verbal instructions to stop it. They postponed it on their own,” he told AFP.

Nepal hosts thousands of Tibetan refugees, and parts of its Himalayan north bordering Tibet share its culture, Buddhist religion and language. China, Nepal's second-largest trading partner after India according to World Bank figures, has long opposed international activities it sees as challenging its sovereignty over Tibet.