Is Nepal stopping Tibetans from escaping China?

A dramatic plunge in the number of Tibetan refugees fleeing China suggests that once-loyal Nepal has cracked down on the border, a report by the Asia Times online suggests.

According to records provided by the reception center for new arrivals from Tibet in Dharamsala, there have been just 2,500 arrivals since 2008, the web site reported. In the years 2004 to 2007, new arrivals totaled 12,000, while this year there have been only 600.

''Since the 2008 Tibet riots in Lhasa, restrictions have become tougher inside Tibet and also along the Tibet-Nepal border, making opportunities for Tibetans to flee much fewer. The repression is such that at some places in Tibet there are more Chinese armed troops than Tibetans,'' the news site quotes Mingyur Youdon, deputy director of the reception center, as saying.

As reported earlier by GlobalPost, self-immolations have already spread from China to the diaspora, as the impression that China is winning the battle for Tibet increases feelings of desperation.