Cry for my beloved country
New Delhi: When recently a century old kingdom in India’s neighbourhood took its first steps towards democracy, the international community and media showered praise on its monarch for embracing a progressive and modern system of governance that was more inclusive than exclusive.
Somewhere on this planet, these hundred thousand plus people are waiting to be called back to a country that they consider their own.
Democracy in Bhutan will never acquire legitimacy unless it allows all its citizens living in Nepal and India for the past 17 years to come back and resume their lives as legitimate and dignified citizens of the country. This was an overwhelming sentiment expressed during a ‘Consultation on the Concerns of Bhutanese Refugees in South Asia’ organised by South Asians for Human Rights (SAHR) in the Indian capital New Delhi. Escapees of the reign of terror An estimated 107,431 Bhutanese refugees live in Nepal in seven camps run by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). In addition, there are many Bhutanese, whose number is difficult to ascertain in the absence of any official figures, scattered over many Indian states like Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Assam and West Bengal. Unofficial estimates put their figure between 10,000 to 15,000. India has denied them refugee status, citing a bilateral treaty of 1949, which allows citizens of either country to freely cross each other’s borders, making them ineligible for any help from international agencies like the UNHCR. These refugees arrived in Nepal and India at different points of time beginning 1990s, when the Bhutanese king forced them to move out of the country because he did not consider them to be bona fide citizens.
Ninety eight per cent of refugees living in the camps are of Nepalese origin. They speak Nepalese language and follow Hinduism. They had had settled down in southern part of Bhutan in the nineteenth century when they were brought there as labourers. Over time they became an integral part of the Bhutanese society and made an immense contribution in its development in all spheres. They came to be known as Lhotshampas, or the natives of the south. Make democracy credible Outlining the priority areas for the king to look into, Devendra Raj Pandey of SAHR from Nepal chapter said: “A just and democratic step for the Bhutanese king would be to welcome the Lhotshamapas and allow them full freedom.” He said that it is not just the Lhotshampas, the Sharchops in eastern Bhutan too have been restive and so are other sections of the population. Kuldip Nayar, who was part of a three-member fact-finding mission organised by SAHR to Nepal in December 2006 recalled that how disturbed was he to see the pitiable conditions of the refugees living in camps with insufficient subsistence allowance given out to them by the UNHCR. A report titled: No Gross National Happiness for Bhutanese Refugees that was brought out after the fact-finding notes: “Typically, a nine-member family lives in a hut [measuring 8'X5' feet]. As the family expands, it continues to live in the same hut, with sometimes 15 members squeezing into the same space. There are cases of four to five families sharing the same hut.” The report further says that the medical facilities are extremely basic. There is no trained mid-wife, nor is there a hospital. Another astonishing fact that the report noted was that some 40,000 children were born in exile. Fifteen rounds of talks between the Nepalese and Bhutanese governments so far to address the issue of refugees have not yielded any tangible results. “The talks are now in a limbo,” said Thinley Penjore, president of Druk National Congress (Democratic) during the consultation that had among its participants the former Indian prime minister I.K. Gujral, veteran journalist Kuldip Nayar, senior journalist Pamela Philipose, India’s Planning Commission member Syeda Hameed, SAHR’s bureau member Kamla Bhasin, activist Anand Swaroop Verma and many other eminent citizens from India and Nepal along with representatives of Bhutanese refugees.
He also described as to how 150,000 or so Lhotshampas, who were still living in Bhutan, were subjected to all sorts of discrimination and persecution. “Human rights violations are rampant, not just for the people living in the south but also for pro democracy supporters irrespective of their ethnic identity,” he said. Questioning the credibility of recently held elections he commented: “The people in Upper House are handpicked by the king. Even those who have come to power through electoral process in the Lower House are all confidantes of the king. Many of them have served the king in the past as ministers and advisors. The king remains as powerful as he ever was.” |
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"Cry for my beloved country"Author:
Peter Barris
Time: 06.04.2008 01:27
Comment: On top of that more than 80,000 of Lhothsampa (Nepalese) living in Bhutan were not given the voting rights in the so called democratic election held on the 24th of March 2008. Most of these people are the relatives of people living in the refugee camp in Nepal. Their rights to take part in election, get a citizenship and passport and held in the name of census drop out case and case pending in Home Ministry.
The Ministry of Home Affairs of Bhutan is one of the most corrupted and racially discriminated place not only in Bhutan it but in the world if you see how Lhothsampa are treated (I can tell my own experience by dates). The most corrupted official like Mr. Tshering Wangda, Joint Secretary was born with the words in his mouth to abuse you once you entered his office. There would be any person born even in Bhutan who is so dared to abuse you straight in the name of Nepalis from South. On the other hand, if you are able to bribe him in any form, you get your work done. Claiming the Gross National Happiness (GNH) as one of the development tool is a very catchy jargon the fourth King of Bhutan has successfully fooled the world. How can the Western Countries can be so silent or ignorant of this fact that when there is no press freedom, human rights and majority of people live under poverty can praise Bhutan for its election and GNH? Even if you take the case of Northern Bhutanese (Ngalongs) in the context of recent election, one can judge how much the people are frustrated with the excessive suppression by the Royal family. The president of People's Democratic Party (the brother of four Queens) losing his seat from Punakha is more than enough of the signal for Royal of Bhutan to think twice how they are viewed by the entire Bhutanese people. The so called Election Commission of Bhutan has acted no different from any other dictators from around the world. According their press release, only certain people are allowed campaign, people meet in certain identified area, cannot discuss sensitive issue like the problem of Southern Bhutan, and the killing of Sarchop monk in the eastern district of Mongar in the broad day light by former district administrator Mr. Lhakpa Dorji and the case of Mr. Garab Dorji, the PDP candidate from Gelephu two weeks prior to election whose nomination was cancelled The people who do not have citizenship cards were warned of severe consequences if they come in somewhere near polling booth on the election day, who are more than 80,000. For those international observers, they have no idea how the election booth were organised and how these people were systemically discarded from the process of voting. Any of these observers reading this comment should be fair dinkum if you respect impartiality in the world. So long the King of Bhutan continues his blind eye in the Southern Bhutan's issue, the problem of Bhutan will keep multiplying like bacteria in the hidden container and it is the matter of time when the world start comparing Bhutan to Palestine. |
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