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Bhutanese Refugees in Nepal Seek Special UN Envoy
New Kerala
Nepal
January 27, 2005
As Bhutan's King Jigme Singye Wangchuk, chief guest at India's Republic Day function this year, arrived in New Delhi Monday, Bhutanese refugees and rights activists staged a rally at the UN headquarters in New York to draw attention to the plight of the refugees.
The protesters were led by Bhutanese refugee leader Tek Nath Rizal, a former member of Bhutan's Royal Advisory Council, who was jailed for protesting about new citizenship laws in the Druk kingdom.
In a petition to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the delegation said despite 12 years of exile, several rounds of Nepal-Bhutan dialogue and the verification of over 12,000 refugees in one of the seven camps in southern Nepal, not a single refugee had been repatriated.
"Over 75 percent of the verified refugees are eligible to return," the petition said adding, "Bhutan has consistently refused the involvement of UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) and the refugees in the dialogue."
The team also submitted a petition to India's UN representative to be forwarded to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, seeking New Delhi's help to revive the stalled Nepal-Bhutan dialogue on restoring citizenship and properties of refugees.
The delegation also tried to submit a petition for the Bhutanese king at the country's mission in New York but was reportedly refused admission.
The refugees, who are mainly from southern Bhutan, allege discrimination by the government. They say the government did not seek participation of southern Bhutanese in drafting of the country's constitution. The cabinet too has no representation from southern Bhutan.
Bhutanese citizens from the south are forced into exile while those who remain are oppressed. Funds for development of the southern districts were siphoned away by the ruling elite, the refugees claim.
Their petition stated that the Bhutanese refugee problem, if left unaddressed, could pose security challenges in the region with the refugee camps becoming recruiting grounds for Maoist rebels in Nepal and for separatist groups in India.
Meanwhile, around 40 elderly Bhutanese refugees Sunday began a march from Nepal back to their country.
They were, however, stopped at the India-Nepal border by Indian security forces who assured the group that their memorandum seeking safe passage through West Bengal would be handed over to Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya.
"We have returned to our camps to wait for an answer from the chief minister," a refugee leader told IANS. "But if we do not get a reply, we plan to start the homeward march again."
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