Ethnic Nepalese, Bhutanese refugees seek citizenship rights in Bhutan

by jakedai | June 1, 2007 at 07:38 am

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I have reported several times (see the articles here and here) on the burgeoning refugee crisis in Nepal, where more than 100,000 Bhutanese of Nepali origin have been living in squalid refugee camps since the early 1990's.

Now, it seems the few ethnic Nepalis still living in Bhutan are agitating for better rights and repatriation of their fellow countrymen. It will be interesting to see how the oft-idealized nation of Bhutan - beloved for its environmental policies, Tibetan Buddhist heritage, and reputation for peace and tolerance - deals with this situation which casts a shadow on its otherwise cheery reputation.

Both people and nations are not always what they seem to be...

- Jake Norton is an Everest climber, guide, photographer, writer, and motivational speaker from Colorado.

Ethnic Nepalese, Bhutanese refugees seek citizenship rights in Bhutan

Kathmandu, May 31 (ANI): While thousands of Bhutanese refugees in Nepal are gathered at the Indian border wanting to cross over to Bhutan, Bhutanese authorities are trying to force tens of thousands of ethnic Nepalese living in southern Bhutan out of the Himalayan Kingdom.

As per Nepalese media reports, ethnic Nepalese living in southern Bhutan for generations have been prevented from casting votes during the "mock election", which is a dress rehearsal for run-up to Bhutan's general elections.

Over 80,000 ethnic Nepalese were reportedly prevented from casting their ballots or excluded from the census.

According to latest reports, Bhutanese police has arrested six Bhutanese of Nepalese origin.

The arrests came at a time when the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Antonio Guterres was in Bhutan to hold talks with the authorities over the repatriation of the Bhutanese refugees living in makeshift camps in Nepal since 16 years.

The US Government has announced that it would take 60,000 Bhutanese refugees and settle them in the United States.

The US resettlement offer has evoked tension in the camps with a group favouring resettlement in third countries and another group opposing it.

Bhutanese police fear that a section belonging to the Southern Bhutan might speak against the discrimination meted out to them by the current Bhutan regime to Guterras, Bhutanese police arrested them in advance.

Those arrested are -- Sri Ram Chetri, Ratan Magar, Jeet Bahadur Ghaley, Nima Tamang and Prahlad Chetrri -- reported The Telegraphnepal.com.

Over 100,000 Bhutanese refugees have been living in south-eastern Nepal since the early 1990s, when they were forced out by Bhutanese authorities.

The Bhutanese refugees are demanding their right to return to their place of origin. They are observing sit-in demonstrations at the Mechi Bridge, on the India-Nepal border.

They want to be allowed to cross into India to reach Bhutan from Nepal. The Indian authorities have objected to this.

An eighty-kilometer stretch of India separates Nepal from Bhutan.(ANI)