Southern Bhutanese aren’t people of Nepal
Today is the auspicious day, when Ugen Wangchuck was crowned the first King of Bhutan. Long ago, when our country was plagued by wars, internal strife and poverty, it went through a very critical and difficult period of history. But, when Ugen Wangchuck came to the throne, there was for the first time unity, prosperity and happiness, and a new era of great peace and tranquility began. Hence, we celebrated this day as our National Day. Until this year, we have never celebrated our National Day in Southern Bhutan. It is because of this, that it gives me today a special happiness to celebrate the National Day here in Gaylephug with our people.
Our country’s national police is to consolidate our sovereignty to achieve economic self-reliance, prosperity and happiness for our country and people. Today, when our country is passing through a crucial stage of development, the most important things for the government and the people is to work hand in hand in all our country’s developmental efforts in order to achieve economic progress, attain self reliance and strengthen our national sovereignty. This is very important because some of our people must be thinking that large external aid and technical assistance are easily available.
There is, therefore, the temptation for us to stay idle and rely fully on external assistance to accomplish our objectives ad fulfill our national aspirations. It is important for us to understand that too much dependency on outside aid will only defeat our national goals and aspirations. Although we are small developing country, from the smallest development task the people and the government are today working together to accomplish and fulfill our cherished national aspiration of economic self-reliance. In this respect, I am very happy to tell you that even developed nations have praised such a policy as ours. I want you all to know that I am very proud of your deep sense of duty, dedication, loyalty, and the ability to sacrifice and show great determination in fulfilling our hopes and dreams for the future of our beloved country.