VfC welcomes UNHCR decision, calls for support and solidarity

Kathmandu, July 28: Just after a day, the UNHCR issued statement defending exit visas to 16 Bhutanese refugees, the Voice for Change, one of the Bhutanese organizations, has formally welcomed the position taken by the UNHCR.

A press release issued by the organization states that it was pleased with the flexibility shown by the Nepalese government to look for alternative solutions and grant exit visas to the 16 vulnerable exiled Bhutanese to be resettled in the third country.

Furthermore, the statement has said the result of futile bilateral talks has indicated that repatriation is not only the feasible option for every Bhutanese to keep waiting for another decade for solution. ‘Although repatriation would be the primary solution for all Bhutanese, there are now fewer prospects left for all Bhutanese to return home in the immediate future and the situation demands exploring all options. The UNHCR's proposal of third country resettlement would be ideal package for those who see no prospect of repatriation and feasibility of integration in Nepal’, the statement reads.

The organization also claimed that it has been extending support for durable solution to Bhutanese refugee crisis since the initiatives taken by the Bhutanese Refugees Representative Repatriation Committee (BRRRC) in October 2004.

It said, due to the long stay under the ramshack huts, people have almost dashed their lives towards miserable climax. They have been facing scarcity of basic needs. “As mothers, we cannot leave our children without basic right to identity and want to see them design and mend their future,” it stated. 

It has also requested responsible authorities and individuals in Nepal to take timely measures to speed up the process to find comprehensive solution to the protracted problem.

Earlier, National Front for Democracy (NFD), Bhutan People’s Party (BPP) and Bhutanese Refugee Representative Repatriation Committee (BRRRC) strongly opposed the UNHCR decision of resettling vulnerable Bhutanese in Canada and the US. People in camps have also demonstrated against the UNHCR decision.

However, issuing a press statement on Thursday, the UNHCR claimed that the protests were 'orchestrated' by few leaders and that does not represent the views of the majority people.

VC is the first Bhutanese organization in exile to formally welcome such decision. Bhutan News Service