Thimphu, February 24, 2009: In less than a year they adopted the democratic pattern of governance, which was in demand since 1950 in this country, the ‘experts’ who dined under the absolute rule of monarchy have defined what human rights is called in their terms.
Not awesome than usual twittering, these ‘experts’ said on Saturday that Bhutanese society has long embodied the principles and values of human rights that are enshrined by Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Bhutan signed the declaration in 1971 when it joined the UN.
According to the ‘experts’ Buddhism has values that promote human rights and selflessness, respect to others, non-discrimination and objection to any form of violence. Buddha’s teaching on the biological unity of the human species, denotes a common humanity,” said director of institute of language and cultural studies, Lopen Lungten.
Principally, all religions in the world encompass these values for welfare of human being. Human rights is not what is enshrined in religion but is rather manifested in culture and practice of a society.
The experts did not explain whether the human rights of Bhutanese Buddhism forces people of other ethnicity adopt the Drukpa culture and tradition, allows people to say what they feel and provide adequate opportunity for self defense in legal proceedings.
The Saturday’s discourse on human rights in Thimphu looked to be another gathering for sermon on Drukpa Buddhism where the experts talked about life and death and brotherhood of all human being in world and that all sentient being need to be loved and cared. Interestingly, no one answered whether two brothers can live together or one has to expel other.
There were no issues such as torture in jails, domestic violence against women, ethnic suppression and religious restriction imposed in this country since decades. Whether respect to feelings of other, right to assembly, right to organization, right to religion, right to oppose, right to criticize and right to nationality, the fundamental principles of modern human rights instruments, are part of Buddhism, the experts did not speak.
The religious propagandas are merely hogwash, whether they are advocated by some organizations or state, that is hogwash. How can one claim to have preserved the life of the lice having stabbed to death the person on whose body it lives? The righteousness of Buddha and the serenity of his teachings can not be the garments to cover the nakedness of careless perpetrators of human rights! One cannot be true advocate for the peace of sentient beings by first destroying the peace and security of human beings, misusing governmental authority in calling names to loyal and peace loving citizens!
If Drukpa Buddhism incorporates Human Rights there should not be any problem in having an independant Human Rights Tribunal in Thimphu, and in asking the residents to bring/refer cases of Human Rights violations to the Tribunal. There should be no any restrictions as to providing Human Rights Training to the needy, and as to campaigning for Human Rights awareness among the people. There should be two or three Government-paid Human Rights Worker/Activist in each Dzongkhag.
what have we done other that destroy was there???? with the moaist in nepal my family has to shift to darjeeling. when it has allready been proved the system does not work, im fed up of carrying on my head when the rest does not undersand, communism is another word for dictorship.at least the bhutias seem to understad this, peacefull democracy, THAT is what we want. there can be no greater nepal unless we solve our own problems first. therefor we shoule look towards turkey where they gave up their empire just so th people survived. or shoul we be under india ? the moasist murdered for a decaded but the teria had to only block the road for one week before our people were starving.
Jai Nepal.