June 5, 2010: A delegation of eight exiled Bhutanese has questioned the authenticity and usefulness of the Gross National Happiness in Bhutanese context.
The team comprised of Parangkush Subedi, Damber Timsina, Pashupati Timsina, Gopal Subedi, Madhav Acharya, Toya Acharya, Tika Acharya and Harka Khadka who joined the first GNH debates in US this June explained the organizers that the theory is a eyewash by Bhutan.
The conference was held between June 1 and 4 at Champlain College, Burlington, Vermont. Some o the important issues this delegation presented before the plenary for discussion include explanation on Bhutanese draconian policies, suppression on rights and liberty and failure to resolve the long standing refugee issue.
The delegation said that over 84000 Bhutanese of Nepali ethnicity were compelled to leave the country in the early 1990’s aftermath of peaceful demonstration in southern Bhutan demanding restoration of religious and cultural rights. This constituted about 17 percent of the total population in Bhutan.
Three major political parties are operating from exile: Bhutan National Democratic Party (BNDP), Druk National Congress (DNC) and Bhutan People’s Party (BPP). In addition there are two human rights organizations: Human Rights Organization of Bhutan (HUROB) and People’s Forum for Human Rights in Bhutan (PFHRB). They had been at the forefront of campaign for human rights and democracy in Bhutan.
Bhutan has decided to democratize the polity. A two-party democratic system is being practiced. The country’s per capita income has increased by almost five fold over the last two decades recording one of the highest in South Asia. The country considers gross national happiness of people more important than gross national income. With all said and done the trajectory path of socio-economic development sounds acceptable to all sections of Bhutanese society.
Bhutan’s relation with its neighbors has been improving. India and Bhutan enjoy unprecedented goodwill and the effort to tap large hydro-power potential is going-on bilateral basis. Bhutan has signed a treaty of friendship with the People’s Republic of China and time will come soon when Bhutan and China will establish residential embassies to foster economic cooperation. Bhutan is emerging out from the exclusive sphere of Indian influence. The United States of America is keen to promote closer relationship with Bhutan. Bhutan’s relationship with Nepal has been pushed to backburner because of the Bhutanese refugee imbroglio.
The international community has taken a bold decision to undertake rehabilitation of Bhutanese refugees in third countries. Of the total of 110,000 Bhutanese refugees about 30000 have already left the camps. By the end of this year some 50,000 refugees will be resettled in overseas countries. Overwhelming majority of the refugees has applied for third country resettlement options. USA is the destination to most of the Bhutanese refugees. The number of resettled Bhutanese refugees is likely to cross 60,000.
By 2013 Bhutan will have fresh election in the parliament. By then most of the refugees willing to resettle in overseas countries will have left the camps. Bhutan must aim for lock-stock-and-barrel solution to the refugee problem. No residual dissident activities should remain outside the country if we have to keep the country safe from unprecedented political movement.
The delegation proposed the following for resolution of this protracted refugee/political problem:
– Bhutan must permit the willing Bhutanese in exile to return to Bhutan with honor and dignity, including restitution of their properties.
– Bhutan must accord non-resident Bhutanese (NRB) status to the resettled refugees. This will in fact enhance the international profile of the country and justify establishment of residential embassies of refugee receiving countries in Thimphu. It is important for a country like Bhutan which is sandwiched between the two competing Asian giants: India and China. This will also encourage investments inside Bhutan from Bhutanese living abroad for the overall socio-economic development of the country.
– Bhutan must permit the political parties formed in exile to participate in the forth coming election of 2013 and permit the human rights organizations formed in exile to operate from inside the country.
– Promote inclusive democracy and release all the political prisoners in Bhutan. There are some 200 political prisoners in the country at present.
This is a unique opportunity for Bhutan to solve the protracted political and refugee problem. The solution not only will enhance the international image of Bhutan but will pre-empt any untoward political upheaval in the country from the residual political force operating from outside the country.
The concept of Gross National Happiness floated by Bhutan is a mere eye-wash to the International community if it fails to address the Bhutanese refugee issue and other concerns as just discussed.
It will be a lost opportunity if the government of Bhutan and the dissident organizations outside the country failed to seize this movement. There is a need to forget about the past grievances and come over the table for National Reconciliation.
Local newspapers (Seven Days) and TV channels (Channel 17) published/telecast the discussion with exiled Bhutanese with interests.
Karma Tshiteem, secretary of Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness Commission and the only speaker from inside Bhutan failed to answer the questions raised by Bhutanese in exile regarding the mass exodus in early 1990. He simply skipped the issue saying it was not the appropriate forum.
A separate plenary focused on Bhutan’s happiness theory and refugees. Entitled ‘GNH, Bhutanese refugees and National Reconciliation’, the plenary was attended by a group of people including Tshering Tashi, co-author with Tim Fischer of the book ‘From Jesuits to Jetsetters, BOLD BHUTAN BECKONS, Inhaling Gross National Happiness’ and Sonam Ongmo.
Linda Wheatley, the president the GNH USA project in an interview with local paper had said that she doesn’t condone actions by the Bhutanese government that might have led to the exodus of residents. She distinguishes between the effort to develop new indicators and events in Bhutan. “Bhutan is not perfect,” she said.
Excellent Job.
Thanks to Parangkush Subedi, Damber Timsina, Pashupati Timsina, Gopal Subedi, Madhav Acharya, Toya Acharya, Tika Acharya and Harka Khadka from my side.
There are some good news coming from within.
Lets hope good things are on the way.
Regards
Could any one who participated in the event can give the detail information of the conference and the presentation. Every Bhutanese are interested to know detail of the event.
DO WE KNOW THE DEFINATION OF STATELESS BHUTANESE REFUGEES?
Well done All,
it is a good beginning. We can only be positive by discussing issues together. This step is a large one towards engaging with Bhutanese colleagues.
Congratulations Parangkush Bhai and team.
IT is Good to hear that exile friends participated in GNH discussion. But you people those who attended the said discussion are AMERICAN you have no right to talk about our country
If you are able plz talk about AMERICA
This is a great work guys.Keep it up.
Guys ! you have done a great job. Keep on doing………
HEY SOMAN,
YYOU SEE UR HISTORY U ARE FROM TIBET,so don’t talk about rights,you are too young to speak abt your rights when you know to say LASO only …………..
Itis not that great work to make a little shout from a peak top. If you wanna try from the deep shallow of peaks and hopefully your voice ring over the ears then everybody will be looking you up.
Nevertheless, the cruel brutalist of Godly Himalayan Kingdom has not undergone any change but disguised with the musk of so called democracy.
I think I am your step father,that is the reason why you are not publishing my comments.
Excellent job. Congratulations to the whole delegates. Keep up your good work.
First of all a very good job for those involved in the above discussion, congratulations.
Secondly this is to Sonam- You need to understand the difference between Nationality and Citizenship. Happiness comes with knowledge. Life is not just a bowl of cherries, you have to live it and let others live. People like you, who worship Lord Buddha, are but an insult to Him. You are living in a country where the Lhotsampas have literally built it for you, rendering free services-constructing buildings, roads and you name it, when the King received hefty amount of money from the outside world to do the same job. Putting a false curve on the face just because the Ngalongs say isn’t happiness. Happiness is that feeling you get when you see others smiling and feeling happy- people like you rejoice on others’ adversities, that is not happiness – it’s Sickness. Happiness comes with a stable mind, not the mind that is bulldozed like yours.
Good effort by our friends .At least you participated the programme……Its great ! friends keep it up.
You people ‘ll do nothing to change the present system of Bhutan. You are just involveing intertainment activities from the resources of simple and inocent people.
hey if u hav limited knowledge about the number of major refugee’s political parties n human rights organization ,better not write such news. misleading news.
STOP STOP STOP
Sonam,
Exiled people live across the globe because RGOB forced them to be in exile. You should understand that these folks are GENUINE BHUTANESE and have rights to talk about Bhutan.
Please change your attitude towards Bhutanese in exile if you want to see yourself contributing towards GNH. When you have rights to speak about Bhutan, all the exile Bhutanese equally have the same.
We want international community to incorporate the issue of 1/3 Bhutanese Refugees while designing GNH- Bhutan…
Great job done by the team from Atlanta to participate in the GNH conference in Vermont. GNH has become the icon for RGOB to distract the attention of world community giving it an overemphasis that GNH has been rooted in Bhutan. The indicators of GNH has gone paralyzed in every count of instances when we talk to people in Bhutan. Children walking to schools taking 3-4 hours everyday, no medical or fire emergency services to villages and small towns, extremely poor sanitation in rural parts, teachers vying to get posting in developed areas, people being harrassed by the administration going from geog level to ministry level and returned empty handed, gups getting more more money from government but doing less service to the people are some points to consider if happiness is indicated in Bhutanese society or not. Not to forget are the increasing news of corruption and embezzelement of public funds.
Great job done by the Bhutanese refugees in Vermont conference in America. Your presence has made a big difference. You have unfolded the other side of the GNH in the Bhutanese society. The regime have to give a second thought to its well propogated doctrine. We are proud of our eight heroes in the United States of America who have taken this initiative to represent the Bhutanese people.
Our intellectuals, accademicians and thinkers in exile and inside the country should study more on this theory and put forth their reasonings,arguments in the local (village level) national and international level to make it a viable theory in consistent to the freedom of basic rights of the citizens. Theory of GNH in itself is a very good philoshopy but it is more important for the world to know how this theory has reached to the lives of the mass Bhutanese people.
Durga Giri, Germany.
Hi Sonam and sangay,
This guys have exercised their rights.They have every right to correct you and also to speak about the govt.coz they are the citizen of Bhutan.
Now we have Democracy.(Govt by the people) Am I right?
My Question to you both(sonam and Sangay)
Before you speak about GNP.One day go to Tashichho Dzong and walk towards east for about half a mile there is a village called HEJO and you will see people living in horrible condition.Up stairs occupied by people and down stairs is the piggery.How can you speak about GNP when the living standard of people is like this .
Can you tell me what type of Toilet this happy citizens have?.
Another homework for Sonam and sangay! Can you take some pictures of this people where they go for toilet(restroom)
And post it in the same forum.
This people shit from top and that is the happy meal for the pig in Bhutan.
This time I am writing the example of the area just half a mile from GNP head office.
Upon getting your reply I will go towards the village and touch about other parts of the country.
Bhutan
Good job friends
I like to congratulate the teams those who participated from within and out of Bhutan in the recently concluded GNH conference, in Vermont. There is still lot to do to accomplish the final goal. It is surely a good beginning. Thanks once again to all the team members.
DB Adhikari, Arizona
Great job guys! something is better than nothing. You’re doing excellent job, and people who’re trying to build-up something for our betterment will deserve credit from everybody. Once again thanks for taking part on our behalf.
Perfect job guys,let it go well irrespective of caste,creed,color and religion.