Meeting of Khandu and Oli
A cursory look at the political history of Nepali leaders who have been the policymakers, almost all the high-ranking leaders are very much aware of the Bhutanese refugee crisis. For instance, Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala who is well known for sacrificing his life for re-establishing democracy and has whole heartedly struggled against the autocracy, is also very much familiar with the Bhutanese problem since the 1950s. He is a dignitary from Nepal to meet the Bhutanese king at Dhaka for the first time in 1993 with an agenda of finding an amicable solution to the refugee problem. During the meeting he urged King Jigme Singay Wangchuck to stop the on going ethnic cleansing against ethnic Nepalis in Bhutan. In addition, he proposed the king to repatriate all the victims of the policy with dignity and honor to their original homesteads which could pave the way to end the refugee creation.
Likewise, present Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of Nepal who is elected as a member of Pratinidhi Shabha from the constituency which hosts three of the Bhutanese refugee camps in Jhapa, has remained the leader of Nepalese team in the fifth round of Nepal Bhutan bilateral talk held on 27th February – 1st March 1995. Krishna Prasad Sitaula, honorable Home Minster and Shubhash Nemmang, honorable Speaker of Pratinidhi Shabha are themselves the neighbors to Goldhap and Timai Refugee camps respectively.
If the list of present policy maker or the figure of stimulating personality in Nepal is further stretched, the second most towering figure of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), Dr Babu Ram Bhattarai has also been in the record of recognized personality towards the Bhutanese crises closely. This has been noticeable through his various articles that has repeatedly referred to the lordship of India with regard to the condition of Bhutan. Not only this, Benup Raj Prasai, Chakra Prasad Bastola, Bir Mani Dhakal and C P Mainali are the witnesses to the Bhutanese refugee camps as well as the suffering of refugees within the camps for the last 16 years.
Even at this state of being conversant in refugees suffering, the Bhutanese refugees of Nepalese origin are undergoing tremendous pressure of being settled in third country according to the plan and program laid by the Druk oligarchy. Also there is a wild rumor that the Druk regime intends to dismantle all the camps in Jhapa and Morang at any cost in pursuit of avoiding critiques against its ethnic cleansing and autocracy. Therefore, with regard to the modality of third country settlement, Nepal and India have been requested on the basis of burden sharing consequently, dividing the refugees in the style of portion of palatable flesh shared from the hands of brutal butcher in the slaughter house.
In this sequence Khandu Wangchuk, the External Affairs Minister of Bhutan has agreed to meet K.P Sharma Oli, the External Affairs Minister of Nepal in Dhaka on August 2, 2006. The proposal of Nepal forwarded by Oli left Wangchuk perplexed.
According to Rastriya Samachar Samitee, the proposal was, "That Nepal is eager to make a fresh beginning in the bilateral talks between the two countries to bring an end to the problem of the Bhutanese refugees once and for all. The refugee problem was essentially a problem between Bhutan and its people and it should not be allowed to come in any way in the development of bilateral relation between the two countries. He also called upon Bhutan to be flexible and helpful in working out a lasting solution to the problem in the changed context and make it acceptable to the refugees, who are currently sheltered in eastern Nepal on humanitarian grounds, so that the refugees could go back to their homeland Bhutan in dignity and honor. "
If there is no ambiguity in the above statement of Nepal it is the suitable step taken by Nepal so far and this should not be changed under any circumstances until the repatriation of all refugees to their homeland is guaranteed.
At the same time, Nepal should not depend on the Druk regime's move but should actively work towards the issue and should not leave a single stone unturned to bring India in the agreement in order to solve the crisis because India has the capacity to take up the vital responsibility of Bhutan's positive nod. Otherwise, if repatriation is accrued in the absence of monitoring authority there will not be guarantee of the dignity, honor and the safety of Bhutanese people.
India should be called upon for the establishment of the office of United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees in Bhutan for the facilitation and monitoring of the repatriation and rehabilitation. In the absence of UNHCR, India herself must take the responsibility of dignified rehabilitation in front of the world community with its time bound program. It must be noted that Bhutan's armed forces deployed to evict and denationalize the Nepali speaking Bhutanese in 1990 have remained in their position and in no time they will resume the same atrocity against Nepali speaking in southern Bhutan. Not only this, the valuable land and properties owned by the refugees since centuries has been distributed to these forces which would obviously invite trouble there.
Lastly, the catastrophe of Bhutanese refugees is not a crisis of any war or calamity. It is a crisis of deliberate creation of Druk regime. Thus it should not be allowed to denationalize the people on the ground of language, religion, race and ethnicity. Let us hope Nepal, India and international community take this matter seriously into account before the final decision. Be aware the decision of retaining/revoking citizenship right of the Bhutanese people is the right of the refugees, and not of some third country junkies.
Also, the activities of the Bhutanese refugees who are just demanding democracy, human rights and pluralism should not be made the case of criminal offence as has been proposed by the Bhutanese government.
(The writer is former National Assembly Member of Bhutan)
Source: ekantipur.com