Bhutan to establish relation with UNSC members: PM
New York, September 25: Prime Minister Jigmi Thinley said Bhutan will be revising the policy for establishing diplomatic relations with permanent member of the UN Security Council to match the changing time.
Earlier, King Jigme Singye had announced that Bhutan will not have relation with such countries but continue to have relations with India if it became the member of Security Council.
He claimed the democratization process in Bhutan began as early as 1953 when third king established the National Assembly nominating ‘representatives’ from different districts.
In an interview with Council on Foreign Relations, New York, Thinley said the people were not keen on bringing the kind of change that, in their eyes and in their mind, could not be very different from what they saw in the world at large and in particular in neighboring countries in South Asia.
He claimed in many of the countries, democracy had failed or was in the process of failing, and leading to tremendous upheavals, strife among the people, in some cases, they have seen so much violence that people felt that under the benevolent rule of a king, who was so very popular, who was revered, loved, and adored by the people, they had the best.
Talking about the revised treaty with India, Thinley said India respected Bhutan's sovereignty and Bhutan's aspirations and, in fact, supported Bhutan.
While Bhutan does not have diplomatic relations with China, Thinley said Bhutan has good relations with China but accepted relations have not developed in an equal way as with India.
Indicating that Bhutan might establish diplomatic relation with the northern giant, Thinley said there have been no invasions from China into Bhutan.
Against the well known fact that ULFA rebels were invited by former king, PM Thinley said Bhutanese government was unaware of their presence in Bhutanese forests.
Thinley is in New York leading Bhutanese delegation to attend the 63rd session of the UN General Assembly. Bhutan News Service