BNDP hails int'l call to Bhutan to adopt inclusive policy
Birtamode, February 14: Bhutan National Democratic Party (BNDP) has hailed the call given by the international human rights and social organizations to Bhutan government to adopt inclusive policy towards the Lhotsampa community in Bhutan and resolve the two decade old exiled Bhutanese issue before going to so-called democratic election in March 2008.
In a press statement issued by party's Vice-president Dr. D. N. S. Dhakal, BNDP has appreciated the position taken by Human Rights Watch and Norwegian Refugee Council that Bhutan government address the genuine grievances of its ethnic Nepali population and engage them at a meaning full dialogue before the country goes to the democratic election.
"BNDP has been warning Bhutan government and the governments in the region that the unresolved refugee problem at the full satisfaction of all stakeholders has the potential to drag Bhutan to ethnic conflict which could be long-drawn and disastrous for the people of Bhutan", reads the statement.
BNDP has also appealed to the international community, government of India and the civil society at large to work in unison to persuade Bhutan King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck to resolve the exiled Bhutanese impasse and the political issue of ethnic Nepali Bhutanese community before going to the first democratic election planned for March 2008.
"The exclusion of more than one-seventh of the country’s population from participation in the democratic process is not acceptable to BNDP", adds the release. Bhutan News Service