Indian Solidarity (RESOLUTION)
1. The meeting expressed deep concern on the deteriorating situation of the Bhutanese refugees in the camps and the difficulties that are appearing for their return to their place in Bhutan. The most disappointing fact is that whenever the refugees tried to return to Bhutan, Indian security personnel stopped them in the Indian territory, put them in buses and lorries and jailed them. The meeting appeals different political parties, human rights and social organizations and intellectuals that all work for repatriation of refugees to Bhutan with dignity and honor.
2. The Bhutanese people who have been thrown out from the country have tried time and again to return to Bhutan with the slogan for the establishment of human rights and democracy in Bhutan. These people were arrested, put them in lorries and dumped at the Indo-Nepal border Pani Tanki. The Government of India continues to maintain that this is the problem between Bhutan and Nepal. But the popular opinion in Nepal, India and Bhutan is that unless India takes an active interest in the resolution of this problem, the refugee problem will remain unsolved. The meeting unanimously concurs that it is not a bilateral issue but it is a trilateral one: India's involvement is indispensable in the resolution of the problem.
3. For the last 16 years, Bhutanese refugees had been undertaking peaceful programs for their return to Bhutan. But day-by-day, the situation in the camp is deteriorating. The unemployed youths in the camps are getting attracted slowly towards violent struggle. Unless government of India takes appropriate step to solve this problem, it would be difficult to stop this region being submerged in militancy.
4.This meeting disagrees with the proposal floated by America to resettle these refugees in third countries because this will weaken the voice of Bhutanese people to establish human rights and democracy in Bhutan. This meeting appeals to the international community, instead of resettling the Bhutanese people elsewhere, there should be a coordinated effort to send these refugees back to Bhutan with honor and dignity. This meeting appeals to the different countries of the SAARC region to help resolve this problem of Bhutanese refugees through peaceful means.
5. The king of Bhutan has declared establishment of constitutional monarchy and it is in the process of conducting 'democratic' election. The king has declared illegal Bhutan Peoples Party, Bhutan National Democratic Party and Druk National Congress, which had been fighting for a long period of time for a political change in Bhutan. In addition, the king hasn't mentioned anything about in the resolution of refugee problem. This meeting concurs that the democratic election process in Bhutan is only an eye-wash to the international community, and any election excluding almost one-seventh of the country's population cannot be called democratic by any means.
6. Respecting the aspirations of the representatives of Bhutanese community, the representatives of different political parties of India, human rights organizations, intellectuals and the members of civil society appeal that the Bhutanese refugees community be allowed to open up a office in Delhi so that all those people who are in favor of providing support and solidarity for the establishment of human rights and democracy in Bhutan could provide helping hand freely, without fear and intimidation, as observed in the case of Nepalese community residing in India.