November 06 2009: A former editor of the Bhutan Observer weekly, the second private newspaper of the country, Sonam Kinga has taken up the job as vice chairman of the upper house National Council. The former journalist elected as lawmaker from Trashigang district in the east, Kinga was elected to take up the new job … Read more
November 06 2009: In the last few years, UN reports had maintained that Bhutan achieved around 21 percent growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP). However, last year the country achieved only 5 percent growth. The ruling party had targeted for 9 percent. In 2008, the country went through negative growth in construction industry – 6.4 … Read more
Manfred Ringhofer is a lone army in the Japanese battlefield against the gross human rights violations in Bhutan. Having good relations with Bhutan, Japan government and the Japanese people rarely believe about human rights violations in this tiny Himalayan kingdom. Manfred, as a university professor, organized several trips for university student to refugee camps in … Read more
November 04 2009: Bhutan is a Buddhist kingdom. Buddhism teaches fraternity, brotherhood, humanity and love. However, for Buddhist rulers of this tiny kingdom, all these features of the Buddhism are for a show. Inhumanity, hatred and cruelty are passion. The third book of human rights activist Tek Nath Rizal ‘Torture Killing Me Softly’ made public … Read more
The first private news paper Bhutan Times was forced to go for outsourcing to ensure its regular publication after a group of seven journalists, including its editor, resigned abruptly on October 22 afternoon saying management had undue interference on editorial issues. The problem began shortly after enthronement of Wangcha Sangey as the new executive chief … Read more
November 01, 2009: Bhutan is constructing over a dozen hydropower plants with targets to generate some 11,000 MW of power by 2020, all to be absorbed in Indian markets. To all these projects, it is only Indian companies who are investing. India stopped some mega projects in Assam and Sikkim to drill Bhutan’s hyro potentials. … Read more
Bhutan hosted the three day international conference on “Deepening and Sustaining democracy” (12-14 Oct), jointly organized by the Center for Bhutan studies and UNDP. It should be a matter of pride for the government of Bhutan to hold such magnanimous conference with a bit of experience on democracy. But for the SAARC region it is … Read more
Kathmandu, October 29, 2009: Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina will land Thimphu on November 6 to observe the signing ceremony of a new bilateral trade agreement, which aims to enhance the commercial relations between the two countries. In her presence, during the three-day state visit, leaders of the chamber of commerce from both the … Read more
October 28, 2009: “While subtle pressure on non-Buddhists to observe the traditional Drukpa values and some limitations on constructing non-Buddhist religious buildings remained, the Government took steps to improve religious freedom in the country.” This is what a new report on religious freedom published by the US Department of States for 2009 mentions in its … Read more
A year after Bhutan entered into party politics with a fabricated form of democratic system, it has organized the first conference talking democracy in Asia sphere. For decades, Bhutan resisted democracy in the name of preserving culture and religious unity. In many instances, Bhutan said it cannot tolerate religious and cultural diversity, which is fundamentally … Read more