The Bhutan MONTHLY R E P O R T E R
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The Bhutan MONTHLY R E P O R T E R Volume IV No 38, December 2007 www.bhutannewsservice.com Pages 4, Rs 4 Jubilee of Nehru’s visit Agreement has reached between Bhutan and India authorities to jointly celebrate Bhutan, 2004. use of weapons and explo- Pragathisel Sanskriti Pariwar, Bhutan News Service the golden jubilee of Jawaharlal The government mouth sives. Srijana Sanskriti Pariwar and Kathmandu, September Nehru’s first visit to Bhutan piece Kuensel quoted the court The court said, two Class Saipatri Sanskriti Pariwar which next year. officials saying that using a re- XII students, had connected are formed to strengthen the India’s first Prime Minister vis- The Samtse district court ligious façade called the Srijana with the Bhutanese in exile to communist ideology in the ited Bhutan in September 1958 has given its verdict in favor Sanskrit Sangathan, the group attend briefing sessions on country. that paved the beginning of a of sending 30 southern had held several meetings to Political and Ideology Train- Police claimed they recov- new relationship between Bhutanese to jail for five to discuss Maoist ideology and to ing conducted by the cadres ered detonators and other ma- these countries. The visit nine years on charges of in- collect money and food grain of the CPB. The government terials used for making impro- opened up the Bhutan to out- volving in seditious activities. for the Communist Party of also claimed that the Nepal vised explosive devices, mem- side world, ended its century The court after five Bhutan. People who attended Maoist and Communist Party bership forms of the Party and long isolation and delved the months long proceedings the meetings were made to fill of Nepal, Bhutan Peoples’ All Bhutan Revolutionary Stu- path to economic development. sent 30 people, who are up membership forms. Party, Druk National Con- dent Union, note-books con- The decision was taken during blamed to have joined the The meetings were held in gress, and Bhutan Gorkha taining revolutionary lyrics and a meeting between the Indian Communist Party of Bhutan Katarey and Ugyentse villages National Liberation Front were coded membership lists, coded and Bhutanese officials held in (Marxist-Leninist-Maoist), to in Samtse where they are ac- also involved in imparting names and addresses of do- Thimphu. jail. cused to have designed plans training and briefing these nors and five numbers of Nepali The accused were sen- to recruit local people in their people for use of arms. textbooks on Communist Party No movements tenced in accordance with the mission. Some of the defendants are from the arrested people. Refugee Coordination Unit provisions of the National Further the court said they also accused to have sup- The police had arrested 39 (RCU) under Home Ministry Security Act of Bhutan, 1992, have set up camps in the forest ported Bhutanese in exile, and people. The status of other nine had imposed restriction on and the Penal Code of for armed training to locals on forming secret groups like still is unknown. movements of people inside camps in Beldangi after 7 pm some time ago. Raj Kumar Lamichane, District Police Superintendent of Armed Police Force base-camp in Beldangi informed that the TBR Correspondent incidents. decision was taken taking into Beldangi, December-1 Similarly, Dahal expressed grati- consideration the fragile tude over getting an opportu- security situation in the camps. Bhutan News Service (BNS) nity to extend support during The decision came at a time and Nepal FM Network have such an emergency period. when a pamphlets, claimed to distributed an estimated 1,700 Meanwhile, Fire Victims Relief be posted by the Communists pieces of clothes to fire vic- Committee in Kathmandu com- Party of Bhutan (CPB-MLM) tims in Beldangi-I camp on prising Ashok Gurung had been distributed threaten- November 30 amidst a special (Khudunabari), Mishra ing at least 12 individuals to function. (Beldangi-II), Som Subedi leave the camps or face UNHCR representative from (Beldangi-I) and Deepak Giri physical action. its sub-office in Damak, Camp (Khudunabari) distributed SAHR concerns Committee Members among Nepalese currency 29, 321 that other representatives of the was collected from Bhutanese The South Asians for Human aid agencies were present on and their wel-wishers staying in Rights (SAHR) has expressed the occasion. Kathmandu. concern over the delay in democ- Editor of the BNS, T. P. Mishra The committee with consensus A fire victim woman receiving support from representative of Nepal ratization process of Bhutan. from CMC and other aid agen- and representative of Nepal FM Krishna Dahal. Editor of BNS, in jacket, holds cash meant for In a statement issued on Decem- FM Network Krishna Dahal cies distributed Rs. 425 to each ber 7 at the end of its regional meet distribution. Photo: BNS/Jeetan Subba formally handed over the family whose huts were com- held in Kathmandu, the regional clothes to camp secretary of pletely and partially damaged riod. “Relief Committee in on the hands of fire victims was human rights group called for Beldangi-I T. B. Gurung. by the fire. Kathmandu thanks all who always praiseworthy. speedy democratization in Addressing the distribution Gurung over a telephone con- contributed to fire victims”, At least 68 huts were damaged Bhutan. versation with the BNS ex- said Gurung, adding that the both completely and partially It further demanded for effective function, Mishra demanded pressed gratitude to all con- guarantees for human rights in the the management of fire briga- support extended by the when the fire broke out in country and a fair settlement of dier near the camps to prevent tributors for helping people in UNHCR and other organiza- Beldangi-I camp on November the crisis. from such huge loss in future camps during emergency pe- tions to deliver those clothes 9. US begins formal interviews Indian MPs delegation to visit Thimpu A delegation of Indian MPs As part of speeding up the resettle- is scheduled to visit Thimphu ment process, the second stage of and take an account of the interviewing of the exiled Bhutanese preparation of the first demo- interested to third country resettle- cratic elections in Bhutan. A ment by the US government offi- release issued by Anand cials has begun. The files of those Swaroop Verma of Bhutan people interviewed by the Interna- ing the interview while talking to vulnerable case identified by the Solidarity disclosed this fact. tional Organization for Migration Bhutan News Service said he hopes UNHCR. Yet I am called for the in- The decision was made unani- Anand Swaroop Verma Photo:BNS (IOM) has been handed over to the to fly to the US by mid January. terview twice within last one week,” mously in a seminar organized US government’s Department of According to him, those express- he said. by Bhutan Solidarity in New not only a problem between Home Security (DHS). The DHS ing extra interest in third country The DHS team will be in Damak for Delhi on November 22. The Bhutan and Nepal, but India is takes the final decision on individual resettlement and making contacts two weeks taking finals decision on seminar also decided to offer also involved with this issue cases if one is suit for the program. with UNHCR and the IOM are some thousands people to be flown a chance to exiled Bhutanese very closely, and demanded a The interviewing process began at expected to be chosen in first batch in the next few months. to participate in the democratic tripartite dialogue between the IOM field office in Damak. First to fly to the US. The health check up for these process in Bhutan. Nepal, Bhutan and India to batch of people face the interview “I neither am under protection case Bhutanese interviewed by the DHS “Another resolution of the solve the problem” said the on the same day. A person appear- due to torture in Bhutan nor with will be done in December. BNS seminar took the problem of release. BNS 2 The Bhutan Reporter, Dec ‘07 EDITORIAL Opinion & column By I. P. Adhikari Condemning Atrocities A Century of Suppression At a time when election date is Struggle for justice continues drawing closer in the country, the Royal Government of Bhutan “The second barbaric nature of Wangchuk dynasty, whose fourth descendant formulated (RGOB) has yet again flickered the fallacies of Gross National Happiness, was unveiled in 1990 when he termed thousands signals of continued atrocities of his loyal citizens as ‘terrorists’.” and suppression upon innocent Rizal reported the prevailing of rampant cor- Nepali-ethnic Bhutanese. Even the UNFORTUNATE enough, despite administration of the southern district. Lhotsampas toiled for it, this month we are The Wangchuks did not like this to hap- ruption in the bureaucracy. history has left several rooms to celebrating the centenary of the establish- pen. Jigme Palden Dorji had maintained the Interestingly, the ULFA and BODO mili- prove such atrocities and suppres- ment of monarchy in Bhutan, as refugees relation of Mit (friend-in-law) with tants operating armed struggle against the sions upon innocent pro-demo- here in Nepal. Proud to state, Bhutan’s mon- Mahasur Chhetri. Unscrupulous suspect Indian establishment were friendlier to the of the Wangchuk regime Dorjis forging alli- Wnagchuk dynasty compared to sentient cratic Bhutanese. archy would not have survived in present form had there been no cooperation from ance with southerners against the Thimphu villagers in the south. the southerners. Yet, it were they who faced palace further dwindle the status of In 1974 during his speech in Gelephu, The state-directed court an- the filthiest hatred from the regime. Lhotsampas.