Amnesty International
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amnesty international BHUTAN Crack-down on "anti-nationals" in the east Introduction In recent months, Amnesty International has received reports of serious human rights violations in eastern Bhutan in the context of campaigning activities by the Druk National Congress (DNC). The DNC, a political party set up in exile in Nepal in 1994, has been organizing grassroots campaigning activities in Bhutan demanding a democratic system of government and greater protection of and respect for human rights. The Government of Bhutan views these demands as fomenting civil and political unrest and promoting "anti-national" activities.1 As a result, the authorities appear to have initiated a concerted effort to crack down on people suspected of being members or sympathisers of the DNC. The human rights violations reported to Amnesty International include arbitrary arrest and prolonged detention without charge or trial, including of possible prisoners of conscience.2 The large majority of those arrested are members of the Sarchop community. Among them are dozens of Buddhist monks and religious teachers. Reports also indicate that relatives of genuine or simply suspected political activists have themselves become victims of human rights violations as the authorities’ repression takes its toll. In addition, there have been reports of incommunicado detention and torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment in pre-trial detention. The organization is also concerned about unfair trial procedures and conditions of detention amounting to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. Based on these reports, Amnesty International believes that the Government of Bhutan has violated some of the most basic human rights of its citizens and several fundamental principles of international law. Specifically, these include: a) the prohibition of arbitrary arrest 1 The authorities refer to suspected government opponents as "ngolops", or "anti-nationals". 2 Prisoners of conscience are people detained or otherwise physically restricted anywhere for their beliefs or because of their ethnic origin, sex, colour, language, national or social origin, economic status, birth or other status - who have not used or advocated violence. Amnesty International seeks their immediate and unconditional release. Amnesty International January 1998 AI Index: ASA 14//01/98 2 Bhutan: Crackdown on "anti-nationals" in the east and detention contained in Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and in a number of provisions of the United Nations (UN) Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment (Body of Principles); b) the non- derogable prohibition of torture and of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, a norm of customary international law; and c) the entitlement to due process and the presumption of innocence established in the UDHR and in a number of provisions of the Body of Principles and in the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners. The Bhutanese authorities have in the past taken some steps -- such as the ratification in 1990 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the extension since 1992 of an invitation to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to visit the country periodically, as well as the cooperation granted to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) during its visits in 1994 and 19963 -- indicating some willingness on their part to address human rights issues. While welcoming these measures, Amnesty International considers them to be only an initial step. The organization is urging the Government of Bhutan to implement as a matter of priority a series of recommendations to make the protection of and respect for human rights a reality throughout Bhutan.4 A draft of this report was submitted to the ambassador of Bhutan in Geneva, Switzerland for comment prior to publication. Despite repeated requests, no comments had been received by the time the report went to print. Background Landlocked Bhutan lies high in the mountains between the Himalayas and the Ganges plain. It is ruled by an absolute monarch, King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, and has no written constitution. The population is made up of several ethnic groups .5 The western valleys are populated by the Ngalongs, one of the three main ethnic groups, who are said to be of Tibetan origin and are politically dominant. The Sarchops live primarily in the east and are thought to be the most 3 The WGAD is one of the thematic mechanisms appointed by the UN Commission on Human Rights. The WGAD was established in 1991. 4 See section below on Amnesty International’s recommendations. 5 No official figures are available about the percentage of the population different ethnic groups constitute, and the exact number of inhabitants in Bhutan has been disputed for several years. The figure of 600,000 is the official population figure provided on 24 June 1997 to the National Assembly by the Minister for Planning and Chairman of the Planning Commission. The Government since 1990 has maintained that the population is 600,000 while at the same time giving population growth estimates around 3%. AI Index: ASA 14//01/98 Amnesty International January 1998 Bhutan: crackdown on "anti-nationals" in the east 3 numerous. Both are followers of the Mahayana school of Buddhism, but generally the Ngalongs follow the Kargyupa tradition, and the Sarchops follow the Nyingmpa tradition. The ethnic Nepalese, the third main population group in the country, are concentrated in the south. The Human Rights violations affecting members of the Nepali-speaking community large majority of them are descendants of Nepali settlers who Amnesty International has longstanding concerns in came to work in the southern valleys Bhutan, predominantly in relation to the authorities’ in the late 19th and early 20th century. treatment of the Nepali-speaking population in the south They speak Nepali and most are of the country. In 1988, the Bhutanese authorities Hindus. Today referred to as launched a census in southern Bhutan, which appeared Lhotshampas (literally translated as to be designed to exclude a large number of ethnic “people from the south”), they mainly Nepalese from Bhutanese citizenship. The census was combined with a series of highly unpopular measures live in the Samchi, Chhukha, Dagana, requiring ethnic Nepalese to adopt northern Bhutanese Chirang, Sarbhang and Samdrup traditions and culture. In September 1990, Jonkhar districts. Overall, the ethnic demonstrations quashed by the authorities resulted in Nepalese made up an estimated third reports of widespread arrests, torture and ill-treatment of of the approximately 600,000 people ethnic Nepalese, branded by the government as "anti- living in Bhutan in the 1980s. Since nationals". Thousands of people felt they had no option 1958, the government has introduced a but to flee to Nepal. Others were forced to go into exile series of measures to curbe the influx by the Bhutanese authorities. As a result, there are currently more than 90,000 Bhutanese people, almost of Nepali settlers and regularize exclusively of Nepalese ethnicity, living in camps in citizenship and naturalization eastern Nepal. Against this background of fear, procedures for immigrants and their repression and exclusion, the government has attributed descendants. These measures have recent incidents of armed robbery in southern Bhutan to resulted in widespread protests among those it also describes as "anti-nationals" returning to the Nepali-speaking people in the Bhutan from the refugee camps in Nepal. south (see box). For further details on human rights violations in southern Bhutan in the early 1990s, please see: " Bhutan: In 1994, Rongthong Kunley Human Rights Violations against the Nepali-speaking Dorji, a member of the Sarchop Population in the South" (AI Index: ASA 14/04/92), community, founded the DNC while issued by Amnesty International in December 1992. in exile in Nepal. In the following In addition, for further information about forcible exile, years, the DNC organized poster please see "Bhutan: Forcible exile" (AI Index: ASA campaigns and other grassroots 14/04/94), issued by Amnesty International in August activities inside Bhutan demanding 1994. political reform and greater respect for human rights. In that context, a few people were reportedly arrested. Among them was Tashi Norbu, a businessman from Amnesty International January 1998 AI Index: ASA 14//01/98 4 Bhutan: Crackdown on "anti-nationals" in the east Phuntsholing. He was detained for ten days in June 1995 after police raided his home looking for posters that had been put up by sympathizers of the DNC in May of that year. In January 1997, the DNC and other political parties in exile, mainly consisting of members of the Nepali-speaking community, formed the United Front for Democracy (UFD) in Bhutan. Rongthong Kunley Dorji was elected as its chairperson. In a joint declaration, they reportedly stated their intention to “jointly undertake the movement to remind the Royal Government of Bhutan on the urgency to establish democracy in Bhutan” (Kathmandu Post, 12 January 1997). Arbitrary arrest and detention According to reports received by Amnesty International, the Bhutanese authorities appear to have recently engaged in a concerted effort to repress and eradicate emerging demands for political reform and greater respect for human rights in Bhutan. The DNC has been spearheading such demands by organizing demonstrations, sit-ins and other forms of campaigning, particularly in the east of the country. This, in turn, has given rise, particularly since late July 1997, to scores of arrests in the districts of Mongar, Pema Gatshel, Samdrup Jonkhar, Tashi Yangtse and Tashigang in eastern Bhutan. Amnesty International believes, based on the information available, that more than 150 people have been arrested and that there may be several prisoners of conscience among them. The large majority of those arrested appear to be members of the Sarchop community. Among them are dozens of Buddhist monks and religious teachers as well as women and children.