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Delegating at the Round Table Meeting, Geneva |
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16-02-2003 23:04
Autore
Earthtribes-Federation
 : http://bhutandnc.com
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AN APPEAL
To: Bhutan's development partner countries,
Donor agencies and
UN agencies
Delegating at the Round Table Meeting, Geneva; on February 18,19-2003 on the
plights of the Bhutanese minority Lhotshampas inside Bhutan and their
forcibly exiled families in the UNHCR refugee camps in Nepal.
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The Royal Government of Bhutan's respect to the inherited rights and
freedoms of the Minority Lhosthampa people has been deteriorating over the
last twelve years. It is in good book of your Excellency that more than
100,000 Lhtoshampa refugees have been stranded in the UNHCR administered
refugee camps in Nepal over the last 12 years. The 12th round of talks held
on 6th February 2003 neither paved any steps for repatriation. It is the
result of Bhutan's dubious motives to render these people stateless through
ethnic cleansing, has been apparent from its strategies that:
I. Revised citizenship law of 1958 to the citizenship act 1985 and revoked
citizenship of those who has obtained through naturalisation.
II. Outlawed human rights and political organisations.
III. Formulated forcible exile as a formal measure to suppress opposition.
IV. Halted all the development programmes in the six southern districts.
V. Introduced racial discriminatory regulations such as greenbelt policy,
etiquette-Diglamnamza, Survey system, route permit, Police Clearance/no
objection certificate, language policy etc.
The Lhotshampas were forcibly exiled for which the Amnesty International in
its reports has condemned since it was used as a formal measure to suppress
the opposition. Thus the refugee crisis will not be solved unless the donor
agencies and the international communities make Bhutan accept its citizens
back. Instead of recognizing the refugee's right to return to their
homeland, asserted an unacceptable process, which held these refugees in
dismay over the decade, supposed to be categorized as:
1. Bhutanese who migrated voluntarily. The trick used thereby is to brand as
non-Bhutanese since under the Bhutanese law, emigration forfeits Bhutanese
citizenship.
2. Non-Bhutanese. The government of Bhutan claims that the majority of
people in the camps did not come from Bhutan but are local Nepalis or
Indians taking advantage of refugee subsistence.
3. Bhutanese who have done criminal acts. This includes those Bhutanese who
have participated in political and human rights activities.
4. Bona fide Bhutanese, who can prove the evidence that they are forcibly
evicted. But Bhutan has conscripted the documents already and the remaining
ones claims it as 'forged'.
These conditions for categorization clearly expose Bhutan's concoction of
rendering these refugees statelessness. Holding bilateral talks appeared as
the tactics of Bhutan only to continue luring more grant aid.
The reports from Southern districts say that the data collected during the
verification in a refugee camp in 2001 is being used to further harass their
relatives in Bhutan. Royal Bhutan Army still occupies school buildings and
development infrastructures that has been closed down since 1990. The fear
of unfounded persecution and the restrictions against the right to freedom
of opinion and expression forbids anybody to speak out and let anyone know
their plights.
Beside that the government has been resettling the Northern Drukpa in the
lands of the Lhotshampa refugees that might ignite ethnic clash in case in
future the government is compelled to accept the refugees back. This will
lead to exodus once again.
The very nature of the so called drafting a written constitution at the
behest of the king, is self evident to constitutionally deprive the
Lhotshampa minority's rights and freedoms as its drafting committee did not
include even a single representation from the Lhotshampa communities. This
will not promulgate the genuine democratic change.
In this way the present monarchical regime of Bhutan has been gravely
violating almost all the rights and freedoms enshrined in the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, Rights of the Child and the international
conventions.
In the light of the above, and for the justice to give a chance, the
Stichting Information Bhutan International, on behalf of the Lhotshampa
minorities of Bhutan humbly appeal Bhutan's development partner countries to
consider to:
1. assert human rights pre-conditions such as to respect and observe the
rights and freedoms as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights. Accordingly urge Bhutan take back the Lhotshampa refugees and settle
them in their original place.
2. urge Bhutan review its legislations to ensure that they are consistent
with the fundamental principles of international law and refrain from racial
discriminatory practices.
3. ask Bhutan to constitute a well represented constituent assembly, by
firstly allowing the political parties and human rights organisations to
function from within the country to render a healthy and balanced debate
over each clauses of the draft constitution in order to build truly
democratic constitution.
4. urge Bhutanese regime to withdraw its military forces that are stationed
in the Southern villages and ensure equality, fraternity and justice for
minorities.
Your Excellency, it is an honest request of the people of Bhutan to kindly
use your diplomatic influence to steer and encourage Bhutan towards
recognising and respecting the above stated recommendations in order to
render justice for the Bhutanese people please.
Signed in good faith:
Date: 18th February 2003
Place: Paleis des Unies, Geneva.
Nanda Gautam
Executive Head
Stichting Information Bhutan International
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