Refugees should be repatriated before Bhutanese general election: PM Koirala
Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala has said that Bhutanese refugees who wish to go back to their country should be repatriated before 2008 so that they would be able to participate in the general election scheduled to take place in Bhutan that year.
During his meeting with Bhutanese human rights leader Tek Nath Rizal in Balwatar Sunday morning, PM Koirala said Nepal was ready to apply appropriate pressure to ensure their right to participate in the polls in Bhautan.
“Prime Minister Koirala told me that it is up to the Bhutanese refugees to decide whether they want to be resettled in a third country or go back to Bhutan and that Nepal would respect any decision of the refugees,” Rizal said after the meeting.
However, the Bhutanese leader said that since there has only been verbal agreement to resettle the Bhutanese refugees in a third country, Nepal should stress on the repatriation of the Bhutanese refugees in their own country.
The meeting between PM Koirala and Rizal comes a day before US Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration Ellen Sauerbrey is to embark on a visit to Nepal, Bhutan and India to make fresh effort for resettlement of Bhutanese refugees living in Nepal.
According to reports, during her stay here the US assistant secretary will hold meetings with refugees benefiting from US-funded programmes in the region and assess the progress and implementation of programmes that will resettle vulnerable Bhutanese refugees in the United States in the next few years.
A year ago Sauerbrey had announced that US was willing to resettle some 60,000 Bhutanese refugees who have been taking refuge in Nepal since last 17 years. nepalnews.com ag Oct 28 07
