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Kathmandu Tuesday May 08, 2001 Baishakh 25, 2058.
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Verification too slow
The other day, President of the European Union here in Nepal Lars Hormann expressed his
concern over the slow pace of verification among the Bhutanese refugees. This is the first
time
that a European envoy has felt stunned at the way the verification of Bhutanese refugees
is
moving. The Joint Verification Team (JVT) has so far verified just over 1,300 individuals
since it
began the verification process on March 26, or almost two months ago. This is too slow a
pace to
be acceptable. To determine whether over 1,000 refugees belong to Bhutan or not would not
have
taken so long had Thimphu really wanted to carry out the verifications with any real
intention of
taking them back. Such snail pace verification appears to be only a time buying tactic
which will
directly affect the process of refugee repatriation. This apart, our own government has
also failed
to raise its voice for speeding up the verification process.
There are 15,000 families which have been languishing in the seven camps in eastern Nepal
since the early 1990s. During two months’ time, the JVT has managed to verify one
percent of
the total Bhutanese refugee population in the camps. At this pace it will take at least
seven years
to verify the refugees in all seven camps even if the current JVT is split into smaller
units to speed
up the process. The initial euphoria that the JVT had brought to the refugees no longer
exists
since the prospect of repatriation remains as elusive as ever. The concern now is that the
Druk
regime may not allow the repatriation of refugees who left that country after refusing to
abide by
the dirglamnamzha (cultural etiquette) and tsawasum (law of loyalty). Another concern is
whether
the joint ministerial level committee (JMLC) will be able to resolve any
"deadlock" such as this
that delays the verification and denies the refugees their right to return to their own
country. The
verification in the very first camp has become a crucial question since the JVT has to
speed up
this process.
The fate of the over 100,000 Lhotshampas, who were evicted by Bhutan and have been
languishing at the camps in Jhapa and Morang districts, has been in a state of uncertainty
ever
since they came to Nepal through Indian territory. India has not helped to find a
permanent
solution to this decade old impasse. Rather, it has backed a country that does not respect
the
rights of a minority. The Druk government must recognize the fact that the JVT can neither
delay
the verification process nor harass the refugees while verifying them. It is a know fact
that they
have been evicted by Bhutan and the latter has to arrange for an early repatriation of the
refugees
with dignity and honour.
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