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Kathmandu Saturday January 12, 2002 Paush 28, 2058.
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‘Resettlement in refugee
homeland unfortunate’
Post Report
KATHMANDU, Jan 11: Nepal has termed
"unfortunate" the Bhutanese government’s policy of resettling northern
Bhutanese on land and homes left behind by Lhotsampa refugees (southern Bhutanese of
Nepali origin.)
Reports emerged yesterday that the Druk regime
was encouraging northerners to migrate down south and occupy the land and homestead of the
Lhotsampas who were forcibly evicted from their homeland by Bhutan.
Finance Minister Dr Ram Sharan Mahat, commenting
on the reports, said today that Nepal viewed the move as "unfortunate." He
further added, "This is unfortunate. This will not be helpful in resolving the
refugee issue."
Reports of the re-settlement comes even as Nepal
and Bhutan are holding bilateral meetings to resolve the vexed refugee issue which has
soured relations between the two Himalayan Kingdoms since late 1989 when the refugee
exodus began. Nearly 100,000 Lhotsampas are still languishing in UNHCR-run camps in
eastern Nepal, awaiting dignified repatriation back to their homeland.
The two nations recently completed verification
of refugees in the smallest of the refugee camps at Khudunabari, and further moves could
be taken up during the next ministerial level bilateral meeting slated in Kathmandu which
is likely in the third week of January.
Foreign Ministry sources meanwhile told The
Kathmandu Post that such forced re-settlement of northerners in the south of Bhutan had
always been the aim of the Druk regime. "But we have been protesting the plans for a
long time," said a senior official. "Our position was, and is, that Bhutanese
refugees should be allowed to return to their original homes in a dignified manner."
But the official said that Bhutan had informally
told the Nepali side that they too suffered from the problem of land-less settlers,
particularly in the north, and wanted to resettle these people in the south. "They
had indicated that they would provide the repatriated refugees adequate land somewhere in
the country. We are against this, and want the refugees to be provided their original
homes," he said.
Meanwhile, the officials in the Foreign Ministry
revealed that the 12th Ministerial Joint Committee (MJC) meeting between Bhutan and Nepal
would be held in Kathmandu in the third week of January.
Reacting to the development, the refugee leaders
in the capital denounced the resettlement move of the Druk government, but was quick to
add that that it was not a new development. "It’s nothing new. Even the
international community knows about it," said R Basnet, President of Bhutan National
Democratic Party. Concurred Rakesh Chhetri, Executive Director of CEMARD, "Every
year, for the last few years, we have been protesting the unjust move of the Bhutanese
government to the United Nations."
Chhetri also said the resettlement of
northerners would prove to be an obstacle in the forthcoming ministerial-level talks.
"The resettlement must stop, in order for the talks to progress." However, both
he and Basnet argue that even if the talks "succeed", the end result will be
zero. "Where will the refugees go since their lands and property are being usurped by
the northerners and those from the east?" asked Basnet.
Both the leaders said the refugees would not
accept any other place and want their own land, "where our ancestors had lived".
Basnet also said the refugees expected much more
than the Nepal government’s reaction of terming the resettlement move as
"unfortunate". "At least on humanitarian grounds, Nepal should pressure
Bhutan to allow us a dignified return."
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