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| Kathmandu, Thursday August 14, 2003 Shrawan 29, 2060. |
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Grave injustice
T he 15th round of ministerial level talks
between Nepal and Bhutan on the refugee issue has been deferred indefinitely. Bhutan
apparently cited two reasons—ongoing session of the National Assembly, unicameral
Legislature and absence of a Foreign Minister in Nepal—for the postponement of the
talks. Although the government of Nepal is currently pre-occupied with the Herculean task
of expediting the peace initiatives with the Maoists, the solution of Bhutanese refugee
problem is no less important.
Nepali cabinet may not have a full-fledged
Foreign Affairs Minister, but the ministry is being looked after by the Prime Minister
himself. Any minister deputed by the Prime Minister, or representing the government of
Nepal would be as good as a full-fledged Foreign Affairs Minister fully entitled to
resuming the negotiation process with Bhutan. At a time, when the first batch of refugees
was looking forward to going back home, technicality should not come in the way.
The international community and the Bhutanese
refugees languishing in the refugee camps of eastern Nepal for more than a decade are
upset and agitated with the list made public by the Joint Verification Team (JVT).
Classification of the inmates at the Khudunabari camp—where a shameful instance of
about 150 children born and brought up in the camp are listed as ‘criminals’—has
come to light recently. This is gross injustice committed by the verification team, and
this is something that should not be brushed aside by the groups concerned and the two
governments involved in the verification process as a ‘simple error’. The least
that can be done urgently is to make an unconditional apology from both the government and
JVT on this lapse. Otherwise, the credibility of the present or any future verification
process would be at stake.
In fact, the postponement of the 15th round of
ministerial level meeting soon after the National Assembly debated the issue of the return
of the refugees in a hostile note, would be seen as something done at the express will of
the Druk King. The indefinite postponement of the meet will only infuriate the
international community and trigger more suspicion against Bhutan. This will also create
an impression that Bhutan, which appeared a bit moderate in facilitating the return of the
Bhutanese refugees belonging to certain categories, has taken the hard line once again.
Return to their homeland is an inalienable right of the Bhutanese. Exploring all avenues
of growth in a secure atmosphere in their own country is the right of all Bhutanese
children, including those listed as ‘criminals’ by JVT. A delay in rectifying
this mistake will mean that the government of Bhutan is party to this injustice. Talks can
wait for sometime, but the rectification warrants urgency. |
