Positive Signs

OF late, the Nepal-Bhutan talks process on the refugee imbroglio appears to have received a fillip, thanks to some determined initiative from the Nepalese Foreign Ministry. Though it is far too early to say how sincere Bhutan is in resolving the issue, Thimpu’s latest stated willingness to push the process forward has to be noted. That the ministerial meeting has finally taken place after a hiatus of 17 months itself is positive. Ever since the 11th ministerial meeting in August 2001, Bhutan had simply dilly-dallied on fixing the date for the next meeting which finally took place this week with an agreement to undertake the categorisation process of the already verified Bhutanese refugees. For Nepal, hosting some 100,000 Bhutanese refuges since more than a decade ago, the negotiation process with Bhutan to resolve the dispute has been hobbled by Thimpu’s manifestly go-slow approach. Holding a meeting between the two countries’ teams itself has been a painful process as Bhutan has the habit of procrastinating. That attitude has come to the fore in the verification process as well. After years of dragging its feet, Thimpu finally condescended to verify the refugees following which a Joint Verification Team verified some 12,000 Bhutanese refugees living at Khudunabari, one of the seven UNHCR-administered refugee camps in eastern Nepal, last year. The verification process itself has come under criticisms for its tardiness and there are legitimate grounds for fear that it could take years before all the refugees are verified. But unfortunately even the verified refugees had no option but to wait as before, as Thimpu simply refused to move forward. The latest agreement to undertake the categorisation process of the already verified Bhutanese refugees in Thimpu from February 24 thus gives a ray of hope that maybe, just maybe, the dragon kingdom this time round is somewhat serious.

The optimism stems from the fact that the two sides during the just-concluded ministerial meeting agreed to have another ministerial meeting in March which will, it is said, prepare a roadmap to find an early and lasting solution to the crisis. This will hopefully facilitate the verification process. One of the things that Nepal must impress upon Bhutan is that the verification process has to be speeded up even while Khudunabari’s verified refugees should be able to go home as soon as possible. The speed with which Bhutan reciprocates to Nepal’ sense of urgency on the matter in the days ahead will tell us whether Thimpu is genuinely interested in solving the problem this time or it is just another stunt to buy time.