National 5 (Spotlight Weekly)

No End In Sight

The euphoria seen last year is fast dying down with Bhutan continuing to exhibit recalcitrant attitude towards refugee repatriation

By SANJAYA DHAKAL

After 13 years of relentless exercise by Nepal, the Bhutanese refugee problem seems as intractable as ever before. Irked by lack of progress, Nepal is apparently exploring alternative avenues to resolve the impasse that has been dogging its foreign policy.

In a meaningful development, the Nepalese government seems to be preparing to internationalize the issue of Bhutanese refugees by involving the donor community who assist Bhutan. Last week, ambassador-at-large Dr. Bhekh Bahadur Thapa met with Charge d’Affaires of European Union Rudiger Wenk, British envoy Keith George Bloomfield, French envoy Claude Ambrosini, German envoy Rudiger Lemp as well as heads of diplomatic missions of Netherlands, Denmark and Finland. He also met with American ambassador Michael E. Malinowski and Matthew Kahane of UNDP.

The latest drive by the mandarins of Shital Niwas comes in the wake of visit by Indian foreign secretary Shashank who had said that Indian would provide all ‘necessary cooperation’ to resolve the issue. Shashank, however, stuck with the Indian position that it would not mediate the talks between the two countries saying it was a bilateral problem even though Nepalese foreign secretary Madhu Raman Acharya had broached up the subject when they met in Kathmandu.

Refugee camp: Uncertain future

Significantly, major international NGOs, too, have urged for international involvement in resolving the problem. In a statement issued by INGOs, they have expressed concern at the apparent deadlock and have urged Bhutan’s donor countries and UN agencies to ‘proactively’ intervene and use their influence for a comprehensive and lasting solution for the refugees’ problems.

The INGOs including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have also taken an exception at the Bhutanese government announcement in the Khudunabari camp on December 22 last year. They have stated that the time is ripe to convene an international conference, bringing all stakeholders together, including UN agencies and refugee representatives, to solve the problem.

The December 22 incident when refugees allegedly manhandled members of the Bhutanese side of the Joint Verification Team (JVT) led by Dr. Sonam Tenzing while delivering terms and conditions for the repatriated refugees, resulted in them leaving the country in a huff leaving the problem in limbo behind. The Bhutanese members reportedly had used provocative and derogatory remarks in their deliberation that invited the wrath of the refugees.

After years of exercise, the Nepalese government had just been able to convince their Bhutanese counterparts to take back the refugees. However, on the eve of the likely beginning of the repatriation of refugees, a sudden and unexpected turn of events once again shrouded the whole thing in uncertainty.

While the Bhutan government described the incident in Khudunabari camp as ‘unprovoked act of violence’, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that it was a ‘spontaneous reaction’ from the refugees.

After 13 years of non-progress, the Nepalese government had been able to at least convince the Bhutanese officials to repatriate refugees belonging to three categories – out of four. “At the 15th ministerial meet, Bhutan had agreed to take back refugees of three categories – the Bhutanese who were forced to migrate, the Bhutanese who migrated voluntarily and the Bhutanese who have committed crimes,” said Dr. Bhekh Bahadur Thapa, the ambassador-at-large.

However, following the incident, the Bhutanese government has shown a different attitude. Although Nepalese officials met with top Bhutanese officials on the sidelines of the SAARC Summit in Islamabad early this year and also during the BIMSTEC meeting in Thailand, the problem is yet to be sorted out.

“During the bilateral meetings, Bhutanese side say that they are willing to resolve the matter through talks but they do not act accordingly when it comes to implementing those ideas,” said a senior foreign ministry official.

In another development, Tek Nath Rizal, chairperson of the Human Rights Council of Bhutan (HRCB), with the objective of drawing the attention of the international and regional communities on this impasse, has vowed to stage an indefinite hunger strike after two weeks in Kathmandu.

Rizal has said that he has written letters to regional leaders, international INGOs as well as Bhutanese King requesting early resolution of the problem.

Meanwhile, the Bhutanese refugee problem is gaining urgency as the UNHCR has indicated that it would gradually reduce its responsibility in managing the Bhutanese refugees allowing direct participation of international donor agencies in the same. It has said that all of its responsibility would be transferred by December, 2005. With the indications of donor fatigue, it has become more important for Nepal to move ahead to resolve the issue as soon as possible – and that looks an uphill task indeed.