Same country, two delegations come together

The team comprised of Parangkush Subedi, Damber Timsina, Pashupati Timsina, Gopal Subedi, Madhav Acharya, Toya Acharya, Tika Acharya and Harka Khadka who joined the first GNH debates in US this June explained the organizers that the theory is a eyewash by Bhutan.

The conference was held between June 1 and 4 at Champlain College, Burlington, Vermont. Some o the important issues this delegation presented before the plenary for discussion include explanation on Bhutanese draconian policies, suppression on rights and liberty and failure to resolve the long standing refugee issue.

The delegation said that over 84000 Bhutanese of Nepali ethnicity were compelled to leave the country in the early 1990’s aftermath of peaceful demonstration in southern Bhutan demanding restoration of religious and cultural rights. This constituted about 17 percent of the total population in Bhutan.

Three major political parties are operating from exile: Bhutan National Democratic Party (BNDP), Druk National Congress (DNC) and Bhutan People’s Party (BPP). In addition there are two human rights organizations: Human Rights Organization of Bhutan (HUROB) and People’s Forum for Human Rights in Bhutan (PFHRB). They had been at the forefront of campaign for human rights and democracy in Bhutan.

Bhutan has decided to democratize the polity. A two-party democratic system is being practiced. The country’s per capita income has increased by almost five fold over the last two decades recording one of the highest in South Asia. The country considers gross national happiness of people more important than gross national income. With all said and done the trajectory path of socio-economic development sounds acceptable to all sections of Bhutanese society.

Bhutan’s relation with its neighbors has been improving. India and Bhutan enjoy unprecedented goodwill and the effort to tap large hydro-power potential is going-on bilateral basis. Bhutan has signed a treaty of friendship with the People’s Republic of China and time will come soon when Bhutan and China will establish residential embassies to foster economic cooperation. Bhutan is emerging out from the exclusive sphere of Indian influence. The United States of America is keen to promote closer relationship with Bhutan. Bhutan’s relationship with Nepal has been pushed to backburner because of the Bhutanese refugee imbroglio.

The international community has taken a bold decision to undertake rehabilitation of Bhutanese refugees in third countries. Of the total of 110,000 Bhutanese refugees about 30000 have already left the camps. By the end of this year some 50,000 refugees will be resettled in overseas countries. Overwhelming majority of the refugees has applied for third country resettlement options. USA is the destination to most of the Bhutanese refugees. The number of resettled Bhutanese refugees is likely to cross 60,000.

By 2013 Bhutan will have fresh election in the parliament. By then most of the refugees willing to resettle in overseas countries will have left the camps. Bhutan must aim for lock-stock-and-barrel solution to the refugee problem. No residual dissident activities should remain outside the country if we have to keep the country safe from unprecedented political movement.

The delegation proposed the following for resolution of this protracted refugee/political problem:

-    Bhutan must permit the willing Bhutanese in exile to return to Bhutan with honor and dignity, including restitution of their properties.

-    Bhutan must accord non-resident Bhutanese (NRB) status to the resettled refugees. This will in fact enhance the international profile of the country and justify establishment of residential embassies of refugee receiving countries in Thimphu. It is important for a country like Bhutan which is sandwiched between the two competing Asian giants: India and China. This will also encourage investments inside Bhutan from Bhutanese living abroad for the overall socio-economic development of the country.

-    Bhutan must permit the political parties formed in exile to participate in the forth coming election of 2013 and permit the human rights organizations formed in exile to operate from inside the country.

-    Promote inclusive democracy and release all the political prisoners in Bhutan. There are some 200 political prisoners in the country at present.

This is a unique opportunity for Bhutan to solve the protracted political and refugee problem. The solution not only will enhance the international image of Bhutan but will pre-empt any untoward political upheaval in the country from the residual political force operating from outside the country.

The concept of Gross National Happiness floated by Bhutan is a mere eye-wash to the International community if it fails to address the Bhutanese refugee issue and other concerns as just discussed.

A plenary session on GNH in motion

It will be a lost opportunity if the government of Bhutan and the dissident organizations outside the country failed to seize this movement. There is a need to forget about the past grievances and come over the table for National Reconciliation.

Local newspapers (Seven Days) and TV channels (Channel 17) published/telecast the discussion with exiled Bhutanese with interests.

Karma Tshiteem, secretary of Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness Commission and the only speaker from inside Bhutan failed to answer the questions raised by Bhutanese in exile regarding the mass exodus in early 1990. He simply skipped the issue saying it was not the appropriate forum.

A separate plenary focused on Bhutan’s happiness theory and refugees. Entitled ‘GNH, Bhutanese refugees and National Reconciliation’, the plenary was attended by a group of people including Tshering Tashi, co-author with Tim Fischer of the book ‘From Jesuits to Jetsetters, BOLD BHUTAN BECKONS, Inhaling Gross National Happiness’ and Sonam Ongmo.

Linda Wheatley, the president the GNH USA project in an interview with local paper had said that she doesn’t condone actions by the Bhutanese government that might have led to the exodus of residents. She distinguishes between the effort to develop new indicators and events in Bhutan. “Bhutan is not perfect,” she said.

It was not an amazing but surely a set back to read in a recent interview with a Nepalese daily newspaper that Information and Communication Minister Nandalal Rai see the possibility of communal violence in the country if the government initiated to revive the Nepali language version of the state-controlled Kuensel daily.

I noted it quite interestingly on what ground that he linked Kuensel’s expansion with communal violence.

The first language of public communication for various ethnic groups in the country is English. Nepali follows it in second with the national language Dzongkha at third.

Kuensel’s Nepali version was closed years ago. The government shut Nepali language curriculum in south since 1990, which created a whole generation of Nepali speaking population not knowing how to read his/her language. I think Rai can speak or read Nepali well but no wonder he sure does not know speaking his own Kirati language and additionally his children might not know both of them. In fact he is coercing his children for Dzongkha and avoids other two languages of the community that he and his new generation belongs to.

Language and culture are not the sources of conflict, they are resolutions. They bring harmony and peace not chaos and turmoil. Brought up under the strict discipline of the army barracks with Dzongkha as the only language of communication inside it, Rai must have well developed psyche that Drukpas wished to inculcate on him.

It is time that he changed his old thoughts at par with the change he has gained in his role to serve the country. He was serving the Dzongkha rulers as army personnel which has now changed to the service of the people.

As a representative of the Nepali speaking population, his statement, if reached to southern districts, will surely create angst against him. Rai’s statement is not the sentiments of south. He is not only obstructing the persons’ right to education in his/her own mother tongue as enshrined by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to which Bhutan is a signatory, but also made them illiterate of a language once used in official documents.

When I translated the country’s constitution from English to Nepali and mailed to as many Nepali speaking friends in the country, I was shocked to learn that a full generation know nothing about Nepali script while they speak it with difficulty. It was rather the Drukpas who managed to read some of the stuffs and responded me. Mr Rai must feel shame that his community does not know its language while people from other community tacitly read it.

As representative of the Nepali speaking population, Mr Rai not only holds responsibility to widen the scope of Nepali language but also to educate a generation who did not see school in their life either for not getting No Objection Certificate or due to closure of the schools in the south. He must know that political leaders and the MPs rather know Nepali better than Dzongkha taking note of the ineffective debates that take place in parliament.

Dzongkha does not have enough vocabulary to meet the current demands. This was reflected when drafters had to imports Tibetan words to write constitution. Nepal has all words that can explain the legal and technological circumstances. Under this situation, it is better that government encourage newspaper publishers for Nepali version that to coerce them for compulsory Dzongkha edition.

Ban in Nepali does not maintain harmony. Rather, it prepares people to burst against such policy when opportunity arrives. Letting them of the right to promote their language will help people keep harmony and understanding in society. Mr Rai must realize it sooner for better.

The participants at the Nepali class

Learning is a lifelong process but it is challenging for immigrants who come from an entirely different cultural background to learn the culture and language of the new country and to get integrated among native people. The complication in integration for Asians is very high in Europe where culture, tastes, social system and daily behavior widely vary. Bhutanese refugees resettled in Norway presented their difficulties though a drama-like session.

For Bhutanese refugees, being resettled in Europe is a tough task yet it’s an overwhelming experience. Some of the Bhutanese refugees resettled in south-west Norway recently participated in the Gruntvig Project activities, which works for raising awareness among the local people about their view towards new immigrants in their settlement area.

Gruntvig Project has been trying to turn these challenges into opportunity for the natives and the settlers and for local policy makers to learn how difficult it is for those people in acquiring the basic skills and getting acquainted with a new way of living. The project has been working in seven different European countries including Norway, Denmark and The Netherlands where about eight hundred Bhutanese have made their new home presently.

Participants from one elderly language center from each of these countries were given opportunity to intermingle and exchange the difficulties they have been facing, with funding from European Union (EU). Bhutanese refugees became part of the intermingling through Tysværopplæringssenter of Norway.

The language center, where Bhutanese go for learning Norwegian, was totally decorated in a Bhutanese style aiming to make it resemble a place in southern Bhutan. Pictures, maps, placards, things made of coloured papers, different utensils, dress, articles of cultural importance and books on Bhutan were on displayed. Traditional Bhutanese tea was served.

The drama

Facing the final interview. All Photos: Gautam

Interview began. Participants could know about their turn just by listening to their names. For the particular day, they were immigrants to southern Bhutan where they were to live and work. They were to learn the language and get used to with the long practiced culture and tradition. There were several questions. Everybody was uncertain about what they will be doing in near future. The interview was meant to show the state of newly arrived immigrants to a new country.

All the instructions were given in Nepali. Speaking Norwegian was restricted for the period. Participants would turn mute as the instructions were given. This proved that the language was more than anything for anybody.

Learning a new language is a real challenge. Different sounds in different languages, language mechanics and grammar and many others are determinants in learning a new language. This can be exceptionally wearisome for illiterates and for those who come from families, whose members belong to different linguistic groups. This was clearly seen during the course of Nepali teaching though the participants coped up the situation much easily, being learned, and could translate the pronunciations into their mother tongue.

A course in social skills could give a little insight of the typical culture in southern Bhutan. Information about housing, food, daily life, Bhutanese hospitality, school system, administration was given. Though the participants were supposed to be in Bhutan, many raised questions about the exodus of one hundred thousand people from this little kingdom. Some sentences about hypothetical philosophy of Gross National Happiness contributed a little to judge the other side of Bhutan. For many in Norway, Bhutan is the land of “Happiness” and mountain range.

The expression by the participants in the round table interview showed that many could experience the difficulties one encounters while being in a new country. Many participants also revealed that they could collect some information on aspects of living in southern Bhutan and many commented to further conduct the programme in a regular basis.

Conclusion
Immigrants face several sorts of complications as they first come to a new, developed and technology-driven country like Norway. Norwegian culture had not been amalgamated for centuries and therefore, it is reserved in nature to some extent. First entrants were Pakistanis who came to Norway as labour immigrants in 1970s. After this, refugees and asylum-seekers are entertained to a considerable degree. This has helped in changing the attitude of the common people to think immigration as a common phenomenon. Nevertheless, many problems and complications persist in practice for immigrants. The first thing that all must take not of is the integration. An arrangement like this helps everybody understand the challenges of the immigrants and in fact, motivates immigrants for getting integrated into the Norwegian society. “Building a House in Diversity” proved to an important event for Bhutanese.

The van was returning office after dropping home one of the paper’s IT staffs, when it was hit at around 12.45 pm, as it passed the road above the golf course area in Thimphu, near Royal Monetary Authority (RMA) building.

Suspected to be hit by stone, vehicle’s left window at the back seat and the rear window are badly shattered, pieces of which fell inside the car. Driver and another staff in the car remain safe. They immediately informed the police for investigation.

Newspaper editor Gopilal Acharya, however, suspects a stray bullet might have hit the van though police say it is not.

Acharya is also the president of Journalists Association of Bhutan (JAB).

It is the first incident of attack on press in the country. The Journalist weekly is being published by the journalists who left Bhutan Times in mass last year alleging managerial interference into the editorial matters.

Association of Press Freedom Activist is very much concerned with the latest incident on media. The attack would not only derail the morality of the journalists, but also curtails their safety and the right to information of the Bhutanese people.

The government must investigate the incident thoroughly and punish those involved in the attack. The government must also ensure safety and security of the media persons.

I. P. Adhikari

President

Date: May 14, 2020

Entitled diminutive progress, the report gives details of the media development and the constraints media and media persons faced in Bhutan and in exile. The government draft of the advertisement police and increasing management interference into the editorial contents have been noted as major threats to healthy growth of independent media in Bhutan.

Bhutan has drafted and circulated the draft ad policy, government ads to media outlets will be give based on reach and contents. The government proposes that only those carrying news about gross national happiness will get government ads while those carrying entertainment news or criticizing government will not.

Managerial interference into editorial content of the Bhutan Times weekly, government’s attempt to influence the first daily Bhutan Today and obstruction in live telecast of parliamentary proceedings are some of the hindrances observed in the report, which includes all incidents related to media between Amy 3, 2009 to May 3, 2010.

Download APFA-Bhutan full report here
Download IFJ South Asia 2009-10 report here

The counsel of the Union of India submitted in the Delhi High Court that the Royal Government of Bhutan preferred not to pursue the extradition of Rongthong Kunley and withdrew its extradition request.

Dorji was arrested on April 18, 1997, by the Government of India at the behest of Royal Government of Bhutan to have him extradited to Bhutan, when he arrived in Delhi to garner support from the government and the people of India for the Bhutanese peoples’ struggle for the establishment of democracy and human rights in Bhutan.

He was imprisoned for 14 months at Tihar jail and released on bail on July 12, 1998. However, his bail condition prevented him from leaving Delhi without permission, and he had to report to the local police station twice a week.

Back in Bhutan, on May 18, 1991, Dorji was arrested and tortured for fifty days on charges of treason for being involved in the pro-democracy movement. After his release, he fled to Nepal for the fear of re-arrest, torture and elimination. In August 1991, the Nepal granted him political asylum. On June 16, 1994, he formed the Druk National Congress, a political party, to demand the establishment of democracy human rights in Bhutan under Constitutional Monarchy.

His extradition case in India, which began on July 1, 1997, at the Patiala House Court and shifted later to Tis Hazari Court, had been proceeding at a snail’s pace, with the Union of India unable, apart from its first witness, to produce any of its other designated witnesses even after 11 years. Thus, to expedite his case, Dorji had submitted a petition in the Delhi High Court on October 22, 2008, requesting the Court to quash the extradition proceedings.

On April 9, 2009, the counsel of the Union of India submitted to the Tis Hazari Court that they were no longer able to produce its second witness. After the 13th adjournment/hearing on Dorji’s petition at the Delhi High Court, the extradition proceedings finally came to an end with the Delhi High Court’s order.
 
After the Court’s judgment, Dorji has expressed his satisfaction at the outcome. He said this judgment was a victory not only for himself but also for the people of the Bhutan and India, and democrats the world over. He said that this conclusively proved the politically motivated allegations against him were false, and that his faith in the Indian Judiciary was finally vindicated.

Bhutan will host the 16th summit in Thimphu on April 28-29 for the first time since the inception of this regional organization some two and half decades ago.

Rizal, in his letter has brief the heads of state or governments attending the summit of the issues of unresolved human rights violation and eviction of over one-fifth of national population since 1990.

He further said, “Much to our chagrin, big powers, without looking at the ground reality, have indorsed this election. Keeping one third of the country’s population out and in exile, with a further eighty thousand people in side the country barred from implementing their basic voting rights, the apparatchiks of Druk regime branding the said election a democratic one is nothing but a bunkum and political flippancy.”

The letter has also been sent to observers of the summit — People’s Republic of China, Japan, Korea, United States of America, Islamic Republic of Iran, Mauritius, Australia, Myanmar and the European Union.

Read his complete letter here

12 April, 2010 – An advertising firm, Druk Advertisement, has sued the six newspaper companies and Bhutan info comm and media authority (BICMA) for allegedly colluding against the firm to suspend its activities.

Druk Advertisement, which started a free circulation of an advertisement magazine in February, suspended circulation after the trade department, on the recommendation of BICMA, asked the firm to “immediately suspend its circulation”.

Thimphu district court sent its summon orders this week.

The issue sparked off in March, after the newspapers wrote to BICMA expressing their shock over the ad magazine’s license and seeking intervention.

They informed BICMA that the advertising firm was allegedly telling their clients that they were an ad agent for the newspapers. The letter to BICMA also stated that the “proprietor had come to the media houses saying he ran a publicity firm and would be collecting advertisements from his clients. He even signed legal contracts to book space for 52 inserts a year. However, after a month, his own advertisement magazine came on the market”.

BICMA then issued a notification in all media, stating that they had not licensed Druk Advertisement and that its services should be suspended, as the firm failed to follow rules and regulations.

The proprietor of Druk Advertisement, Tashi Wangyel, said that he filed the case because he did not violate any rules. “I’ve appealed for an explanation from BICMA on why my firm should suspend its activities, which aren’t illegal,” he said, adding that the trade department, after consulting with BICMA and establishing that the firm’s activities were purely commercial, gave him the license.

He said that the BICMA Act, in no way, covers advertising, but only monitoring of news and media content. “Neither BICMA nor the print media has contacted me over the issue,” said the proprietor. He accused BICMA of not being objective to solve the issue professionally.

“I suspect collusion between the newspapers and BICMA to stop my firm from functioning. I deserve to know why and, therefore, I appealed to the court,” he said.

Media officials from the newspapers said that the basis for their letter to BICMA, asking the authority to intervene, was that any publication company has to acquire both licenses from the trade department and BICMA.

“Our letter to BICMA said that the magazine doesn’t carry a single news article, nor does it provide any social value to the readers,” said one of the editors. “When the market is already tiny and the existing media houses are struggling to make ends meet, such a magazine is the beginning of the end of journalism in Bhutan.”

Meanwhile, the proprietor said that his firm had done a baseline study on the advertisement market and purview research on how effective the current advertising market was before it hit the market.

BICMA officials did not comment on the issue, saying that it was inappropriate since the case was already in court.

By Phuntsho Choden in Kuensel

The youth sensitization, under police-youth collaboration, followed government’s announcement to form such military armed force. The force is planned to take its shape by 2011.

So far the Royal Bhutan Police had been in charge of law enforcement. In a newer development, this proposed counter-terrorist squad is likely to be given the authority. The issue was in the surface while the parliament discussed Police Bill last year.

The preparation for a counter-terrorist squad is government’s visualization of unstable future for the country. And it is certainly directed towards increased presence of communism.

According to reports, the two units – riot control unit and counter terrorist unit – of the squad will be part of the special reserve police force that will be formed once the police bill is approved by parliament.

The country takes public demonstrations as vulgar and threat to national stability. Rallying against government or any parties is virtually banned. The weak tolerance power of the government towards criticism, especially rallying and demonstrations, was explicitly expressed during a small peaceful rally last July when Thimphu residents join a procession to protests government ignorance to death of students in flood.

The liberalization will obviously invite rallies, protests and demonstrations – either violent or peaceful. Being non-tolerant to such political activities, the present leadership is sure to use the squad to ban any form of demonstrations and protests against the government.

Bhutan has been cultured with frequent strikes, demonstrations, protests and rallies in neighboring Indian states. The only thing is the Bhutanese citizenry are waiting for the liberal policy to come up. The democratic system, put into place, cannot be withdrawn. Democracy gives the people right to oppose government, if not against the state.

Initiation for institution of a special force is the pre-determined answers from the government to limit democratic rights of the people. If police chief Kipchu Namgyal if rightly quoted, “Now that we’re a democracy, we should be prepared, we can’t be taken by surprise,” by Kuensel, it is a pre-plan that authorities are preparing to limit the rights people can enjoy in open society.

Training is already in progress, the amount of investment would depend on situational developments. In that sense, the country that lies in the conflict infected zone will have larger share of its national budget on counter-terrorism pool. Indirectly, this will curtail people’s right to development.

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Bhutan has a record of relatively strong growth that has cut poverty and advanced social development. It is based on prudent economic management and well-targeted donor support. Anchored by power, the medium-term outlook is bright, though rising unemployment, especially among young people, remains an economic and social concern.

The bank said, it is expected that during the 10th five-year plan (FY2009–FY2013), growth will continue to be strong, mainly driven by new hydropower developments including 10 hydropower projects, with three of the projects expected to start this year. Construction of these new power stations will sustain high economic growth.

With close trade links and the currency peg to the Indian rupee, inflation is projected at 5.0 percent for FY2010 and FY2011, largely following Indian inflation, the Asian Development Outlook 2010 mentions. While power exports to India will remain stable due to strong demand and long-term contracts, commodity exports will likely improve in view of that country’s expected strong expansion in the forecast period.

Recovery of service exports (mainly tourism) may take time, reflecting the economic recovery in industrial countries. The assumed relatively stable fuel import prices will, however, help restrain import growth. The current account is projected to be in balance in both FY2010 and FY2011.

Rising unemployment is a concern, as hydropower-led development employs few people and has small backward linkages. ADB says labor-intensive activities need to be developed. Tourism is one area where the private sector can expand. Depending on the development of tourism infrastructure and new tourism products, a more steady inflow of tourists throughout the year could be better promoted.

Private sector development will be a key focus in diversifying economic activity. Bottlenecks such as lack of skilled labor, difficult access to land, inadequate infrastructure, and limited financial sector outreach need to be addressed to facilitate economic diversification and growth.

Read the full report here
Read the report’s Bhutan section here