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According to the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, signed by 127 nations, a refugee is someone who has left his or her country because of a “well-founded fear” of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, social group or political opinion. As countries started to gain independence, the problem of refugees and statelessness have become a multidimensional and worldwide phenomenon. By 1995, there were some 15,340,000 refugees and asylum-seekers worldwide. In this year, the top five largest groups of refugees and asylum-seekers as follows:- (1) Palestinians: 3,286,000, (2) Afghans: 2,328,200, (3) Rwandans: 1,545,000, (4) Bosnians: 905,000, (5) Liberians: 725,000. All of these refugees problem is caused by economical, political and social reasons followed by the civil unrest.
Since 1989, even the tiny South-Asian nation, Bhutan, has surprisingly forced its own citizens out of the country. The kingdom of Bhutan is currently ruled by King Jigme Singe Wangchuk. The official statistics (?) shows that the current population of the country is 600,00. Drukpas (Tibetan descendants) occupy the northern part of Bhutan. They speak Dzongkha (an offshoot of Tibetan) and practice Himalayan Lamaist Buddhism. They form approximately 16-20% of the total population. The king himself belongs to this group. Sharchhops of Indo-Burmese origin constitute around 30-35% of the population, who live in the eastern region. They speak Sharchhopkha language which is similar to the one spoken by the people of Arunachal Pradesh state of India. They also practice Himalayan Lamaist Buddhism. The Nepalese speaking people of Indo-Aryan origin live in the southern Bhutan and form about 50-55% of the population. Since the late 1800’s they were migrated from Nepal. They are called Lhotshampas and have dominated the southern part. Until now, they have retained their Nepalese culture, language, religion and traditions, which starkly differs from those of the Drukpas.
With the involvement of the British, in 1907, Bhutan established a hereditary monarchy. Since then it is ruled under an absolute monarchy, the king is both head of state and head of government. The judicial system is not independent and there is no written constitution. Other than the ruling feudal components, no one is allowed to become Membership of the National Assembly. The King appoints all the necessary ministers who remain in office at the pleasure of the king. Political parties and activities or forming associations and unions are strictly prohibited. There is no right to freedom of speech, freedom of expression, political rights and free press. There are no social or cultural rights and no right to seek justice.
Nevertheless, by the mid 1990’s, the late King Jigme Dorji Wangchuk, the father of the present king, implemented various policies aimed at modernizing Bhutan and uplifting it from being an economic backwater. In 1958 Bhutan’s first Citizenship Act was introduced which states: “If any foreigner who has reached the age of majority and is otherwise eligible presents a petition to an official appointed by His Majesty and takes an oath of loyalty according to the rules laid down by the official, he may be enrolled as a Bhutanese national provided that (a) The person is a resident of the kingdom of Bhutan for more than 10 years: and (b) Owns agricultural land within the kingdom.” The Act was passed by the National Assembly to grant Bhutanese citizenship to ethnic Nepalese who had been in the country for at least 10 years and owned agricultural land. Before that the Nepalese had all been aliens. Meanwhile, an increasing number of Bhutanese people were exposed to the West. Many of them (both Drukpas and Lhotshampas) traveled abroad and brought back western ideology of political democracy and leadership. Consequently, they began criticizing the monarchy as dictatorial and despotic.
While attempting to economically modernize Bhutan, instead of support, opposition was created to the monarchy. As a result, the present King put an end to the economic development programs in 1985. All opposition to the monarchy were suppressed. Quickly, contact with foreign countries was cut off. So far the country has only two (a Bangladeshi and an Indian) embassies. The king also dismantled most media programs and even then television antennas. Most regrettably, the Lhotshampas were identified as a threat to the Drukpa monarchy. He introduced a new Citizenship Act in 1985 and the national census in 1988 which was directed against the majority Lhotshampas. The Citizenship Act in 1985 states: “A person permanently domiciled in Bhutan on or before the 31st December, 1958, and whose name is registered in the census registration maintained by the Ministry of Home Affairs shall be deemed a citizen of Bhutan by registration.” However, in reality, only the southern Bhutanese (Lhotshampas) were declared “non-nationals,” a direct violation of Article 15 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights with regard to arbitrary deprivation of nationality. Even the ones who showed all the mandatory certificates could not claim Bhutanese citizenship because the authorities immediately burned their certificates. Against such an inhuman behaviour of the Bhutanese government, not only the Lhotshampas but also the US State Department criticized its act, quote: “In recent years, assimilation has given way to Bhutanization... The (1985) citizenship law retroactively stripped citizenship from Nepalese immigrants who could not document their presence in Bhutan prior to 1958. [This is a] nearly impossible requirements in a country with widespread illiteracy, which only recently adopted administrative procedures.”
Furthermore, the Drig Lam Namsha Code of Cultural Correctness was passed which authorized Lhotshampas to adopt Drukpa culture. They were forced to wear Drukpa customs (a dress alike monks) and women were forced to cut their hair short. In many occasions, even the King himself spoke Nepalese but he ordered to ban speaking and teaching of Nepalese language at school or even in a public place. These demands were particularly difficult for the Hindu community of Lhotshampas because it contradicts their cultural practices. The king of Bhutan also introduced a ‘green belt policy’ turning farms (of the Lhotshampas) into forest-land. Resentfully, the Lhotshampas opposed these laws and organized demonstrations calling for their repeal. Just for this reason, all of a sudden, the majority of the Lhotshampas were classified as illegal immigrants.
The Lhotshampas saw these laws as violations of their human rights and reacted by openly defying the code. Consequently, after a century of mutual peace and harmony between the Drukpas and the Lhotshampas came to an end. People’s resentment and anger finally exploded and the demonstrations began with the popluar demand for political reform, human rights and democracy to replace the current absolute monarchy. The government cracked down the demonstrations by using the army and the police forces. The crackdown involved arbitrary arrest and detention, torture, extra-judicial killings, rape, plunder, confiscation of lands, properties and citizenship documents, demolition of houses and forced evictions. Accordingly, the first refugees (individuals and whole families) fled to Assam State in India. The local Indian authorities refused to provide any assistance but rather forced them to disappear. Frightened and desperate, Lhotshampas were driven towards Nepal which become reluctant host to a rapidly growing refugee popluation. Currently one sixth of the total population (i.e. more than 100,000 people) of Bhutan have been stripped of their citizenship, exiled and rendered stateless only for demanding their political and human rights. Over 90% of these are housed in the eight camps in eastern Nepal and the rest are fending for themselves without assistance outside of the camps both in Nepal and in India. Most political leaders representing Lhotshampas are being jailed in Bhutan. More than 100 political prisoners including scores of monks have been jailed without any trial. This violation of human rights has made a life of dignity almost impossible for Lhotshampas.
After waiting eight years, the refugee community in Nepal has viewed that the bilateral negotiations are just a waste of time. Truly, since 1990 several talks have been held between the governments of Bhutan and Nepal but these talks have resolved absolutely nothing. With the false allegations, the king of Bhutan continues to refuse to accept the refugees’ return. He has not allowed any concerned groups, jounalists or any international organizations (especially the Amnesty International) to visit the southern Bhutan. The main reason is that the whole region has been demolished and currently the king has employed the military force. To a great extent, the Lhotshampas are frustrated over the inconsistent policy of the Nepalese government towards the refugee issue. They feel Nepal is not treating the issue with the kind of urgency and tact that the Bhutanese government has displayed. So that refugees are no longer willing to rely on endless rounds of diplomatic negotiations and have started peace marches back to Bhutan. India, one of the largest democracies in the world, could play a vital role to resolve the problem of Bhutanese refugees. Instead of that, marchers have been prevented by the Indian security force. Under the recommendation of the Bhutanese king, it has also put strong law enforcement in anticipation of the activists. As a result, many activists were arrested and over thousands of them were sent to the various jails. In April 1996, Rongthong Kuenley Dorji, the leading figure for pro-democracy of the leader of the United Front for Democracy (UFD), was arrested. Along with many others, he still remains in the infamous Tihar Jail of India. The main reasons are that since 1949, India controls Bhutan’s foreign and defense policy and over 90% of Bhutan’s foreign trade so that they want to remain outside of the problem.
After years of stagnation Lhotshampas have lost their patience. No matter what, refugees are not quiet anymore. They themselves have continued various demonstrations in Nepal and India, and campaigned in Bhutan through media or any other means. They have repeatedly informed the Nepalese government to internationalize the problem. For over a year, two Bhutanese pro-democracy organizations (Druk National Congress (DNC) and United Front for Democracy (UFD)) have organized a peaceful non-cooperational movement in Bhutan demanding the institution of a constitutional monarchy with multi-party democracy. They have demanded fundamental human rights in keeping with the universally accepted provisions of the United Nations and the unconditional and immediate release of Rongthong Kuenley Dorji.
However, so far, the crises of the Bhutanese refugees have not shown any positive signs. Even thought the problem of Lhotshampas has been seen as a bilateral issue between Nepal and Bhutan, it has extended well beyond such concerns and interests on grounds of legality, rationality and humanity. Some experts even have argued that the failure of talks was mainly due to India’s refusal to mediate. But no wonder about one of the world’s largest democracies who has turned its deaf ear over such matter. As things stand, questions like how long the refugee crisis will continue in existence and how long Nepal will be able to provide asylum remains unanswered.
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