Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Police detained Relay march Chief Badal (updated)

March 30, Armed Police Force (APF) has detained three refugees along with Badal Thapa chief of relay March campaign. Along with Badal, Tara Thapa and Dhan Bdr. Rai were caught by APF before starting “relay mass to Bhutan” campaign from sanischare camp, Morang.

Whereas APF has stated that, detention is keeping in view of security risk.

Chief Badal had informed public regarding the campaign two days before through a press release. He added, campaign is organized to  pressurize Bhutan for repatriation and seek concern of  international community upcoming SAARC summit on April 28-29 in Bhutan. Political forces in exile has  not yet made any public statement on this regard.

Source said that,”march has set internal goal to enter Phuenstoling Bhutan individually.”But detail road map including who and how will they enter country is not made public. It is said that Camp based repatriation support groups has support to the allies.

Relay march organized in 2007 had resulted loss of life and several refugees were vandalized by Indian security forces. Despite of several peaceful protests made by refugees Royal Government of Bhutan has not taken initiation for repartition.
 Click here to see interview with Badal after his release.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

UK to Resettle Bhutanese Refugee

United Kingdom ( UK) has work out to resettle Bhutanese Refugees languishing in Nepal. Kantipur News wrote," government team of  UK going to take interview of refugees in coming week".
It is said that, refugees disqualified for other countries and census misers will be included for interview. Nepal government and United Nation's High Commissioner for Refugees has concluded census of missing refugees two week ago.UK is one among to resettle less Bhutanese refugees in Europe.

Among one lakhs and seven thousand refugees 83 thousand have filled up resettlement interest form. where 27 thousand has been resettled in Europe and USA since 2008.

  Bhutanese Refugee resettlement is the largest program launched by UNHCR in world.


Sunday, March 7, 2010

US warns against adopting in Nepal

KATHMANDU (AFP) – The United States has warned its citizens against adopting children in Nepal, saying it has "grave concerns" about the reliability of that country's adoption system.
The government urged prospective adoptive parents to choose another country, citing the case of a young Nepalese girl placed in the custody of an American couple without the consent of her biological mother and father.
"The US Department of State strongly discourages prospective adoptive parents from choosing Nepal as a country from which to adopt due to grave concerns about the reliability of Nepal?s adoption system," it said in a statement on its website dated March 4.
Nepal introduced new adoption legislation in 2008 following reports of widespread abuses of the system by unscrupulous agents who were effectively trafficking children overseas for profit.
Twenty Nepalese children have been adopted by foreign parents since the system restarted last year, seven of whom are in the US, but experts say little has changed since the new rules came into force.
The State Department said that in one of the first cases processed by the Nepal government, the US embassy in Kathmandu found the birth parents of the adopted child were actively searching for her.
The US government warning follows a recommendation last month from a team of international legal experts based in The Hague that international adoptions of Nepalese children be suspended.
They said their investigations found documents were routinely falsified and children's homes were largely unregulated, with the interests of the child often not considered at all.
Germany moved to suspend adoptions from Nepal after the findings of The Hague team's investigations were made public, and 14 embassies in Kathmandu issued a statement urging the Nepalese government to tighten controls.
source: yahoo.com

Thursday, March 4, 2010

STOP KILLING, START LOVING

Following the assassination of a senior Bhutanese refugee and an erstwhile social worker, former camp Secretary of Beldangi-one, Ramesh Subba a couple weeks ago, there has been multitude of reactions on it. Various speculations have been made as to who had hands in such a heinous and maligned act.The incident hasn’t only left Subba’s family in lurch but many in the camps are dismayed and felt insecure. The common innocent people have started manifesting their fear if the camp was once again heading to be a battlefield in the illogical dictates of those who intend to taint peace and harmony.
Meanwhile, a senior leader, Bhampa Rai smells Bhutan’s hand in this crime and said that Subba’s death was a master-plot to adversely affect the repatriation movement. At the same time, a few other Bhutanese leaders, condemning the incident, have opined that such criminal acts rulling one after another were simply fostering to breed enmity and animosity among the Bhutanese brothers thereby bridging a divisive gap of difference and making them vulnerable at the hour of rush when all had to stand in unison for a common cause.
Whereas, a few celebrated the killing of late Subba. They termed it as a victory. However, wheresoever each individual’s perception in relation to this case be aligned to, either accept wholeheartedly or discard publicly, it is indeed by virtue of human ethics, conscience and rationality that violence can never bring happiness and contentment in people so as crime can never be proven instrumental for victory and justice.
Reports are there that late Subba was lately involved in the underground outfit that was blamed to have carried out a number of explosions inside Bhutan, killed refugee leaders including K.B Khadka and Santiram Nepal last year and disturbed the peace and harmony of the refugee camps. But, at the same time, death can’t be the final punishment to any culprit. Aptly to an adage ‘To err is Human, and to err is devilish’ are like human mistakes. Human beings by nature make mistakes but are instrumental tools if these mistakes are based as the foundation stones for new success thereof.
Looking back to his recent years’ deeds, if things are true as what has been said, late Subba and his organization has made a number of such mistakes. But, there are other ways to correct them. Killing of Subba doesn’t really say that those mistakes are now wiped out rather it might tempt and entice his colleagues towards committing mistakes of greater magnitude. On the other hand, the one who killed must have a heart much different from the rational being. There can be someone with rationale who might have directed the plot of killing Mr Subba but the one who directed the gun towards him can be one with an abnormal sentiments and that it can be of danger to anyone any time for he or she has a conscience that comes into play for ill intention alone.
Consecutive killings of three Bhutanese within a short span of ten months have revealed that the nightmare of impunity is what the innocent refugees have to live in. It is the grass-root people who are compelled to be sandwiched between death and threats. It is the common people after all to suffer and get suffocated in the conspiracy and defiled plumes of air, whose beginning prayers for peace and justice never get an iota of opportunity to rupture into a blossom of hope. Only are they left with, is an option of nightmare life full of impunity, threats and trouble. Looks like the refugee camps are mere sand banks with no human existence. The status of social security is dire as the growing murder, robbery; arson and the like have tightened their grips. May be there are voices in support of the recent killing of Ramesh Subba but in the ethical sense of human existence to conceive murder as the solution to any problem is like living in the barbaric era far away from the civilized 21st-century world.
As a human being we have greater responsibilities towards creation of fair, just and peaceful place on earth than to paralyse ourselves in an ever-growing flame of wrath coming out of our quick-made decisions. From the mouth of each individual the slogan ‘STOP KILLING, START LOVING’ should echo right now. This could only be what would pave a credibly positive way for the generation that is following our footprints.
(Prepared by Bhutanusa.com reporters)