Non-Bhutanese lures to be ‘refugee’
Bhutan News Service
Damak, June 10
As the resettlement of exiled Bhutanese to third countries accelerates, number of people from Nepal and India seeking registration with UNHCR has begun sharply. Many are under attempts to approach the UNHCR and Nepal’s local authorities, responsible for administration of the camps, seeking their registration as refugees.
A source preferring anonymity informed BNS that those who claimed Bhutanese have come mostly from hilly regions of Nepal. Some of them even traveled from far western region. Nepal’s home ministry has deployed a team under the leadership of its assistant secretary Bishnu Prasad Poudel to study the facts.
Marriages between the locals and exiled Bhutanese have increased after local authorities asked all those married with Nepalese and Indians to register their names.Thousands of Nepalese and Indians under the cover of exiled Bhutanese have reached western countries in the last decades. Bhutanese political organizations and leaders have hands in sending these people when they pay heavy sum. Bhutanese living in western countries including Germany say they feel odd to identify themselves as Bhutanese due to increasing number of fake Bhutanese in those countries by producing counterfeited documents.
Journo threatened
Meanwhile, Bhupendra Timsina, Damak-based local correspondent for Nepal Samacharpatra daily in an exclusive interview with Saranarthi Sarokar at Nepal FM 91.8 on June 21, informed that he received a number of threats over telephone for reporting on ‘infiltration’ of non-Bhutanese in resettlement process. Timsina, who had written a news story regarding the infiltration of non-Bhutanese in the resettlement process on June 8 in Nepal Samacharpatra, complained BNS that he was mentally disturbed in returning to his normal duties. According to Timsina, he is confident of the reliability of the sources for the news he covered. He further claimed that even exiled Bhutanese were also having hands in such designs.
UNHCR, US embassy refute
The US Embassy in Kathmandu and UNHCR have denied that any non-Bhutanese has been resettled in the US under the third country resettlement program. In a joint statement, the embassy and UNHCR on June 18 clarified that recent news reports saying a few people have managed their way to the US, as exiled Bhutanese, are unfounded.
"There have been several reports published in Nepal that contain factually inaccurate information regarding refugee resettlement in the United States. UNHCR and the US Embassy confirm that all refugees resettled so far have successfully gone through an exhaustive process and have been confirmed to be genuine candidates for resettlement,” the statement reads.
The statement adds, "Each refugee who is resettled goes through an extensive screening process, first by UNHCR, second by IOM, then by representatives of the resettlement country, in this case by officials of the US Department of Homeland Security."The embassy also said that identity of each exiled Bhutanese is checked several times against a data base containing the refugee's picture and finger prints. Recently, an exiled Bhutanese from Beldangi-II had complained Bhutan News Service that a non-Bhutanese has been resettled to US in the name of his father.
Refugee protection more challenging: Guterres
Bhutan News Service
Kathmandu, June 20
Marking World Refugee Day on 20 June, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres said that providing protection for refugees today is vastly more challenging than when his office began work in 1951 trying to find solutions for Europeans uprooted in the aftermath of World War II.“Old barriers to human mobility have fallen and new patterns of movement have emerged, including forms of forced displacement that were not envisaged by the 1951 UN Refugee Convention,” Guterres said from Kenya, where he saw firsthand thousands of Somali refugees uprooted from their conflict-torn country, and Kenyans in the Rift Valley who were displaced in recent post-election violence.
Global refugee and forced displacement statistics for 2007, released by the UN refugee agency on June 17, showed Somalis were the fifth largest group of refugees and sixth largest group of internally displaced people under UNHCR’s care worldwide, and the second largest group claiming asylum after Iraqis. The new statistics showed globally there were 11.4 million refugees outside their countries and 26 million others displaced internally by conflict or persecution at the end of 2007, contributing to an unprecedented number of people uprooted under the care of the UN refugee agency.After a five-year decline in the number of refugees between 2001 and 2005, this is the second year of increases in refugees and displaced people. “Conflict today may be motivated by politics, but looking deeper it can also be about poverty, bad governance, climate change leading to competition for scarce resources,” said Guterres.
“Recent food and fuel shortages have had an immediate and dramatic effect on the poor and the dispossessed, including refugees and the internally displaced. Extreme price increases have generated instability and conflict in many places, with the very real potential of triggering more displacement,” he warned.Guterres said these new challenges make it all the more significant to find ways to address the increasingly complex root causes of displacement. The UN refugee agency focuses on protecting the rights and well-being of refugees, including ensuring that those fleeing violence and persecution are given access to safety and life-saving assistance, as well as long-term support during exile and eventual durable solutions so they can rebuild their lives.“But our work is becoming increasingly difficult in many parts of the world. In some countries, efforts to control illegal migration are failing to make a proper distinction between those who choose to move and those who are forced to flee because of persecution and violence,” said Guterres.
“All too often, we see refugees turned away at the borders of countries where they had hoped to find safety and asylum.” Guterres used the occasion of World Refugee Day to pay tributes to all those who have been forcibly uprooted as well as to the many humanitarians who help them. “Refugees show incredible courage and perseverance in overcoming enormous odds to rebuild their lives,” he said. “Ensuring that they get the protection they deserve is a noble cause because refugee rights are human rights – and rights that belong to us all.”Across the globe, in the 116 countries where UNHCR works, staff, refugees and humanitarian partners were involved in an array of activities to mark World Refugee Day, including experiencing refugee life in a UNHCR tent, bridge lighting, sports events, concerts, photo exhibitions and film festivals.
Birat opposes Vikalp ‘alternative’
The Communist Party of Bhutan (CPB-MLM) led by Vikalp, literarily ‘alternative’, founder general secretary of the party established in 2001, marked the start of armed revolt against autocratic regime with twin blasts inside Bhutan.
Bhutan News Service
Damak, June 10
As the resettlement of exiled Bhutanese to third countries accelerates, number of people from Nepal and India seeking registration with UNHCR has begun sharply. Many are under attempts to approach the UNHCR and Nepal’s local authorities, responsible for administration of the camps, seeking their registration as refugees.
A source preferring anonymity informed BNS that those who claimed Bhutanese have come mostly from hilly regions of Nepal. Some of them even traveled from far western region. Nepal’s home ministry has deployed a team under the leadership of its assistant secretary Bishnu Prasad Poudel to study the facts.
Marriages between the locals and exiled Bhutanese have increased after local authorities asked all those married with Nepalese and Indians to register their names.Thousands of Nepalese and Indians under the cover of exiled Bhutanese have reached western countries in the last decades. Bhutanese political organizations and leaders have hands in sending these people when they pay heavy sum. Bhutanese living in western countries including Germany say they feel odd to identify themselves as Bhutanese due to increasing number of fake Bhutanese in those countries by producing counterfeited documents.
Journo threatened
Meanwhile, Bhupendra Timsina, Damak-based local correspondent for Nepal Samacharpatra daily in an exclusive interview with Saranarthi Sarokar at Nepal FM 91.8 on June 21, informed that he received a number of threats over telephone for reporting on ‘infiltration’ of non-Bhutanese in resettlement process. Timsina, who had written a news story regarding the infiltration of non-Bhutanese in the resettlement process on June 8 in Nepal Samacharpatra, complained BNS that he was mentally disturbed in returning to his normal duties. According to Timsina, he is confident of the reliability of the sources for the news he covered. He further claimed that even exiled Bhutanese were also having hands in such designs.
UNHCR, US embassy refute
The US Embassy in Kathmandu and UNHCR have denied that any non-Bhutanese has been resettled in the US under the third country resettlement program. In a joint statement, the embassy and UNHCR on June 18 clarified that recent news reports saying a few people have managed their way to the US, as exiled Bhutanese, are unfounded.
"There have been several reports published in Nepal that contain factually inaccurate information regarding refugee resettlement in the United States. UNHCR and the US Embassy confirm that all refugees resettled so far have successfully gone through an exhaustive process and have been confirmed to be genuine candidates for resettlement,” the statement reads.
The statement adds, "Each refugee who is resettled goes through an extensive screening process, first by UNHCR, second by IOM, then by representatives of the resettlement country, in this case by officials of the US Department of Homeland Security."The embassy also said that identity of each exiled Bhutanese is checked several times against a data base containing the refugee's picture and finger prints. Recently, an exiled Bhutanese from Beldangi-II had complained Bhutan News Service that a non-Bhutanese has been resettled to US in the name of his father.
Refugee protection more challenging: Guterres
Bhutan News Service
Kathmandu, June 20
Marking World Refugee Day on 20 June, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres said that providing protection for refugees today is vastly more challenging than when his office began work in 1951 trying to find solutions for Europeans uprooted in the aftermath of World War II.“Old barriers to human mobility have fallen and new patterns of movement have emerged, including forms of forced displacement that were not envisaged by the 1951 UN Refugee Convention,” Guterres said from Kenya, where he saw firsthand thousands of Somali refugees uprooted from their conflict-torn country, and Kenyans in the Rift Valley who were displaced in recent post-election violence.
Global refugee and forced displacement statistics for 2007, released by the UN refugee agency on June 17, showed Somalis were the fifth largest group of refugees and sixth largest group of internally displaced people under UNHCR’s care worldwide, and the second largest group claiming asylum after Iraqis. The new statistics showed globally there were 11.4 million refugees outside their countries and 26 million others displaced internally by conflict or persecution at the end of 2007, contributing to an unprecedented number of people uprooted under the care of the UN refugee agency.After a five-year decline in the number of refugees between 2001 and 2005, this is the second year of increases in refugees and displaced people. “Conflict today may be motivated by politics, but looking deeper it can also be about poverty, bad governance, climate change leading to competition for scarce resources,” said Guterres.
“Recent food and fuel shortages have had an immediate and dramatic effect on the poor and the dispossessed, including refugees and the internally displaced. Extreme price increases have generated instability and conflict in many places, with the very real potential of triggering more displacement,” he warned.Guterres said these new challenges make it all the more significant to find ways to address the increasingly complex root causes of displacement. The UN refugee agency focuses on protecting the rights and well-being of refugees, including ensuring that those fleeing violence and persecution are given access to safety and life-saving assistance, as well as long-term support during exile and eventual durable solutions so they can rebuild their lives.“But our work is becoming increasingly difficult in many parts of the world. In some countries, efforts to control illegal migration are failing to make a proper distinction between those who choose to move and those who are forced to flee because of persecution and violence,” said Guterres.
“All too often, we see refugees turned away at the borders of countries where they had hoped to find safety and asylum.” Guterres used the occasion of World Refugee Day to pay tributes to all those who have been forcibly uprooted as well as to the many humanitarians who help them. “Refugees show incredible courage and perseverance in overcoming enormous odds to rebuild their lives,” he said. “Ensuring that they get the protection they deserve is a noble cause because refugee rights are human rights – and rights that belong to us all.”Across the globe, in the 116 countries where UNHCR works, staff, refugees and humanitarian partners were involved in an array of activities to mark World Refugee Day, including experiencing refugee life in a UNHCR tent, bridge lighting, sports events, concerts, photo exhibitions and film festivals.
Birat opposes Vikalp ‘alternative’
The Communist Party of Bhutan (CPB-MLM) led by Vikalp, literarily ‘alternative’, founder general secretary of the party established in 2001, marked the start of armed revolt against autocratic regime with twin blasts inside Bhutan.
According to a statement issued by Vikalp, they marked the launching of the people’s war on June 5 following twin blasts-- one near Nainital Primary School in Samtse and another near the Damchen Petroleum depot near Phuentsholing in Chukha district.
“We are proud to initiate the armed people’s war to eradicate the regime”, quoted a release issued by party general secretary Vikalpa. Declaring him the first martyr of people’s war, the statement also confirmed the death of one of its active cadres in Chukha, CPB-MLM also said that the team commander Chandra Raj Rai alias Khandu, arrested by the security, has been undergoing treatment at the Samtse General Hospital.
The police recovered leaflets and documents of CPB-MLM and also arrested Chandra Raj Rai from the scene, reported Indian media quoting Royal Bhutan Police.
Meanwhile, the Birat-led MLM faction, which had earlier claimed to have ousted Vikalpa from the party, also confirmed the death of one. Terming the Vikalp-launched ‘people’s war’ as a conspiracy against revolutionary movement, Birat faction strongly accused Vikalp of being just an opportunist leader.
Soon after the faction in the party, Birat-led MLM started people’s war calling it as ‘rural class struggle’ before Vikal-led faction launched. Each faction claims that a majority of cadres and public solidarity is with them.
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