BHUTAN: Refugee Issue- International players are
stepping in: Update 33
by Dr. S. Chandrasekharan
It may not be music to the Indian government. In the absence of any
alternative, the desperate refugee representatives of Kudanabari camp are
meeting diplomats of various countries to get them involved in the issue
that has dragged on too long and justice appears to be farther away now
with the biased verification results of the camp by the JVT having been
published.
We have in the last update 32, shown how cleverly the poor refugees
were short changed and the appeals made on the results will have the same
fate and injustice will continue. For this Nepal Government is to be
blamed equally for having not properly examined the mountain of evidence
provided by the refugees to prove their citizenship. After laboring for
eighteen months, the two governments should feel ashamed to have produced
a document full of holes that will not stand scrutiny by any independent
agency.
The Refugee representatives of Kudanabari camp have issued a general
appeal seeking independent verification of the appeals made on the
verification results. Two major points they had insisted were
* Involve UNHCR in repatriation and rehabilitation.
* Involve the refugee representative T.N.Rizal in the ongoing
dialogue for the resolution of the problem.
Over 94 percent of the refugees of the camp have appealed against the
categorisation in the pro forma given to them. Ironically the pro forma
consists of two parts- one. New material evidence as if the old evidence
has been properly scrutinised. and two. Clear error in
the process.(verification and harmonisation)
During the interview the refugees were never allowed to explain the
documents produced by them. They were just asked to leave them with
the JVT. The team members gave the impression that they knew
all about the documents and that they had already decided the case. It is
not clear how one can produce fresh evidence of events that
occurred twelve years ago?.
Secondly what is the guarantee that the appeal
with the evidence produced now will not meet the same fate?
Take for example the case of Garima Adhikari and her children. The
properties owned by the family was of the order of 2.46304 Crores ( over
24.6 millions) in Nu which is of the same value as Indian rupee. The
property included a house, three orange orchards, cardamon field, a rice
mill, a grocery shop, a truck and a personal car. They have produced
enough evidence to show how they were forcefully evicted and their
property seized by the authorities. They have been placed under category
II- that is those who have voluntarily migrated. It is unthinkable that a
prosperous family like that of Garima Adhikari would have voluntarily
abandoned all their immovable and movable properties worth Crores of
rupees to live the life of a refugee in a small hut in Kudanabari camp and
surviving on the dole of the UNHCR.
There are many other cases similar to that of Garima Adhikari. It
should be clear by now that the refugees even on their appeal are not
going to get justice from both the countries who appear to have conspired
to treat the issue shabbily and it is inhuman to say the least. The only
alternative is for the refugees to seek international help in getting
justice. ( India comes under another category as the proverbial person who
pretends to be asleep and cannot therefore be woken up)
Already the international community appears to be seized of the
problem. The US Ambassador to Nepal pointed out the inconsistencies in the
JVT report and suggested that the two countries Nepal and Bhutan to
reexamine the report. He also expressed his dismay over the tardy progress
in the repatriation of the refugees from the Kudanabari camp which had
been verified already. One other significant point made by him was the
need for the involvement of the UNHCR ( United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees) in resolving the problem. Two senior officials of US refugee
Committee visited the refugee camps in the last week of July and have
expressed solidarity with the refugees. Of the people who received the
delegation, one child five years old was said to have held a placard
saying "How come our name is in the terrorist list?"
While Nepal Government has no objection on the involvement of UNHCR in
the problem, Bhutan has not responded and is perhaps
waiting to know India’s reaction. Tek Nath Rizal in a telephonic
interview to the media has also said that they have been demanding UNHCR’s
involvement for a long time and that without its involvement, the refugee
problem cannot be solved.
The United Kingdom has expressed its support to the refugees in a
letter received by Rizal. The European Union has also supported the idea
of involvement of UNHCR. In a statement it said " The EU shares
concerns expressed over procedures and results of the verification process
according to which the legal standing, including citizenship rights of
70.5 percent of the refugees classified as having left Bhutan voluntarily
is uncertain."
It is said that the appeals are being examined by the JVT (Joint
Verification teams). No
justice can be expected for the refugees from this team. It is time the international players step in to get the refugees back to their
country with honour and dignity. In this, Tek Nath
Rizal who is the most well known leader with international reputation
should take an active lead.
