Nepal: Bhutanese Prime Minister refuses to meet with refugees from his country
Kathmandu (
AsiaNews) - Forced to make an emergency landing in Nepal, the Prime Minister of
Bhutan Tsherin Togbay refused to meet with the tens of thousands of Bhutanese
refugees "because not on an official visit". Meanwhile,
however, he paid tribute to a Buddhist stupa, praying together with some
Tibetan refugees. This
happened yesterday and is likely to trigger heated debate in Nepal.
To
appease tensions, the government spokesman Minendra Rijal said that "we
will talk with the Bhutanese government in an official capacity to solve the
problems of its refugees".
The
premier Togbay was returning from New Delhi , where he attended the
swearing in of the new Prime Minister of India, but because of the bad
weather his flight had to land in Kathmandu. Not
being able to depart until today, he decided to visit the Bouddhanath stupa, a Buddhist
monastery often visited by Tibetan refugees . "We
were happy - says Tsering Lama - to see the Prime Minister of Bhutan in this
place. We feel encouraged to fight for our democratic and religious rights."
After
that, Togbay also visited the Hindu temple of Pashupatinath.
From
1988 to 1999, during what many have called "ethnic cleansing" thousands of
ethnic Nepali Bhutanese were forced by the authorities to move to Nepal. According
to the UN , the number has exceeded 120 thousand. Later,
with the help of resettlement programs about 80 thousand people have sought
refuge in third countries, but more than 40 thousand are still in Nepal waiting
to be repatriated to their villages of origin.
"We
demand respect - some refugees have declared- for our right to return to our
homeland".
.png)
