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Nepal, Bhutan begin talks on refugee problem
The foreign secretaries of Nepal and Bhutan on Tuesday began a two-day meeting to discuss the repatriation of over 100,000 Bhutanese citizens living in refugee camps in Nepal, officials said.
The foreign secretaries of Nepal and Bhutan on Tuesday began a two-day meeting to discuss the repatriation of over 100,000 Bhutanese citizens living in refugee camps in Nepal, officials said.
More than 100,000 Bhutanese of Nepalese descent have been sheltered in eight United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) camps in southeastern Nepal since 1990.
They fled Bhutan after rulers imposed harsh anti-Hindu cultural reforms. Anyone who failed to follow the new rules faced severe intimidation.
Nepal wants all the refugees to go home, but contrary to the refugees' claims, Bhutan insists most of them left voluntarily and says it will only take back those who were forced to leave. Verification teams made up of officials from both nations were set up to review each case, but the refugees have complained that the process is so slow that it will take over a decade to identify everyone in the camps.
Nepal's foreign secretary Narayan S Thapa and his Bhutanese counterpart Daso Y Tshering led the talks in Kathmandu, in which Nepal pressed for the refugees to be repatriated by the end of the year.
Bureau Report
They fled Bhutan after rulers imposed harsh anti-Hindu cultural reforms. Anyone who failed to follow the new rules faced severe intimidation.
Nepal wants all the refugees to go home, but contrary to the refugees' claims, Bhutan insists most of them left voluntarily and says it will only take back those who were forced to leave. Verification teams made up of officials from both nations were set up to review each case, but the refugees have complained that the process is so slow that it will take over a decade to identify everyone in the camps.
Nepal's foreign secretary Narayan S Thapa and his Bhutanese counterpart Daso Y Tshering led the talks in Kathmandu, in which Nepal pressed for the refugees to be repatriated by the end of the year.
Bureau Report