[Ed. Note: Following is the statement of concern made at the South Asia People's Conference on Bhutan, held from 29 - 31 July 1997, New Delhi, India]

Statement of Concern

1. Preamble

One hundred participants representing different political parties, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), people’s organizations (POs), human rights organizations, jurists and prominent personalities from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Hong Kong, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka gathered in New Delhi, India, for the South Asian People’s Conference on Bhutan. Various aspects of the long-standing problems of Bhutan were discussed, like the repatriation of 125,000 Bhutanese refugees scattered throughout Nepal and India, the democratization of Bhutan and the involvement of India to solve the problems with which Bhutan is riddled. In order to resolve these, a plan of action was devised. The conference was jointly organized by Bhutan Solidarity -India and Group for International Solidarity-Nepal (GRINSO-Nepal).

The participants took serious note of the abduction from Nepal in 1989 of Tek Nath Rizal, a prominent leader of the Bhutanese people, who was later tortured and imprisoned in Bhutan until today. A matter of immediate concern was Rongthong Kuneley Dorji, chairperson of the United Front for Democracy (UFD) in Bhutan, who was arrested in New Delhi on 18 April 1997. The participants unanimously and unequivocally condemned the Royal Government of Bhutan for his attempted abduction and the illegal demand for his extradition. The participants expressed shock and anguish in the manner in which the government of India has entered into a fresh extradition arrangement specifically to extradite Dorji to Bhutan where his life will hang in the balance. It amply demonstrates how the government of India has compromised its own democratic values and the Indian Constitution and has violated international instruments of basic human rights to collaborate with the illegal designs of the Royal Government of Bhutan.

2. Common Concerns

The participants noted with concern the following:

2.1 The continued erosion of democracy in the region that is posing a serious danger to the fabric of the societies in South Asia and the increasing disregard for human rights by the governments in the subregion;

2.2 The Royal Government of Bhutan’s policy of ethnic cleansing and discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, some examples of which are:

(a) All relatives of the so-called "anti-nationals" or dissidents are likely to be retired from their services;

(b) The resettlement of people from other parts of Bhutan on the land left behind by the evictees in the South;

(c) An attempt to pass a law to ban the return of Bhutanese citizens who were previously forced to leave;

2.3 The plight of Bhutanese people, in particular its refugees and those displaced for the last eight years;

2.4 The continued non-cooperative approach of the Royal Government of Bhutan to solve the problems of refugees;

2.5 The continued hunting, repression and torture of Bhutanese dissidents inside and outside of the country;

2.6 The lack of progress in the Nepal-Bhutan bilateral talks on the refugee issue; and

2.7 The government of India’s reluctance to engage in a legitimate diplomatic effort to bring about peaceful, honourable and amicable solutions to the above issues.

3. Issues and Plan of Action

3.1 Issues

The participants felt the following issues to be of utmost importance, thus, calling for urgent action:

• The immediate release of Rongthong Kuneley Dorji by the government of India and the termination of all extradition proceedings against him;

• The immediate release of Tek Nath Rizal and other political prisoners by the Royal Government of Bhutan;

• The immediate repatriation of Bhutanese refugees to Bhutan with honour, dignity and the return of their property; and

• The immediate initiation of dialogue between the king of Bhutan, the Royal Government of Bhutan and the UFD led by Rongthong Kuneley Dorji.

3.2 Plan of Action

The participants agreed to engage themselves in the following plan of action in order to mobilize public opinion and support and to exert political pressure on the concerned governments to address the above issues:

• Develop an active Bhutan Solidarity Group in the remaining South Asian countries, such as Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka;

• Develop a South Asian People’s Solidarity Committee in different countries belonging to the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) to address the issues of human rights, democracy, development, the elimination of poverty, equity, social justice and peace in the subregion, including the Bhutanese issues stated above; (A similar committee has already been formed in Nepal under the leadership of Dr. Mathura Prasad Shreshta. The conference resolved to entrust the formation of such a committee within six months to Nimalka Fernando in Sri Lanka, to Rosaline Costa in Bangladesh, to Khadiya Gauhar in Pakistan and to Anand Swaroop Verma in India. Dr. Shreshta will coordinate the overall activities, and GRINSO-Nepal will work as its secretariat.)

• Form a South Asian Parliamentarians’ Committee for Bhutanese Refugees under the convenorship of George Fernandes with other members including R. B. Rai (India), C. P. Mainali (Nepal) and Vasudeva Nanyakkara (Sri Lanka);

• Involve all political parties, parliamentarians, intellectuals, social workers, the media and other social strata of people through advocacy and mass campaigns.

The following immediate action plan was agreed unanimously:

• To rally and maintain an overnight vigil in front of the Tihar jail with the participation of parliamentarians, human rights activists, legal authorities, eminent personalities and other concerned people on the night of 14 August to call for the release of Bhutanese leader Rongthong Kuneley Dorji as the Indian Parliament meets to begin the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Indian independence;

• To hold periodic mass rallies in different cities in India and other South Asian countries;

• To march in the near future from Indian soil with the participation of eminent personalities, political figures, the representatives of Bhutanese refugees and other people from South Asia of Bhutan to demonstrate solidarity with the Bhutanese refugees and to urge the Royal Government of Bhutan to urgently address and solve the above issues;

• To proceed with a signature campaign and other forms of action by parliamentarians, politicians, human rights activists and others in India;

• To initiate letter-writing campaigns and similar solidarity activities in other South Asian countries;

• To vigorously pursue before the courts of India actions to release Rongthong Kuneley Dorji, to strike out the extradition agreement entered into by the Indian and Bhutanese governments on 28 December 1996 and to declare the extradition proceedings null and void;

• To have ongoing coordination and follow-up by the organizers of this conference, the South Asian People’s Solidarity Committees and the Bhutan Solidarity Groups of the South Asian countries.