Danish ambassador blames Bhutan for delay in refugee repatriation

March 9, 2006
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Danish ambassador to Nepal Finn Thilsted has blamed Bhutan for lengthening the refugee problem, news report said.

Addressing refugees in Beldangi III camp on Wednesday at their hunger strike tent, he said that it was not the government of Nepal who was delaying in the repatriation of refugees, but the Bhutan government by putting obstacles in the process, Kantipur quoted him saying.

He said the Bhutan has repeatedly stalled the Nepal government and the world community in the process of refugee repatriation. He assured the refugees the international community will continue to put pressure on the Bhutanese regime to take back its citizens. He also informed that they have been attracting the concentration of Bhutan government over the issue during the visits of Bhutanese foreign ministers to Europe.

He further said they his country would ask its ambassador to Bhutan to put pressure for repatriation and stressed that until all refugees are repatriated, they should get adequate facilities for living.

An appeal was submitted to the ambassador by Bhutanese Refugee Representatives Repatriation Committee (BRRRC) asking Denmark to play the role of mediator and help find an early solution.

Ambassador Thilsted also distributed red clothes to widows on the occasion of International Women’s Day.

Nepal chief of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Abraham Abraham, said he was hopeful of repatriation of the refugees. He added it was hard to say, at this point, if the refugees would be resettled in their country of origin or elsewhere. He informed that the agency had to review the distribution of relief materials due to budget cut by the donors and increase in prices of goods.

Some 105,000 refugees have been living in seven camps in eastern Nepal for the last 15 years. 15 rounds of bilateral talks held between the governments of Nepal and Bhutan have failed to yield any results. The refugees said they would launch decisive movement for repatriation under the leadership of Tek Nath Rizal, who was released in 1999 after ten years of jail term.