KATHMANDU, Jan. 2: The Bhutanese refugees will be launching a series of protest programmes demanding for their early repatriation to their homeland.

“To start with the verified refugees of the Khudunabari camp in Jhapa will be sitting in for indefinite relay hunger strike from January 7,” said a press statement of the Khudunabari camp. The hunger strike has the support of refugees in all the seven camps, it said.

The Khudunabari refugees are also demanding with both the Nepalese and the Bhutanese governments for the immediate disclosure of the results of verification of the Khudunabari camp; start the verification by the Joint Verification Team in other remaining camps; and to start repatriation and rehabilitation of the verified Bhutanese citizens back to their homesteads.

The JVT had completed the verification of about 12,000 refugees in the Khudunabari camp about a year ago. But neither the result of the verification has been declared nor started in other camps.
”It is to create pressure on both the governments for resolving the 12 year old Bhutanese refugee problem,” Ranjit Gajmer, a Bhutanese human rights activist, told The Rising Nepal.

The refugees have also have warned of intensifying the protest programmes if they failed to get positive response from the concerned governments, reads a statement jointly signed by camp secretary Kamala Khadka and programme coordinator Dr. T.B. Gurung of the Khudunabari camp.
Gajmer criticized both the Nepalese and the Bhutanese governments of not showing interest to hold the 12th round of ministerial level meeting for resolving the refugee crisis.

The 12th round of meeting, which was supposed to take place last year, has been 16 months overdue. The 11th round of meeting was held in August 2001.

They have also made an appeal to the international community to listen to their voices and to put pressure on the Nepalese and the Bhutanese governments to work to resolve the more than a decade-year-long problem. Over 100,000 Bhutanese of Nepalese origin are languishing for more than 12 years in the seven UNHCR managed camps in eastern Nepal.

“We appeal UNHCR to take our voices to the United Nations General Assembly to put pressure on both the governments”, the statement reads.