CONTENTS:

V. MISCELLANEOUS POINTS RELATED TO THE NGOLOP PROBLEM

4. No human rights violation
6. Emigrants should not be asked to stay back
8. Ngolop groups are terrorist organisations
9. Requirement of arms and ammunition

VI. No Amnesty for Ngolops

VII. Extradition of Ngolops

X. Emigrants leaving the country

XII. Ban on return of people who have left the country

XIII. Proposals for the evictions of the ngolops

XVI. Allotment of the land in Southern Bhutan to the landless people

XXI. Bhutan-Nepal talks on the ngolop problem

4. No human rights violation

The people's representative of Dagapela Dungkhag in Dagana Dzongkbag said the people of Dagapela wished to place on record that the allegation ofbuman rights violations in southern Bhutan made by the ngolops was totally baseless. Human rights bad always been respected in Bhutan and no one had been deprived of it. In fact, the Lbotshampas had been more privileged than other citizens of the country in all aspects of socioeconomic benefits. The ngolops were raising the issue of human rights only to gain support from human rights organisations and international agencies. The people of Dagapela, therefore, requested those international agencies extending assistance to the ngolops to carefully assess whether the ngolops really deserved any support and assistance.

The people's representatives of Shelgana, Karbi and Lingbu Gewogs in Punakha Dzongkhag also pointed out that the allegations made by the ngolops about human rig'hts violations by the government were totally baseless. They said that actually it was the ngolops who had been violating human rights through their ruthless crimes against the people. Most of these baseless allegations were made by the people who had emigrated from the country in spite of repeated appeals by His Majesty the King not to leave the country. Totally ignoring the many crimes committed by themselves, the ngolops were making these false allegations against the government with the sole intention of disturbing Bhutan's good relations with friendly countries and to stop external assistance.

Many people's representatives got up one after the other to express their views on the state of human rights in Bhutan. They said that Bhutan was a country were Buddhism had flourished ever since Guru Rimpoche had blessed the land with his sacred presence in the eighth century. In the 17th century Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal had established the dual system of government, with a religious head and a secular head, which endured for over two centuries. In all these times there was no trace of any Nepalese in the country. Nor was there a single Nepali who was a Bhutanese citizen when Gongsar Ugyen Wangchuck was installed as the first hereditary monarch of Bhutan. It was only from the beginning of the present century that the Nepalese had started to come to the southern foothills of Bhutan looking for work as contractual forest labourers. Those who were later allowed to stay as tenant farmers on the land where the forest bad been extracted we re given Bhutanese Citizenship in 1958 when they pledged abiding loyalty to the Ying of Bhutan and had given an undertaking to adopt the traditions and customs of the country. Despite this solemn pledge made by the: and the generosity shown to them by the government, ungrateful sections of the Lhotshampas population and the illegal Nepalese immigrants who had infiltrated into the country over the past 30 years attempted to overthrow the Tsa-Wa-Sum by organising the ngolop uprising in 1990. It has been these people who had been trying to subvert the country who were attempting to create misunderstanding between the Royal Government and friendly donor countries by spreading baseless allegations of human rights violations in Bhutan. The ngolops were doing this to stop foreign assistance to Bhutan and to gain sympathy and support for their subversive objectives.

The Chimis said that if necessary they would like to meet and talk with any international organisation or agency assisting the ngolops on account of their propaganda so that they could directly refute every malicious allegation made against the Royal Government. They said that every citizen of Bhutan enjoyed many benefits provided by the government, such as free health and education facilities, assistance in agriculture and animal husbandry, as well as equal opportunities in business or employment. Success in government service or the private sector was dependent only on individual ability and hard work. It was in such a country that the ngolops had unleashed their wanton acts of terrorism. The Chimis said that those who were assisting the ngolops, like the Nepalese government and some of the international organisations, should be fully aware that it was the ngolops who were violating human rights in Bhutan.

The Home Minister said that the people who were making allegations of human rights violations in Bhutan were all located in Nepal and belonged to the ngolop organisations known as the BPP, BNDP, HUROB, PFHR, SUB, Bhutan National Congress Party etc. They were maligning the Royal Government with baseless allegations in order to gain inter-national sympathy and support for themselves. At the same time they were terrorising and looting the people in southern Bhutan to finance their anti-national activities. They were inducing ethnic Nepalese from southern Bhutan and the neighbouring areas of the region to come to the refugee camps in Nepal and claim to be Bhutanese refugees by promising them free rations, free health and education facilities and free housing all supplied by international agencies extending assistance to the camps in Nepal. Incidentally, this assistance was also bringing in hard currency to Nepal.

The Home Minister said that the ngolops had been spreading allegations of ethnic Nepalese being forcefully evicted from Bhutan in various newspapers and other publications. Many of these one-sided stories were written by sympathisers of the ngolops who had never even been to Bhutan but wrote as if they had personally witnessed the distorted stories churned out by them. As everyone in Bhutan was rally aware, it was the ngolops who were terrorising the Lhotshampa people and violating their human rights. Uptil now they had kidnapped 211 people, raped 42 women, carried out 596 robberies and attacked and injured 495 people, destroyed 29 schools and 12 BHUS, and burnt or destroyed 61 houses in the villages in southern Bhutan. They had also sent constant threat letters to the Gups and Chimis for working with the government in the administration of the villages and Gewogs. The Home Minister wondered whether this disruption of the peace and tranquility enjoyed by the people and inflicting untold suffering on them was the ngolops' interpretation of promoting human rights. They had not only disturbed the peace in southern Bhutan but had been extending their terrorist activities to northern Dzongkhags also, he said. The real violators of human rights in southern Bhutan were the ngolops who were blatantly making baseless allegations against the Royal Government.

The Samdrupiongkhar Dzongda informed the Assembly that in order to discourage Lhotshampas from emigrating, His Majesty had commanded the Dzongdas not to accept applications for emigration directly but to first get the Gups and Chimis to enquire thoroughly as to why the applicants wished to leave the country and whether they genuinely wanted to emigrate. After confirming that the applicants genuinely wished to emigrate, the applications were put up to the DYT and the applicants were personally called to the DYT where in keeping with government instructions the members would try to dissuade them from emigrating. It was only after the applicants re-confirmed their wish to emigrate that their applications were witnessed by the DYT members and forwarded to the District Court for processing in keeping with the prescribed legal procedures for emigration. Only after all these procedures were completed would the applications of the emigrants be finally accepted by the Dzongkhag Administration. Even though they no longer wished to remain as citizens, those emigrants who were not able to sell their land were given a special Kidug Soilra commanded by Ms Majesty the King.

The Samdrupjongkbar Dzongda said that in keeping with Hiss Majesty's command, the Dzongkhag Administration and the DYT members always tried their best to dissuade the applicants from emigrating. But many applicants would come straight to the Dzongkhag office and demand that their applications be processed immediately. They would even demand that the government buy their land. Some of them would leave without waiting for their applications to be processed. Although some of the applicants would withdraw their applications after repeated persuading by the Gups, Chimis, DYT members, and the Dungpa and Dzongda, they would change their minds and again apply for emigration. There have been applicants who have withdrawn their applications and re-applied as many as seven times, said the Dzongda. He said that it was these people who had no desire to remain as loyal Bhutanese citizens who were malting all the false allegations of human rights violations in Bhutan after they had left the country.

The Sarbhang Dzongda said that in the past 10 months alone the ngolops had carried out more than 200 acts of terrorism in Sarbhang Dzongkhag. In March this year 40 ngolop terrorists even raided Dhamkbar village in Eidhi under neighbouring Sbemgang Dzongkhag. They gang raped the women in front of the men who were beaten and tied up, while the children who were frightened and crying were threatened with khukuries. The ngolops desecrated the private chapels of the people, destroyed the imager. and scriptures and robbed the people of all their valuables which could be carried away while destroying what they did not want to take. There could not be any worse violation of human rights than this kind of suffering inflicted by the ngolops on simple and innocent villagers he said. The Dzongda told the members that he had personally seen the trauma and humiliation suffered by these innocent victims as he had led an investigation team from Geylegphug to find out the details of this terrorist raid. In the course of the investigation all 40 terrorists were identified and it was found out that 12 of these terrorists had been sent from the so-called refugee camps in Nepal, the Dzongda said. He said that everyone in Sarbhang Dzongkhag knew that the ngolops were making their baseless allegations to hide their own crimes.

The Secretary of the Royal Civil Service Commission said that human rights basically meant that all people should be able to live without fear or insecurity and have the freedom and opportunity to do what they desired within established norms and laws. In Bhutan, till the ngolop uprising in southern Bhutan in 1990, all Bhutanese had enjoyed peace and prosperity for many years. The ngolops destroyed this peace and tranquility, disrupted socioeconomic progress and endangered the security of the country. While claiming to fight for the human rights of the Lhotshampas, they had been actually inflicting untold sufferings on the people of southern Bhutan through their wanton acts of terrorism against the very people whose rights they professed to be championing. The ngolops after killing, kidnapping, robbing and assaulting many Lhotsbampas had been blaming the ethnic Nepalese and lawless elements in Assam, Kalimpong and Darjeeling for these acts. However, as the saying goes that 'a theft is carried out by a thief who knows the victim,' only those who are familiar with the villages in southern Bhutan and know which villagers had large savings of gold, silver and cash could successfully carryout the many robberies and terrorist raids in southern Bhutan, said the Secretary. That was why all international organisations that had been assisting the ngolop organisations and the Lhotshampa emigrants on the basis of the ngolop propaganda should study and assess more carefully whether these people really deserved their assistance and support.

The Foreign Minister informed the National Assembly that human rights was considered an important issue by the rich and powerful countries of the world. As such, the ngolops were accusing the Royal Government of committing human rights violations in southern Bhutan with the aim of winning the sympathy and support of these countries. He said that, firstly, firstly, the dissidents wanted substantial financial assistance which they were getting. Secondly, the dissidents were trying to persuade donor countries to stop aid to Bhutan. He said that with the blessings of the Guardian Deities, His Majesty the King's wise and dedicated leadership and the good fortune of the Bhutanese people, the ngolops had not succeeded in their objective. International assistance to Bhutan continued to flow in undiminished because Bhutan had a good record of proper aid utilization. In fact, some new donors had also started extending aid to bhutan. Thirdly, the dissidents were trying to garner the support of the international community to repatriate to Bhutan all the people in the camps in Nepal. They had obtained the support of political parties in Nepal to send to Bhutan all the people in the Nepal camps regardless of their real status.

The Foreign Minister informed the Assembly that the dissidents were carrying out a disinformation campaign against the Royal Government. He mentioned that during the recently concluded United Nations World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna, the capital of Austria, a number of ngolop leaders were in Vienna trying to tarnish the Royal Government's image, but they were unsuccessful in their efforts, and in fact Bhutan was elected as one of the Vice Presidents of the Conference. The Foreign Minister said that the objective of the dissidents was to establish a multi-party democracy in Bhutan and also increase the representation of the Southern Bhutanese in the National Assembly to 40 percent. He said that besides being a small country, Bhutan had a tiny population of about 450,000 Northern Bhutanese while Nepal had a population of over 20,000,000 and India about 10,000,000 people of Nepali origin, which means that for every Bhutanese there were about 70 Nepalese. The Foreign Minister said that the ultimate aim of the dissidents was to transform Bhutan into a Nepali-dominated state and their accusations against the Royal Government of human rights violations had from the very beginning been a mere pretext to gain the attention and support of the international community.

The Minister of Trade and Industry said everyone now knew that the ngolops were raising the slogans of human rights and democracy merely to gain international sympathy and support. The state of human rights in Bhutan was well known to everyone in the country including the international community stationed here. As such, he said, there was n need to even bother refuting the baseless allegations mad about human rights violations in Bhutan. What was most important was for all Bhutanese people to think as one an be firmly united under the dedicated and wise leadership of His Majesty the King.

The' people's representative of Daifam in Samdrupjongkhar said that ever since the ngolop problem began, the people of southern Bhutan had been living in tension and fear, not knowing what would happen to them from sunrise to sunset or from dusk to dawn. This state of tension and fear was all due to the terrorist activities unleashed on the people by the ngolops. Concerned over the suffering of the people and wishing to see what steps were being taken by the Dzongdas, Dungpas, Chimis, Gups an DYT members to improve the welfare of the people, His Majesty the King, without any concern for his own security had visited the southern Dzongkhags many times, he said Meeting and talking with the Lhotshampa people, His Majesty had explained that when the country was going through a difficult time, people should not emigrate and leave. However, many people had emigrated, rejecting the love and magnanimity of their King, renouncing, their status a Bhutanese citizens, disregarding the precepts of their gods and goddesses and leaving behind their country. After emigrating and leaving the country these people had been maligning the government policies, the citizenship laws and the traditions and customs of the country so viciously that it caused deep anguish in the hearts of the loyal Lhotshampas. As the saying goes that "during evil times the good will face difficulties while the bad will have an easy time," the people who had created great hardships and difficulties in the country and left were enjoying the benefits of free rations, education, health and other benefits from various organisations in the camps in Nepal. Out to blame the crimes they had committed on others the ngolops were maligning our country, he said. These people burnt and blown up schools that were built for the benefit of their own children, destroyed BHUs, bridges and roads and attacked and robbed countless numbers of families of all their savings. It was the ngolops who were violating human rights in southern Bhutan and inflicting untold suffering on the Lhotshampas, said the Chimi.

The people's representative of Samchi said that the Lhotshampa people had been living in peace and happiness and enjoying the benefits of progress and development provided by the government when the ngolops rebelled against the country, carried out terrorist activities and destroyed many service facilities. After committing these crimes they left the country and started making baseless allegations of human rights violations against the government. However, it was these ngolops who were violating human rights through their continued terrorist raids on the people of s6uthem Bhutan, many of them directed from the camps in Nepal. The international organisations extending assistance to the people in the camps in Nepal should carefully review whether there were really any grounds at all for extending assistance to these people.

The people's representatives of Chang Gewog in Thimphu Dzongkhag, Choekhor Gewog in Bumthang and Drametsi Gewog in Mongar Dzongkhag pointed out that everyone in Bhutan was equal regardless of wealth or status. Employment and business opportunities were based entirely on experience and ability and a person's desire and capacity to work hard and succeed. Everyone from a simple villager to a minister could speak and act as they wished and were equal before the law. They said that the international media should be given frequent information and reminders of the true state of affairs in Bhutan and the true nature of the ngolops and their activities.

The people's representative of Dorokha said that the people could all vouch that the Royal Government of Bhutan had always upheld and promoted human rights and had never done anything that violated such rights. It was the ngolops who, while making false allegations against the government, bad been carrying out terrorists activities including murder and inflicting untold suffering on the Lhotshampa people. All the Lhotshampa people were aware that it was the ngolops who were violating human rights in southern Bhutan. He said that he had been the Chimi for less than a year and he had already received two threat letters from the ngolops. They demanded Nu.20,000 from me and threatened that if I did not send the money I would be made six inches shorter when they came back to Bhutan, he said. These letters had been handed over by him to the Dzongkhag Headquarters. He cited an incident some time back in April this year when a group of terrorists raided the house of one Birkha Bahadur Rai in Sibichang Village in Dorokha. Birkha Bahadur was beaten up and seriously injured while his family was tied up by the terrorists who took away all the valuables in the house. The persons responsible for this crime were Birkha Bahadur's own relatives who had earlier left the country. Although it was they who were inflicting untold sufferings on the people, the ngolops were making blatantly false accusations that the government, Dzongkhag officials, security forces and the Gups and Chimis were terrorising the people and evicting them from the country. He said that the international organisations extending assistance to the ngolops should realise that the malicious allegations against the government were being made by the ngolops to gain their sympathy, support and assistance.

The people's representatives of Tsangkhar in Dagana Dzongkhag and Samchi in Samchi Dzongkhag said that His Majesty the King and the Royal Government had always looked after the Kidug and welfare of the people. It was the ngolops who had been inflicting suffering and hardship on the Lhotshampa people through their constant terrorist attacks and raids. It was the ngolops who had been violating human rights in southern Bhutan. As all the people knew, the government had never violated human rights in any way. The ngolops were making false allegations against the government to hide their own crimes.

One of the Royal Advisory Councillors from southern Bhutan said that the ngolops had a very strange and bizarre interpretation of human rights and who was really violating these values. When the people of Bhutan were enjoying peace and prosperity, the ngolops shattered this idyllic state by 'kidnapping two innocent people from Ghumaoney, brutally murdering them and leaving their severed beads on the public thoroughfare in Gomtu town along with letters warning the Lhotshampa people for supporting the government. Following this, the ngolops armed with guns, bombs and khukuries forced villagers in the southern Dzongkhags to join them in their rebellion against the government. In Samchi, these armed ngolops forced women, children and old people to act as a human shield as they marched towards the Dzongkhag Headquarters. The Dzongda met them at the bridge near Samchi and explained to them it was not proper to march on the Dzong with guns and bombs and that they should tell him their demands. He asked the leaders to come forward and talk with him and the Dzongkhag officials. The ngolops, however, responded by throwing a bomb at the Dzongda and almost killed him. The ngolops bad no genuine grievances to voice. Their objective was clearly to find an excuse to attack the Dzongkhag officials and the Police and security personnel. If the Police and the security personnel had responded to the provocations of the ngolops, many people would have been lolled. However, in view of tne strict command issued by His Majesty the King that the Police and the security forces were not to fire their weapons under any circumstances, the security forces and the Police restrained themselves despite serious provocation from the ngolops and did not harm anyone. This was witnessed by all of us in Samchi that day, be said.

The Councillor narrated how the ngolops destroyed many service facilities, damaged electricity poles, destroyed bridges and terrorised and robbed people in the villages. The ngolops continue to inflict tremendous suffering on the people to this day through their terrorist activities, 'he said. It was the ngolops who had left the country who were violating human rights and causing untold suffering to the Lhotshampa people. He told the members how two persons from Ms village were murdered because the people in the villager who were all Lepchas had refused to join the ngolops.

The National Assembly noted that when Bhutan was making great progress on the path of socioeconomic development and the country was enjoying peace and tranquility, vested interests among the Lhotshampas instigated the ngolop activities which posed a serious threat to the peace, security and sovereignty of the country. The ngolop organisations through their acts of terrorism had brought darkness to southern Bhutan when the sun of prosperity was shining. The ngolop organisations such as the BPP, the BNDP and HUROB had been proclaiming themselves as champions of human rights in Bhutan when in actual fact they had been resorting to terrorist activities ranging from robbery to the destruction of development and service facilities to kidnapping and murder, in the process inflicting untold suffering on the Lhotshampa people. Not only did the ngolops have no respect for human rights but they had been viciously maligning the Royal Government with baseless allegations while grossly violating human Tights themselves. They had also been constantly trying to undermine the security and sovereignty of the country. The National Assembly passed a resolution strongly condemning the ngolop organisations for their subversive activities against the country and their inhuman crimes against the people.

6. Emigrants should not be asked to stay back

The people's representatives of Samchi Dzongkhag reported that because of free food and other free facilities in the camps in Nepal and because of inducements by the anti-national leaders, people, especially from Sibsoo and Dorokha, continued to emigrate to Nepal. They said that the Dzongda had been persuading these emigrants not to leave the country. The people and the DYT had, however, called on the Dzongda not to stop such people from emigrating since they bad divided loyalty. The representatives said that they requested the government not to discourage or stop people applying to emigrate from leaving the country.

The Home Minister said that as per the laws of the land, any person wishing to emigrate and leave the country could do so by following the prescribed legal procedures for emigration. However, with many Lhotshampas applying to emigrate and leave the country when it was going through a difficult time, the government had been trying to find all possible ways and means to dissuade them from leaving the country. His Majesty the King issued a Kasho decreeing it a criminal offence to forcefully evict any citizen. Anyone who felt he was being forced to leave the country could bring the matter to the District Court, the High Court, the Home Ministry or report directly to His Majesty the Ying. His Majesty also waived Goongda Woola and rural taxes for all Lhotshampas for the year 1992 and also exempted tax on the sale of oranges and other cash crops for the Lhotshampas earlier this year. Hearing reports of large numbers of Lhotshampas emigrating, His Majesty met with 420 emigrants in Geylegphug in June l992 and appealed to them not to leave the country. In February this year Ms Majesty visited all the villages in Daifam and Bhangtar Dungkhags to meet with the Lhotshampa emigrants and ask them to withdraw their applications. However, after His Majesty returned to Thimphu most of these emigrants left the country. The Home Minister said that the procedure for emigration had deliberately been made elaborate with applications first screened by the Gups and Chimis and then routed to the DYT before it was forwarded by the Dzongkhag Administration to the Dzongkbag Court for final processing as per the law. All the applications forwarded to the Dzongkhag Court had to be witnessed by the members of the DYT. This was being done with the hope that the delay in the procedure might lead to the emigrants changing their minds and withdrawing their applications, said the Home Minister. He also said that according to the law, the land of people leaving the country reverted to the government and could not be sold. However, His Majesty the King had ruled that they should be allowed to sell their land, and in cases where they could not find buyers, the government should give them Kidug Soilra (welfare grant). Because of this command the government had till date spent Nu.250 million on account of Kidug Soilras alone.

The Dzongdas of Samdrupjongkhar and Chirang informed the Assembly that the Kashos issued by His Majesty the King had been explained very clearly to every household in their Dzongkhags by the Dzongda, Thrimpon, Gup, Chimmi and DYT members. They had also explained to every person applying to emigrate why they should not leave the country. Some of the applicants would withdraw their applications but they would again return within a short time to re-apply for emigration. Some applicants withdrew their applications and re-applied as many a 6 or 7 times. When the processing of the applications were deliberately delayed to discourage them from emigrating, the applicants would ,repeatedly press for their cases to be processed quickly. Some would sell their properties to people across the border and leave without waiting for their applications to be processed. Once the emigrants reached the camps in Nepal they would proclaim they had been forcefully evicted by the Dzongdas and the security forces.

The people's representatives of Chirang Dzongkhag also reported to the Assembly that every effort was being made to dissuade the emigrants from leaving the country. His Majesty's Kashos had been read and clearly explained to all the people. The Gups and Chimis had also been explaining and trying to persuade people from emigrating. Many emigrants, however, would respond by saying that the Gups and Chimis had no business to try and stop them as they had made up their minds to leave the country. Instead they would demand for their applications to be processed without further delay. Other applicants who were not so aggressive would tell the Gups and Chimis and DYT members that they were only going upto the border to reach their relatives who were emigrating and would themselves then leave the country. As all efforts to dissuade the emigrants from leaving had not been successful so far, the Chimis requested the government to let the emigrants leave without making any more efforts to persuade them to stay back.

Many other people's representatives said that after all the special consideration given by the government for the economic progress of the Lhotshampa people, they were leaving the country. Far from responding to the appeals made by the Dzongdas, Gups and Chimis, the Lhotshampa emigrants would not even heed His Majesty the King's personal appeals to them when he visited their Dzongkhags and asked them not to leave after explaining the policies of the government and the problems faced by the country. They said that such people who had made up their minds to leave the country should be allowed to do so without any efforts at all being made to dissuade them. In fact, all those wishing to emigrate should be allowed to leave, and in strict accordance to the law, the government should not give them Kidug Soilra or allow them to sell their land.

    One of the Royal Advisory Councillors from southern Bhutan said that as reported by the people's representatives it was a useless and futile effort to try and find ways and means to, dissuade the emigrants from leaving. In fact, efforts to keep back people who were bent on leaving the country could prove to be harmful to the Tsa-Wa-Sum in the long term, he said. After going to the camps in Nepal these people were coming back to carry out terrorist attacks on the loyal Lhotshampas in southern Bhutan and inflicting tremendous sufferings on them. He requested the National Assembly to resolve that no efforts should be made to dissuade or stop people applying to emigrate from leaving the country.

    The Samchi Dzongda said that in March and April this year, 302 persons from 40 households in Maina Gewog in Dorokha Dungkhag had come to apply for emigration and camped near the Dzongkhag headquarters. Soon after their arrival, 17 other families from the same Gewog also joined them. On submitting the report of this large group of emigrants to the Home Ministry, the Dzongkhag Headquarters was instructed to explain the policies of the government and try to persuade these families not to leave the country. To this end, the Dzongkhag Administration paid Nu.5 per child and Nu.10 for adults as daily allowance rather than process their applications, and in the meanwhile tried to persuade them to withdraw their applications and go back to their villages. However, all efforts to dissuade them failed and except for one family all of them left the country.

The Home Minister said that in keeping with His Majesty the King's command, the government had been malting every effort to dissuade emigrants from leaving the country for the last two and a half years. He requested the National Assembly to resolve that henceforth also the same efforts should be continued.

Some of the Chimis said that as recorded in the 70th Session of the National Assembly the responsibility and prerogatives for resolving the ngolop problem had been reposed in His Majesty the King, and as such whatever steps were taken by His Majesty should not be questioned. However: the people could not stand the thought of emigrants taking Kidug Soilra from the government, going to another country and then trying to harm the Tsa-Wa-Sum. The Chimis requested for a clarification on the legal guidelines for emigration procedures.

The representative of the High Court said that as per Resolution No. 6 of the 22nd Session of the National Assembly in 1965, the property of any person who had rebelled against the Tsa-Wa-Sum and left the country was to be confiscated. As for the people who wished to emigrate from the country, although Ka 5-10, Ka 6-18 and Ka 6-19 of the Land Act decreed that such people were not entitled to sell their land, there was no conflict with the law if special Kidug Soilra was given to them on the command of His Majesty the King. As such it was all right to continue with the existing procedures for emigration, he said.

The National Assembly resolved that while the decision of persons applying to emigrate must be arrived at on their own free will and must be fully in keeping with the law, the existing procedure for processing the applications and the granting of Kidug Soilra in accordance with His Majesty the King's command should continue for the time being.

8. Ngolop groups are terrorist organisations

The people's representative of Dagapela Dungkhag in Dagana Dzongkhag said that the people strongly condemned the ngolop organisations such as the BPP and the BNDP as terrorist organisations. He said that the ngolops had been carrying out large scale arson, looting, rape and murder in the southern region. Some of these ngolops who had been apprehended by the security forces and village volunteers had confessed that they had been sent from the refugee camps in Nepal to terrorise and rob the people. They had also confessed that the loot they took during their raids on the villages were taken to their camps in Nepal.

The people's representatives of Sarbhang Dz-ongkhag said that it had now been established that the terrorist attacks that had been taking place in their Dzongkhag and elsewhere in the country were being directed and organised from the ngolop camps in Nepal. In many instances where village volunteers had apprehended terrorists, they bad confessed that they had come from the camps in Nepal. He said that the people believed that these activities were supported by the Nepalese Government. The people of Sarbhang, therefore, condemned the ngolop organisations such as the BPP and BNDP for all the sufferings and miseries they had been inflicting on the people of southern Bhutan, and the Nepalese Government for supporting these ngolop orgasations.

The Home Minister agreed that the ngolop groups were indeed terrorist organisations. He said that till date the Lhotshampa village volunteers had by themselves apprehended 90 ngolop terrorists. These terrorists had confessed that they had been sent by the ngolop leaders from the camps in Nepal to raid and terrorise the villages in southern Bhutan. Their statements had further confirmed that the robberies, murders, destructions of service facilities, rape and other terrorist activities inflicted on the people of southern Bhutan were being directed by the ngolop organisations like the BPP, BNDP, etc. As pointed out by the people's representatives of Dagapela and Sarbhang, the ngolop organisations were terrorist organisations that were violating the human rights of the Lhotshampa people, breaking the laws of the country and impeding the development and progress of southern Bhutan, said the Home Minister.

He said that clue to the blessings of the Guardian Deities, the far-sighted leadership and dynamic personality of Ms Majesty the King and the good fortune of the people, the ngolops had not been able to subvert the country or harm its security and sovereignty. However, the ngolops Were not letting up on their terrorist activities and had even started raiding villages in northern Dzongkhags. One such raid was carried out earlier this year by 40 ngolop terrorists on Damkhar Village under Shemgang Dzongkhag. Recently another raid was carried out by 12 ngolop terrorists on four houses in Khen Eidhi during which they raped two women. He said that the security forces and the village volunteers had to be even more alert for further terrorist attacks by the ngolops. In view of the continued terrorist activities directed by the ngolop groups, the Home Minister proposed that the National Assembly should strongly condemn them as terrorist organisations.

The National Assembly, taking note of the murders, kidnappings, robberies, hijacking, assaults, destructions of service facilities carried out by the ngolop groups, and the untold suffering inflicted by them on the Lhotshampa people, strongly condemned the ngolop groups, such as the BPP, BNDP, HUROB and SUB as terrorist organisations that had not only violated the laws of Bhutan but the laws and norms of all civilised countries.

The people's representative of Tashiyangtsi Gewog in Tashiyangtsi Dzongkhag said that a motor road had been constructed from the Indian side upto the border with India in Tawang. He said that with the ngolop problem in southern Bhutan still continuing, there was no guarantee that the ngolops might not try to infiltrate from the remote area of the border between Tashiyangtsi and Tawang. The people felt that it would be prudent to store adequate numbers -of arms and ammunition in Tashiyangtsi Dzongkhag to meet any possible threats from ngolops, infiltrating through Tawang.

The people's representative of Bongo, Geytak Gyeling and Gengu Gewogs under Chukha Dzongkhag submitted that the ngolop problem in southern Bhutan was not only continuing but the anti-nationals had even been infiltrating and raiding their villages. He said that without fire-arms it was difficult for the people to fight the armed ngolops. If possible, the people requested for fire-arms from the government. If there were not enough fire-arm s in stock the government should request for arms and ammunition from friendly neighbours. If such assistance was not available, arrangements should be made to make fire-arms in our own country, the Chimmi said. If that was not possible, then the government should import gun parts and assemble them in the country.

The Chief Operations Officer of the Royal Bhutan Army said that although it was unlikely that that the ngolops would make along detour through Tawang when they could enter from anywhere over the open and porous border in the south, he fully appreciated the people's concern for the security of the country. He said that protecting the security of the country was the responsibility of the armed forces and he gave his full assurance that the armed forces would never fail in their duty.

As for making fire-arms in the country, although the Firearms and Ammunition Act forbid the making of fire- arms, people had been purchasing fire-arms on their own in the past. He also pointed out that the proliferation of guns among the people would not be good for law and order. There were frequent cases of people violating the Fire-arm Act by lending their guns to others and in some cases irresponsibly brandishing them during social occasions. The Fire-arms and Ammunition Act had been passed after giving careful consideration to its relevance to the security of the country. He said that rather than import gun parts and assemble them in the country which was not economically viable, it would be far more useful to ensure that the Fire-arms and Ammunition Act was faithfully followed by everyone.

As the Chimis who had raised the point did not have any further views on the matter, the National Assembly decided that the Royal Bhutan Ar7ny which had been faithfully discharging its responsibility of looking after the country's security should also continue looking after all matters concerning fire-arms and decide on such matters in accordance with the policy on national security. As for the use of firearms, everyone must comply with the guidelines laid clown in the Fire-arms and Ammunition Act. Anyone violating the Fire-arms and Ammunition Act should be punished in strict accordance with its rules and regulations.

VI. NO AMNESTY FOR NGOLOPS

The people's representative of Talo and Tewang Gewogs in Punakha Dzongkhag raised the point that although His Majesty the King, out of his magnanimity and kindness, had been granting amnesty again and again to the ngolops who had been apprehended by the village volunteers, the police and the security forces, these people were never grateful and kept resuming their anti-national activities. He said that the people once again requested His Majesty the King not to grant any further amnesties to the ngolops.

The Home Minister said that regarding the point raised by the Chimi from Punakha on granting of amnesty, the matter had been thoroughly discussed during the 70th and 71st sessions of the National Assembly. He said that the Assembly had reposed in His Majesty the King the full responsibility and all the prerogatives of resolving the ngolop problem in the manner he deemed best. He said that there was no need to discuss this matter any further as everyone should abide by the decision taken during the previous two sessions of the National Assembly.

This intervention was supported by one of the people's representatives from Haa Dzongkhag who also pointed out that the responsibility and prerogative Of resolving the ngolop problem had been fully reposed in His Majesty the King during the 70th Session of the National Assembly. As such, everyone should abide by this decision. Furthermore, every Bhutanese should be fully prepared, as always, to extend complete sup-port, in terms of material or manpower requirements, to remove the ngolop problem.

The National Assembly decided that the punishment and granting of amnesties to ngolops was adequately covered by the resolutions adopted on the matter during the 70th and 71st sessions.

VII. EXTRADITION OF NGOLOPS

The people's representative of Gasey Tshogong, Nahi and Thetso Gewogs in Wangdiphodrang Dzongkhag sought clarification on the extradition of Bhim Subba, R. B. Basnet and others who had absconded from the country with large amounts of government funds. The extradition of these absconders through talks with the Nepalese Government so that they could be tried as per the laws of the land had been discussed thoroughly during the 70th and 71st sessions the National Assembly. They said that the people would like to know the outcome of the talks with the Nepal Government on this matter.

The Foreign Minister informed the National Assembly that on the command of His Majesty the King he had raised the question of extraditing Bhim Subba and R.B. Basnet to Bhutan in a meeting with the Nepalese delegation led by the Tourism Minister in Kathmandu in November, 1992. In response, the Nepalese Minister said that he had no mandate to discuss the matter. As such, the Foreign Minister said he raised the matter with the Nepalese Prime Minister who was informed that the National Assembly of Bhutan had time and again instructed him to discuss the extradition of Bhim Subba and R.B. Basnet with the Government of Nepal. In response, the Nepalese Prime Minister said that the two governments should first settle the question of tens of thousands of persons in the refugee camps in Nepal and only thereafter, the question of extraditing Bhim Subba, R.B. Basnet and others could be discussed. The Foreign Minister further informed the National Assembly that extraditing persons from Nepal was difficult because of the lack of an extradition treaty between Bhutan and Nepal.

The people's representatives said that the position adopted by the Nepal Government to ask the Royal Government to take back all the people who had left Bhutan after failing to achieve their subversive objectives, but at the same time refuse to extradite Bhim Subba and R.B. Basnet who had absconded with huge sums of government funds, hurt the sentiments of the Bhutanese people and was totally unacceptable. Since Bhim Subba and R.B. Basnet were staying in Nepal and had the support of political parties there, the people's representatives said that in future talks with Nepal, the Royal Government should first raise the question of extraditing the two of them and other ngolop leaders from Nepal to Bhutan so that they could be tried according to the laws of the land.

The Foreign Minister informed the National Assembly that in addition to the close ties of friendship, co- operation and understanding between Bhutan and India, there was also an extradition agreement between the two countries .As per the decision of the 70th Session of the National Assembly, a prima facie case against Bhim Subba and R.B. Basnet was established in the High Court in Thimphu about a year ago and all the documents had been sent to the Government of India for extraditing these two persons. He said that the request for their extradition was being processed by the Government of India but the main problem was that these two persons were living in Nepal and were not setting foot in India.

Some of the people's representatives said that since Bhim Subba and R.B. Basnet had left the country with huge sums of government funds and many others had followed them, Lhotshampas should not be employed in jobs which involved handling of money and sensitive matters.

The Royal Advisory Councillors and other people's representatives said that every effort should be made to extradite the ngolops who had embezzled huge sums of government money and try them according to law. They voiced concern that if these people were not brought to Bhutan and tried in the courts of law, there would be many similar cases in future. They said that in future talks with the Nepal Government about the people in the Nepal refugee camps, the Royal Government should, in keeping with the resolution of the 70th Session of the National Assembly, raise the question of extraditing Bhim Subba and R.B. Basnet and others who had left Bhutan with huge sums of government funds and assets.

His Majesty the King intervened and suggested that since a high level Nepalese delegation led by their Home Minister was due to arrive in Thimphu that day for talks, it would be better if the matter was discussed after the outcome of the talks was reported to the Assembly on 22nd July, 1993.

The Assembly postponed discussions on this point until the report on the Bhutan-Nepal talks was submitted to the house.

Accordingly on 22nd July, 1993, the Home Minister submitted the report on the Bhutan-Nepal talks held on 17^th and 18^th July, 1993. While the members generally expressed their satisfaction on the outcome of the talks, they insisted that people who had absconded after stealing large amounts of government funds and property must be extradited.

The Assembly decided that the Foreign Ministry should continue for the extradition of Bhim Subba and R.B. Basnet so that they could be tried as per the law of the land.

X. EMIGRANTS LEAVING THE COUNTRY

The people's representatives of Dalim, Bakuli, Samrang and Hastinapur Gewogs in Samdrupjongkhar Dzongkhag reported that earlier this year, on learning that many Lhotshampas in these four Gewogs had applied to emigrate, His Majesty the King, despite his many responsibilities of state, visited every village in these Gewogs. His Majesty met all the families that had applied to en-ii grate and personally appealed to them to reconsider their decision and stay back in the country. During the meetings, these families had assured Ms Majesty that they would withdraw their applications and stay back. However, shortly after His Majesty returned to Thimphu, they went back on their assurances to His Majesty and left the country. The representatives said that although neither the Dzongkhag Administration, nor the police and security forces or the Gups, Chimis and the DYT had been telling anyone to leave the country, many Lhotshampas had been leaving the country. After leaving the country they had been spreading baseless allegations to malign the government. The representatives said that the faithlessness displayed by these people had brought great shame to all the loyal Lhotshampas in the four Gewogs. They said that the loyal Lhotshampas had no relations of any kind with these faithless people, and they requested His Majesty the King to kindly accept the pledges and assurances of the loyal Lhotshampas that they would never give any cause for His Majesty to be disappointed in them like the emigrants who went back on their own words and left the country.

The Home Minister said that he fully shared the deep regret expressed by the people's representatives of Dalim, Bakuli, Samran and Hastinapur over the departure of so many emigrants from their Gewogs despite the appeals made by His Majesty the King who had come to Daifam and Bhangtar Dungkhags to meet the emigrants personally. Wondering how it was possible that so many people had emigrated, the Home Minister said that the reasons could be due to the presence of large numbers of anti-nationals in these two Dungkhags or because there were very few people who had genuine love and loyalty for the country. If there were people who cared and loved the country, they would have influenced those living in their villages and Gewogs and so many Lhotshampas would not have emigrated and left the country. He said that it was indeed a source of deep regret and disappointment for both the people and the government that so many emigrants had left from these two Dungkhags. The Home Minister, however, expressed his happiness that the Lhotshampas who had remained in the country were asking His Majesty the King and the Royal Government to accept their pledges of loyalty and dedication to the Tsa-WaSum.

Speaking on the matter, the people's representative from Somboekba in Haa Dzongkhag drew the Assembly's attention to the Lhotshampa emigration from Maina Gewag in Dorokha Dungkhag. He said that Maina Gewog was a very beautiful and fertile place with productive paddy fields, orange gardens and cardamom fields. Yet the Lhotshampas in Maina Village had left the country earlier this year without anyone telling them to do so. As the people of Haa Somboekha and the Lhotshampas of Maina Gewog had close interaction with each other, the Chimi said that he had asked these people why they wanted to leave the country and whether the had any problems. Some of them responded by saying that they had no problems but were leaving because they had, over the years, invested in land and property outside the country. Others said that they were leaving because their neighbours were leaving or had already left. The Chimi said that these emigrants from Maina completed whatever pending transactions or accounts they had with the people staying back and had left in very high spirits. However, these people should never have been trusted. Only a month before the Lhotshampas from Maina emigrated, absconders from the same area in Dorokha had attacked and robbed one Kinley of Haa Puduna on his cattle range. How could anyone look upon such people as neighbours or friends anymore, he asked? Moreover, the Lhotshampas leaving the country had even refused to heed the appeals made by His Majesty the King who visited their Dzongkhags and Gewogs and spoke to them like a parent to his children. He said that such people were beyond anyone's capacity to change or reform, and it was time now for everyone to realise that it was not possible to live together with them.

The Samdrupjongkbar Dzongda said that in cases where the Dzongkhag Administration was aware that some of the emigrants had their immediate family members working in government service, he and the other Dzongkhag officials had been pointing out to the emigrants that their departure without consulting their children would be a cause of much inconvenience for everyone concerned. The emigrants, however, would refuse to pay any heed saying that parents, and not the children had every right to dispose the family property as they wished and they would accordingly dispose their land and house and refuse to withdraw their applications for emigration. Some of the emigrants would not even inform their children in government service about their decision to emigrate unless they happened to come on leave to the villages. The Dzongda said that there had been many cases where after the parents had left, the children who were in government service had come to the Dzongkhag Administration and demanded to know who had the authority to dispose of their land and house. He said that this sort of situation caused frequent problems for the Dzongkhag Administration and might even cause problems for the country. He requested the National Assembly to give due consideration to this matter.

The people's representative of Hastinapur Gewog in Samdrupjonkhar Dzongkhag said that going by the behaviour of the emigrants, these people had no qualms in creating difficulties and inconveniences for their own children. Some of the emigrants would not even bother to consult their children who were working in government service in different parts of the country before putting their applications of emigration. Some would insist they had consulted all the members of their family while others would point out that they had every right to dispose of their property as they wished and decide to emigrate. Such cases had been causing problems for the Gups, Chimis and the Dzongkhag Administration. The representative pointed out that since the Land Act clearly decreed that the owners of the Thram had the right to sell, gift or bequeath the land listed in their Thrams, it was not possible for the Dzongkhag Administration and the DYT to question the right of the Thram owners to dispose of their property as they wished. There was nothing they could do for children or other immediate family members of emigrants who approached the Dzongkhag Administration on finding out that their parents had sold the family land and house and left the country. He cited the example of an RBA soldier, Phurpa Sherpa, who had come to his village on hearing that his father Dawa Sherpa was emigrating and found that his father had already left after selling all his property.

The Samchi Dzongda said that most of the emigrants from his Dzongkhag were people living in the villages, and not many government servants or businessmen had left the country. He said that the emigrants refused to give any of their land to those family members who did not wish to leave and had stayed back in the country. Even those who would part with some of the land would not give more than one acre or so although they may own 10 or 15 acres of land. He also said that the emigrants felt no shame in making false allegations against the government after they had left the country.

The National Assembly noted that as reported by the embers, although the Royal Government had made every effort possible to dissuade the Lhotshampa emigrants from leaving, they had refused to change their minds and had been leaving the country. As such there was nothing that the Assembly could do except to express its deep regret. The Assembly acknowledged the pledge and assurances given by the Lhotshampas of the four Gewogs in Samdrupjonkhar who had stayed back that, unlike those Lhotshampas who had been emigrating, they fully realised what was best for their own interests and would remain in the country with abiding loyalty and dedication.

XII. BAN ON RETURN OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE LEFT THE COUNTRY

The people's representatives of 80 Gewogs from Pemagatshel, Samdrupjongkhar, Wangcliphodrang, Dagana, Gasa, Thimphu, Sarbhang, Punakha, Samchi, Mongar, Chirang and Paro Dzongkhags and the representatives of the Dratshang and Rabdevs submitted 15 points calling for a ban, in accordance to the law, on the return of people who had left the country.

The people's representatives admitted that the issue of banning the return of Lhotshampas who had left the country after carrying out treacherous activities against the Tsa-WaSum was thoroughly discussed during the 71st Session of the National Assembly. However, according to the news, it seemed that regardless of their true nationality and status, the Nepalese government wanted the Royal Government of Bhutan to take all the people in the camps in Nepal. It seems that the Nepalese think there are no laws in Bhutan governing such matters, the Chimis said. The ngolops had left the country of their own accord after carrying out treacherous activities against the Tsa-Wa-Sum and after causing untold sufferings for the Lhotshampa people and the people in the northern Dzongkhags that were close to the disturbed areas in the south. The Chimis pointed out that besides those Lhotshampas who had left the country to escape the law, there were other Lhotshampas who had left on their own free will after applying to emigrate and disposing off their land and other property. The Chimis said that such people should never be accepted back as doing so would undermine the laws of the land.

The people's representative of Tshangkha Gewog in Dagana Dzongkhag said that the people of Tshangkha Gewog wished to put on record that the anti-nationals who had destroyed service facilities like medical centres, schools, agriculture and animal husbandry centres had absconded from the country to escape punishment for their crimes. As for the other Lhotshampas who had left the country, they had emigrated as per their own wish and they had not even left a needle unsold before leaving the country to join the ngolops. The Chimi recalled that in order to stop the people from emigrating, His Majesty the King bad issued two Kashos in 1992 which had been read out and explained clearly to the public. Inspite of this, large numbers of emigrants had insisted on leaving and had left the country. At the same time, it was a fact that family members from the same household who did not want to leave with the emigrants had s back and were all in the country , some serving in government service and some staying in the villages. The Chimi said that this clearly showed that no one was being forced to leave the country. There were talks that the emigrants and absconders who were staying in the camps in Nepal were now trying to come back to Bhutan. He said that the people of Tshangkha Gewog strongly opposed the return of these people to the country. The people felt very strongly that the laws of the country should be well guarded and implemented in all such matters and that those who had left the country should not be allowed to return under any circumstances or conditions.

Some of the people's representatives said that banning the return of such people was particularly necessary because most of the people in the refugee camps in Nepal who were claiming to be forcefully evicted from Bhutan were not even Bhutanese. As for those who had left Bhutan, none of them had ever been forced to leave by anyone. In fact, His Majesty the Ying had issued a Kasho and made it clear to everyone that in accordance with the Chathrim it is a punishable offence for anyone to force a citizen to leave the country. Even though His Majesty exempted all Lhotshampas from Goongda Woola and rural taxes and had also finalised extensive developmental programmes for the southern Dzongkhags during the Seventh Five-Year Plan, they had no sense of gratitude and appreciation and had left the country to join the ngolops in Nepal. The Chimis insisted that such people must never be allowed to return to the country.

The people's representative of Dalim, Bakuh and Samrang Gewogs in Samdrupiongkhar said that -everyone was aware that there was no eviction of Lhotshampas as alleged by the anti-national propaganda. Even the family members of anti-national leaders continued to reside in the country. For example, the wife of Suk Bahadur Subba, who joined the anti-nationals and was a leader of the anti-national Organisation called HUROB, was not only in the country but continued to work as a teacher in the Education Department. As everyone was aware, no Lhotshampas in Forms 1 to 5 in the census record had been told to leave the country by the government or the people. All the Lhotshampas employed in government service were given equal treatment. He said that people bad been emigrating on their own accord after submitting applications to leave the country, and had taken Kidug Soilra also from the government. They had been leaving despite repeated appeals to withdraw their applications. Even those who agreed to withdraw their applications for emigration would later change their mind, renounce their citizenship and leave the country with the other emigrants. All the raids, murders and extortion inflicted on the Lhotshampa people were being carried out by these people who had left the country but came back to carry out terrorist activities. The people of Dalim, Bakuli and Samrang, therefore, requested the government not to allow such people who had gone to the refugee camps in Nepal to return to the country.

Some of the people's representatives recalled that during the SAARC Summit in Dhaka, Bangladesh, His Majesty the King had told Prime Minister Koirala of Nepal that identification of the people in the camps in Nepal should be carried out in order to resolve the problem faced by the two countries on this issue. The insistence by the Nepalese Prime Minister on sending the people in the camps to Bhutan without identifying them was not only unreasonable but violated all the norms of dialogue between countries trying to resolve a problem. He had taken this position because firstly, as he himself had proclaimed, he was one of the main persons involved in the uprising by the ethnic Nepalese in southern Bhutan in the early 1950s. Secondly, it was his policy to send as many ethnic Nepalese as possible to Bhutan to subvert the Kingdom.

Other Chimis said that as far as they were concerned, there was no reason why Bhutan should take back people who had left of their-own free will and gone to Nepal which they considered their real country. They said that the question of these people coming back should not even arise. They requested the government to never accept any such requests or proposals.

The people's representative of Sarbhang said that the people of Sarbhang Dzongkhag bad earlier submitted that those who had left the country should not be allowed to return. He said that the people once, again submitted that such a decision should never be considered by the government. Even if the government were to allow ngolops to return, he said that the people of Sarbhang were determined never to allow even a single one of them to step inside their villages. This we pledge earnestly with our heart and soul, said the Chimi.

The people's representatives of Beteni, Phuentenchu, Lamidara, Gairigoan, Dunglegang, Semzong and Tshokana Gewogs in Chirang Dzongkhag reported that the people were very angry and disgusted to hear the emigrants calling themselves refugees after leaving Bhutan and making allegations of atrocities inflicted by the government. The people of Chirang wished to report to the Assembly that the emigrants had been leaving the country according to their own wish after transferring their properties to their relatives or selling them off and taking Kidug Soilra from the government. The emigrants took away all the moveable properties with them including timber, bamboo and grains in trucks hired by them. The actions of these emigrants who refused to stay back and then claimed to be refugees and falsely accused the government of inflicting atrocities had brought much shame to the loyal and dedicated Lhotshampas of Chirang Dzongkhag. -They requested His Majesty the Ying to kindly continue in his magnanimity and trust for the loyal Lhotshampas. They said that the people of Chirang Dzongkhag categorically declared that the emigrants who had left the country were not and could never be treated as refugees and the Royal Government also must never contemplate accepting them as such.

One of the Royal Advisory Councillors said that regarding the return of people who had left the country, every country had its own laws on such matters. If those who had left the country to escape punishment for crimes committed by them wished to come back, they should be prepared to face the law which prescribes varying degrees of punishment for common as well as treasonable crimes. As for the others who had emigrated, they had left the country despite repeated appeals by His Majesty the King not to leave. Such people could not be called refugees as they had left on their own free will after disposing their properties. As proposed by the people, the Royal Government should not even consider the thought of allowing such people to come back, said the Councillor.

The people's representative of Dagapela in Dagana Dzongkhag said that the people of Dagapela believed strongly in upholding the laws of the country. As such, the people insisted that neither those who had emigrated nor those who had absconded to escape punishment for their crimes should be allowed to return to the country under any conditions.

The Home Minister observed that the people's representatives were repeatedly calling for a ban on the return ngolops and emigrants because they were aware that it was the objective of the ngolops to subvert the Royal Government and turn Bhutan into a Nepali dominated country. He said that as per the law, any person who wished to emigrate and leave Bhutan had the right to do so but once he took that step he would automatically forfeit his citizenship. As for banning the return of such people, the matter was adequately covered by the law and the resolutions of the previous sessions of the National Assembly, he said.

Several people's representatives noted that the Lhotshampas had organised an uprising against the Royal Government in the early 1950s and now after the ngolop uprising in 1990, many of the Lhotshampas had gone to the camps in Nepal. They said it was clear that the reason for the ,Nepalese Prime Minister insisting on the repatriation to Bhutan of all the ethnic Nepalese in the Nepal camps was to ensure that after their return they could overthrow the government and take over power in Bhutan.

The Home Minister informed the members that during the talks between His Majesty the King and Prime Minister Koirala of Nepal in Dhakain April this year, His Majesty bad said that the Royal Government would assume full responsibility for any bonafide Bhutanese citizen in the Nepal camps if they have been forcefully evicted from Bhutan.

Some of the people's representatives said that although the question of people who had left the country not being allowed to return bad been thoroughly discussed during the 71st Session of the National Assembly and a resolution had also been passed, the matter was being raised again because of the people's deep concern over the constant efforts of the ngolops to harm the Tsa-Wa-Sum in any way they could. As the saying went, "a trouble maker is never welcome in any society just as the bull that is always fighting is not wanted in any cattle pen", even if a few of these people were to return, they would always be a source of trouble for the people of Bhutan. The Chimis called on the Assembly to pass a resolution forever banning the return of these people.

After an extended deliberation, the National Assembly decided that regarding the return of those who had absconded from the country to escape punishment for crimes they had committed or those who had emigrated and left of their own free will, the matter should be dealt with in accordance to the resolution passed on the matter during the 71st Session of the National Assembly. However, the case of any person in the refugee camps in Nepal who may have been forcibly evicted would be dealt with in accordance to His Majesty the Ying's edict declaring it a criminal offence to force any citizen to leave the country.

XIII. PROPOSALS FOR THE EVICTION OF NGOLOPS

 The people's representatives of Samchi Dzongkhag submitted that although, in the previous sessions of the National Assembly, His Majesty the Ying had rejected proposals for the eviction of the relatives of ngolops, the people of Sainchi continued to question the loyalty of such people. Their presence in the country posed great security risks as they would join the anti-nationals if the situation worsened. These people went frequently to Nepal to meet their relatives and pass information to them. As their presence in the various Gewogs was in itself a security problem, the people of Samchi once again requested for the eviction of all relatives of the ngolops.

The people's representative of Tangsibi Gewog in Tongsa Dzongkhag said that the people had heard that His Majesty the King and the Prime Minister of Nepal had met in April and discussed the issues relating to the ngolop problem. During the meeting, the Nepalese Prime Minister had insisted on the repatriation of all the people who had registered themselves as refugees in the camps in Nepal, including the ngolops who had absconded after committing criminal and terrorist activities. He said that the people felt very strongly that instead of agreeing to take back people who had committed terrorist activities or who had left to support the ngolops, the government should investigate and expel all Lhotshampas who were secretly helping the ngolops by passing information and guiding them during their raids on villages, and in identifying well-to-do families to be robbed and even participating in the raids by the ngolop terrorists. Such people were also ngolops and all ngolops should be expelled from the country, said the Chirni from Tongsa.

Some of the people's representatives said that although the ngolops and other Lhotshampas had left, many of their close relatives were still living in the country. Keeping such people in the country was a constant security threat as it was like keeping a snake in one's house. They, therefore, proposed that all the relatives of ngolops should be sent out of the country.

The Home Minister agreed that the continued presence of the relatives of ngolops was a source of much doubt and concern for the rest of the people in the concerned villages and Gewogs. As their loyalty could not be really counted upon and they would leave or stay as it suited them, they were like people with one leg inside the country and the other outside. However, he reminded the members that people could not be evicted from the country on mere suspicion of disloyalty as this would be a violation of the law. Even if any person were to carry out activities harmful to the Tsa-Wa-Sum he would have to be dealt with in accordance to the Thrimshung Chhenpo. The laws of the land must be respected by everyone and all actions must be in keeping with the law. He said that if anyone came to know of or observed persons who were carrying out anti-national activities or were helping the ngolops in any way, he should report the matter to the Police or the Dzongkhag Administration. The Home Minister pointed out that the question of evicting ngolops had been discussed during the 71st Session of the National Assembly and any move to change the resolution which bad been passed must be considered very carefully. He said that the matter should be dealt with in accordance to His Majesty's Kasho, the existing resolutions of the National Assembly and the laws of the land.

The National Assembly resolved that the question of evicting ngolops and their relatives had already been decided during the 71st Session of the National Assembly and that everyone should abide by the resolution passed by the 71st Session on this matter.

XIV. SCREENING FOR IMPORTANT AND SENSITIVE POSTS

 The people's representatives of Tashiyangtsi Dzongkhag submitted that the issue of Lhotshampas being employed in important and sensitive posts in the armed forces and government services was discussed thoroughly during the previous sessions of the National Assembly. However, as the Lhotshampas were still being given responsibilities and employed in financial institutions such as the banks, and since the Lhotshampas had failed, to prove that they served the government faithfully at all times, the people once again requested that they should not be given any important or sensitive posts.

In his response, the Secretary of the Royal Civil Service Commission admitted that though the issue of removing Lhotshampas from important and sensitive posts had been discussed in the previous two sessions of the National Assembly, the Royal Government had continued to keep them in such posts as before. He also agreed that there were risks in having Lhotshampas in the civil service as many of them had absconded from the country with government money and property which had not only caused grave loss to the government but also been a source of much embarrassment. He informed the Assembly that being as concerned as the people on this matter, the RCSC had on three different occasions since 1991 decided to dismiss all immediate family members of the Lhotshampa ngolops and their leaders. However, His Majesty the King had over-ruled the decision on the ground that no civil servant should be dismissed unless he or she had violated the Civil Service Rules and Regulations. He also informed the members that in keeping with His Majesty the King's command, there had also been no discrimination of any kind against the Lhotshampas in new appointments, trainings and promotions. Since the ngolop uprising in 1990, the RCSC had appointed 757 Lhotshampas in the civil service, and 99 of them in theofficer cadre (Grade 9 to 1) had been promoted. The Secretary also said that out of the 12,781 civil servants today, 3,077 were Lhotshampas, 7,546 were from northern Bhutan while the remaining 2,158 were non-nationals. He expressed his regret that the Lhotshampas had shown no appreciation for the Royal Government's generosity, tolerance and magnanimity. Although the government had been providing them with free education, trainings, jobs based on their qualifications and ability, and timely promotions, many of them had absconded from the country and joined the ngolops.

The RCSC Secretary pointed out that as everyone knew, R.B. Basnet and Bhim Subba, two of the main ngolop leaders presently based in Kathmandu, were not only educated by the Royal Government but had been sent abroad for higher studies. On their return they had been given good jobs and important posts. In return, they turned against the Tsa-Wa-Sum. R.B. Basnet absconded with over Nu. 50 million of government funds while Bhim Subba absconded with over Nu. 30 million within a month of his promotion as Director General of the Power Department. Likewise another Lhotshampa, I.B. Chhetri, who was the head of the Bhutan Development Finance Corporation in Tongsa, absconded with Nu.535,000 of the Corporation's funds. Another Lhotshampa, Mani Kumar Rai, a cashier of the Bank of Bhutan absconded with Nu.110,000.

The RCSC Secretary said that the Lhotshampas civil servants who bad absconded from the country bad caused immeasurable -losses to the nation. They had not only absconded with government funds but bad also rendered useless the investment that the Royal Government bad made in them by educating and training them at great cost. When Lhotshampas with good qualifications and job experiences left the country, the nation suffered big losses in terms of its manpower resources which in turn affected the policy of national self-reliance. That was why the RCSC also shared the concerns of the people's representatives regarding the employment of Lhotshampas in the civil service, the Secretary said. In view their of their tendency to steal funds and abscond, the RCSC was facing many difficulties with regard to the employment of Lhotshampas as the heads of ministries and departments were very reluctant to employ Lhotshampas and even more hesitant to send Lhotshampas for training abroad. When the RCSC exerted pressure on the ministries and departments, they would agree to employ or send Lhotshampas for trainingonly on the condition that the RCSC accepted all risk and responsibility.

The Secretary said that despite the many risks involved in employing Lhotshampas, the RCSC had been abiding by His Majesty the King's command not to remove Lhotshampas from the civil service or introduce any discriminatory measures against them. This magnanimous policy of His Majesty the King was a reflection of his abiding faith in the Lhotshampas and his noble aspiration to bring them into the national mainstream so that all Bhutanese citizens could live together like members of one happy and united family. The Secretary said that it was also the hope and prayer of all Bhutanese that the Lhotshampas would do their best to contribute towards resolving the present problem and work towards ensuring the well-being of the country. He said that if the Lhotshampas made a special effort to fulfil His Majesty the Ying's noble wishes and cherished dream of close unity and brotherhood among the Bhutanese people, the country would once again be blessed with peace and happiness.

As there were no other submissions by anyone, the National Assembly recorded the clarification made by the Secretary of the Royal Civil Service Commission and did not adopt a separate resolution.

XV. DISCONTINUATION OF NON- NATIONALS OF NEPALESE ORIGIN IN GOVERNMENT SERVICE

The people's representative of Ngatshdng Gewog in Mongar Dzongkhag reminded the Assembly that during the deliberations of the 71st Session of the National Assembly the people bad requested that ethnic Nepalese who were not Bhutanese citizens should not be employed in the ministries, departments and public corporations but should instead be relieved from government service. If such people were kept in government service, they would later on say they should be given Bhutanese citizenship because they had worked and spent many years in the country. Such a situation would not only create problems for the country but the continued employment of these people would deprive Bhutanese citizens of jobs- As there were many non-Bhutanese ethnic Nepalese still employed in government service, the people requested the National Assembly to look into the matter so that all such persons could be tern-dnated from service, said the Chimi from Mongar.

The Secretary of the Royal Civil Service Commission said that as all the members were aware, when planned development was started in 1961 with the launching of the First Five-Year Plan, a large number of qualified personnel had to be recruited from outside the country to manage the development programmes as there were only a few educated Bhutanese then. An even larger number of labourers had to be imported to implement the various programmes and projects. These labourers were recruited through a system known among the Nepalese labourers as the Baidar system. Under this system, which is prevalent even today, the Baidars (labour contractors) would take labour contracts and recruit large numbers of labourers from Nepal and bring them to Bhutan to execute the various development works.

The Secretary agreed with the peoples representatives that there were indeed many risks and disadvantages in importing non-national labourers of' Nepalese origin. These people had no intentions of returning to their country once they were in Bhutan. Moreover, it was very difficult to distinguish between a Nepalese from Nepal and the Lhotshampas of southern Bhutan as ethnically they were the same. As a result, it was very difficult to detect the illegal infiltration of these labourers into Lhotshampa villages where large numbers of them had settled down and married members of the local population. He said that the importing of Nepalese labourers had definitely contributed to the present ngolop problem in southern Bhutan.

The Secretary said that as more and more students were completing their education and training every year, and the continued employment of non-nationals might deprive the educated Bhutanese youth of jobs, His Majesty the Ying had issued repeated commands that priority and preference must be given to the educated Bhutanese for all jobs available. Accordingly, it was the policy of the RCSC to provide employment to as many Bhutanese as possible both in government service and in the private sector. He informed the members that although many of the 2,158 non-nationals in the civil service today were of Nepalese origin, the Royal Government did not have any plans to revise its non-discriminatory employment policy and give employment on the basis of ethnicity or dismiss non-nationals civil servants of Nepalese ethnicity unless their contracts expired or they wished to resign. The Secretary also informed the Assembly that in order to develop the country's own human resources, a budget of Nu. 1,738 million 'had been allotted for the Education Department and Nu. 2,080 million for the RCSC's human resource development programmes during the Seventh Plan.

The Secretary informed the Assembly that His Majesty the King had expressed disappointment, when he met the business community on 31st May and 1st June, 1993, at the low number of Bhutanese nationals employed by the private sector. His Majesty commanded that the private sector should, henceforth, employ more Bhutanese nationals as many capable and qualified Bhutanese were graduating from schools, colleges and training institutes every year. The RCSC Secretary expressed his hope that the private sector would respond positively and employ more Bhutanese in their organizations. As for the RCSC, he said that, henceforth, the Commission would recruit and approve recruitment of non-nationals only in those areas where Bhutanese nationals were not available because of qualification or experience, and in such cases also, the recruiting would be done only after thorough screening and careful scrutiny.

The people's representatives emphasized that every effort should be made to reduce and stop the employment of non-nationals of Nepalese origin as soon as possible. They said that although there was a directive from His Majesty the King to employ as many Bhutanese nationals as possible in both government service and in the private sector, seeing the large of non-nationals of Nepalese origin employed in the industries, projects and the private sector, it appeared that the government policy was being ignored. Many parties seemed to be repeatedly renewing the work permits of these non-nationals and retaining them in the country for as long as they could. The Chimis pointed out that it was very important for the officials of the concerned government departments to thoroughly investigate such matters and deal with it in strict accordance to the policies of the government and the existing rules and regulations.

The Home Minister said that regarding the employment of non-nationals by the government and the private sector, there were clear cut rules and regulations that had been passed by the National Assembly. There would be no problem if everyone followed these rules and regulations. As there was a shortage of skilled workers in the country, it was necessary to recruit them from outside. Keeping in mind the security of the country, the need for importing non-national workers was carefully assessed and all necessary verifications were carried out before any recruitment of non-national workers was approved. Detailed information was called regarding the jobs for which the workers were required. Permits were issued for 12'months only. On the expiry of the permits, the workers had to be repatriated. However, the Home Minister expressed his concern that despite the efforts made by the Home Ministry and the Department of Immigration and Census, members of the private sector maybe undermining the rules and regulations on labour import. He requested all government officials and the people to report to their Dzongkhags if they found any outside workers who were working illegally. He said that the government and the people must always work together to strengthen the security of the country.

Some of the people's representatives said that the reason for the present problem in the country was due to the employment of many non-national Nepalese by the government and the private sector. They suggested that, henceforth, if there was a need to employ any non-nationals, only people from Bhutan's close and friendly neighbour, India should be recruited while anyone of Nepalese origin should be avoided totally.

After a prolonged debate, His Majesty the King intervened and said t hat the policy for reducing the employment of non-national labourers already existed. Although the proposal by the members to discontinue employing non-nationals had its merits, according to the Home Ministry there were over 30,000 non-national labourers but there was still a shortage of manpower to implement development programmes and projects. If a decision was taken to completely stop the import of non-national labourers as proposed, it would not be possible to implement the development programmes to the satisfaction of both the people and the government, and successfully complete the Seventh Plan. His Majesty said that during the Seventh Plan there were many important projects to be taken up such as power projects, road construction and maintenance, mining, establishment of industries etc. in different parts of the country. A lot of manpower would be required to implement these projects. His Majesty, therefore, suggested that the Home Ministry and the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the concerned departments, keeping in mind the need to implement the Seventh Plan successfully and also reduce the number of non-national labourers in the interest of national security, should together discuss and formulate a laborer policy and submit it for approval to the 73rd Session of the National Assembly.

The National Assembly resolved that as suggested by His Majesty the King, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Home Ministry and the concerned departments shall discuss and formulate a labour policy, which while ensuring the smooth implementation of the Seventh Plan will at the same time reduce the importing of non-national labourers. The policy should be put up to the Lhengyel Shungtshog and after being approved should be distributed to all the Dzongkhags for the members of the Dzongkhag Yargye Tshogchungs and the Gewog Yargye Tshogchungs to study and give their views. It should then be implemented immediately so that the work on important projects can be started without delay. If any serious problems arise regarding the policy, the matter will be discussed and finalised during the 73^rd Session of the National Assembly.

16. ALLOTMENT OF LAND IN SOUTHERN BHUTAN TO THE LANDLESS PEOPLE

The people's representatives of 56 Gewogs from Tashigang, Bumthang, Samdrupongkhar, Wangdiphodrang, Samchi, Pema-gatsbel, Mongar, Paro, Shemgang, Sarbhang and Punakha Dzongkhags submitted 13 points calling for the allotment of land in southern Bhutan to landless people in the country.

The Chimis recalled that requests for land to be allotted to landless people had been made during previous sessions of the National Assembly also. Although more than 30 years had passed since the beginning of planned development the important goal of self-reliance had not been achieved. This was mainly due to the poor quality of soil and the rugged and inhospitable terrain in the mountainous northern Dzongkhags which rendered agricultural activity very unproductive, and also because there were many landless households in these Dzongkhags. Many families were totally dependent on Tseri Cultivation (slash and burn shifting cultivation). The Chimis said that if the landless people were given land and resettled in the south it would not only benefit them greatly but also promote food self-sufficiency for the country. Until now the tendency of the people in the south had always been to sell all their agricultural and animal husbandry produce across the border and to buy the produce they needed from outside. This trend would be reversed if the landless people in the north were re-settled on vacant in the south. Agricultural and animal husbandry produce from the south would be sold to people in the north while produces from the north would be sold to the people in the south, thus promoting the national policy of self-reliance.

The people's representatives of Samchi Dzongkhag and Dalim, Bakuli, Samrang and Hastinapur Gewogs in Samdrupiongkhar and Kalikhola Dungkhag in Sarbhang Dzongkhag said that the issuing of land in the south to landless people from the north had been discussed in previous sessions of the National Assembly also. They requested for resettlement programmes in areas where there were vacant land such as Sibsoo, Nainital, Gumauney and Buka Tading in Samchi, and Dalim, Bakuli and Hastinapur in Samdrupiongkar with a view to enhance the security of the Lhotshampa people in these areas. This would prevent the vacant land in the south from turning into jungle, and the presence of more neighbours would be very beneficial for overall security against ngolop attacks.

The Home Minister observed that although the requests for the resettlement of landless people had been discussed during the 71st Session of the National Assembly, the people were malting the request this year again. As increased agricultural production would go along way in promoting the policy of national self-reliance, it was first of all very important for everyone to look after and make optimum use of every small piece of land in his or her possession. He said that the Home Ministry was still receiving the lists of landless people and those who ere dependent on Tseri cultivation. Some of these lists had been sent back to the Dzongkhags for verification. He also informed the Assembly that the Department of Survey and Land Records had not completed its nationwide survey of suitable land for resettlement of landless people. Based on the report of the Survey Department, other departments would be drawing up their reports on the feasibility of establishing essential service facilities such as health centres, agriculture and animal husbandry service centres, schools and roads which were necessary to ensure the success of any resettlement programme. Proper plans and budget estimate had to be drawn up for all these works. Once the feasibility reports and individual programmes drawn up by the concerned ministries and departments were completed, the final plans would be drawn up for these settlement of the landless people. The guidelines for drawing up these plans was already provided by the commands of His Majesty the King, the policy laid down by the Royal Government and the resolutions of the National Assembly which all emphasised that resettlement of landless people was the only effective way of taking care of the Kidug (alleviation of difficulties and problems) of landless people.

The Planning Minister submitted that first priority should be given to the re-settlement of people who were dependent on Tseri cultivation. This is extremely important for the preservation of our environment, he said. Bhutan being a mountainous country with limited flat and arable land, many people had been resorting to Tseii cultivation to eke out a living. In this slash and burn system of cultivation, converting one acre of Tseri into cultivable land would often result in 7 to 8 acres of nearby forest being burnt down. The heavy toll inflicted on our forests by Tseri cultivation is well known to all of us, said the Planning Minister. Taking timely steps to do away with Tseri cultivation has become very essential for protecting our environment and preserving our rich and diverse flora and fauna, he emphasised.

The Planning Minister also pointed out that people practising Tseri cultivation had derived very minimal benefits from the last thirty years of planned development. The main reason for this was that the Tseri cultivators moved from place to place in remote and rugged terrain looking for new Tseri land to slash and burn. As a result it was never feasible for the government to provide them with cost effective service facilities and infrastructure. The only solution to stopping Tseri cultivation and also ensuring a better livelihood for these families was to resettle them in areas where there was productive land and where essential service facilities could be provided for them. This would not only be good for the socioeconomic benefit of these poor families but would also help to save our environment, he said.

The Planning Minister also informed the Assembly that an Environmental Trust Fund had been established for the protection of the environment in Bhutan. Specific environmental activities and programmes had been prepared in the last two years which would be funded from the proceeds of the Trust Fund. The interest accrued from the Fund of US $ 20 million would be utilised for implementing various activities and programmes related to environmental conservation. Although only US $ 12 million had been mobilised till date, the Fund had been operationalised. As a very important step in protecting Bhutan's fragile mountain ecosystem, the Planning Minister requested the National Assembly to resolve that first priority should be given to the re-settlement of Tseri cultivators in any re-settlement programme taken up by the government.

Government officials and the people's representatives observed that the people practising Tseri cultivation were all landless people who had no other means of earning a livelihood. The returns from their slash and burn cultivation were very meagre, and very often the crops they sowed would be washed away by floods or destroyed by wild animals. As these families faced a hard life with barely enough food produced to feed themselves and their families, they had put in applications for resettlement. The members said that these people should be re-settled as soon as possible wherever suitable land could be found.

Several people's representatives said that those who were landless or had less than two acres of land and were tilling other people's land as sharecroppers should also be resettled in the south.

Other Chimis said that there were many people in high altitude areas who had little or no land, and many others who had to depend on Pangshi (high altitude dry land). All their names had been submitted to the government for land Kidug. The Chimis said that these people also should be granted land on any vacant land in the south.

His Majesty the King informed the Assembly that, over the years, thousands of landless people, including many Lhotshampas, had been granted land in all parts of the country and not just in southern Bhutan. Applicants for land Kidug continued to be granted land from wherever there was suitable land. The reports received by the Home Ministry from the 20 Dzongkhags revealed that there were 25,126 households who were fully dependent on Tseri cultivation and were slashing and burning over 2,00,000 acres of Tseri and forest land to eke out a hand to mouth living. There were 2,156' 6households that had no land at all and 16,041 households that had less than two acres of land. In all, a total of 43,323 households were in acute need of productive agricultural land. However, it was not necessary that the allotment of the land to these people had to be from southern Bhutan alone. It should be all right if the government, after finding out the availability of arable and productive land in all the Dzongkhags, allotted land to these families from wherever it was possible.

His Majesty explained to the representatives that it would neither be possible nor practical for the government to allot adequate land at one time to all the families that were dependent on Tseri cultivation as well as to all landless families and those households that had less than two acres of land. If that had to be done, even if the entire Seventh Plan Agriculture budget of Nu.1,041 million was spent on providing necessary service facilities for these families it would not be enough to bring any meaningful benefit to them. His Majesty told the members that the re-settlement of these families would have to be carried out in phases. He said that adequate land should first be allotted to Tseri cultivators and landless families after the Agriculture Department had assessed the productivity of the land and the feasibility of establishing essential service centres in the areas identified for re-settling these families. Emphasizing the importance of preventing environmental damage and the need to provide a good livelihood to Tseri cultivators and landless families, His Majesty suggested that the National Assembly should resolve that first priority should be given to the resettlement of Tseri cultivators and landless families and that Tseri cultivation should be banned by the end of the Seventh Plan.

The National Assembly resolved that the Home Ministry should coordinate with the concerned departments and identify suitable areas throughout the country for resettling all Tseri cultivators and landless families within the Seventh Plan period. The resettlement areas must have fertile and productive land with adequate water supply, and it should be feasible to establish all basic service facilities in all these areas. Taking into account the availability of funds and the need to ensure that proper feasibility studies are done, the resettlement of these families must be carried out as soon as possible within the Seventh Plan. The Assembly also decided that Tseri cultivation must be stopped completely by the end of the Seventh Five-Year Plan, and accordingly passed a resolution banning Tseri cultivation in Bhutan by the end of the Seventh Plan in the interest of the people and the preservation and protection of the environment. The Assembly directed all concerned to ensure the speedy and faithful implementation of these two resolutions. 

XXI. BHUTAN-NEPAL TALKS ON THE NGOLOP PROBLEM

The people's representative of Lhuntsi Dzongkhag called the attention of the Assembly to the talks between Ms Majesty the King and the Prime Minister of Nepal during the SAARC Summit in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Although His Majesty had proposed the establishment of a Joint Committee to identify the different categories of people in the refugee camps in Nepal, Prime Minister Koirala had rejected it and instead insisted on sending all the people in the refugee camps to Bhutan without even identifying them. It was quite obvious from this attitude that the intention was to convert Bhutan into a Nepal dominated state. It was unfortunate that Bhutan-Nepal relations were deteriorating as the two neighbouring countries had otherwise been enjoying friendly relations since early times. In this regard, it was significant that Prime Minister Koirala was one of the leaders involved in the ngolop uprising in the south in the early 1950s. It seemed that he was also involved in the present ngolop uprising in southern Bhutan, said the Chimi.

The people's representative of Khilpa and Lajab Gewogs in Dagana Dzongkhag also expressed displeasure over the attitude of the Nepalese Government on the ngolop issue. He said that His Majesty the Ying had Proposed the identification of the different categories of people in the camps so as find out whether they had been forcefully evicted from Bhutan, whether they had absconded afterc6mrnitting criminal offences, whether they had emigrated despite repeated appeals by the government not to leave the country, whether those who were claiming to be Bhutanese were actually Bhutanese or ethnic Nepalis from neighbouring areas, including even Nepal itself, or whether they were illegal residents who had left Bhutan and were claiming to be Bhutanese because they may have worked in Bhutan. Going by the way the Nepalese Prime Minister rejected His Majesty's proposal and the behaviour and attitude of the ngolops, it seems that they. do not consider Bhutan to be a sovereign, independent country or that we also have laws, said the Chimi. However, Bhutan had not only remained a sovereign, independent country throughout its history but was also a member of the United Nations, and the Kingdom had its own laws, culture and traditions like other sovereign countries. The Chimi reported that the people in his Gewog expressed their deep gratitude to His Majesty the King for his efforts to find a solution to the ngolop problem through dialogue with Nepal and the establishment of a joint Committee to identify the different categories of people in the camps in Nepal.

One of the people's representative from Haa Dzongkhag said that the people of Haa recalled the Nepalese Prime Minister's admission in a radio interview that he had organised the ngolop uprising by ethnic Nepalese in the south in the early 1950s, and that he was giving full moral support to the present ngolop uprising by the Lhotshampas. The Chimi said that everyone was now aware that the objective of the ngolops in bringing as many ethnic Nepalese as possible to the camps in Nepal was to declare them as refugees in order to get assistance from the UNHCR and, other organisations. A Joint Committee to identify the people in the camps was, indeed, very necessary as there simply could not be 1,00,000refugees from Bhutan as claimed by the Nepalese, he said. Although the Lhotshampas had submitted a Genja of allegiance to the Tsa-Wa-Sum during the 71st Session of the National Assembly, they had shown no hesitation in emigrating and leaving the country. The Chimis pointed out that there was no reason why there should even by any talk of allowing such people to return to the country.

Some of the people's representatives declared that Bhutan, as a land of Buddhist values, had remained a sovereign, independent country throughout the centuries, because of the protection of the Guardian Deities, the blessings of Guru Rimpoche and Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, the prayers of the Dratshang and the wise and farsighted leadership of its enlightened monarchs. The ngolop problem which had been going on for almost three years now was posing a serious threat to the security of the country. While pledging their full support to His Majesty the Ying and the Royal Government, the Chimis requested that the people be informed before band of any talks held by the government at the bilateral or the international level.

The Home Minister submitted his report on the recently concluded Bhutan-Nepal talks held in Tashichhodzong. He said that a five member delegation led by Nepal's Home Minister had arrived in Thimphu on 15th July, 1993. They were granted a long audience by His Majesty the Ying on the following day. The official talks between the delegations of the two counties led by their Home Ministers were held on 17th and 18th July, 1993 in a very friendly and cordial atmosphere. A Joint Communique which will form the basis for further deliberations on the issue of the people in the refug6e camps in Nepal was signed by the two Home Ministers. The Joint Communique reproduced below was read out by the Secretary of the National Assembly at the request of the Home Minister.

"The Home Ministers of the Kingdoms of Nepal and Bhutan met in Thimphu on July 17 and 18, 1993. His Excellency, Mr. Sher Bahadur Deuba, the Home Minister of the Kingdom of Nepal and his delegation were accorded a warm welcome by Lyonpo Dago Tshering, the Bhutanese Home Minister who expressed the desire of the Royal Government to further strengthen the traditionally close and friendly relations between the peoples and governments of the two countries. He expressed his extreme happiness with the visit of the high level delegation from Nepal to hold discussions on the problem confronting the two countries a present. The Home Minister of Nepal and hit delegation were received in audience by His Majesty the King at Tashichhodzong.

The Nepalese Home Minister conveyed his appreciation for the warm welcome and reciprocated his country's desire to strengthen the existing ties of friendship and cooperation. The talks were held in a warm and cordial atmosphere.

The two Ministers expressed their firm resolve and keen determination to bring about a speedy and durable solution to the problem of the people in the refugee camps in eastern Nepal. In this regard, both the ministers agreed to establish a ministerial Joint Committee comprising three persons from each side to resolve the problem. With a view to ensure that such a committee will be able to carry out its work effectively, the two Ministers agreed that this high level committee will fulfill the following mandate before undertaking any other activity:

a). To determine the different categories of people claiming to have come   from Bhutan in the refugee camps in eastern Nepal.
b) To specify the positions of the two governments on each of these categories.
c)  To arrive at a mutually acceptable agreement on each of these categories, which will provide the basis for the resolution of the problem.

Both sides will communicate to each other the names of the members of the Joint Committee through the normal diplomatic channel. The Joint Committee shall begin its work as expeditiously as possible.

The first meeting of the Joint Committee will be held in Kathmandu as early as possible on mutually acceptable dates which will be decided through normal diplomatic channel.

The Home Ministers of Bhutan and Nepal reiterated the importance of close and friendly relations between the two countries and they expressed the conviction that the Joint Committee will find a durable solution to the problem which is causing great concern to both the countries."

The Speaker expressed his appreciation for the successful outcome of the recently concluded Bhutan-Nepal talks on the problem of the people in the refugee camps in Nepal. He hoped that the talks would contribute towards clearing whatever doubts may have arisen between the peoples of the two neighbouring countries over this problem. As it was very important for all the National Assembly members to be fully aware of the details and outcome of the talks, the Speaker asked them to seek clarification on any aspect of the talks on which they had doubts or questions.

The people's representatives said they were very happy that, in keeping with the traditionally close relations between Nepal and Bhutan, the talks led by the two Home Ministers on the current problem faced by the two countries had been concluded successfully. The representatives expressed their hope that further progress would also be made. At the same time, they cautioned against carelessness and complacency. Recalling the saying that, "losing one's way will only delay the journey but making wrong plans and decisions will have much more disastrous consequences," the representatives said that every effort must be made in the very beginning itself that no oversights or mistakes are committed in laying the groundwork for further dialogue between the two countries.

Other Chimis expressed concern that a Joint Committee was being established to prepare grounds for further talks on the question of repatriating ngolops who had left the country after disrupting its peace and tranquility and causing great suffering for the people. They said that when the Joint Committee started its work of identifying the different categories of people in the Nepal camps, it must first establish whether any of these people had been forcibly evicted from Bhutan or whether they had left after applying to emigrate. The Committee must also investigate and identify those who had held responsible posts in Bhutan and had left after stealing public funds and property. Although there was no extradition treaty between Bhutan and Nepal, the Committee must discuss and facilitate the extradition of those persons who had absconded with large amounts of stolen funds and property. Recalling a traditional saying that "if the parents work hard today their children will reap the benefits tomorrow," the Chimis expressed their confidence that the government would always have the present interest as well as the future well-being and security of the country at heart. However, in view of the great importance of any talks related to the ngolop problem, the Chimis requested the government to consult the National Assembly before the commencement of any further talks. This would inspire greaterconfidenceinthe.Assemblymembersandremov-3the doubts and concerns of the people.

The Minister of Trade and Industry said that it was important to keep certain points in mind while holding talks with Nepal. He pointed out that there was a vast difference between the slogans voiced by the ngolop leaders based in Nepal and the actual deeds carried out by them. As everyone was aware, the ngolops claimed to be working for the human rights of the Lhotshampa people, but were in actual fact responsible for inflicting untold sufferings on many innocent people through the terrorism they unleased in southern Bhutan. They were also responsible for the destruction of many service facilities like schools and health centres established by the government for the benefit of the Lhotshampas. Their actions were purely self-motivated as was evident from the report of the ngolop leaders quarrelling and fighting among themselves over who should occupy what portfolio or post if they succeeded in returning to Bhutan with international support and overthrowing the Royal Government. Such behaviour clearly revealed that they were not at all interested in human rights but only in attaining political power for themselves through any means possible. They had absolutely no compunctions in inflicting sufferings on the people. Knowing that the objective of the ngolops was to overthrow the Royal Government and take over political power it was very important for the loyal Bhutanese in Bhutan to always keep in mind the well-being and security of their country. Although the Bhutan-Nepal talks were very important, as far as the question of repatriation was concerned, the ngolops must he asked why they left Bhutan in the first place and what was their objective in leaving. This was a very important question to be kept in mind. At the same time, it was a very important for the Bhutanese people to stand strongly behind Bhutan cherished system of hereditary monarchy and uphold the Kingdom's rich traditional and cultural heritage. We must be prepared to sacrifice our lives if necessary to safeguard our cherished system and values, the Minister said. The aspirations and objectives of the Bhutanese in Bhutan and the aspirations and objectives of the ngolops were opposite and irreconcilable. No matter how the talks may be held, if these people were to comeback they would always be a threat to the peace and integrity of the country as they would try to disrupt national unity and harmony and overthrow the Royal Government. Even if one or two of them only were to return there was every possibility of them causing internal strife in the country. It would be in their own best interest for the ngolops to remain in Nepal just as it would be good for the peace and harmony of the country if they did not return, said the Trade and Industry Minister.

Several Chimis pointed out that even though a process of identification was undertaken to identify those who had left the country after committing criminal and terrorist activities and those who had emigrated and left of their own free will, they saw no reason why these people should ever be allowed to come back to Bhutan.

His Majesty the King explained to the Chimis that the subject of the recently concluded Bhutan-Nepal talks was the identification of the people in the camps in Nepal. No discussions had been held on repatriating any one. The Chimis need not have any misgivings as the understanding reached between the two governments was to first determine the different categories of people in the refugee camps