यो वर्षको झकास पुरस्कार भारतीय साहित्यकार राईलाई

पुरस्कार ग्रहर्ण गर्दै साहित्यकार राई (सौजन्य: प्रकाश आङ्दाम्बे)

साहित्यप्रेमी भूटानी युवाहरूबाट गठित झकास समूहले वार्षिक रूपमा प्रदान गर्दै आएको यो वर्षको ‘झकास अन्तराष्ट्रिय पुरस्कार’ भारतीय साहित्यकार विमल राईलाई प्रदान गरेको छ ।

पुरस्कार गत आइतबार झापाको दमकमा आयोजना गरिएको एउटा कार्यक्रममाझ साहित्यकार गणेश रसिक, संगीतकार मणीकमल क्षेत्री र गीतकार एलपी जोसीबाट संयुक्त रूपमा साहित्यकार राईलाई प्रदान गरिएको हो ।

ताम्रपत्र र १६ हजार रूपैयाँको सो पुरस्कार सन् २०१० बाट झकास समूहले प्रदान गर्दै आएको छ । उक्त पुरस्कारबाट साहित्यकारहरू याम थुलुङ र प्रकाश आङ्दाम्वे क्रमश सन् २०१० र २०११ मा सम्मानित भइसकेका छन् ।
“तपाईहरूको माया मात्र भए पुग्छ, मलाई नगद रकमको कुनै आवश्यकता छैन,” भन्दै राईले आफूले पाएको १६ हजार रूपैयाँ सृजनशील कामका लागि झकास समूहलाई नै फिर्ता गरेका थिए ।

Source:BNS.com

Forgery-accused youth faces severe torture in custody

Nepal police have severely tortured a refugee youth who is apprehended for his alleged involvement in obtaining Nepali citizenship and Machine Readable Passport (MRP) illegally, revealed his family sources and the Center for Victims of Torture (CVICT).

The family sources of one “J. Subba, in his 20s,” disclosed on Saturday that security personnel tried various forms of physical techniques to torture him in police custody. Citing the nature and sensitivity of the news, BNS can neither mention the full name of Subba nor can it publish his image.

According to a petition circulated by the Punya Foundation, Subba was inflicted with severe forms of tortures, including the technique of hooding. Following an alert, a team including legal expert from the CVICT visited Subba in police custody last week, it is learnt.

“CVICT lawyer reports Subba as saying that police in civil dresses slapped him on his face 10-12 times. Further, Subba was randomly beaten with a baton and kicked. He is subjected to falanga-torture, as a consequence of which, he has difficulty to walk,” stated the petition.

Again women begins hunger strike

Women in strike with charts.

Bhutanese women who have been fighting for refugee status since long time again started the hunger strike from last Tuesday morning accusing the government of Nepal to listen their demands.

Even they staged 12 days fasting to death in last November.

Strikers' demand chart paper.

A group of six women led by Durga Devi Bista kick-started hunger strike including other strikers Ira Maya Khatri, Chandra Maya Khadka, Renuka Mongar, Tulasha Dhakal and Parbati Chouhan.

Their demands are registration and refugee status, informed coordinator Bista.

Nepal to allow urban refugees to resettle

Nepal

After a long wait, the Government of Nepal has finally decided to issue exit permit for “urban refugees”, other than Tibetan and Bhutanese, to resettle in various western countries.

Prior to this development, Nepal was issuing exit permits to just Bhutanese and Tibetan refugees. Some 60,000 Bhutanese in exile have already resettled in different eight countries in the west after getting such documents.

Senior government officials said the Minister of Home Affairs has sought the consent of the finance ministry to waive visa fees and penalty slapped on urban refugees, who have already received acceptance letters from host countries for resettlement, reports the Republica daily from Kathmandu, Monday.

“We have decided to allow their resettlement as prolonging their stay in Nepal would only complicate matters,” said the Ministry’s Spokesperson for Shankar Koirala.

Electricity still banned in refugee camps

By: HK Dahal

Since there is no any written international law to prohibit refugees to get access of electricity, but also Bhutanese refugees in Beldangi are totally prohibited to get access of such infrastructure of development.

As exiled Bhutanese students are studying in school that for appropriate development there should be the adequate Education, health, transportation, communication and electricity facilities. Slightly our exiled Bhutanese people are getting access of education, health, communication, transportation but mainly electricity is totally prohibited here in camp. No Bhutanese knows what is the main reason behind that.

Before some months, hardly exiled Bhutanese connected electricity from host community but within few months Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) of Damak disconnected and seized all the connecting cables and meter box forcefully.
As exiled Bhutanese were not using it in free, they used to pay Rs.20 per Unit as local consumers only pay Rs.9 per Unit. Last time local consumers had collected Rs.5000 from each exiled Bhutanese consumers, which they haven’t returned till now.

Mainly the lack of electricity, exiled Bhutanese students are forced to study in dark at night in absence of proper light as there is no any other light facilities.

Fire safety awareness rally(Photo Collection)

An  awareness rally on fire safety was organized on the inauguration day of Eastern Regional Volleyball Tournament. Dozens from camp school, camp management committee, representatives from various agencies, children forum and Armed Police Force (APF), among others took part in a rally held to inform the exiled community about safety measures of fire and its disasters.

Eastern Regional Football Tournament begins

The Eastern Regional Football Tournament started from Tuesday in Bhutanese refugee camp Beldangi.

The tournament is ongoing under the joint effort of the Fans Club of Bhutanese refugees and Pravat Kiran Yuba Club of Damak-5.

According to the organizers, tournament will last until April 10 and the winners will be awarded with cash prizes of NRs. 15,000 and 10,000 respectively.

Two matches have been held on daily basis, as altogether 12 teams are participating in the tournament, informed organizer Yuba Raj Sampang.

An  awareness rally on fire safety was organized on the inauguration day. Dozens from camp school, camp management committee, representatives from various agencies, children forum and Armed Police Force (APF), among others took part in a rally held to inform the exiled community about safety measures of fire and its disasters.

Third edition of TRH published

Front view of third edition

The third edition of Bhutanese refugee based English newspaper “The Refugee Herald” (TRH) is published and circulating in camp.

If you want to read this newspaper online click here to download.

The first edition of TRH is published on 14 January, under the private circulation of Bhutanese refugee students under parenting of Chief Editor: Vidhyapati Mishra and Managing Editor: Mona Rath Pokhrel.

TRH is one and only English newspaper left that is alive in Bhutanese refugee camp.

Over 5,000 people resettled in lands owned by exiled citizens

Altogether 5,088 people from various other districts have been resettled in farms and lands, which were previously owned by Southern Bhutanese in exile, between 1997 and 2008.

Of this, Samtse suffered the largest resettlement as the National Land Commission (NLC) offered lands to 2,194 individuals, offering five acres of land for each resettled.

Likewise, 1,585 people were offered lands in Sarpang followed by 859 persons in Tshirang. Dagana received the least number of 450 resettlers, according to NLC.

The resettlers are mostly Sarchops from the East. However, the Commission has issued lands to landless citizens from other parts of the country as well.

Meanwhile, the Commission last week notified all resettlers that if they failed to occupy or cultivate the allotted land it would not be registered.

It has also warned of nullifying the registration of those who have stopped cultivating the farms offered to them.

11th SAARC Secy from Maldives appointed

The 11th Secretary General of the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) has been appointed.

General Secretary

According to the SAARC Secretariat, Ahmed Saleem of Maldives has succeeded Fathimath Dhiyana Saeed. The outgoing Secretary General was also from Maldives.

He joined the Maldivian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1968 and served for over 26 years. He served at the High Commission of Maldives in Sri Lanka and the Permanent Mission of Maldives in New York, according to the Secretariat.

Saleem is also said to have served as the Maldivian Government’s first Alternative Governor for the World Bank and Asian Development Bank.

Exiled Bhutanese marked Int’l Women Day

Bhutanese refugees marked th International Women Day today in all refugee camps under Bhutanese Refugee Women Forum(BRWF) with the slogan “Equal pay for work for equal value”.

Women gathered to mark Int'l Women Day/Photo: Tilak Niroula

BRWF conducted various women development related programmes such as Badminton competition, poem recitation and honor the volunteer refugee women on the occasion of women day.

According to the central program incharge of BRWF Bal Bahadur Ghataney, the main aim to mark such day is to reduce violence against women and also to promote the talents of backward women.

In regard to this day, refugee schools Pancha-Oti Enghlis School and Marigold Academy organized open art competition. Meanwhile, Bhutanese women organized a mass rally in Sanischare refugee camp.

OL irked at PM’s remarks on repatriation

Tshering Tobgay, a Member of Parliament representing Sombaykha Constituency in Haa and the Leader of the Opposition party in the National Assembly, has criticized Prime Minister Jigmi Y Thinley for speaking on the favor of exiled Bhutanese.

Tshering Tobgay

Just a few days after the Prime Minister reiterated the government’s position in accepting “genuine citizens” for repatriation, OL Tobgayflayed PM’s statement.

“I fail to see the logic in the prime minister’s statement. How can he commit to repatriate people if we now don’t have any basis of even identifying whether a person is a genuine Bhutanese or not?” Tobgay, who is also a top ranking blogger in the country, wrote in his blog Tuesday.

However, his explanation on bringing the longstanding refugee imbroglio to a logical conclusion has clearly depicted his “childish political ideology”. Indeed, a few comments posted on his post did explain his “political maturity level”.

According to his claim, repatriation is no longer possible stating that acceptance of some citizens was a genuine possibility 10 years ago, but even then, only if the verification process was honest and complete.

“That didn’t happen. Now it’s more than 20 years since people settled in the camps, plus most of them have opted to resettle in third countries. If repatriation was not possible 10 years ago, in spite of the best efforts of the governments of Bhutan and Nepal, I don’t see how the prime minister can even talk about it as a possibility now,” he wrote.

Without accepting the responsibility of his People’s Democratic Party in pressurizing the House to resolve the refugee crisis in a moral ground, Tobgay, however, thanked the international community for accepting exiled Bhutanese for resettlement.

He also remembered to accuse citizens in exile of preferring to resettle in the third countries.

Those fulfilling set criteria will be accepted back home : PM Thinley

Prime Minister Jigmi Y Thinley on Thursday told media persons in Thimphu that his government was positive about solving the long running problems of “people in camps in Nepal” that has persisted over two decades.

PM Thinley

He told that the government serious to find a solution to the problem of people in the camps in Nepal that has often been blamed for taking Bhutan-Nepal relations into ransom, reports from inside said.

The Prime Minister expressed the government’s concerns over the people in the camps being one of the biggest problems, which continue to threaten the peace and stability of the country.

“Presently the position of the government is, we will take back anybody who fulfills the criteria agreed upon between Nepal and Bhutan in the bilateral discussion,” online edition of the Business Bhutan quoted the PM as saying.

He also reinstated that the bilateral talks on the repatriation between the governments of Nepal and Bhutan were stalled after a Bhutanese delegation was assaulted by the mob in the camps.

However, during the press meet, the PM also claimed that Bhutan is interested to initiate bilateral talks with the Nepal government soon.

“We need to resolve the issue quickly but a solution has not been easy to find as the two countries have struggled to find a solution for many years,” he said adding,” Almost a decade after the two governments broke talks on repatriation of people in the camps.”