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

Fourth Issue of TRH published

Fourth Issue of The Refugee Herald(TRH) published last Wednesday.

As per the Editorial Team of TRH, they are regretted to publish fourth issue after dateline but also they achieve more demands of paper this month.

The Adobe Portable Document Format(PDF) of the newspaper will be out in internet only after few days, informed source.

BAF alerts EU on HR situations

A two-member team from Bhutanese Advocacy Forum Europe (BAF) called on Jean Lambert, Chairperson of the European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations with South Asia at her office in European Parliament, Brussels, Belgium and highlighted various issues, Monday.

BAF delegates with Lambert at her office

The BAF representatives, after expressing their deep appreciations towards EU’s continued support to the Bhutanese refugees and for the various development of Bhutan, appraised and requested EU’s serious attention towards systematic annihilation of culture (by changing the age old names of southern villages and towns into imported names from elsewhere), language and dialects, and religion of the southern and eastern Bhutanese and other minorities by perpetuating the policy of Driglam Namzha and through state sponsoring of Drukpa Kazyugpa Buddhism, stated a press release issued by the Forum.

The team also told Lambert that 80,000 Lhosampas, mostly the relatives of exiled citizens, were deprived of their right to vote in the last general election, and might face the same situation in 2013.

It further informed that Lhosampas are denied employment in defense, external affairs, civil aviation, home ministry and other government institutions. Those related to refugees are even not allowed in any government employment.

We also highlighted the continued incarceration of political prisoners from the south (since 1990) and the east (since 1997) in Rabuna and other prisons, one of the delegates said.

‘Bhutanese identity will be retained even in genes’

Tara Lal Shrestha (Ph.D)

A lecturer at the Tribhuwan University has expressed that resettled Bhutanese would never forget their identity and nationality despite news challenges faces them in resettlement countries.

In a special interview with Bhutan News Service, Tara Lal Shrestha (Ph.D) said that even genes of resettled Bhutanese have retained their nationality, and feeling of being Bhutanese citizens.

Shrestha’s Sapanako Samadi, a research-based novel on the Bhutanese refugee issue, has recently appeared in the Nepalese book market.
According to Shrestha, resettling Bhutanese are not opting to lead new lives in western countries at their own will. “It is their compulsion since no doors for repatriation have been opened as of now,” he said.

He further said, “I am sure the Bhutanese identity will never die.”

Scammer cheats two resettled families in NZ

Bhutanese people living in Nelson have been caught up in a phone scam targeting vulnerable former refugees.

The Department of Internal Affairs is warning migrants to beware of a scam artist that appears to be targeting the Bhutanese communities in Christchurch, Nelson and Palmerston North, wrote Fairfax NZ News, Tuesday.

The caller introduced himself as being from the non-existent Asian Minority Group of Internal Affairs in Wellington and says he can provide citizenship, according to the report.

It further mentioned that he told them to pay money to a Nepalese account through Western Union, a money transfer service, to cover document transfer fees.

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.

Canada to resettle more Bhutanese

The government of Canada said it will accept more Bhutanese refugees for relocation through the ongoing third country resettlement program generating hopes of new lives, at least, for those waiting for family reunion. However, it has not yet disclosed actual number of refugees to be accepted.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) announced the decision to exiled Bhutanese of Jhapa and Morang district last week.

Canada, which has already received 5,000 individuals and was undecided for months regarding this, is learnt to be sending its resettlement team for interviewing refugees within October this year.

Meanwhile, the UNHCR said that 62,673 exiled Bhutanese have already been resettled in various eight western countries as of April 15.

Bhutan’s press freedom index ranking drops by six places

By Minjur Dorji

The France-based international non-governmental organization, Reporters Without Borders (RWB) which conducts an annual ranking comparing each nation’s state of press freedom, has placed Bhutan at 70th, six places down in the rung from last year’s 64th.

This has caused a certain amount of surprise in relevant authorities.

Information and Communication (MOIC) Secretary, Dasho Kinley Dorji said, “We don’t know how the ranking and analysis is done, so we don’t know anything; as far as we are concerned, in the last few years things have not changed.” He added that it is difficult to say whether the report is credible or not.

Police Internvene Hunger Striker Women

A special squad of Nepali Police from Damak today intervened into hunger striker women and “forcefully” lifted three of them up into AMDA ambulance following their denial to admit in the hospital.

Those hospitalized by the police including team Coordinator Durga Devi Bista, Ira Maya Khatri and Tulasha Dhakal, Armed Police Force (APF) Inspector Bijendra Rimal confirmed.

“We were compelled to hospitalize them forcefully considering their deteriorating heath conditions,” Inspector Rimal said. “We requested them to get hospitalized but they refused, compelling us to book them into an ambulance forcefully.”

However, exiled Bhutanese and agitating women have accused police and APF personnel of forcefully intervening into the situation to bring the ongoing protest to an end.

A committee to resume verification

Following mounting pressures from various sectors including the agitating women, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) has formed a committee to resume stalled verification process to determine refugee status.

The letter dispatched to Chief District Officer of Jhapa on Friday said that the Ministry nominated Deputy Secretary Shambhu Prasad Ghimire to address the issue of exiled Bhutanese whose status has not been determined yet. However, the letter has not specified any timeframe for the committee to resume the verification.

“The ministry has finally responded to the call of women in hunger strike,” an official at District Administration Office of Jhapa told Bhutan News Service. “We’ll immediately begin the verification process since the Deputy Secretary Ghimire will be arriving in Jhapa in a couple of days.”

A delegation from the DAO and UNHCR Damak, which had reached the venue at 10:30 p.m. yesterday, received such a response from the women, informed camp-based Armed Police Force Inspector Bijendra Rimal.

Meanwhile, the agitating women on Friday night refused to call of the hunger strike stating the Ministry’s letter failed to address their demands in a proper way and also lacked the timeframe.

As the fasting-to-death enters into the fifth day, two strikers have been hospitalized as their blood-sugar level marked a significant fall down.

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.

Bhutanese in Lexington elected community leaders

Bhutanese resettled in Lexington City of KY in USA celebrated Nepali New Year 2069 by demonstrating various programs on April 21.

Dragona Zaimovic from Kentucky Refugee Ministry also attended the ocassion.

Resettled Bhutanese of Lexington also decided to form a community which will mainly work on preservation of cultural values, organize social events and work for the benefits of the Bhutanese people in their city. They did elected various seniors for leading their ongoing community.

Around 55 family representatives residing in KY attended the program.

Editor Dahal fall in accident

Editor of REFUGEES VOICE, Hari Kumar Dahal(HK) suddenly fall from a door of bus on Friday, while he was going to Pathari for news report of ongoing football tournament.

According to eyewitness, unknowingly someone pushed him from back. His left leg and pelvic gridle is injured.

We the editorial team of REFUGEES VOICE would like to say him ‘GET WELL SOON’.