Bhutanese refugees say their problems won’t be resolved without India’s cooperation

Damak, February 18

Bhutanese refugees, who have been living in temporary shelters across Morang and Jhapa districts for long, are hopeful that Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s visit will be instrumental in resolving their issues.

The leaders of the Bhutanese refugees in the refugee camp at Beldangi of Damak said that they have high hopes from the prime minister’s India visit as they expect him to discuss their issue with the Indian government.

They have urged Oli to tell Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi about their problems during his his six-day state visit to India starting today.

Sanchahang Subba, secretary of the refugee camp in Beldangi, said the Bhutanese government had attacked democracy by chased them away from their own land.

Stating that the issue needs to be resolved through diplomatic channels, Subba argued that the Bhutanese refugees cannot return home without India’s cooperation.

Similarly, Dil Mahat from the refugee camp at Beldangi-2 said, “Since various rounds of meetings to resolve the issue of Bhutanese refugees failed to yield concrete results, Prime Minister Oli should accord special priority to the issue and do the needful during his visit.”

Likewise, Santabir Ghale, a leader of the Bhutanese refugees said, “Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli is very well aware of issue of Bhutanese refugees. We are hopeful that he will make efforts to resolve the issue during his India visit.”

Moreover, Bhutanese Human Rights Activist Teknath Rijal expressed confidence that the issue of Bhutanese refugees would be resolved if Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli raised their issue during his India trip.