Biratnagar, April 15:

Bhutanese refugees here, alleging that the Bhutan government is conspiring again to render them stateless by making preparations to issue new citizenship certificates in Bhutan, have urged the United Nations to stop the process.

The allegation comes just as the Bhutanese government started the work of preliminary information collection and taking pictures for the citizenship certificate in different parts of the country. The Bhutan government has already stated that it has completed the necessary work for distribution of new citizenship certificates in some of the districts of western, eastern and central Bhutan in the first phase.

Chairman of the Bhutan Peoples’ Party, Bal Ram Poudel said, “Bhutan continued the work for new citizenship papers distribution despite pressure from different sectors. There is no option but to seek international intervention to stop this.” He accused Bhutan of trying to prove by distributing the new citizenship papers that the Bhutanese refugees, who are in Nepal with all their documents, aren’t its nationals.

Poudel said, “The United Nations must interfere now for a solution to the problem.” Bhutanese Human Rights Activists SB Subba said, “This is a conspiracy to invalidate citizenship certificates of those Bhutanese who are in Nepal. The UN must pressurise Bhutan to stop the process.”

A refugee Harendra Khanal of Beldangi Camp claimed that the Bhutanese government’s bid to exclude them from their country would not be successful. He said, “We have enough proof that we are Bhutanese nationals.” A new working committee was formed under the chairmanship of Bhutanese human rights leader Tek Nath Rijal recently to start a new movement for the return of Bhutanese refugees to their country.

The Bhutanese refugees have been demanding their problem be internationalised and that the UN address the issue.