22 homeward-bound Bhutanese refugees arrested

Bhutanese police on Tuesday afternoon arrested twenty-two Bhutanese refugees of five families living in Beldangi camp in Damak from Phuntsoling after they crossed the India-Bhutan border on their own, in an attempt to return home from Nepal, reports said on Wednesday.

Of 22 arrested refugees, 16 were later handed over to the Indian police, while the condition of the remaining six refugees is not known.

The refugees were returning home under the Volunteer Homeland Return and National Reconciliation Programme, under the banner of Bhutan Gorkha National Liberation Front (BGNLF) and Bhutan Human Rights Organisation (BHRO), the reports said.

Issuing a press statement Tuesday, the Chairman of BGNLF, Tara Mukarung protested the arrest of the refugees and warned that the Bhutan government would be entirely responsible for any dire consequences, if the refugees resort to any alterative ways in response to humiliations perpetrated on them.

The refugees had made similar attempts to return home in the past as well and the Indian police had deliberately stopped them at the Mechi bridge by arresting them, the report added.

The office of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees has been warning that the voluntary return process involves risk. Refugees from the Timai refugee camp, who organised a Satyagraha four days ago, have also announced they would return to their homeland soon. nepalnews.com pb Oct 05 05