I think there is a lot missing from the discussion here.
India has never stopped any Bhutanese refugee just passing through its soil. A whole horde of Bhutanese refugees attend schools in Kalimpong, Darjeeling, Calcutta and Delhi. One of the pro-democracy leader of the Bhutanese democratic movement lives in Delhi. A horde of Bhutanese refugees work in various places in India. Many of them have accessed the Indian education system for free... NBU Law school itself has seen quite a few number of Bhutanese nrefugees pass out with a degree. Some of these lawyers practice in India. India and Bhutan have a bi-lateral treaty, which India respects in every way (mostly because it is favorable to India than to Bhutan, but that is another story).
However, India does not allow the Bhutanese refugees when they want to 'march' with flags, banners, media in tow, in thousands, through Indian soil chanting anti-Bhutan slogans. That is something India has made very clear since the very beginning. (The Indo-Bhutan Friendship Treaty of 1949, recently updated, provides that India will NEVER allow anti-Bhutan activity from its soil). The AMCC Peace March in 1996 (for a whole year) was conducted to gauge the Indian reaction. It ended up in marchers being put in prison all over West Bengal. One surprise group banded in Jaigaon (without 'marching' in India) and was successful to enter Bhutan for about 50 meters! RAW knew, but did not bother to stop this because the march was not happening on Indian soil. But India made it clear that this is not going to happen from Indian soil.
More cycle rallies, more marches etc have happened over the years--- all with the same result. Arrest in India and dumping back into Nepal. Arrest in Bhutan and dumping back into INdia, then on to Nepal. What is the point of doing the same thing over and over and over again, resulting in deaths? If the Bhutanese refugees want to go back to Bhutan, they can just go back quietly. No one is going to stop them, except the Bhutanese government at the India -Bhutan border.
The violent behavior of the refugees this time around will have terrible repercussions in their future. The leaders who have organized the march have designed it in such a way that it answers to their needs, rather than the refugees'. This is organized by those who vehemently oppose the United States' (and other countries') offer of resettlement. Now, many of these leaders opposed this offer in the beginning out of the principle (apparently) that they should be allowed to go back home (while thousands of refugees lined up in front of western embassies in Kathmandu trying to find a way out, to the West!). Some of these leaders also knew that they would never be qualified for US resettlement precisely because of the violent movement they led in the late eighties and early nineties. The US is monitoring the fracas at the bridge, the beating up of those who support resettlement in the US in the refugee camps, the daily harassment of those who are seeking a comprehensive solution to the problem. Eventually, those who have started supporting these violent groups will be barred from the US (Material Support Bar- Real ID Act). Last year, 12000 Burmese refugees were disqualified (three days before they were to fly out to the US!). The politicians want this to happen, so they will have a population hostage in the refugee camps to continue their 'struggle' for power in Bhutan.
So the rock throwing at the SSB at the Mechi bridge, the violent agitators.. these are not common refugees. These are leaders and cadres with an agenda that goes far beyond refugees right to return, or refugees' right to a decent life. Overall, these people are those who have very little respect for democracy. I know it sucks for the common refugees who have been rounded up to join this group, but they will be beaten up and harassed and messed around with if they dont flow with the crowd. Threats come as far as the US. Imagine what the helpless refugees in the camps are being subjected to!
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