Bhutan
Talks (Bilateral/Multilateral):2003

In a report on March 16, the Kuensel said the Nepal-Bhutan Joint Verification Team is continuing in Thimphu the process of categorisation of people in refugee camps in Nepal. While both sides were unwilling to discuss details, the Registration Department of Bhutan director general Dasho Sonam Tenzing said discussions were being held in a "very cordial and friendly atmosphere" and differences were being sorted out. A Joint Secretary in the Home Ministry of Nepal, Sushil Rana, also agreed that work was in progress but declined to comment. Read less...

According to a report in Kuensel, Nepalese Foreign Minister Narendra Bikram Shah reached Thimphu on March 24 to attend the 13th Ministerial Joint Committee (MJC) meeting today, March 25. The MJC is headed by the Foreign Ministers of Bhutan and Nepal and was constituted by the two governments to work towards finding an early and lasting solution to the of Bhutanese refugees issue. The meeting will discuss the report submitted by the Joint Verification Team (JVT), on the categorisation of refugees at the Khudanabari camp in Nepal. The Bhutanese refugees are being categorized into four categories––Bhutanese who were forcibly evicted, Bhutanese who willingly emigrated, non-Bhutanese and Bhutanese with criminal record. Verification at six more camps is yet to begin. Read less...

According to a media report, the King of Bhutan met the Indian national security advisor, Brajesh Mishra, in Paro on March 27 and discussed a wide range of issues, including those pertaining to the security concerns of the two countries. Mishra was on an official visit to Bhutan. Read less...

Following a two-day meeting that concluded in Thimpu, on March 25 Foreign Ministers of Nepal and Bhutan reiterated commitments of their governments seeking bilaterally "a just and durable solution" to the refugees-problem in eastern Nepal, Kuensel reported on March 29. The 13th meeting of the Ministerial Joint Committee (MJC) also reviewed functioning of the Thimphu-based Nepal-Bhutan Joint Verification Team (JVT) assigned with the task of classifying 12,095 refugees staying at the Khudunabari camp into the four agreed categories–– bonafide Bhutanese who have been evicted, Bhutanese who emigrated, non Bhutanese, and Bhutanese who have committed criminal acts. Bhutan foreign minister, Lyonpo Jigmi Y. Thinley later reportedly said that once the categorisation was over, the next step would be taken according to the "harmonised" positions of the two governments on each these categories. Read less...

Army chief General N C Vij left on a five-day visit to Bhutan on May 6 in the backdrop of Indian concerns about the existence of camps of terrorist groups operating in India’s Northeast. According to media reports, General Vij, during his visit, is likely to hold consultations with the top brass of the Bhutanese Army on the measures to close down training camps of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) and the Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO). Gen Vij will also visit Army formations in West Bengal and Sikkim to take stock of the continuing operations against terrorist hideouts on the Indian side of the border. Read less...

According to media reports, Chief of the Indian Army, General N C Vij, on May 9 discussed the activities of terrorist outfits operating in India allegedly from their Bhutan-based camps, including the Assam-based United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) with the Bhutanese authorities. General Vij also called on the Bhutan King, Jigme Singye Wangchuk, Prime Minister Lyonpo Kinzang Dorji and the Chief Operations Officer of the Royal Bhutan Army, Goongleon Gongma Lam Dorji. General Vij arrived in Thimpu on a three-day visit on May 8. Read less...

According to a report of the Kuensel of July 25, the Indian Foreign Secretary, Kanwal Sibal met King Jigme Singye Wangchuck on July 22 during his visit to Bhutan and discussed bilateral cooperation and presence of Indian terrorists in the jungles of southern Bhutan, among other things. Read less...

The visiting King of Bhutan, Jigme Singye Wangchuk has reportedly said that leaders of United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) and the Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO) would be invited for talks by Thimpu to discuss the removal of their camps there. The Bhutanese National Assembly in October 2003 had also taken a decision in this regard. The three terrorist outfits are active in the Northeastern part of India and also in the State of West Bengal and are believed to have together more than 30 camps in the jungles of southern Bhutan. A press release from the Bhutan Embassy in Delhi on September 15 said, "He (the King) said that so long as the Government of Bhutan and the Government of India work closely together, and so long as Bhutan has the goodwill, friendship and support of India, he was confident that the problem can be resolved in the near future." Read less...

According to media reports, India and Bhutan agreed in New Delhi on September 18 to work closely on checking the problem of Northeast terrorists operating from Bhutanese soil. A joint statement issued at the end of a five-day visit of Bhutanese King Jigme Singye Wangchuk stated that both countries would not allow their territories to be used by anyone to harm each other’s interests. Read less...

According to a report in Kuensel, Bhutan and Nepal have agreed to hold the 15th meeting of the Ministerial Joint Committee in Thimphu from October 20 to 23. This was decided when Bhutan's Foreign Minister, Lyonpo Khandu Wangchuk, met Dr. Bekh Bahadur Thapa, Ambassador at Large of the Government of Nepal, in New York on September 29. Both sides also held discussions on the situation in the refugee camps in Nepal. Read less...

According to a report in the Kuensel, the 15th Ministerial Joint Committee (MJC) meeting between Nepal and Bhutan on the refugee issue, which concluded in Thimphu on October 23, has reached an agreement on a number of issues. Both sides reportedly agreed that the appeals submitted by the people in Category 3 (non-Bhutanese who are claiming to be Bhutanese) would be reviewed by the Joint Verification Team (JVT) by the end of January 2004. It was also agreed that people falling under category 4 (people who have committed crimes against the people and country of Bhutan) would be allowed to return and given a chance to prove their innocence in a court of law. Their family members will not be prosecuted on their return to Bhutan. Both sides further agreed that people in category one (people who claim they were forcefully evicted from the country), two (people who emigrated on their own free will), and four, who have applied to return to Bhutan will be repatriated as ‘per the harmonized position on these categories.’ Those people in Category 2 who do not want to return to Bhutan are to be allowed to apply for the Nepali citizenship. Read less...