NEW DELHI -- The complicated issue of Bhutanese refugees in Nepal seems to be heading toward a solution after some major breakthroughs were achieved during a two-day meeting of diplomats of two countries in Thimpu on Oct. 20-21.
The agreements reached in this meeting have given hope to about 100,000 people living in seven refugee camps run by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in eastern Nepal. If this landmark deal is implemented it might result in the repatriation of a major section of refugees and the settling of remaining ones in Nepal by granting them Nepalese citizenship.
The Bhutanese refugees, who are mostly of Nepalese descent, were displaced during the 1990s when the government, dominated by the majority Drukpa ethnic group, accused the Lothsampa (Nepali) minority of being illegal immigrants and tried to impose cultural reforms by encouraging the use of its national language and dress. The Bhutan government says the refugees left voluntarily but the refugees claim that they were driven out.