Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Bhutanese Refugee who Applied for Resettlement to the USA Tortured
Letter by William Gomes Salem-News.com
Human Rights Ambassador William Nicholas Gomes contacts officials in Nepal over police torture and illegal arrest.
Rt. Hon. Dr. Baburam Bhattarai |
(HONG KONG) - Policemen denying their identity and operating illegally; it is a problem thatranges from right here in Salem, Oregon, to as we learn, Kathmandu, Nepal, where a young man was recently tortured by police in civilian clothes.
 |
It's nothing like the song made famous by Bob Seger, we could only wish. Instead it is a place where thousands of Nepali-speaking families who have lived for several generations in Bhutan, exist in refugee camps.
Jit Bahadur Subba, 29, is one of the many people in the area living in the Bhutanese refugee camp, Beldangi II. He was picked up by police and tortured, after he had applied for resettlement to the USA. His ordeal began as he was going through the immigration process at the transit office of the International organization for Migrant (IOM) in Baluwatar, Kathmandu.
He was tortured and threatened by police who refused to identify themselves, which is one of the most basic requirements of any law enforcement officer, if for no other reason, than to simply demonstrate that they are indeed police. Tax-paid government law enforcement officers are not granted permission to operate as shadowy, illicit figures.
Besides, according to Nepal's Evidence Act, 1974, statements “extorted by torturing or threatening to placing the accused in a situation in which he was compelled to do so against his will” cannot be used against the accused in court proceedings.
| “ | May 14,2012 Rt. Hon. Dr. Baburam Bhattarai Prime Minister of Nepal Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Nepal Singh Durbar P.O. Box: 43312 Kathmandu Nepal Fax: +977 1 4211 086 Email: info@opmcm.gov.np, bhattaraibaburam@gmail.com Dear Prime Minister of Nepal, I am William Nicholas Gomes, Human Rights Ambassador for Salem News.com. I am writing to voice my deep concern regarding the torture faced by a Bhutanese refugee, Jit Bahadur Subba, at the hands of two policemen in the Central Investigation Bureau, Maharajganj, Kathmandu. According to the information I have received from the Asian Human Rights Commission |
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Bhutanese refugee held with Nepali citizenship‚ passport
KATHMANDU: The Central Investigation Bureau of Nepal Police has nabbed a Bhutanese refugee in the refugee camp in Beldangi, Jhapa from Baluwatar with a Nepali citizenship certificate and passport.The refugee, who was arrested on the premises of Baluwatar-based International Organization of Migration (IOM), has been identified as Jeet Bahadur Subba (29).
According to the CIB, he was found in possession of Nepali citizenship certificate (number 041009/1070) dated March 17, 2011 from Jhapa District Administration Office that he obtained by identifying himself as a native of Madanpur, Khudunabari- 2 of Jhapa. It has also been revealed that his father Harkalal Subba had obtained Nepali citizenship certificate from Jhapa DAO.
“During interrogation, Subba said VDC Secretary Bishnu Paudel was bribed to procure the citizenship certificate for him and his father. The father-son duo reportedly gave a bribe of Rs 50,000 and Rs 30,000 each,” CIB informed.
Jeet Bahadur had procured a Nepali passport (MRP) on the basis of the citizenship certificate from the Ministry ofForeign Affairs on December 27, 2011 on the recommendation of Jhapa DAO.
Having come to Nepal as a Bhutanese refugee at the age of nine, Jeet Bahadur was preparing to relocate to the US. Primary investigation suggests that Jeet Bahadur, Jagirman Lama (vice-president of Bhutan People’s Party), Lal Bahadur Rai and Padamlal Mishra were also involved in receiving hefty sums from a number of Nepalis for forging Bhutanese refugee identity cards with the promise of sending them to the US and Canada.
“Jeet Bahadur said his gang had sent 15 Nepalis to Canada by providing them forged refugee identity cards,” CIB informed.
He has been handed to Metropolitan Police Range, Hanumandhoka where he will be charged with forgery.
Source:Himalayantimes.com
Friday, April 20, 2012
Lethbridge becoming magnet for Bhutan refugees
By the end of the year 5,000 refugees from the small South Asian country of Bhutan will call Canada home, with hundreds of them settling in Lethbridge.
Dan Bahdur Gurung, a refugee from Bhutan, is one of hundreds from that country making Lethbridge home. (CBC)Dan Bahdur Gurung, his wife and two children landed in Canada seven months ago.
So far his daughter is the only one who understands English. The rest of the family is struggling to adjust.
Nearly 20 years ago the Gurungs were among 100,000 people forced from Bhutan into refugee camps in neighbouring Nepal.
Now those people are slowly being resettled around the world. Canada is one of seven countries that agreed to take refugees from the camps.
“It’s probably becoming one of the larger ethnic communities in Lethbridge,” said Sarah Amies, who works with Lethbridge Immigrant Services.
Over the last three years the agency has welcomed more than 500 Bhutanese refugees to the city.
For most of them, integration is a challenge. But it helps to be in a smaller centre, Amies said.
Refugee assistance may suffer in cuts
Staffing at the Citizenship and Immigration Canada office in Charlottetown is going to be cut from three workers to one, CBC News has learned.
Service was slow at the Charlottetown office even with three staff, says Madan Kumar Giri. (CBC)The provincial manager's position and a settlement officer's position working with refugees have been eliminated as of June 1, say department officials.
CIC provides services for refugees in their first year, and more than 60 new refugees are expected to arrive on the Island in 2012. Currently, refugees looking for services must call a 1-800 number for an appointment. Walk-ins have not been allowed at the office in years.
Interpreter Madan Kumar Giri helps people in the Bhutanese community. He said getting his last clients' appointment took two weeks.
"Even when there were three people," said Giri.
"But when there will be only one, especially the refugee immigrants will suffer a lot to make a different appointment and to solve the problem."
It's not clear whether appointments will even be permitted after the cuts.
An email from CIC said "some of those smaller locations will be responsible for liaising with the provinces and stakeholders but will not be open to the public."
Dan Doran, a past president of the board of directors of the P.E.I. Association for Newcomers, has direct experience with refugees. He works with a refugee sponsorship committee with the Diocese of Charlottetown and was the CIC supervisor at the Charlottetown office until 2005.
"You can't replace a direct face in a face-to-face meeting," said Doran.
"Sure you can do things from a distance, but I certainly think that there's going to be something lost in the ability to provide the most effective service."
Citizenship is closing more than a dozen regional offices, including offices in Moncton, Saint John and one of two offices in Halifax. Several hundred lay-off notices have been delivered across the country.
Source:CBC NEWS
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