Our Majesty getting married!!!!

The royal wedding of His Majesty the King will be held in October this year. The announcement was made exactly at 11:20 am by His Majesty the King at the inaugural of the 7th session of the parliament today.

His Majesty said he is hopeful that the people will be pleased with the announcement.

Following the announcement by His Majesty the King, the Prime Minister Lyonchhen Jigmi Y. Thinley said the wedding announcement is a dream come true for the entire nation.

Lyonchhen on behalf of all the citizens submitted his heartfelt congratulations and prayers to His Majesty the King.

Lyonchhen said the country is looking forward for the historic celebration and the preparation works will be carried out as per the tradition. The other members of the parliament also congratulated His Majesty over the good news.

BPP slams Bhutan PM´s statement on refugees

The Bhutan People’s Party (BPP), the Bhutanese democratic outfit currently working in exile in Nepal, on Sunday expressed concerns over the statement made by Bhutanese Prime Minister Jigmi Y. Thinley a day earlier in Kathmandu about the status of the Bhutanese people taking refuge in eastern Nepal.

Wrapping up his three-day visit to Nepal as the SAARC Chair on Saturday , Bhutanese PM Thinley at a press conference had questioned the nationality of the refugees, saying whether they are Bhutanese or not could only be determined by bilateral talks to be resumed shortly between the two countries.

Issuing a press statement from its contact office in Kathmandu today, the BPP accused Thinley of orchestrating a ploy to forcibly drive away thousands of Bhutanese citizens from their own land two decades ago and slammed his latest statement as being ‘cowardly’ and the real face of Bhutan’s version of democracy.

The BPP also challenged the Bhutanese government to prove that any one of the people taking refuge in various camps of eastern Nepal is a non-Bhutanese. “The way Thinley’s public statement has come makes it clear that Bhutan does not want to return its citizens home.”

The BPP requested the Nepal government to take an initiative to arrange for joint talks between Bhutan, Nepal, India and leaders of exiled political parties of Bhutan for repatriation of the refugees and establishment of democracy and respect to human rights in Bhutan.

The Bhutanese outfit further asked the Nepal government to immediately set up a taskforce capable to take diplomatic initiatives for a lasting resolution of the refugee crisis.

The BPP also asked Bhutanese King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck to learn a lesson from democratic transformations taking place around the world in recent times and address the refugee issue within 2011.

Bhutan dashes refugees' home-coming dreams

Thousands of Bhutanese refugees living in miserable conditions in Nepal, India and elsewhere had their hopes of being able to return to their homeland dashed on Saturday as Bhutan's Prime Minister Lyonchhen Jigmi Y Thinley said they would have to prove again that they were bona fide Bhutan citizens.

Thinley, who had arrived in Kathmandu Friday on a three-day visit, headed back for Thimphu on Saturday after talks with Nepal's Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal on regional as well as bilateral issues. Over 105,000 Bhutanese refugees languishing in closed camps in Nepal since their eviction in the 1990s and almost 30,000 more living in India as well as members of the diaspora now scattered all over the world, had been heartened for a brief period after Thinley had agreed, on Nepal's prodding, to resume talks to enable them to return home.But the refugee euphoria vanished on Saturday when the Bhutanese premier refused to acknowledge them as citizens, instead alluding to them as "people in the refugee camps". He also said his government is asking Nepal to undertake a fresh "examination" of the camp residents to see how many were bona fide nationals. "... Whether or not they are Bhutanese refugees is a subject of discussion," he said.

This is the same ploy the Buddhist kingdom used in 2000 to stall the homecoming of the refugees, who comprise nearly one-fifth of the Bhutanese population. Despite an international outcry, Bhutan sought to categorise the camp residents into genuine citizens, those who had surrendered their citizenship voluntarily, non-Bhutanese and criminals. Bhutan insisted only the first category had the full right to return to Bhutan and understandably, the verification gave the certification to only a small percentage.

Fifteen rounds of bilateral talks between Nepal and Bhutan broke down after what Thinley said were "unfortunate developments": attacks by enraged refugees on visiting Bhutanese officials in 2003. Since then, the Druk kingdom has refused to resume talks despite a change in guard with its fourth king, Jigme Singye abdicating in 2006 in favour of his son Jigme Khesar Namgyel.

Thinley said while Bhutan appreciated eight western governments offering a second home to the people in the camps, there was no need for international intervention and no need to involve India in the repatriation talks.

Happy Graduation Tika and Sarada!By Sister.Gemma

We are gathered here tonight to celebrate
Tika and Sarada-two lovely gals first rate!
Our parish can brag from the day's beginning to end
To have the Giri family as newcomer and friend.
With Ron and Ruth as guides for you and for us
They kept us on track-with very little fuss!

You girls are gifted and your talents are many!
You sing and you dance the Bhutanese way plenty!
Now Will and Anee would like tyo take a chance
To learn your moves and experience a little more romance!

Now that you're out and want to be on the road
You had to learn the secrets of our driving code.
With Eugene as your teacher and Paula at prayer
A great combination-no need for despair.
You gave Eugene the shivers-but he's still alive,
And you now have your PEI license to drive!
The world is your playground-drive carefully each day
As you discover Canada both here on the Island and far away.

You girls arrived in Canada,you never looked back
You've learned the language-no words do you lack.
You 've studied and succeeded in Colonel Gray style
Your education will take you forward for many a mile.

Our church at St.Francis is very proud of you
And we wish you the best in whatever you choose to do
You made it this farwith attitude and good cheer
May your family and friends be the gifts you hold dear.
Happy Graduation-We love you,Tika and Sarada too
May you grow into women-happy,healthy and true!

HAPPY GRADUATION GIRLS!!!

EU sends 1.9 million dollars to help Bhutanese refugees in Nepal

The European Union's executive on Friday sent 1.5 million euros (1.9 million dollars) in aid for Bhutanese refugees living in seven camps in Nepal.

Refugees from Bhutan began fleeing to Nepal in the early 1990s, after their government changed its citizenship policy. Talks between the two states on how to deal with them have so far been fruitless.

"The Nepalese government does not allow the refugees to engage in economic activities in the areas surrounding the camps. The refugees, therefore, have no other option but to remain in the camps, in need of further care and assistance," the European Commission said in a statement.

According to the statement, 31,000 refugees have volunteered to be re-settled in third countries, but a further 81,000 remain in Nepal.

"Providing donor assistance to the victims of this forgotten crisis has become increasingly difficult due to donor fatigue," the statement said.

The EU's aid is intended to supply refugees with basic food, especially for children, pregnant women and the elderly.

EU aid is usually administered by international organizations such as the United Nations,UNHCR,WFP and the Red Cross/Red Crescent movement.

Resettlement Update:32,000 Bhutanese refugees resettled so far; UNHCR says resettlement programme has become it largest

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Saturday announced that the resettlement of refugees from Bhutan in Nepal has become its largest resettlement programme worldwide.

Issuing a statement on the eve of World Refugee Day (20 June), the UN refugee agency informed that 32,000 refugees from Bhutan have departed to the United States and other countries since the launch of the resettlement programme in November 2007.

According to UNHCR, the United States, with 27,926, has accepted the majority of the refugees. The other countries are Australia (1,530), Canada (1,445), New Zealand (447), Denmark (326), Norway (324), and the Netherlands (178), while some 100 are expected to depart to the United Kingdom soon.

"We are very proud to be the largest resettlement programme and I am verypleased to announce this on the occasion of the World Refugee Day," said Stéphane Jaquemet, UNHCR Representative in Nepal.

He added, "The theme for this year's World Refugee Day is 'Home' and to date more than 32,000 refugees from Bhutan have arrived in their new homes in resettlement countries."

"This would not have been possible without the strong support and cooperation of the Government of Nepal, the resettlement countries, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and our NGO partners," said Jaquemet.

Many of the tens of thousands of refugees in seven camps in eastern Nepalhave been living in exile for almost 20 years. They arrived in Nepal after fleeing ethnic tensions in Bhutan in the early 1990s.

Mentioning that resettlement is currently the only available option for refugees in the camps, UNHCR said it will, together with the international community, continue efforts to achieve comprehensive and lasting solutions to the plight of refugees from Bhutan, including voluntary repatriation as and when return conditions permit.

Over 56,000 individuals in the current camp population have declared interest in resettlement, UNHCHR said. More than 8,000 refugees are expected to be flown to resettlement countries between now and the end of the year.