HIMPHU (AFP) — The isolated Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan crowned
a new king Thursday, placing a charismatic Oxford-educated bachelor
as head of state of the world's newest democracy.
With the rest of the world gripped by the historic US election
win for Barack Obama, all eyes in Bhutan were on 28-year-old Jigme
Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, now the world's youngest reigning
monarch.
In an ancient Buddhist ritual in the white-walled palace
overlooking the picturesque Thimphu valley, Wangchuck was handed
Bhutan's Raven Crown by his father.
"It's a wonderful day, there is no cloud in the sky. The gods
are here. It will be remembered as an event which unifies the
Bhutanese people," Prime Minister Jigmi Thinley told reporters.
The country now goes into three days and nights of festivities,
and has even shut down its mobile telephone network for the
occasion.
The deeply revered former king, who is 52, abdicated two years
ago as part of his plan to reform and modernise the staunchly
traditional and insular nation of just over 600,000 people by
ending absolute royal rule.
Bhutan, wedged between India and China and never colonised, has
witnessed sweeping changes this year -- having held its first
democratic elections for a new parliament and prime minister in
March.
Since the former king's abdication, the century-old Wangchuck
dynasty has been waiting for astrologers to give the go-ahead for
the coronation.
The palace was packed with hundreds of foreign dignitaries,
including Indian President Pratibha Patil, ruling party leader
Sonia Gandhi and Bollywood stars. It was also surrounded by lines
of jubilant locals dressed in their national costumes.
The new king has pledged to maintain his father's unique
philosophy of improving "Gross National Happiness," and not common
economic indicators, to ensure well-being in the "Land of the
Thunder Dragon."
"I am happy, my friends are happy and in general as a nation we
are happy," enthused Sonam Phuntsho, a 27-year-old civil
servant.
"He is reaching out to the people. He is a very smart and decent
man," he said of the new king.
The royals in Bhutan are deeply revered, although the family
clearly wanted to escape the fate of their counterparts in nearby
Nepal -- which saw the outbreak of a Maoist insurgency in 1996 that
culminated in the abolition of the monarchy there this year.
"The best time to change a political system is when the country
enjoys stability and peace. Why wait for a revolution?" Bhutan's
former king said when he began the democratic reform process in
2005.
Continuing to balance Bhutan's exposure to the forces of
globalisation will be the new king's main challenge -- especially
as many in the younger generation now have access to satellite
television and the Internet.
Bhutan had no roads or currency until the 1960s and allowed
television only in 1999. The extremely beautiful country also
continues to resist the temptation of allowing mass tourism --
preferring instead to allow access to only small organised groups
of well-heeled visitors.
"We are a small and traditionally oriented country. We have to
preserve our traditions, and it's important to control external
influence," explained Heroka Zangpo, a 25-year-old public utility
worker enjoying the festivities.
Still, many people are also confused over why the hugely popular
former king decided to step down, and view the transition to
democracy with trepidation.
There are also potential external threats.
Bhutan forced out 100,000 ethnic Nepalese in the early 1990s
during a campaign to impose compulsory national dress and ban the
Nepalese language.
The refugees went on to languish in camps in Nepal, which have
seen the emergence of a communist rebel movement determined to wage
war against the Wangchuck dynasty.
http://afp.google.com/article/ALe
In no man’s land: Bhutanese Refugees
More than 100,000 ethnic Nepalese refugees fled Bhutan in
the 1990s. Officials say it was voluntary migration; the refugees
say they were forced out. So, where does the truth lie?
The way Thakhur
Prasad Louitell tells it, his eviction began in the morning when
the police arrived at his farm in southern Bhutan and marched him
to their camp. “They didn’t begin to torture me until
midday.
They kept me
tied up and took turns beating me with sticks. I passed out. After
I woke up they started beating me again. That went on all night.
The next morning they threw me out and said, ‘You’d better get out
of Bhutan, or we are going to burn down your house with you in
it’.” That was December 1991...
http://www.startts.org.au/default.asp
Maoists among Bhutan’s Nepali refugees ready for
war
BELDANGI REFUGEE CAMP, Nepal: In a secluded corner of a
refugee camp in southern Nepal, Nirmal Chettri outlines his plans
for waging a bloody “people’s war” on the tiny Himalayan kingdom of
Bhutan.
With the intense stare of the ideologically fervent, the
26-year-old said his organisation, the Bhutan Communist Party
(Marxist-Leninist-Maoist), was ready to start killing for its
cause. He also warned that his faction would step up attacks on
thousands of Bhutanese refugees who are leaving the camps in Nepal
to start new lives abroad.
“There will be a lot of casualties and destruction but we cannot
shy away from fighting for justice,” said Chettri, one of around
100,000 Bhutanese of Nepalese origin who were forced to flee Bhutan
in the early 1990s...
http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp?id=