Organization: Arizona State University
Date: Tuesday, 8 Sep 1992 18:26:42 MST
From: <ASRPA@ASUACAD.BITNET>
Newsgroups: soc.culture.nepal
Subject:    News from Nepal

                Nepal Leftists Demand Removal of Japanese 'Spy Robot'
                 ____________________________________________________

KATHMANDU, Sept. 7, 1992  (Kyodo):

   Left-wing Nepalese lawmakers demanded Monday a Japanese 'weather robot' atop
a mountain in east  Nepal  be removed, alleging it is being used to gather
secret intelligence.

   The equipment was reportedly installed on the summit of Kwangde Peak, a
6,011-meter-high peak in the Mt. Everest region, by the Japan Alpine Club (JAC)
to measure air pollution.

   However, Amik Sherchan of the United Marxist-Leninist Party said in
parliament the equipment is being used for surveillance of  Nepal's  neighbors,
China and India.

   The intelligence gathered is first sent to a relay station kept at the nearby
Everest View Hotel and then transmitted directly to Tokyo via satellite, he
said.

   In reply, Tourism Minister Ramhari Joshi said efforts are under way to find
out whether the device is being used for any purposes other than stated.

   Letters have been written to the JAC about the equipment and  Nepal  is
awaiting a reply, he said.

   The minister assured parliamentarians the government would not allow any
activity in  Nepal  that would undermine relations with friendly countries.
________________________________________________________________________


                    Nepalese parties to protest against government
                    ______________________________________________


Kathmandu, September 7, 1992  (Xinhua):


   eight nepalese left-wing parties have declared that they will stage a protest
rally here wednesday and similar actions in other parts of the country on
september 20 to oppose the accord on tanakpur barrage reached between the
government and india.  this is the first time for the left parties to take a
united action.  the announcement came after representatives of both the ruling
and opposition parties failed to meet in an agreed place. the representatives
belong to a joint parliamentary committee set up last winter to investigate the
case of tanakpur barrage.  because of the difference in opinion, the opposition
parties represented in the committee submitted their own papers along with a
report passed by the majority.  nepalese prime minister girija prasad koirala,
during his visit to new delhi last december, agreed to the construction of an
afflux bond at tanakpur in  nepal  by india under an understanding with the
neighbor.  left parties hold the view that the understanding with india
concerning tanakpur barrage involves transfer of territory and sharing of water
resources. the understanding is in fact tantamount to treaties and agreements
that should be approved by a two-thirds majority in parliament as prescribed by
the constitution.  they charged that the government, by consenting to the
construction, did not spell out how long the nepali territory would be used by
india and said nothing about who would take the responsibility for the
ecological problem in the area.  the left parties also saod the government was
"against  nepal's  national interest" by granting monopoly rights to india to
survey its river projects.  however, the government disagrees to the charges and
insists that what it clinched with india is just a memorandum of understanding
which needs not be approved by a two-thirds majority in parliament as treaties
or agreements affecting the country in a grave manner require.  the case has
already been filed with the supreme court.
_____________________________________________________________________


                   Nepali Opposition to Protest  Nepal -India Accord
                   ________________________________________________

KATHMANDU, Sept. 6, 1992  (Kyodo):


    Nepal's  political opposition vowed Saturday to protest  Nepal -India
accords signed during Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala's December visit to
India.

   The accords signed in the name of 'understanding' are actually 'treaties and
agreements' that require parliamentary approval, leaders of eight leftist
parties told a news conference.

   They vowed to start nationwide protests this week, saying the government is
blatantly violating the Constitution.

   'We will stage protests even in the parliament,' said Manamohan Adhikary,
head of the United Marxist-Leninist Party, which has 69 seats in the 205-member
lower house.

   The focus of the opposition wrath is a dam that India recently built without
consulting  Nepal,  over the Mahakali River on the kingdom's western border.
The dam is to generate hydroelectric power and water for irrigation.

   During his visit to India, Koirala signed what the ruling Nepali Congress
Party calls an 'understanding' -- which does not require parliamentary approval
-- on sharing the benefits of the dam.

   But the opposition says the accord is an agreement.  The Constitution
requires any treaty or agreement concerning use of Nepalese natural resources to
be approved by a two-thirds vote in parliament.

   The ruling party holds a simple majority of 110 seats.

   A parliamentary committee asked to ascertain the nature of the accord has
presented its report to the speaker after protracted discussions.

   Opposition members of the committee have dissented from the contents of the
report, Adhikary said.
____________________________________________________________________________


                     50 Drowned as Bus Plunges Into River in Nepal
                     _____________________________________________


KATHMANDU, Sept. 6, 1992  (Kyodo):

   At least 50 people were feared drowned after a bus plunged from a mountainous
road into the Narayani River about 80 kilometers west of the capital Saturday
night, Kathmandu police said Sunday.

   Twelve others escaped with injuries as the bus hurtled 250 meters below the
road, before sinking in the monsoon-fed river at Ghumaure.

   Police quoted one passenger who was unhurt as saying the night bus, bound for
Malangawa in western  Nepal  from Kathmandu, was carrying 70 passengers.

   The bus is still underwater in the torrential river and efforts are under way
to locate it, according to police.
_______________________________________________________________________


                          28 FEARED DEAD IN NEPALI BUS CRASH
                          __________________________________


KATHMANDU, Sept. 6, 1992  (Reuters):

   Twenty-eight people were feared dead after a bus plunged into the Narayani
river in southern  Nepal,  police said on Sunday.

   They said 11 people were injured and taken to hospital after the bus, with 39
people aboard, left a twisting mountainous road on its way to the town of
Malangawa.

   One dead body had been recovered but 27 people were still missing and feared
dead, police said.
_________________________________________________________________________


               over 500 people die of gastroenteritis in august in nepal
              ___________________________________________________________

kathmandu, september 3, 1992  (Xinhua):


   gastroenteritis has claimed 10 lives in central  nepal's  muwakot district in
recent days, news reaching here reported today.  so far, gastroenteritis, the
number one killer of epidemic diseases during monsoon seasons in  nepal,  have
killed 505 people in august alone.  the death toll of the epidemic throughout
the kingdom has reached 873 during the current monsoon. gastroenteritis is
usually caused by polluted drinking water.
______________________________________________________________________


                         indian prime minister to visit nepal
                          ___________________________________

new delhi, september 2, 1992  (Xinhua):


   indian prime minister p.v.  narasimha rao will visit  nepal  from october 18
to 21 for concrete discussions on the water resources issue and other bilateral
matters, according to report reaching here today from jakarta.  this was
disclosed in jakarta after a meeting between the prime minister rao and  nepal
prime minister g. p. koirala.  an official spokesman for the indian delegation
which is participating in the non-alignment meeting said in jakarta that rao's
visit would be preceded by senior official level discussions on steps to improve
economic relations
___________________________________________________________________________



				ETHNIC DISCORD;
		CLASH OF CULTURES IN BHUTAN SPURS EMIGRATION;
	THOUSANDS OF NEPALESE RESIDENTS HAVE LEFT, CHARGING PREJUDICE.
	  BUT THE GOVERNMENT SAYS MANY WERE LIVING THERE ILLEGALLY.
          _________________________________________________________

                                       By K. E. S. KIRBY, TIMES STAFF WRITER

DAGANA, Bhutan, September 1, 1992 (Los Angeles Times):


   Facing half a dozen men wearing their traditional swords of office, Budhi Man
Mongar sweated slightly. Then he stepped forward in district court to make the
biggest change of his life.

   Carefully, the 43-year-old farmer affixed his fingerprint to thick documents
permitting him to sell eight acres in the steep Himalayan foothills to the
Bhutanese government. A few minutes later, under the glare of a videocam team's
lights, he pocketed his payment -- the equivalent of nearly $10,000.

   Mongar now was legally free to leave his lifelong home, and he, his wife and
his five children were heading out shortly for southeastern  Nepal  to join
relatives in Jhapa. But this was no ordinary family reunion: In Jhapa, they had
heard, food and lodging are free -- at a place that some see as a refugee camp
and that others call a refuge for traitors.

   "I'm going to take anything I can carry," Mongar vowed as thick fog curled
around the courthouse during a monsoon downpour. "Everyone else is taking all of
their things too."

   Personal, not political, reasons prompted Budhi Man Mongar's decision. But
his departure -- and that of tens of thousands of ethnic Nepalese like him --
worries the government of Bhutan. Indeed, the tiny nation faces perhaps its
gravest challenge ever: massive emigration from its southern crescent, the
latest development in a political crisis that has brought assassination and deep
suspicion to a formerly peaceable kingdom.

   Some Nepalese contend that emigration represents a last-ditch move to
maintain their cultural identity -- although for many, it simply means keeping
their families together. For the Bhutanese, however, it represents a significant
threat to another kind of "family" -- the one that King Jigme Singye Wangchuck
has attempted to forge for all of his subjects through a common national
identity transcending ethnic, cultural and religious differences.

   "We are trying our level best to get them to stay," explained Yeshey Dorji,
the district administrator in isolated Dagana. "But they are trying their level
best to get to their camps."

   More than 60,000 Nepalese now are living in camps near Jhapa -- and with them
they have brought charges of ingrained ethnic prejudice and forced eviction from
Bhutan. Still, camp residents appear a confusing mix, with many reportedly
coming from northeastern India or other parts of  Nepal  to take advantage of
refugee aid. Despite the rumors that "everything is free," independent observers
label camp conditions abysmal.

   For its part, the Bhutanese government is acutely aware that few monarchies
survive in this era -- much less are understood. And, seeking to protect its
longstanding reputation for forward-looking policies, Bhutan does not want to be
made into an international scapegoat.

   At this point, little is known outside the eastern Himalayas about the
undercurrent of ethnic tension here. What is clear, however, is that the strain
has been growing for decades between Bhutanese, whose dominant Buddhist Drukpa
culture is closely related to that of Tibet, and the largely Hindu Nepalese
migrants who have spread across the region since the early part of this century.

   "They want to take over," one official lamented, referring to the idea that
Nepalese should forge a common political entity. "They want Bhutan to be part of
a Greater  Nepal. "

   Lured by fertile land and decreased population pressure, Nepalese trickled
into Bhutan in the first half of this century and settled in five southern
districts. After passage of the Nationality Act of 1958, which granted Bhutanese
citizenship to Nepalese already in the country, tens of thousands of illegal
migrants breached the border. Now they make up about one-third of the tiny
country's 600,000 population.

   (Bhutan's population previously had been reported as well over 1 million, but
recently the official figures were revised sharply downward.)

   Ethnic Bhutanese, mindful that Nepalese migrants already control neighboring
Sikkim, fear their Drukpa culture could be swept away. And they are not alone in
their concerns about the influx: In the last two years, India has "pushed back"
25,000 Nepalese who were illegally living in Assam and other northeastern
states.

   The flash point for the Bhutanese crisis came in 1988, when the government
decided to adopt a firm immigration policy. Launching the nation's first
detailed census, it reclassified as illegal about 100,000 Nepalese who had
arrived after 1958, many of whom had been falsely registered for years as
"southern Bhutanese" citizens.

   Nepalese alarm was deepened by the simultaneous renewal of emphasis on
Bhutanese culture, including the teaching in all schools of Dzongkha, the
national language, and the required wearing of distinctive Bhutanese dress by
all ethnic groups.

   As discontent grew, it led to formation of the opposition Bhutan People's
Party, an almost exclusively Nepalese group that characterizes itself as
pro-democracy but that has been sharply condemned by the government. It is,
charges Foreign Minister Dawa Tsering, "an out-and-out terrorist organization."

   The BPP, dismissing the existence of the National Assembly, in turn calls the
current monarchy "feudal and reactionary" and instead demands a "real"
constitutional monarchy. It also seeks amendments to the citizenship act,
including an end to the 1958 cutoff; abolition of the traditional judicial
system, and the right to preserve Nepalese culture, dress and language.

   In September, 1990, the ideological differences climaxed with an organized
uprising along the border by more than 15,000 "anti-nationals," as the
government calls its opponents. Officials and schoolchildren alike were stripped
of their national dress, and government facilities were destroyed by the
Nepalese.

   The continuing turmoil deeply pains Wangchuck, who has pledged, "If I, as the
king, cannot protect the sovereignty and integrity of our country and ensure a
secure future for our people, then it will be my duty to accept full
responsibility and abdicate."

   Although there have been no further mass demonstrations, the violence has
continued, with reports of murder, burglary, beating and rape received virtually
every week -- mostly against Nepalese believed to be government loyalists. Even
so, many Drukpas say they feel that all ethnic Nepalese, citizens or not, are
suspect.

   "Real Bhutanese are angered by (Nepalese) activities," said one Dagana
resident. "If you give them more, they demand more."

   In the most notorious recent incident, the victim was not Nepalese but a
young Drukpa official. A group of gunmen last May assassinated Chimi Dorji, the
deputy district administrator in Geylegphug, then fled across the border.

   "The attack shocked everyone in the country," said Yeshey Dorji, who is no
relation to the slain man. "We never thought matters would come to this."

   Allegations that Nepalese have been forced out -- particularly in the
districts of Dagana and Chirang -- began to surface last winter, prompting
Wangchuck to issue an edict declaring it illegal for any citizen to be
involuntarily removed.

   "The charge of forcible eviction is not true," Tsering, the foreign minister,
said in an interview in the capital of Thimphu. The Nepalese "are making these
allegations with impunity. They think a monarchy can only be an archaic police
state."

   Those who want to legally leave Bhutan face a complex process that begins
with an application to the village headman and ends with a brief court
appearance. The procedure may take months, as officials delay in the hope that
applicants will change their minds. Of those who have left, most are farmers,
but more than 350 civil servants also have joined the exodus.

   In recent weeks, the crisis took a particularly dramatic turn when 400
Nepalese families in Geylegphug claimed they were being forced out by the
assassinated official's successor. The king headed south.

   "Short of literally going down on my knees with folded hands, I have tried
everything possible to resolve the serious problem we have today in southern
Bhutan," Wangchuck was reported by the national newspaper, Kuensel, as telling
the families. "I can now only hope and pray that you will stay back so that we
can all live together like members of one household."

   His plea went unheeded, however -- and the departing families allegedly
looted or destroyed more than two dozen district facilities on their way out.
Investigators found more than $80,000 in damages at schools, health units and
other sites that had been stripped of equipment and declared baseless the
charges that the assassinated man's successor had pressured the Nepalese
families to leave.

   Meanwhile, Wangchuck struggles to keep the peace among his fractious
subjects. Over strong objections of the National Assembly, he has granted
amnesty to more than 1,500 people arrested in connection with anti-government
activities and has exempted Nepalese from rural taxes this year. And in spite of
further objections -- likely to be renewed at this month's National Assembly
session -- he resumed development activities in the south, which until the 1990
uprising garnered most of the large five-year budget allotments.

   But the king's efforts appeared not to matter to several farm families
waiting recently for transportation to the border in Chirang's tiny district
capital, Damphu. Site of some of the most violent demonstrations in 1990,
Chirang has been one of the hardest-hit districts for emigration. More than
6,000 out of its total population of 31,000 are already gone, while in Dagana,
5,000 out of 26,000 have left. Vast swaths of land lie uncultivated, lending a
desolate air to the region.

   District Administrator Sherab Dorji, named Chirang's chief official last
spring, said the number of cases has grown so large that they are clogging the
bureaucracy. As in Dagana, each case is now videotaped so that there is evidence
to refute any charges of forcible eviction.

   Some clans, unlike the family of Budhi Man Mongar, are splitting up over the
decision to move. Nandalal Kumai, a Dagana farmer who received nearly $35,000
for seven acres of prime land, said his older brother chose to stay back while
Nandalal followed an uncle to Jhapa.

   Kumai, 38, sounded more politically inclined than some emigrants. "When we
(Nepalese) come back en masse," he said, echoing a favorite BPP theme, "I'll
come back too."

   Budhi Man Mongar, meanwhile, doubted he would ever be back, although he
wasn't sure what he would do in  Nepal.

   "I haven't thought about the future, but I'm not worried," Mongar said as he
turned to leave the Dagana court. Pausing, he added: "It's not a question of
whether this side is better or that side is better. My relatives are already
there."

A Tiny Kingdom
Official name: Druk-Yul. Translates as "Land of the Thunder Dragon"

   Head of state: King Jigme Singye Wangchuck
   Population: 600,000
   Life expectancy: males 48.1 years, females 46.8 years
   Per-capita GNP: $400 (1991)
   Religions: Tibetan Buddhist (state religion) 75%, Hindu 25%

   Topography: High mountains in north, heavily forested hills and valleys in
               center and south; narrow plain along Indian border


History:
      Bhutan became unified in the 17th Century under Shabdrung Ngawang
Namgyel, who founded separate spiritual and temporal hierarchies of government.
This system lasted until the establishment of a monarchy in 1907.

   Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, who reigned from 1952 to 1972, is considered the
father of modern Bhutan. He launched a series of economic development plans and
diplomatic initiatives linking his country to the rest of the world. Wangchuck's
son, the present monarch, has expanded upon these policies while emphasizing
Bhutan's traditions.

   Sources: 1992 World Almanac, 1991 Information Please Almanac, Royal
Government of Bhutan

GRAPHIC: Photo, COLOR, An ethnic Nepalese woman sports a gold nose ring, a
tradition that sets her apart from the Bhutanese majority.  MARISSA ROTH / For
The Times; Photo, COLOR, King Jigme Singye Wangchuck serving ceremonial tea.
Kuensel; Photo, COLOR, Bhutanese attire takes on Western touches along Thimphu
city streets.  MARISSA ROTH / For The Times; Photo, COLOR, These boys are
already monks in Bhutan, where Buddhism is state religion.  Kuensel; Map, COLOR,
location of BHUTAN, VICTOR KOTOWITZ / Los Angeles Times

TYPE: Infobox

SUBJECT: BHUTAN -- EMIGRATION; ETHNIC GROUPS -- BHUTAN; BHUTAN --
GOVERNMENT;
BHUTAN -- CULTURE; NEPALESE -- BHUTAN
__________________________________________________________________________


                    chinese foreign minister praises nam principles
                    ______________________________________________

jakarta, september 1, 1992  (Xinhua):


   chinese foreign minister qian qichen said here today that the principles of
the non-aligned movement (nam) are still of practical significance in the
current international situation.  heading the chinese government delegation to
attend the 10th nam summit, the chinese foreign minister and state councillor
made the remarks after meeting with zambian vice-president levy p.  mwanawasa.
he said that being a forum of the developing countries, nam will play more
important role in world affairs.  being a nam observer, he said, china will
together with nam member states make new contributions to the movement.  on
bilateral relations with zambia, the chinese foreign minister hoped the two
countries will further strengthen cooperation on economy and public health.
when meeting with nepalese prime minister girija prasad koirala today, qian said
that china backed  nepal's  proposal of establishing non-nuclear zone in south
asia.  he noted that china is happy to see the situation in south asia turning
relaxed.
_______________________________________________________________________


                              Tibetan Killed in  Nepal
                               ________________________

KATHMANDU, August 31, 1992 (Kyodo):


   One person was killed and two others injured when police opened fire on a
crowd at Okhaldhunga, east  Nepal  last Thursday,  Nepal's  RSS news agency
reported Monday.

   Unconfirmed reports reaching here from the district said those fired upon
were Tibetan nationals trying to flee via  Nepal.

   According to a Nepalese Home Ministry spokesman, however, the nationality of
those in the group could not be immediately confirmed.

   The RSS news agency said police opened fire in the district bordering the
Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north after a 'criminal gang' resisted
arrest.

   It said the crowd had also indulged in looting of a local village, it
alleged.

   Nineteen persons, including three women, were later taken into custody and
are being brought to Kathmandu, it said.
______________________________________________________________________________


                               Bhutan:  A king's order

                     FROM A CORRESPONDENT IN BELDANGI CAMP,  NEPAL
                     _____________________________________________

August  29, 1992  (The Economist):

   THE refugees' story is miserably familiar: a tale of torture, rape, extortion
and explusion by officials and soldiers in the country they once called home.
Over the past two years the government of  Nepal  has registered some 70,000 of
them in Beldangi and other camps in the east of the country.  They have
travelled across 100 kilometres (60 miles) of Indian territory from the nearby
Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, whose government says they are illegal residents
and enemies of the nation.  The refugees say their ancestors have lived in
Bhutan for generations.

   Bhutan has no constitution.  Its king, Jigme Singye Wangchuk, rules through a
rubber-stamp National Asssembly.  In 1988 it banned the use of the Nepali
language, which had until then been commonly used even by the king himself.  It
then decreed that candidates for the public service should speak Dzongkha, a
language spoken by fewer than 20% of Bhutanese, mostly of the old ruling class.

   Next, the government introduced, in the name of the environment, a green belt
one kilometre wide along the Indian border, where many have settled.  Farmers
and squatters there, and some well outside the belt, were uprooted.  People
unable to prove they were in Bhutan in 1957, 1958 and 1969 were told to leave
the country, unless they had married ethnic Bhutanese.  In 1989 the deportations
began.

   The king clearly felt that his realm was getting overcrowded by the wrong
sort of people.  To general amazement, he declared that his government had for
decades been claiming much too large a population; the true count should be
600,000, instead of 1.4m people.  Of the larger figure, 45% are of Nepalese
origin and many more are of Indian origin.  The original Bhutanese, called
Ngalungs, number a mere 78,000, or 16% of the population.  Like it or not,
Bhutan -- like everywhere else in south Asia -- is multi-ethnic, multi-lingual
and multi-religious.  The king, it seems, wants to go back to much earlier
times.

   Rich and poor, men, women and children, have been thrown out of their homes
and deported because they lack the necessary racial background.  Parsu Ram
Kafley, who owned a large property in southern Bhutan, spent three months in
prison after a political demonstration in 1989.  On his release he was warned by
army officers that he should leave the country or be shot under "Chawa Sung", a
special law which permits them to kill anyone named as a traitor.  In exile he
has become a leading official of the Bhutan People's Party.

   Refugees are still arriving in  Nepal,  where they register their family
details and claims to property back home in Bhutan, and are assigned to camps.
With help from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), many
have been placed well away from the frontier.  A family of up to eight members
gets a plot 12 feet (about 4 metres) by 18 feet; larger families get two plots.
The UNHCR says it spends about $ 3 a day on each refugee, providing bamboo and
plastic sheeting for roofs, and a bare minimum of rice, pulses, oil and soap.
Western agencies -- Save the Children from Britain, and others -- run clinics
and provide extra food.

    Nepal's  prime minister, Girija Prasad Koirala, wants to start talks with
the Bhutanese, in which India would be included if there were no results.  Both
Himalayan nations have treaties with India specifying that, in matters of
external relations, they must act as India advises.  India says the fate of the
refugees from Bhutan in  Nepal  is an internal question.  The expulsions
continue.

GRAPHIC: Map, no caption
_____________________________________________________________________


                 Japanese culture foundation aids nepalese university
                 ____________________________________________________


AUGUST  27, 1992, THURSDAY  (Xinhua):

   The newly opened Kathmandu University of  Nepal  will get a grant assistance
of 150,000 u.s. dollars from a japanese culture foundation for construction of
its "school of education" building, Radio  Nepal  broadcast today.  the school
of education to be funded by the Yamaji Fumiko Culture Foundation will give
training to teachers in order to improve the quality of education in  Nepal  at
school level.  Now technical designs and drawings of the proposed building has
already been prepared and the construction work will start immediately after the
monsoon. The teachers' training program is expected to commence from early next
year.  Kathmandu University and Tamagawa University of Tokyo will work closely
to develop the program of the school of education.  Besides the school of
education, Kathmandu University, which is run by private sector, will also have
the school of management, the school of engineering and the school of arts.
______________________________________________________________________
Newsgroups: soc.culture.nepal