HAD it not been for a timely habeas corpus petition filed last week in the Delhi high court, Rongthong KuenleyDorji, chairman of Bhutan's five-party United Front for Democracy (UDF), would have paid the price for raising his voice against King Jigme Singye Wangchuk and quietly languished in one of Bhutan's jails for the rest of his life.
Dorji and thousands of Bhutanese people like him had fled their country in 1991 and taken shelter in various refugee camps in Nepal after the Royal Government of Bhutan decided to crack down on the democratic movement. With virtually no international support or attention directed to their cause, Kuenley Dorji led the five-party front to relentlessly spearhead the struggle. Dorji's recent visit to Delhi was aimed at garnering international support for the democratic movement.
However, on April 18, a few days after his arrival in Delhi, Dorji was whisked away from the south Delhi office of the UDF by the Delhi Police and the Foreign Residents' Registration Office (FRRO) on a request made by the Bhutan home minister. The next day he was shifted to a beggars' home in Lampur on the outskirts of Delhi where he was forced to live in subhuman conditions. Bhutan Solidarity immediately got wind of his arrest and before the Indian governm-ent could deport him, a habeas corpus had already been filed. The high court, while restraining the government from deporting Dorji, fixed the next hearing for May 7.
During the hearing, the government revealed that Bhutan had issued an arrest warrant against Dorji and requested India to extradite him. But Bhutanese activists say that all cases against Dorji are false and framed when Dorji spoke against the King. Dorji fears that once he's deported to Bhutan, "they can kill me, they can spoil my life".
The unwarranted arrest of Bhutan's dissident leader has brought into sharp focus the plight of Bhutanese people and their ongoing struggle for democracy in Bhutan. While the court will finally decide whether Dorji should be extradited to Bhutan, his arrest has already evoked massive protests in different corners of the world. A series of demonstrations have taken place in Jhapa and other parts of Nepal demanding Dorji's release. Amnesty International has issued an appeal to the international community and human rights groups urging them to come together and pressurise the Indian government to release Dorji. The organisation expressed fears that "if returned to Bhutan Dorji may be subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment." The UNHCR too has taken note of the incident.
Dorji was first arrested in Bhutan on May 18, 1991, for raising the issue of human rights. He spent a month and a half in jail but did not give up. In 1994 he floated his political party, Druk National Congress, and since then "odd circumstances and persecution" by the King forcedhim to flee the country. "The King is behaving like a mad dog. He bites anyone who dares oppose him. We are for constitutional monarchy and democracy. But if the King will hound all his opponents like this even that will become difficult," he says, sitting on the floor of a big hall at the beggars' home. There is a round-the-clock vigil on him. He reiterates that democracy in Bhutan is inevitable. "There is no written constitution in Bhutan, the King's will is the law. This situation must change," he says.
Dorji regrets that the Indian government, under pressure from the King, is behaving in an undemocratic manner. "If the Gujral government is not willing to support us, at least it should not torture us. We have promised that we will not indulge in any destabilising activities from Indian soil." He believes that any change in Bhutan will not be possible without India's help. "Ours is a land-locked country. Where should Bhutanese people go—to China?" he asks.
Dorji, who runs a flourishing business in Bhutan, belongs to the same tribe as the King. Initially, it was said that only a handful of Nepali-speaking Bhutanese were raising a hue and cry and the majority—the Drukpas—were with the monarchy. But the moment Dorji joined the agitation and started criticising the King that argument lost its meaning.
The dissident leader feels that a people-to-people interaction between India and Bhutan will not be possible unless democracy is established in Bhutan. And the sooner it's done the better.
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