KATHMANDU, Jan 11: The Global Campaign for the Release of Political Prisoners in Bhutan (GCRPPB) has congratulated the newly-elected Prime Minister of Bhutan Tshering Tobgay and his party for securing a majority in the lower house of the Bhutanese National Assembly.

Extending the best wishes to PM Tobgay, the GCRPPB has requested for the Prime Minister’s support in addressing various concerns within the Bhutanese electorate.

While Bhutan’s significant strides toward becoming a consolidated democracy over the past decade are worth applauding, GCRPPB in a statement said there are over 50 people labeled as political prisoners who are currently held in various prisons across Bhutan. While some family members of the political prisoners have resettled across eight Western nations, some are still residing in the impoverished refugee camps of Nepal, in hopes of reuniting with their closed ones. It has become increasingly difficult for these families to live a happy life, no matter where and how they live.

GCRPPB has appealed to the new prime minister to grant amnesty to all individuals currently held as political prisoners in the prisons of Bhutan, releasing them without conditions. It has also requested to facilitate a legal pathway for repatriation from those 6,500 Bhutanese refugees currently residing in the camps, who have expressed their desire to return to Bhutan. 

Similarly, the GCRPPB has appealed to extend citizenship rights to the remaining 40,000 Nepali-speaking Bhutanese, currently residing stateless in Bhutan.

According to the GCRPPB, it strongly believes in fostering harmonious relations between the Bhutanese administration, people and the Nepali-speaking Bhutanese diasporas community.

 
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