Maoist shadow in refugee camps: US

‘‘Time is running out,’’ Dewey told The Indian Express. ‘‘There is an impasse between Nepal and Bhutan to end this problem. And I am here to see how we can help resolve the situation. We believe that India being a major power in the region can play an important role in getting Bhutan to agree on steps for repatriating at least some of these refugees. There are reports that Maoists have also infiltrated these camps.’’

On his way to Bhutan after visiting the camps in Nepal, Dewey today held discussions with Joint Secretary Deepa Wadhwa. He also had an interaction with a group of Joint Secretaries in charge of different regions in Asia.

According to Dewey, the US has been working in tandem with the UN High Commission on Refugees to address the situation in Nepal. ‘‘But Nepal too has been reluctant to give access to the camps for UNHCR to to carry out registration of refugees. They probably see it as a precursor to locally integrate some of the refugees.’’ India has so far maintained that this is a bilateral issue between Nepal and Bhutan which the two countries have to resolve in a mutually agreed manner. New Delhi, however, has been urging both sides to continuously engage each other on the subject.

In fact, External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh raised the matter with Bhutan King Jigme Singye Wangchuk during his visit to Thimpu earlier this month.

As the status now stands, Nepal and Bhutan have held 14 meetings on the issue and even set up a joint verification team to ascertain the exact composition of the refugee population. This team, however, has visited just one of the seven camps at Kudenbari in Jhapa district. According to the agreed framework, the population has been divided into four categories: Bhutanese citizens, Bhutanese who gave up their citizenship, Non-Bhutanese and Bhutanese with criminal records. Initial surveys show that the first category constitutes about 2.5 per cent of the refugee population. ‘‘Our hope is that Bhutan at least accepts this segment of the population. But Bhutan is yet to draft the rules for their entry back into the country,’’ said Dewey.

Given that India shares borders with both countries, Washington has conveyed the ramifications particularly with Maoists getting active in the region. Dewey felt India was in a position to influence Bhutan in drafting the necessary rules of letting some of the refugees repatriate.

However, there was some violence when the team last visited the Kudenbari camp more than six months ago and after that Bhutan has been reluctant to send its officials citing security reasons. With reports that some of these refugees were among the Maoists involed in the Bhojpur attack in March, the issue is attracting international attention leading to increased pressure on both sides to break the deadlock.