GOVERNMENT WILLING TO SUPPORT SOLUTION ACCEPTABLE

C O N F I D E N T I A L KATHMANDU 001692

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/27/2016
TAGS: PREF PGOV PREL PHUM NP
SUBJECT: GOVERNMENT WILLING TO SUPPORT SOLUTION ACCEPTABLE
TO BHUTANESE REFUGEES

REF: A. SECSTATE 100743


B. KATHMANDU 1434

Classified By: Ambassador James F. Moriarty. Reasons 1.4 (b/d).

SUMMARY
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1. (C) On June 23, the Ambassador discussed with Minister of
Foreign Affairs and Deputy PM K.P. Oli the seven-nation core
group's preparations for a July 14 meeting in New York on
Bhutanese refugees (ref A). Oli conveyed the willingness of
the Government of Nepal (GON) to accept repatriation,
third-country resettlement, or any solution the refugees
themselves would accept. He lamented, however, that the
Bhutanese Foreign Minister did not seem keen to resolve the
refugee situation anytime soon. Oli had also recently signed
and sent a memo to the Home Ministry requesting travel
documents be issued to vulnerable Bhutanese and to
unspecified Tibetan refugees. On June 27, the Ambassador
pressed Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula both to allow
vulnerable Bhutanese refugees to travel and to allow UNHCR to
conduct a census. According to a Bhutanese refugee leader
and to a news report, Maoist activity is on the rise in some
of the refugee camps. End Summary.

FOREIGN MINISTER SUPPORTS SOLUTION THAT REFUGEES WILL ALSO
ACCEPT...
-------------- --------------


2. (C) During his June 23 meeting with K.P. Oli, the
Ambassador said the USG planned to continue urging the
Government of India (GOI) to pressure the Royal Government of
Bhutan (RGOB) to repatriate at least some refugees in order
to start the process and increase the possibility of
resettlement as a durable solution. The Ambassador added
that, if GOI pressure was unsuccessful, the international
community would have to look at other options to resolve the
Bhutanese refugee issue. He acknowledged GON fears of a
future expulsion of ethnic Nepalis by the RGOB and suggested
that one way to lessen the possibility of that occurring
could be for the international community to openly criticize
the 1991 expulsions by the RGOB as ethnic cleansing. Another
option could be to seek a guarantee from the GOI that New
Delhi would not allow future expulsions by the RGOB of ethnic
Nepalese still in Bhutan.


3. (C) Oli stressed that the GON was willing to accept
repatriation or third-country resettlement, or "whatever the
refugees were willing to accept" as solutions. Oli's only
concern was whether resettlement meant that only the most
educated 5-10,000 refugees would be resettled, leaving the
uneducated/unemployed masses in the camps. The Ambassador
assured Oli that resettling would be done methodically with a
cross section of all refugees. The Ambassador noted that the
USG was willing to resettle as many as 70,000 refugees;
Canada had agreed to take 5,000, and Australia some thousand.
He explained that if the U.S. resettled 70,000 refugees,
that alone would empty nearly all the camps. Oli suggested
that if resettlement were done it would perhaps be best if
each resettlement country took all the refugees from a
particular camp.

...BUT BHUTANESE FOREIGN MINISTER NOT RESPONSIVE
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4. (C) Oli explained that in his May 29 meeting in Kuala
Lumpur with Bhutanese Minister for Foreign Affairs Khandu
Wangchuk (ref B),he had suggested that the two countries
cease all diplomatic talk, which had only resulted in a
15-year stalemate, and create a "fresh start." He told
Wangchuk the problem was between the citizens of Bhutan and
the RGOB. He added that the RGOB should repatriate all
refugees who were willing to return to Bhutan. Oli lamented
that Wangchuk was not responsive to this suggestion.

OLI HESITATES ABOUT CENSUS
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5. (C) On the need for the United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees (UNHCR) to conduct a census of the refugee
camps, Oli expressed his displeasure about a recent article
by UNHCR Country Representative Abraham Abraham, which was
critical of the GON's role in the refugee problem. The
Ambassador assured him that a census would be done in such a
way as not to upset the refugees. During a June 27 meeting,
the Ambassador also urged Home Minister Krishna Prasad
Sitaula to allow UNHCR to conduct its census. The Ambassador
noted that the census would help determine who was in the
camps and prevent a resettlement program from being a magnet
to attract other Bhutanese. Home Secretary Umesh Prasad
Mainali said that the Home Ministry needed to check with the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA).

TRAVEL DOCUMENTS COULD BE ISSUED SOON FOR VULNERABLE CASES
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6. (C) The Ambassador (again) pressed both FM Oli and Home
Minister Sitaula to allow the extremely vulnerable cases of
Bhutanese refugees to travel. Foreign Minister Oli told the
Ambassador he thought he had already signed a letter
requesting from the Home Ministry exit permission for the 16
extremely vulnerable cases in need of third-country
resettlement. On June 26, Raja Ram Bartaula from the
Americas' Desk at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed
that Oli had recently signed and sent to the Home Ministry a
"comprehensive" decision memo requesting the Home Ministry to
issue travel documents to the 16 vulnerable Bhutanese, as
well as to Tibetans. While unclear about which other
populations of Bhutanese or Tibetans could benefit from the
memo, Bartaula suggested that the Home Ministry "would not
delay" in issuing travel documents. On June 27, Home
Ministry officials told us that they were not aware of the
MFA decision memo. Kabi Raj Khanal, Deputy Coordinator for
Refugee Affairs in the Home Ministry, noted, however, that
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Home Ministry planned to
meet on June 30 or July 3 to discuss refugee issues. Khanal
confirmed that the GON had yet to issue any travel documents
for third-country resettlement of Bhutanese refugees.

MAOIST ACTIVITY IN CAMPS?
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7. (C) On June 22, Bhutanese Refugee leader Ratan Gazmere
expressed to Emboff his concern that Maoists were
infiltrating the refugee camps. He speculated that there
could be weapons in some of the camps now, which could be
problematic in light of growing tension and restlessness in
the camps. Home Secretary Mainali also said he had heard
reports of some weapons in the camps. A June 24 news report
claimed that thousands of refugees in the Goldhap refugee
camp held peaceful demonstrations and marched around the camp
chanting slogans against the Bhutanese Monarchy.

COMMENT
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8. (C) The Foreign Minister's movement on the vulnerable
Bhutanese is promising; the Home Ministry also appears open
to following up. In each of our meetings, the Foreign
Minister seems to come closer to accepting resettlement as a
viable option. The problem, however, remains GON fear of
possible future expulsions of ethnic Nepalis from Bhutan --
and the RGOB's lack of willingness to help resolve this
15-year old problem. GOI involvement and pressure on Bhutan
could help spur movement.

MORIARTY