Published by: World Tibet Network News Issue ID: 97/12/29

KATHMANDU, Dec 27 (AFP) - The tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan is holding more than 100 political prisoners, including scores of monks, who were jailed without trial, a human rights group charged Saturday.

The Appeal Movement Coordinating Council also charged that thousands of Bhutanese refugees had been exiled from the country and it demanded they be repatriated quickly.

"One sixth of the total Bhutanese (population) are now exiled in Nepal with a few thousand in West Bangal (India) since 1990 for demanding their political and human rights", said Ratan Gazmere, secretary-general of the group representing the refugees, during a news conference here.

"More than 104 political prisoners, including scores of monks, are detained in different jails in Bhutan without trial," he said.

Gazmere said most of the 100,000 refugees were being sheltered in seven UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) camps in Nepal. He said the refugees support the Bhutanese monarchy and "our people want to return to their motherland-Bhutan as soon as possible provided our people are guaranted the minimum human rights."

The refugees are descendents of Nepalese who moved at the start of the century to Bhutan, which is wedged between Tibet and northeast India. Bhutan has a population of more than 600,000 and is one of the most isolated countries, limiting tourism and fiercely protecting its Buddhist image.

After 1990, the Bhutanese government started anti-Hindu cultural reforms and anyone who failed to follow the new rules faced punishment.

A 1994 US State Department report said tens of thousand of people were declared illegal immigrants and forcibly evicted.

A Bhutanese delegation led by Gazmere came to Kathmandu to meet the Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa on Sunday and apprise him of their plights.

"We want to request Prime Minister Thapa to internationalize our problem and tell the international community the plights we are currently facing," Gazmere said.

Nepal and Bhutan held seven rounds of talks to deal with the refugee issue but without success, a Foreign Ministry source said.