News

Press Clippings, Saturday, 29th January 2005

In Bhutan, even the king can't smoke
PRANAY SHARMA
The Telegraph

New Delhi, Jan. 28: King Jigme Singye Wangchuk, who has ruled Bhutan for over three decades, seems to have become one of the early casualties of his country's path-breaking legislation banning smoking in public.

"The ban has already forced me to cut down on my smoking and now I am even thinking of giving it up altogether," the king said.

Bhutan passed a law last month that bans smoking in public places in the entire country. Though people can still bring in cigarettes to Bhutan, they will have to pay a 200 per cent duty on every packet that they bring and can only smoke within the confines of their homes or hotel rooms.

The king, who is known to be a cigar smoker, does not want to divulge whether he occasionally also smokes cigarettes or how many in a day he smokes. "These are details which I am not going to share with you," Wangchuk said. But he was quick to point out that the ban on smoking was part of the process to decentralise power that he had initiated more than a decade back.

"The ban started from district committees which passed laws banning smoking in their areas. Later, it was picked up by others and finally a countrywide ban was passed in the National Assembly," he said.

The king, who was invited to be the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations, was candid in expressing views on issues within Bhutan and in the neighbourhood while talking to journalists at Rashtrapati Bhavan this evening at the end of his six-day state visit.

A new Constitution for the country, for which Wangchuk had taken the initiative, will be placed before the people next March for a debate. After the draft is approved through a referendum, Bhutan will get a new constitution.

But he is also aware that the process he has started may well eat significantly into the powers and privileges that he and his family have enjoyed in the past. "I can't give you details of what all there is in the new Constitution but it will have many interesting points and will also assign the king specific duties," he said. "You cannot have a monarch just because in the past there have been kings in the country."

Wangchuk was also frank in his observation about Nepal, especially the threat posed by the Maoist rebels there. He observed that the threat posed by the Maoists in Nepal was becoming serious and warned that unless dealt with effectively and resolved at the earliest, it will have a negative impact in the neighbourhood as well.

"We sincerely hope that something positive will come out soon and some initiatives will be taken by the political parties in Nepal to resolve the Maoist problem," he said. But when asked whether Nepal should follow Bhutan's example of launching a major military offensive to defeat the Maoists, the king made it clear that he was in no position to recommend what is best for Nepal.

Bhutan king worries over Maoist threat in Nepal

The financial express 

NEW DELHI, JAN 28:  Warning there was "real threat" of the Maoist problem in Nepal becoming more serious, Bhutan king Jigme Singye Wangchuk on Friday said this could have "negative implications" for both India and his country and hoped some initiatives would be taken soon to resolve it.

"We sincerely hope that something positive will come out soon and some initiatives will be taken by the political parties in Nepal to resolve the Maoist problem," the king, who returns home on Saturday at the end of the six-day state visit, told a select group of reporters here.

Wangchuk, who was the chief guest at the Republic day celebrations, was non-committal when asked whether he favoured Nepal taking a cue from the successful Bhutan-type military action to flush out Indian insurgents from his country.

"Each country has a different kind of problem, a different situation. The political parties and people of Nepal have to together solve their own problems in the best possible way," he said.

Observing that the situation in Nepal was deteriorating, he said "today the Maoists have total control more or less of the whole country".

The visiting king frankly responded to a range of questions on Bhutan's relations with India, China and the upcoming saarc summit in Dhaka.

Asked about reports that China would like to be a special invitee to the Saarc summit,he said "this is a new issue that has come up...No decision has been taken by any of the Saarc countries" and added "I don't think this will be discussed in this summit". "There is real threat of Maoist situation becoming much more serious than it is today. If this happens, it will have negative implications for both India and Bhutan becuse we share common borders," Wanghcuk said.

About the Army action to flush out Ulfa, National Democratic Front of Bodoland and KLO insurgents groups which were operating in Bhutan, he said "there are no militant camps in any part of Bhutan now".

Maoist threat real: Bhutan King

Statesman News Service

NEW DELHI, Jan. 28. - The Maoist insurgency in Nepal could become "much more serious than it is today," and this would have negative implications for both India and Bhutan, King Jigme Singye Wangchuk of Bhutan said today.
Calling the threat real, he said both India and Bhutan share a common border with Nepal and added that he sincerely hoped something good would happen and political parties in Nepal would take initiatives. Asked if a military solution - the way Bhutan dealt with insurgents living in southern Bhutan with help from the Indian Army - was the answer, he said it was up to the Nepalese to solve their problems. "We don't want the Maoist threat to go out of control. The situation is deteriorating day by day. The Maoists control 69 districts in Nepal," he said. Clearly concerned, the King added that sitting in Bhutan and watching, he has seen the problem growing. In 1996, he pointed out, only three districts were trouble-torn. Now, in many areas, the Maoists were in total control.
Replying to questions about a "border problem" with China, he said there was a small difference of views in a few areas. The King ruled out full-fledged diplomatic relations between China and Bhutan, saying his country had no ties with any of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. But he added that "even though we have no diplomatic relations with China, we have good relations with China". The China-Bhutan border is about 450 km long.

Bhutan King promises draft Constitution

Indianexpress.com

To be released in March, draft Constitution will clearly define role of monarchy

NEW DELHI, JANUARY 28: "The king should not be a king just because he was born to be a king," believes Bhutan King Jigme Singye Wangchuk. So, the draft Constitution, which will be released to the public in March, will clearly define the role of the monarchy.

"On monarchy, we have put many clauses which do not exist anywhere in the world, to make sure that the institution benefits the people," he said today. The draft will later be put up for a referendum.

Recounting the process of ushering democracy in Bhutan, the King said it began in the early 1980s when the government decided to go in for decentralisation of powers and set up district development committees. A decade later, village development committees were set up.

"We started teaching our people to vote. After that we started having secret ballot. And in the seven years after 1991, I gave my executive powers to the Cabinet. Much like the Swiss system, members of the Cabinet get to become Prime Ministers on rotation... and now we will get a Constitution," he said.

As an example of how it works, Bhutan recently placed a complete ban on smoking, because one after another, the district development committees passed such a resolution. "I smoke but now I have decided to cut it down, and will try to give it up... cigarettes are available but there's a 100 per cent sales tax and import duty on it," said Wangchuk.

On the refugees in Jhapa district of Nepal, the King claimed that a majority of them were not Bhutanese citizens. "When our people went there (Jhapa) for joint verification on December 22, 2003, the team was attacked...We must remember this is a Maoist stronghold...but still, if there is a single Bhutanese citizen there, then we don't have to accept him. The law itself protects him."

While discussing the country's relationship with its neighbours, Wangchuk said he was optimistic about resolving the differences with China over boundary. He said the two countries shared a 450 km-long border and the differences were over a small portion.

He, however, delinked Thimpu's decision on not having full diplomatic ties with Beijing from the boundary question. Bhutan, Wangchuk said, had decided not to have full diplomatic ties with any of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council of which China is a member. And as for China being invited to the SAARC summit, he said this was a "new issue" and that none of the members had firmed up their views on it.

But what if India were to become a permanent member of the UNSC? The King was quick to reply: "This (policy) can't apply to India. It would be like divorcing your wife."

Nepal situation grave, says Bhutan King

By Amit Baruah

The Hindu

NEW DELHI, JAN. 28. The situation in Nepal is deteriorating day-by-day, with the Maoists holding sway over 69 districts in the country, the King of Bhutan, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, warned today. He said the Maoists had almost total control over Nepal and this would have negative implications for both Bhutan and India.

Talking to a select group of correspondents, the King, however, was hopeful that "something good, something positive" would come out of the current situation in Nepal. Asked if military operations of the kind conducted by Bhutan against Indian insurgents were a way out in Nepal, he responded, "I am in no position to make comments about what others should do."

The King took a dim view of India's plans to link rivers. "I've read about it, but I haven't seen the plan," he said, adding that the proposal would not be feasible in practice. Millions of people, the King pointed out, would be affected - they would lose their land and property.

According to the monarch, a huge environment lobby - both within and outside India - would oppose this project. It would take decades and billions of dollars, the King maintained, stressing that implementation of the project was very unlikely.

SAARC summit

In response to a question, the ruler of Bhutan maintained that the issue of China being associated with the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation would not be discussed at the coming SAARC summit in Dhaka. SAARC members had not taken any decision on associating China with the grouping.

Asked about efforts being made to resolve differences over portions of the Bhutan-China border, he said the two issues persisted. Some differences of opinion continued between the two countries on portions of their 450-km border, still to be demarcated.

The King was, however, confident that these differences would be resolved through ongoing discussions between Bhutan and China. The border was well defined by the Himalayas and their peaks. He said that last year the Chinese Government laid some roads in portions of the territory on which there were differences of opinion. The King said the area of difference was quite small, but chose not to give any details.

India providing assistance to its tsunami-hit neighbours would bring it a lot of goodwill. "It will do a lot of good at the SAARC summit." India's decision not to accept relief assistance was a reflection of its strength.

Military operations

About the military operations launched against Indian insurgents in December 2003, the monarch said it was the last option and taken after many rounds of discussions and even involved a personal visit by him to the training camps of the militants.

The King said he was happy to report that there were no militant camps in Bhutan any longer. "We are trying to ensure that our borders remain secure." India and Bhutan, he said, had agreed that their territories should not be used to harm each other's interests.

On the state of some 100,000 "Bhutanese" refugees who have been living in Nepal for well over a decade, the King said these people were not Bhutanese "citizens" and could have been living in India or Nepal previously.

The King said a verification team that had gone to one of the camps in December 2003 had been attacked, but offered that if the (Maoist) "situation" improved in Jhapa, then another verification team could be sent. Jhapa, he claimed, was a Maoist stronghold.

Bhutan King considering giving up smoke

Nepal news

Bhutanese King, Jigme Singye Wangchuk,  may not be a role model for denying democratic rights to his own people, he seems to be setting up an example by giving up smoking in public places, reports say.

Bhutan passed a law last month that bans smoking in public places in the entire country. Though people can still bring in cigarettes to Bhutan, they will have to pay a 200 per cent duty on every packet that they bring and can only smoke within the confines of their homes or hotel rooms, according to reports.

"The ban has already forced me to cut down on my smoking and now I am even thinking of giving it up altogether," Telegraph, a leading Indian daily, quoted the Bhutanese monarch as saying in New Delhi.

The Bhutanese king graced the Republic Day function of India (on Jan. 26) as its chief guest.

The king, who is known to be a cigar smoker, does not want to divulge whether he occasionally also smokes cigarettes or how many in a day he smokes. "These are details which I am not going to share with you," Wangchuk said. But he was quick to point out that the ban on smoking was part of the process to decentralise power that he had initiated more than a decade back, according to the daily.

"The ban started from district committees which passed laws banning smoking in their areas. Later, it was picked up by others and finally a countrywide ban was passed in the National Assembly," he said.

Wangchuk was also frank in his observation about Nepal, especially the threat posed by the Maoist rebels there. He observed that the threat posed by the Maoists in Nepal was becoming serious and warned that unless dealt with effectively and resolved at the earliest, it will have a negative impact in the neighbourhood as well.

"We sincerely hope that something positive will come out soon and some initiatives will be taken by the political parties in Nepal to resolve the Maoist problem," he said. But when asked whether Nepal should follow Bhutan's example of launching a major military offensive to defeat the Maoists, the king made it clear that he was in no position to recommend what is best for Nepal, according to the daily.