May 27, 2007
Security Alert in Bhutan After Bomb Threats By Syed Zarir Hussain
Thimphu
Security forces have been put on alert in the Himalayan kingdom of
Bhutan with Nepal-based separatists threatening to stage a series of
bomb attacks during Monday's mock elections.
"We have put our forces on maximum alert and definitely not taking
any chances," a senior Royal Bhutan Police official told IANS here
on conditions of anonymity.
An estimated 5,000 security personnel have been deployed for the
elections Monday.
The Bhutan Tiger Force (BTF), the armed wing of the Bhutan Communist
Party(Marxist-Leninist-Maoist), a group formed by Bhutanese refugees
currently residing in Nepal, has warned of triggering blasts across
Bhutan.
Bhutan Monday goes for the second and final phase of the dummy polls
aimed as a dry run for real parliamentary elections in 2008.
"We are taking the mock polls seriously and hence we shall carry out
several blasts on Monday," BTF media secretary Bhukhamp was quoted
as saying by Nepalese and Bhutanese newspapers.
The party had earlier announced an armed rebellion to overthrow the
Bhutanese regime and accuses the monarchy of being autocratic,
violating human rights, and indulging in corruption.
The Election Commission too has taken measures in coordination with
security agencies in Bhutan to thwart any possible attempts by
rebels to disrupt the polls.
"There should not be any problems," said Dasho Kunzang Wangdi,
Bhutan's chief election commissioner.
The BTF earlier claimed responsibility for a blast on a parked bus
last week in the southern Bhutanese town of Phuentsholing. No one
was injured in the explosion though the bus was badly damaged.
Phuentsholing is close to the Indian border town of Joygaon in the
eastern state of West Bengal.
The usually peaceful kingdom of 700,000 people was rocked by a
series of blasts in December. Four people, including three Indians,
were injured in a blast in the Phuentsholing.
"The BTF is out to create trouble inside Bhutan. We are alert," the
police official said.
The BTF rebel leader claimed its cadres were undergoing guerrilla
training in six of Bhutan's 20 districts.
There are an estimated 100,000 Bhutanese refugees residing in
makeshift camps in Nepal after they fled the kingdom in 1997
following a pro-democracy uprising.
Bhutan has since outlawed political parties formed by those in
exile, referring to them as anti-national terrorists and claims that
many of the refugees are not genuine Bhutanese.
The scheduled parliamentary elections next year are the culmination
of a plan by former king Jigme Singye Wangchuck, who handed his
crown to his son Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, in December, to
change with the times and relinquish absolute rule.
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