US embassy cable - 04NEWDELHI7000

C O N F I D E N T I A L NEW DELHI 007000 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/01/2014 
TAGS: PREF, PREL, PHUM, IN, NP, BT, UNHCR, Bhutan 
SUBJECT: INDIA SUPPORTS REPATRIATION OF CATEGORY 1 
BHUTANESE REFUGEES 
 
REF: STATE 232445 
 
Classified By: Ambassador David C. Mulford, Reasons 1.4 (B,D). 
 
1.  (C) Polcouns and Poloff met on November 1 with MEA Joint 
Secretary (Nepal/Bhutan) Ranjit Rae to brief on the strategy 
 
SIPDIS 
recently outlined by King Wangchuck to A/S Dewey to 
repatriate Category 1 refugees from the Khudunabari camp 
(Reftel).  Rae replied that the GOI welcomes this strategy as 
a way break the deadlock, and is hopeful it could dove-tail 
to other solutions to the problem.  He indicated that King 
Wangchuck had described our initiative to the Indian 
delegation during a recent royal investiture ceremony in 
Thimphu and appreciated the early US consultation.  He was 
particularly curious about Nepalese reactions.  Rae mentioned 
in passing that Category 3 refugees from Nepal could also be 
included in the initial plan (in order to remove them from 
the equation), but did not press this point. 
 
2.  (C) GOI has also pressed the GON to allow UNHCR to 
conduct profiling and re-registration surveys, Rae said, but 
Kathmandu remains concerned that this process will lead to 
local integration of large numbers of refugees.  Responding 
to reftel, he indicated that New Delhi would weigh in to 
support the initiative. 
 
3.  (C) The Joint Secretary expressed concern with the 
strategy of having the Nepalese and Bhutanese Ambassadors to 
India draft letters specifying the details of an agreement on 
the grounds that the two have not talked to each other about 
the issue.  The Nepalese Ambassador has not commented 
publicly on refugee matters, and the prior ambassador was 
much more personally involved, said Rae.  The King of Nepal 
will visit New Delhi in late November and might discuss the 
refugee situation with GOI interlocutors during the trip. 
Rae believed the Nepalese King was generally interested in 
resolving the issue, and he might play a role similar to that 
of the King of Bhutan in moving the process forward. 
 
4.  (C)  Concluding, Rae stressed the importance of ensuring 
that the UN, EU and other Friends of Bhutan states do not 
derail the process by harping on the conditions of return and 
other controversial issues.  He urged the US to encourage the 
Europeans and UN to support the process and not to make 
public statements that could cause problems. 
MULFORD