Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Bhutanese Refugees Human Rights topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Senate committee hears emotional testimony from Bhutanese‑Nepali community and votes to report SR 69 to rules
Summary
Dozens of Bhutanese‑Nepali Americans testified about forced exile, prison abuses and family separations tied to events in Bhutan; the Senate committee moved to favorably report Senate Resolution 69 to the Committee on Rules and Reference and the motion carried.
The Senate Armed Services, Veterans Affairs and Public Safety Committee heard multiple personal testimonies in support of Senate Resolution 69, a measure recognizing human‑rights abuses and calling for engagement on behalf of Bhutanese people expelled in the 1990s.
Witnesses described forced exile, long stays in refugee camps in Nepal, imprisonment and alleged abuses in Bhutanese jails, and the continuing effect on families who remain separated. Manikumar Biswal, a community member who was resettled in the United States in 2008, told the committee he fled Bhutan in 1992 and spent 17 years in refugee camps before resettling; he said his relatives remain separated and urged support for SR 69. Bhakta Giri described arrest, forced labor and beatings he said he experienced after speaking for human rights. Other witnesses urged the committee to press for visitation and repatriation options, a truth and reconciliation process, and release or accountability for political prisoners.
Witnesses representing the Bhutanese‑Nepali community asked the state to adopt SR 69 as a step toward drawing federal attention and supporting diaspora engagement, family reunification and measures to seek justice. Several speakers cited an estimated 6,000 refugees still in camps and described multigenerational impacts; they asked Ohio to be the first state to formally recognize the issue and to use resolution passage to advocate at the federal level.
After testimony, Senator Tom Patton moved to favorably report SR 69 to the Committee on Rules and Reference. The committee clerk called the roll; the motion carried and SR 69 was referred to Rules and Reference. The committee chair invited interested members to sign a cosponsor sheet for the resolution.
