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Senate committee hears emotional testimony on SR 69 recognizing alleged abuses against Bhutanese Nepali community; committee votes to refer resolution to Rules
Summary
Dozens of Bhutanese Nepali witnesses told the committee of expulsions, imprisonment and family separations dating to the 1990s and urged passage of Senate Resolution 69; a motion to favorably report the resolution to the Committee on Rules and Reference carried on a recorded roll call.
Witnesses from the Bhutanese Nepali community told the Senate Armed Services, Veterans Affairs and Public Safety Committee that they and their families suffered expulsions, detention and human-rights abuses in Bhutan beginning in the 1990s and urged the committee to adopt Senate Resolution 69, which acknowledges those harms and calls for steps such as durable solutions for remaining refugees, visitation rights and accountability for political prisoners.
"I came from a large family...We are living happily in the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan...That was the day we left our country never to return," Manikumar Biswal said, describing forced exile and years in refugee camps. Other witnesses, including Bhaktagiri, Kamal Adeikari, Dipisha Casey and Kasi Rikari, offered detailed testimony about prison conditions, forced labor, torture and the ongoing separation of families. Several witnesses asked the committee to use the resolution to spark dialogue between the United States and Bhutan and to press for visitation, repatriation with full citizenship rights or other durable solutions for refugees in Nepal.
Witnesses described families who have been split for decades, cited estimates that thousands remain stateless in camps in Nepal and asked Ohio to formally recognize their experiences. Testimony included personal accounts of prison abuse and named international organizations and governments—witnesses urged political and diplomatic attention to secure visitation rights and justice.
After public testimony, Senator Tom Patton moved "to favor report SR 69 to the committee on rules and reference." The clerk conducted a roll-call vote; the motion carried with recorded "Yes" votes from Chair Johnson, Senator Patton, Senator Schaeffer and others read aloud, and the chairman announced the resolution would be referred to the Committee on Rules and Reference. The committee record in the hearing shows the motion carried; the resolution will proceed to the rules committee for further consideration.
No committee debate on amendments followed; the referral is an interim procedural step. Witnesses and supporters said they plan to seek cosponsors and to bring the resolution to higher levels of government to press for federal engagement with Bhutan and Nepal on repatriation, visitation and political-prisoner issues.
Background: testimony detailed decades-long experiences of exile and named specific alleged abuses in Bhutanese prisons and refugee camps in Nepal dating to the 1990s. Supporters asked Ohio to recognize those events as part of a broader effort to generate diplomatic and humanitarian attention.
Next steps: SR 69 was favorably reported to the Committee on Rules and Reference by committee motion and roll-call; further action will occur in that committee.
