Gyelpozhing: who’s right?

January 28, 2012Posted inJustice11 Comments
Almost six months ago, Tenzing Lamsang exposed the Gyelpozhing land grab case, and explained how laws of the land had been broken to acquire public land and redistribute them to influential people. A week after that, Dasho Neten Zangmo, the Anticorruption Commission Chairperson, was quoted as saying: We will look into the case and if there is any element of corruption, abuse of power and conflict of interest and if land has been taken unjustly from private people then we will further investigate the case. It’s been almost half a year since ACC’s assurances. So I was happy to…

Apologise and appeal

January 24, 2012Posted inJustice20 Comments
Today, we celebrated traditional day of offering. Today is also exactly one year since Sonam Tshering was detained by officials for illegally possessing Nu 120 worth of Baba khaini. Sonam Tshering has already been in jail for one full year. So today, on traditional day of offering, I thought about how we, parliamentarians, should offer our services to Sonam Tshering and the many others like him who continue to suffer under the oppressive Tobacco Control Act. First we should apologize. We should apologize and take full responsibility for arrogantly (and foolishly) passing a law that quickly subjected so many…

Investigating Gyelpozhing

October 28, 2011Posted inJustice21 Comments
Last Saturday, more than two months after Business Bhutan broke their story about alleged land grabbing in Gyelpozhing by senior public servants, the Anticorruption Commission announced that they: “… are in the process of studying laws related to land, policy issues, analysing and re- viewing the complaints they received with regards to Gyalpoizhing land case.” The Gyelpozhing land case has raised serious questions about alleged corruption involving our senior-most public servants when land was acquired and redistributed in Gyelpozhing. This is a big case. And it is an important one. So the ACC is correct in studying the case…

Think about Lhab Tshering

June 25, 2011Posted inJustice24 Comments
Lhab Tshering has been in detention since 31st January. On that fateful day, he was caught with 64 packets of chewing tobacco (Baba khaini) at the Chunzom checkpoint. He didn’t have a receipt to prove that he possessed the khaini legally. So he was charged for smuggling tobacco under the Tobacco Control Act. Yesterday, the Thimphu District Court, found Lhab Tshering guilty of smuggling tobacco, and sentenced him to jail for three years. Lhab Tshering, a driver, had purchased the khaini on 26th January, while repairing his vehicle, a trailer, in Jaigaon, India. He had paid Nu 200 for…

Digging deeper

June 3, 2011Posted inJustice34 Comments
Yesterday, the government released the Tobacco Control Rules and Regulations. The rules, which come a week after the government had issued guidelines to relax the implementation of the Tobacco Control Act, have made matters even more complicated. According to the rules, we will not be sent to jail for attempting to bring tobacco into the country without declaring it or for possessing tobacco products. Instead, we’ll be let go with a warning or penalized in line with Sections 86, 87 and 90 which state that: 86.     If a person tries to bring permissible quantity of tobacco and tobacco product…

Facebook strikes

June 2, 2011Posted inDemocracy, Justice13 Comments
After several friends suggested it, I’ve added a new page called “News clips”. The idea is to provide links to news articles, especially to critical ones, that talk about what the opposition party and I have been doing. The first link is to a story by Kuensel. It’s about the growing influence of social media in Bhutan, a discussion that took place during the recent Mountain Echoes literary festival. Social media has already made remarkable inroads in Bhutan. In past five years, there’s been a proliferation of discussion forums, social networking sites and blogs. And some of them –…

Stop digging!

May 29, 2011Posted inGovernment, Justice11 Comments
Denis Healey, a British politician, once famously said: “When you’re in a hole, stop digging.” Digging. That’s what the government is doing by issuing guidelines to relax the implementation of the controversial Tobacco Control Act. According to the guidelines: Any Bhutanese bringing in tobacco products, more than the permissible quantity for personal consumption through designated port of entry, will not be directly charged for smuggling, but would be levied a 200 percent tax. The excess quantity would be seized, the citizenship identity card number noted, so that the offender would be charged on the second attempt to bring in…

Going out of control

May 26, 2011Posted inJustice13 Comments
The Tobacco Control Act is going out of control. The Thimphu district court sentenced Gelong Sonam Tshering, a monk, to 3 years in prison for possessing a mere 48 packets of chewing tobacco. He appealed to the High Court. But the High Court has upheld the 3-years prison sentence. Countless others – I’ve lost count ... really – are in detention or undergoing trail in various parts of the country. We’re told that there are a couple of tobacco smugglers among them. But all the others were caught with small amounts of tobacco, obviously meant for their personal consumption.…

Control tobacco control

May 16, 2011Posted inJustice19 Comments
The International Tobacco Control Bhutan Report has recently established that the majority of the Bhutanese support tobacco control. According to the report, 95% of us disapprove of tobacco consumption due to religious reasons. And 97% of us support strict tobacco control. The report seems to have given the government a renewed sense of confidence in the Tobacco Control Act. And a smug health minister was recently quoted as declaring that “… the members of parliament will think twice to amend the Tobacco Control Act now.” But the ITC Bhutan Report has not revealed anything new. We already know that,…

Indignation

April 22, 2011Posted inJustice36 Comments
Day before yesterday, when members of the National Assembly met to discuss the preliminary agenda for the Assembly’s next session, the opposition party proposed that a bill to amend the Tobacco Control Act be considered. It has not yet been one year since the Tobacco Control Act was adopted, but according to Section 193 of the National Assembly Act: When a Bill has been passed or has been rejected during a session in any year, no Bill of the same substance may be introduced in the Assembly in that year except by leave of the Assembly. Regretfully, the members…

Vicious precedence

April 6, 2011Posted inJustice18 Comments
Okay, I'm confused... On 31st March, Bhutan Today reported that the Chukha district court found the driver who was caught with 10 packets of khaini and 2 packets of cigarettes guilty of a misdemeanor. I'd written that we should welcome the verdict, and posted a copy of Bhutan Today's article in which the Hon'ble Drangpon was quoted extensively. But today, Bhutan Today reports that the Chukha district court found Ambar Biswa, the driver who was caught with 10 packets of khaini and 2 packets of cigarettes, guilty of a fourth degree felony and sentenced him to a prison term…

Virtuous precedence

April 4, 2011Posted inJustice17 Comments
“linda”, a regular commentator, screamed in my last post: ANY SAY ON THE TANALUM TOBACCO CASEEEEEE? DIFFERENT LAWS IN DIFFERENT DISTRICT, DIFFERENT LAWS BY DIFFERENT DRANGPON …. DIFFERENT LAWS TO DIFFERENT PEOPLE What upset “linda” was the apparent inconsistency the verdict by the Chukha District Court on a 29-year old bus driver. On 16th March, in Tanalum, the driver had been caught with 10 packets of Baba chewing tobacco and two packets of cigarettes. He was charged with smuggling tobacco under the Tobacco Control Act. On 28th March, the driver had been released on bail. And on 30th March,…

BNCA rules

March 28, 2011Posted inJustice28 Comments
Most of us support the objectives of the Tobacco Control Act, which is to reduce tobacco consumption – perhaps even eradicate it – in the country. But many of us are alarmed at the severe penalties being handed out under the Act. First Sonam Tshering, a monk, was sentenced to three years in prison for possessing a mere 48 packets of chewing tobacco. He has appealed the verdict to the High Court. Then Lhab Tshering, a driver, was arrested for possessing 64 packets of chewing tobacco. He’s currently being tried at the Thimphu District Court, and could also receive…

Crimes and punishments

March 15, 2011Posted inJustice17 Comments
BBS recently ran two stories: On 4 March they reported that: The Thimphu district court yesterday sentenced a 23-year-old monk to three years in prison for smuggling tobacco. He is the first man to be convicted and sentenced under the controversial tobacco act. Sonam Tshering was caught at the Chunzom checkpoint carrying 48 packets of Baba or chewing tobacco worth Nu.120. He confessed that he bought the chewing tobacco from a shop in the border town of Jaigaon for his own personal consumption. And on 13 March, they reported that: Thimphu City police have apprehended a 17-year-old boy and…

Lhab Tshering

March 4, 2011Posted inJustice37 Comments
Sonam Tshering has been sentenced. He’s been sent to jail for three years for illegally possessing 48 packets of chewing tobacco worth a mere Nu 98. Lhab Tshering, a truck driver from Tsirang, will most probably also be imprisoned. 0n 31 January he was caught with 64 packets of chewing tobacco at Chunzom. He had paid Nu 200 for the tobacco in Jaigon. Lhab Tshering is 24 years old. He is married and has children. And after Lhab Tshering?