BPP, Thirteen Point Demand Charter
Submitted to His Majesty the King, Jigme Singye Wangchuck on 19th
September 1990.
DEMANDS
1.
Unconditional release of political prisoners.
We demand the unconditional release of all
prisoners arrested from within and outside Bhutan.
2.
Change of absolute monarchy to Constitutional
Monarchy.
We demand constitutional monarchy in place
of the present system of absolute monarchy. The parliamentary
system of government with multi-party provision must be
introduced with a view to electing a government responsible to
the legislature.
3.
Reform in the judiciary
Article - 7 of the universal declaration of
human rights provides that "all are equal before the law and are
entitled to equal protection of the law".
We demand a completely new and independent
judiciary with professional judges who impart justice without
distinction of race, religion, wealth, social status or
political influence. The system of representation by attorney
and lawyers must be introduced. The present system of one-man
judgment must be abolished.
4.
Amendment of the Citizenship Act.
The baseless cut-off year should be amended
and implicit biases inherent in the present system be removed.
However, infiltration of illegal immigrants must be restricted
and people must be left free to marry persons of their choice.
5.
Right to culture, dress, language and script.
The universal declaration of human rights
1948 grants an individual the freedom to one's own culture,
dress, religion, language and script. The Government of Bhutan
must grant the right to culture, dress, language and script to
all the Bhutanese citizens.
6.
Freedom of Religion.
We demand freedom to profess and practice
religion of one's choice. The state shall have no religion and
it shall not allow religious or cultural instructions in
governmental institutions nor shall the state fund be used for
any religious body. Bhutan should be a secular state, meaning,
“equal respect for all religion" and the separation of the state
from religion.
7.
Freedom of press, speech and expression.
We demand the right to express one's
convictions and opinions freely through speech, writing,
painting, picture or any other modes of expressions. We demand
freedom of press.
8.
Freedom of formation of Unions, Associations and
political
parties.
We demand the right to form associations,
unions and political parties.
9.
Freedom of Trade and occupation
We demand the right to practice any
profession or carry out any occupation, trade or business, which
are not illegal, immoral or dangerous to the heath and welfare
of the people.
10.
Right to equitable distribution of wealth and
funds.
We demand equitable distribution of wealth
and development funds in all areas of Bhutan without distinction
of grounds of race, religion, language and culture.
11. Right to Equality of Opportunities in Matters of
Pubic
Employment
We demand equality of opportunity for all
citizens in matters relating to employment or appointment to any
office under the state.
12.
Right to Education.
We demand the right to education in any field and up to any
level as per one's ability and choice. There must be no
discrimination in respect of opportunities for training,
scholarship and admission on grounds of race, religion, language
and culture.
13. Right against Exploitation.
We demand the abolition of the present
system of forced labour such as National Work Force.
Goongda-woola, Zheptolemi etc. through which women, children and
old people are also exploited.
(concluded)
Note- : This was
addressed at the National Assembly by the then home minister
Dago Tshiring in 1990 and 1991. The National Assembly of Bhutan
sat to discus and rectifies the thirteen point demands of BPP
submitted on 19, September 1990 through peaceful rally. The
Assembly declare that of thirteen demands, the two, the point
No-2 and No-8 are genuine and rest cosmetics. The demand No-2
embodies the change of absolute monarchy to constitutional
monarchy and the demand No-8 does for the freedom of formation
of unions and political parties. By this, however, the RGOB has
accepted all the demands diplomatically; but the changes in
action lieu of demands are not seen appearing in the country.
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