Thousands of Bhutanese refugees in Nepal gathered on the country’s border with India on 2 June demanding to be allowed to return to their villages in Bhutan. The Bhutanese of Nepalese origin denounced Bhutan’s King Jigme Singye Wangchuk for forcing them into exile in Nepal. Wangchung had banished Bhutanese of Nepalese origin out of the country in the early 1990s over clashes on the issue of racial discrimination and their campaign for democracy. The refugees also appealed to India to allow them safe passage through its territory in order to reach Bhutan.
Source: AFP, “Nepali-Bhutanese refugees want to return," Daily Times, 3 June 2006