First let us read
the following important newsletter.
I quote:
“BHUTAN IS SEEKING
U.N. MEMBERSHIP
By KATHLEEN TELTSCH, DEC. 26, 1970
By KATHLEEN TELTSCH, DEC. 26, 1970
UNITED NATIONS, N.
Y., Dec. 25—The small Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, sandwiched between Communist
China and India, has applied for member ship in the United Nations.
A letter from King
Jigme Dorji Wangchuck requesting membership said the Bhutanese were “acutely
aware of the proven value of the United Nations organization to small and
developing nations.”
 |
| (Courtesy: Dasho Sonam Kinga) |
Bhutan has an area
of 18, 000 square miles—about the size of New Hampshire and New Jersey
together—and a population of 800,000.
Under a treaty
arrangement, India looks after the kingdom's defense and foreign affairs.
According to some
Asian sources, the Bhutanese have regarded India as overly dominating and is
seeking United Nations membership as a means of reasserting the kingdom's
sovereignty.
The Indian
delegation said it welcomed the application from Bhutan and would sponsor the
admission of the kingdom to membership during 1971.
Bhutan would be the 128th member.
Bhutan would be one of the smaller member countries, but not the smallest—the Maldives has an area of only 112 square miles and a population of 97,000.
The Bhutanese sent
a delegation to visit the recent 25th General Assembly.
By contrast, the
Maldives did not turn up for the session and have closed their embassy in
Washington—the only foreign embassy maintained outside the Maldives with the
exception of one in Colombo, Ceylon. Presumably, the Maldives found it
difficult—and expensive—to keep an ambassador in the United States. He came to
the United Nations for the 13‐week Assembly in 1968.
Bhutan's
application must be passed upon by the Security Council and then the General
Assembly. Some diplomats here expected that the request would revive the
controversy over whether there should be some restriction on membership
requested by very small states.
No criterion for
restricting membership now exists and fears have been expressed that the entry
of tiny countries may pack the organization with members that cannot carry
either the cost or responsibility of membership”.
I unquote:
With the continuous
pursuance by His Majesty the Third King, Bhutan obtained membership to United
Nations Organizations as 128th member on Sep. 21,1971 thus protecting the
sovereignty of Kingdom of Bhutan.
 |
| (Art by Tarcisio) |
I wonder where
Bhutan would be if this seemingly difficult diplomatic task were not achieved
as on the neighboring context Tibet lost independence much earlier and Sikkim
lost independence during the same phase.
So today on His
Majesty’s Birth Anniversary let us join our Nation in honoring our Late King
Jigme Dorji Wangchuck by offering butter lamps in all our houses and temple and
pray for his eternal peace and continuous blessing.
Thank You His
Majesty the Late King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck.
His Majesty King
Jigme Dorji wangchuck was born on 2nd May in 1929.
His Majesty Third King
Jigme Dorji Wangchuck is known as the main architect of Modern Bhutan and
referred as father of Bhutan.
His Majesty also
given us one of the Great Compassionate King
His Majesty Jigme Singye Wangchuck, who has modernized Bhutan without
compromising Bhutan’s rich cultural and heritage.
Note: We should not overshadow
the historic birthday of His Majesty King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck by teacher’s
day.
