Tek Nath Rizal

Tek Nath Rizal (also spelled Rijal) is one of the Bhutanese refugees, and a political and human rights activist.

Rizal has struggled for the sake of about 100,000 Bhutani refugees who lived for a long time in camps in Nepal. Rizal was imprisoned by the government of Bhutan from 1989 to 1999 at the Chamgang jail. He was sentenced in 1993 to life imprisonment.

The Bhutanese government found Tek Nath Rizal guilty of abusing his position as an elected Royal Advisory Councillor by providing false feedback from the people he represented to the King, and then blaming the government and King for the policies formulated based on his advice. The rift between the people in the south of Bhutan and the government has at least in small part been blamed on his actions. After his sentencing, the King of Bhutan, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, pardoned Rizal on condition that Bhutan and Nepal be able to resolve the issue over the Bhutanese refugees in Nepal. The issue was not resolved, but Rizal was released from prison during an amnesty granted by the king in December 1999.

Publications

From Palace to Prison Nirbasan (Nepali)