Kathmandu, July 16 – Addressing a ‘Face to Face programme organised by the Reporters’ Club in Kathmandu, refuting reports that the UNHCR was going to close down refugee camps in east Nepal by the end of 2005, country director of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for Nepal, Abraham Abraham said he had already finalised proposals for the year 2006. “We are not here to abandon the refugees. Our assistance will continue. As funds become scarce, we have learnt how to better manage (available) resources,” he added.
Talking to reporters here, Mr. Abraham said there are also strong interest from western countries to try and help to move forward the issue. He, however, did not provide details on which governments were interested in resettling the Bhutanese refugees in their countries.
When asked about the closing down of Tibetan Refugee Welfare Office (TRWO) in Kathmandu in late January this year, Abraham said, “We are in the process of finding out what is the best mechanism we could have in order to have substitute to continue our support in this area….. We are looking forward to a new organisation that will register itself with Royal Nepalese government and will be able to provide the same support that was provided before,” he added.
