August 12, 2007 - Thimphu: On the Wings of the Black-necked Crane is the latest collection of folktales to hit the local market. The book comes alive with the tales of the yore told to author Dechen Dolkar by her grandmother, momola.

Set in the time when people flew and gods and demons walked the earth, where people communicated with animals and trees, these stories take the reader to the good old time when people sat around the hearth and saw the world go magical.

Dechen Dolkar found refuge in her grandmother listening to these stories during those difficult years of growing up. And these stories were a safe heaven where she would retreat when life became too confusing for her. [Source: BhutanTimes]

August 12, 2007 - Thimphu: Ever thought of expressing your love and gratitude to His Majesty the Fourth King in words and he reading it? There are chances that your dream may come true.

All you need is access to the internet. Log on to www.inbhutan.com. Drop in your feelings for His Majesty. You need not be a poet or a writer. You just need to know how to write.

While many are still pondering over innovative ideas to celebrate the centenary of the Monarchy in 2008, Sonam Jatso, an internet savvy young man came up with the idea of a website dedicated to showcase the love of everyday Bhutanese for his Majesty the Fourth King.

“Our Druk Gyalpo is praised and liked by everyone. It is just that people cannot tell our King, so in order to make people express their feelings I have opened this website,” said Sonam Jatso. [Source: BhutanTimes]

2007, August 10: Teenage Pregnancies and substance abuse are on the rise in Bumthang. This was revealed by the District Medical Officer Dr. Nima Wangchuk during an awareness campaign on teenage pregnancies and substance abuse conducted in Chummey middle secondary school.

In 2006, the Wangdicholing hospital provided antenatal service to nine teenage pregnant girls. They were all between 15 and 18 years. The figure this year has already reached seven.

The District Medical Officer, Dr. Nima Wangchuk told our reporter that all seven are undergoing regular antenatal checkup at the hospital. He said most of the teenage mothers are from broken families. In some cases they have been sexually abused and have had a traumatic childhood.

Doctors also found that most of them come from low socio-economic background and are usually poor in studies. Doctors say it is risky to become pregnant at an early age.

They say young mothers could die from pregnancy complications such as premature labor, still births and spontaneous miscarriages. At the awareness session, the District legal officer also talked about the legal aspects of teenage pregnancies and substance abuse.

About 400 students and teachers of Chummey Middle Secondary School took part in the session. The team led by the Dzongda will be conducting similar programs in all the schools in Bumthang. [Source: BBS]

2007, August 10: Continuous rainfall for the past few weeks in Pemagatsel has completely damaged a two storied traditional Bhutanese house.

Two concrete have also developed cracks in the building wall and ceiling following the rain.

Residents are worried about their safety but they said they have no alternative but to continue to occupy the houses.

A two storied mud house collapsed on the night of July 30 at Zophel Gewog leaving 12 people homeless. The families are now living in tents having lost all their belongings.

Our reporter Tenzin Namgyel says these families are facing a difficult time. Following the continuous downpour, cracks have been found in the walls and ceilings of two concrete buildings in Pemagatshel town.

Sonam Zangmo is the owner of one of the houses. The tenants are spending sleepless nights worried that the house may collapse.

Police, Dzongkhag officials and grassroots leaders are investigating the extent of damage.

Their reports will be sent to the Royal Insurance Corporation of Bhutan in Samdrupjongkhar. [Source BBS]

A fungus that grows out of the head of dead caterpillars has evolved into a lucrative pursuit for farmers and others seeking riches in the Himalayas. This year the elusive medicinal mushroom, known as nature’s Viagra, is fetching record prices, and in some cases has led to armed clashes. VOA’s Steve Herman recently went to the Bhutanese capital of Thimpu to found out why.

To scientists the fungus that invades caterpillars’ bodies and kills its host is known as cordyceps sinensis.

The people of Bhutan refer to it as yarchagumba where it has long been a folk medicine. For buyers in China it is a remedy for everything from anemia to impotence. And it is rapidly becoming a popular herbal treatment in the United States and Europe.

Sellers showing up at Bhutan’s annual cordyceps auctions this month are finding very receptive buyers. The fungus is fetching a record price of nearly $9,000 a kilogram, an increase of 250 percent from last year. In the early 1990’s, it could be had for as little as $5 a kilo.

One of the buyers at the auctions, Bio Bhutan managing director Karma Yangzom, explains what traders believe is causing the most recent price surge.

“This year in the world market the supply has gone down, because the harvest was not good in China and Tibet,” she noted. “They were able to harvest a lot of cordyceps in Nepal but that was seized by the Maoist rebels which left only the Bhutanese cordyceps available in the world market.”

Even in the best of times collecting cordyceps is more art than science. Some farmers and herders abandon their crops and animals in Bhutan, Nepal and Tibet to crawl flat on the harsh terrain more than 4,000 meters above sea level, hoping to spot the fungus protruding from the soil.

Nepal banned collecting cordyceps until 2001. In Bhutan, a similar prohibition was in place until 2004 to protect the rare fungus. Now limited trade is permitted so farmers can supplement meager incomes.

With prices so high for the fungus, harvesters are willing to use violence to protect supplies. A human rights organization in Hong Kong reported that earlier this month, gunfights broke out among groups of ethnic Tibetans fighting over the right to harvest cordyceps in southwestern China.

Bhutanese exporter Karma Yangzom and other buyers, hoping to satisfy a swelling demand overseas, are not satisfied with what has been brought to this season’s auctions.

“Usually the price is very much based on the quality,” she added. “But this year in the auctions everything has become so crazy. In some cases, even the poor quality cordyceps is fetching very high prices because the competition is more, because the demand is high in the five auctions that we’ve attended not much has come into the auctions in terms of quantity. It has been very low, so everybody is competing for it.”

Officials here say some 700 kilograms is exported annually - about one-third of Bhutan’s estimated potential yield. But many of those hardy enough to brave the climate to search for it come up empty-handed. The lucky ones make it to the auctions, some clutching as little as a few precious grams. But even that now brings enough to provide several months of food and other necessities for a typical rural Himalayan family.

Source: http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-07-21-voa10.cfm

Thimphu, June 24, 2007: When the internet was first introduced in Bhutan in 1999, the government was upbeat about regulating all porn and other sleazy sites bad for popular consumption. Some eight years down today, these lurid sites continue to enthrall the Bhutanese netizens.

The reason for the government’s failure to keep this Herculean promise is obvious: the policy makers failed to envision the global size of this phenomenon. Nevertheless, the government did create a regulator.

And Bhutan InfoComm and Media Authority (BICMA), the sole regulator for all Internet Service Providers in Bhutan including Druknet, is surely having one hell of a time given the nature of task it is entrusted with.

Its global nature and reach, highly unregulated content, and the Amazon of information it carries, has made the regulatory task totally impossible. Even the bigger nations like China and several Islamic countries bent on feeding their citizens politically correct information are grappling with this ever-elusive phenomenon.

But BICMA is still doing its bit. The latest site it blocked was www.bhutantimes.com. It also claims to have shut down some other sites the public complained against.

“We get orders from the regulator and we follow their instructions. If we are asked to block certain sites, we block them,” said a spokesperson from Bhutan Telecom, country’s first and biggest service provider.

Certainly BICMA has the authority to regulate websites and any other form of media in Bhutan in line with the national Media Act. Officials said that BICMA looks after the content of every media and if they find anything against the government or any personal attacks, it is instantly suspended.

“We regulate as per the law. According to article 27(P) of the Media Act, if a statement on the paper or on the net defames somebody then we have all the right to withdraw that media,” said a spokesperson from BICMA, adding that certain websites are blocked based on genuine complaints from the general public. “When people file in written complaints, we do a thorough study then pass our judgment.”

On the other hand, article 7(4) of the Constitution states that “there shall be freedom of press, radio, TV and other forms of dissemination of information, including electronics.”

Thus, observers point out that what BICMA is authorized to do by the Media Act defeats the spirit of the constitutional right guaranteed to all Bhutanese citizens.

“When higher authorities block certain websites, it is fundamentally not right. Our right to information is infringed,” said a civil servant under anonymity. “And especially when discussion forums are blocked, it means that our right to freedom of speech, opinion and expression is also infringed.”

Blocking sites, however, may not seem as easy as it sounds. Regulating a website to control internet pornography has been a major failure worldwide.

A spokesperson from Bhutan Telecom told BT: “When we initially blocked all porn sites, we found out that it was also blocking certain e-mails and its contents. We had no other options then to re-open X-rated sites.”

There has never been a single regulatory mechanism which could claim to be an effective regime to control internet content. The existing law is also altogether ineffective in regulating internet content. The fact remains that the global nature of the internet has made the enforcement issues difficult and challenging.

According to BICMA officials, blocking www.bhutantimes.com was purely based on complaints from the general public. “This website had comments and statements against the kingdom of Bhutan. It also had personal attacks and several defamatory contents,” said a BICMA official. “We discussed this issue with the information ministry along with some key people before blocking the site.”

The blocked page, however, continues to be accessible through hyperlinks and by-passing proxy servers. In such cases BICMA is helpless.

Meanwhile, the blockage of the site has raised several voices. People are asking why the site was blocked.

“The internet is presently the only forum where all opinions are equal and neutral. We don’t believe the World Wide Web should be in any manner curtailed, censored or managed,” wrote one forum user.

Another regular user wrote that blocking certain websites would portray Bhutan in a negative light. “I thought we were headed for democracy where people have the right to opinion and expression guaranteed by our Constitution. But why is this website blocked?”

Users say that if bypassing the blockage is so easy why does the government even bother to block sites? “There are hundreds and thousands of proxy servers on the World Wide Web. Instead it would be better if we had a team of media specialist to manage the media,” wrote another user to BT forum.

Official from the Department of Media and Information Authority told BT that, bringing out certain grudge and personal attacks on the public domain does not do any good to the society. “In this case the regulator has the authority to block the site. However, if blocking the site has adversely affected the people then they can always appeal to the court.”

[source]

2007, June 27: Her Royal Highness Princess Chulabhorn Mahidol of Thailand left the kingdom today. Her Royal highness accompanied by Royal Consort and a 43 member entourage was in the Kingdom on a nine day goodwill visit. Her Royal Highness Princess Chulabhorn was seen off by Her Royal Highness the princess Ashi Chimi Yangzom Wangchuk and senior government officials.

While in the kingdom Her Royal Highness Princess Chulabhorn Mahidol received an audience with His Majesty the King.

The Chulabhorn research Institute in Thailand also conducted a seminar on Environmental Toxicology for Safe and Sustainable Development. Her Royal Highness also delivered a series of lectures on toxicology, chemical carcinogenesis and pesticides.

During the last nine days, Her Royal Highness also visited places of historical and cultural interest in the kingdom.

Her Royal Highness Princess Chulabhorn is the youngest child of Their Majesties King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit.

Born in 1957 in Bangkok Her Royal Highness has a PhD in organic chemistry from Mahidol University in Bangkok. Her Royal Highness is currently the President of the Chulabhorn Research Institute and Professor of the Faculty of Medicine at the Siriraj Hospital in Thailand.

This is Her Royal Highness’s first visit to Bhutan.

According to foreign ministry officials, the visit will further enhance the close ties of friendship and cooperation between the two Kingdoms. Formal diplomatic relation between Bhutan and Thailand was established in 1989.

By APFA Bhutan

The Royal government of Bhutan has banned viewing a website this month without furnishing any reason.

The government ordered the recently formed Bhutan Information, Communication and Media Authority (BICMA) to block viewing bhutantimes.com inside Bhutan.

According to the orders given by the government, the only and government owned ISP Druknet and Pvt. ISP Drukcom blocked viewing the site within the country. According to the officials of the BICMA, they blocked the site as per the orders.

The site had been popular for forum discussion where people can register and express their opinion on important national issues.

The site did not have its own news contents rather self updated news on Bhutan, militancy in north-east India through google news feed.

…
[source]

2007, June 19. Her Royal Highness Princess Chulabhorn Mahidol of Thailand has arrived in the Kingdom on a nine day goodwill visit yesterday. Her Royal Highness is accompanied by Royal Consort and a 43 member entourage.

Upon arrival at the Paro International Airport, Her Royal Highness Princess Chulabhorn Mahidol was received by Her Royal Highness the Princess Ashi Chimi Yangzom Wangchuck, the Health Minister Lyonpo Dr. Jigme Singye and the Foreign Secretary Yeshay Dorji.

On arrival at the Mothithang palace Her Royal Highness was received by Their Royal Highnesses the Princesses Ashi Dechen Yangzom Wangchuck and Ashi Kesang Choden Wangchuck. The Gyalpoi Zimpon Penjore was also present to receive Her Royal Highness.

Her Royal Highness will receive an audience with His Majesty the King on Tuesday.

This is Her Royal Highness’s first visit to Bhutan.

Her Royal Highness will also attend an executive seminar on Environmental Toxicology for Safe and Sustainable Development, Pollution Control and Management at the Royal Institute of Management in Semtokha.

Her Royal Highness will also deliver a series of lectures on toxicology, chemical carcinogenesis and pesticides.

While in the Kingdom, Her Royal Highness will also visit places of historical and cultural interest.

Her Royal Highness Princess Chulabhorn is the youngest child of Their Majesties King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit. Born in 1957 in Bangkok Her Royal Highness has a PhD in organic chemistry from Mahidol University in Bangkok.

Her Royal Highness is currently the President of the Chulabhorn Research Institute and Professor of the Faculty of Medicine at the Siriraj Hospital in Thailand.

According to foreign ministry officials, the visit will further enhance the close ties of friendship and cooperation between the two Kingdoms.

Formal diplomatic relation between Bhutan and Thailand was established in 1989.

Television reached the tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan only eight years ago but the country is hooked.

Hollywood movies and Indian soaps are the biggest draw, but amid a mass of programmes there is growing unease about the cost to traditional culture.

Residents of the tiny nation, wedged high in the mountains between India and China, were given their first taste of television in 1999 following widespread discontent over missing the football World Cup the previous year.

Now 40 channels are on offer, beaming images of an outside world that Bhutan’s rulers spent centuries trying to keep out. Family life is changing.

“When I had no TV, we used to get together and sometimes the kids would sing and chat. The kids also used to go out and then I could concentrate on prayers,” said Ngyenam, a middle-aged woman who lives in a village outside the capital Thimphu.

The goggle box has also transformed the tiny village of Yuwakha. Villagers no longer talk and drink well into the night; as dusk falls the streets are deserted as people settle down for soap operas from India.

“After we got the TV, I hardly get time,” said Ngyenam. “Even though I spin my prayer wheel, my mind is always on the TV. I can go anywhere… watching TV is like travelling to all the places I like.”

Ngyenam’s husband, a retired civil servant, believes their children’s concentration is also beginning to suffer.

“They get frustrated when we say ‘don’t watch’. So it is a concern for us because they don’t study properly,” Sangay Tshering said.

A changing lifestyle in Yuwakha is one of many examples of the impact of television in Bhutan, something that the authorities are starting to fret over.

But what many fear is the rabid consumerism of much of the outside world. “Television and advertisements create desires,” said Phuntsho Rapten, a researcher with the Centre for Bhutan Studies. “And it is also possible that these kind of desires may not be satisfied given the economic situation of the people.”

[Source]