EDITORIAL

A Diplomatic Feat

As India went through a massive second wave and stopped the export of its vaccines, there were doubts in Bhutan about where it could get its second dose from. The prognosis did not look good as many countries around the world were desperately competing for vaccines. However, now Bhutan not …

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Students and Rotting Vegetables

Last week the Parliament learnt that around 9,000 students who have passed from class 12 are unable to find colleges or higher education. The reason is due to the COVID-19 pandemic and given that the majority of these students would have normally gone to India and other COVID hit countries …

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The Real Mining Story

The real story in the Mining Bill is not just the deferral of the Mining Bill or the debate between the National Council and National Assembly members, but it is something more complex and fundamental. When we talk of mines we are essentially talking of Dolomite, Gypsum and Coal. Despite …

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Judiciary upholds Justice

The verdict of Bench 1 of the Thimphu district court dismissing the OAG’s sedition case against Penjore outlines four important reasons for the dismissal and each of them are important. The first point tackles the OAG’s wild swing of the case from a defamation case to that of sedition when …

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A test for the Judiciary

So far, the focus of the ‘Penjore Penjore’ case has been on the OAG and to an extent the government, but as the case gets filed in court, the focus will shift to the judiciary. This case has put the judiciary in an unenviable position as the proclamations of the …

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The issues in the Penjore case

The ‘Penjore Penjore’ case is not about Mr. Penjore, and nor is it about his facebook posts over the years. He has to be accountable for what he writes or says and any private citizen has the legal right to sue him if they feel defamed by him. The issue …

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Freedom of Speech

The Penjore Penjore defamation case is not just about Penjore or the OAG but it has much wider ramifications for the freedom of speech and freedom of media enshrined in the Constitution. What is most troubling about the case is that the legal arm of the government in the form …

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The B.1.617 variant challenge

Neighboring India saw a dramatic fall in cases after the first wave until it got hit by a massive second wave led by a new India origin variant called B.1.617. This variant is the predominant variant in India and is thought to be behind the surge in cases. It has …

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The OAG Island

In 2010 the OAG engaged in a furious battle with the Anti Corruption Commission to not prosecute those accused in the Gyelpozhing Land allotment case. It later lost the case and a lot of its credibility with it. This was soon followed by the Trongsa land case where the OAG …

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The Economic Impact of COVID

The Prime Minister recently said that the COVID-19 has not had much of an impact on the everyday economic lives of Bhutanese as they still carry on with their lives. He said the falling GDP rates are more to do with the big business houses that are in trouble. This …

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