Wary of democracy in Bhutan

Citizens of the peaceful kingdom have seen how corruption can infest democracy.

from the April 30, 2007 edition

Page 2 of 2

Page 1 | 2

Lhatu Wangchuck, who was Bhutan's ambassador to several neighboring countries and its deputy chief of mission at the United Nations before becoming the director-general of the tourism department, says his fellow citizens are just not very confident of what's ahead. "We have seen what corruption can do to democracy," he said recently in an interview in Thimphu, the Bhutanese capital. "It can cripple government."

Bhutan, while not perfect as it is, has much to lose. It is a poster child for environmental protection. (Mountain climbing is banned because the peaks are sacred.) Its living standards are rising steadily, outpacing those of some other nations in the neighborhood, especially in health and education. Development decisions are made locally. Women have considerable rights. The entire country has more or less been declared a no-smoking zone.

One of the king's major initiatives was the establishment of an anticorruption commission, on which a lot of ordinary people pin their hopes in case a new national parliament, to be elected next year, sinks into money politics and electoral skulduggery. A constitution has been written. The UN is helping guide the election commission as it tries to teach Bhutanese what voting means.

The king has given his son, Crown Prince Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, a year to work on entrenching constitutional monarchy before his coronation at the end of 2007. Khesar will be the fifth king in a dynasty enthroned in 1907 with support from the British, who weren't able to make rugged Bhutan a colony and had to settle for influence. Before monarchy, Bhutan was a theocracy with warlords.

The new king will no longer rule, though he will remain head of state. But the powerful Buddhist hierarchy will lose its political role. As the last royally appointed government is about to be dissolved, political parties are forming. At the top, events are moving fast. Meanwhile the country watches and waits. Says Lhatu Wangchuck: "We can only hope that good sense will prevail."

Barbara Crossette is the author of "So Close to Heaven: The Vanishing Buddhist Kingdoms of the Himalayas." ©2007 Los Angeles Times Syndicate.

1 | Page 2