The recent massacre of nine Bhutanese nationals by separatist rebels in northeast India has delivered a disturbing wake up call to the isolated Himalayan kingdom.
"For a population which only wants to live and prosper in peace, this (incident) is difficult to understand," said an editorial in the latest edition of the Bhutanese official weekly newspaper, Kuensel.
"Today's generation of Bhutanese cannot really fathom this level of violence," the editorial said.
"But this is an incident which will shock us into thinking hard; it will force us to understand the harsh new conditions which we face today."
Suspected tribal separatists in the northeastern Indian state of Assam shot dead nine Bhutanese civilians travelling through the area last week.
Bhutanese vehicles often traverse sections of Assam when travelling between different places inside the land-locked kingdom.
"It is human nature that, sometimes, we do need harsh reminders of reality," the Kuensel editorial said.
"Last week, we realized that all of us must be ready for any turn of events."
Bhutan has consciously striven to preserve its culture by limiting contact with the outside world through restrictions on access to media, such as satellite television, and on the number of tourists visiting the tiny country.
Several Indian rebel groups have taken advantage of Bhutan's relatively weak security infrastructure to set up bases in the country, from where they stage hit-and-run strikes on targets in Assam -- NEW DELHI (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
