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Article: PRISTINE BHUTAN WARILY INCREASES ITS CONTACT WITH REST OF THE WORLD
- Article from:
- The Columbian (Vancouver, WA)
- Article date:
- February 15, 1998
- Author:
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ARTHUR MAX
The Columbian
02-15-1998
THIMPHU, Bhutan — Once every two years, King Jigme Singye Wangchuck climbs into his Land Cruiser and heads out to meet his people. Often, his four wives and some of his 10 children go along, but there’s hardly any security.
In dozens of local meetings during the biannual ritual, the 42-year-old king of Bhutan and his ministers discuss the latest development plans and decide where to build a bridge, a clinic, a school.
Such people-to-government contact is possible in a small nation like Bhutan, with only 600,000 people. While political chaos afflicts its democratic neighbors — India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh — Bhutan’s ...