Bhutanese minister defends record on minority

Bhutan's Foreign Minister Jigme Thinley, has said that any refugees allowed back into his country from Nepal will be free to speak their own language, practise their own religion and wear traditional dress.

The minister was speaking to the BBC as Nepalese and Bhutanese officials began the long-awaited process of interviewing an estimated 100,000 refugees camped in eastern Nepal.

The refugees say they are Bhutanese forced out of their own country by persecution.

The minister denied that people of Nepalese origin faced discrimination in Bhutan, saying they occupied positions of importance in government, parliament and the private sector.

Nepal says all the refugees must return to their homeland.

However Bhutan says it is prepared to take back only those it describes as genuine refugees.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service