Democracy by royal decree in Bhutan

By Henry Chu, Los Angeles Times

The tiny Himalayan kingdom moves, albeit reluctantly, toward people power under monarch Jigme Singye Wangchuck, who prefers evolution rather than revolution.

On Monday, Bhutan is set to become the world's newest democracy, with the first general elections in the history of this isolated Buddhist kingdom. At the heart of this brave new world lies a paradox: It is people power by royal decree. The Bhutanese are choosing their leaders because, essentially, they were told to by their king.

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Daughter of Tibet's Panchen Lama calls protest in Lhasa ugly

(Reuters) - The daughter of Tibet's late 10th Panchen Lama on Monday invoked her
father in calling for ethnic unity in the wake of monk-led,
pro-independence protests in her Himalayan homeland which turned ugly
and left dozens dead.
Yabshi Pan Rinzinwangmo is the only child of the late 10th Panchen
Lama, the most senior religious figure in Tibetan Buddhism after the
Dalai Lama who fled to India in 1959 after an abortive uprising.

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