Bhutan takes a leap into the world of democracy

Tshephu, Bhutan, Apr 20: The isolated Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan takes a big step towards ending a century of absolute monarchy when it stages a mock election tomorrow, a dress rehearsal for the real thing in 2008.

It is a giant leap into the unknown for this conservative Buddhist nation, and one that has many of its citizens more than a little worried -- citizens like 83-year-old Sangay Tsering in the remote hamlet of Tshephu in central Bhutan.

''Our king has brought us so much happiness, life has improved a lot,'' he said with a smile, a knife in a wooden sheath stuffed into the belt of his gho, the dressing gown-like national dress. ''I want the king to continue.'' Like much of Bhutan, Tshephu is only slowly emerging into the modern world from an almost medieval past. A medical clinic opened in the area a decade ago, electricity arrived seven months ago, and a dirt road was opened just last month.

Yet Bhutan, which has a population of 635,000 in an area about the size of the Netherlands, is still a desperately poor and deeply traditional place.

The imposing white-walled houses are ornately decorated with paintings of dragons, tigers as well as two huge phalluses meant to ward off evil spirits facing each other and ejaculating semen. Inside, the rooms are mostly bare.

In one, red-robed monks performed a blessing ceremony by the light of butter lamps, their rhythmic chanting interrupted only by a deep blast on two long horns and the muted clash of a cymbal.

Outside, a debate slowly formed about the need to import a foreign idea like democracy.

''We need old traditions, but, at the same time new ideas have to come for the country's development,'' said Khandu, who travels to the district capital, Punakha, every Monday to pick up the mail for the local clinic and school but is illiterate himself.

Reuters