A tale of two kingdoms

By H.D.S. Greenway - The Boston Globe - Boston.com - Op-ed - News: "''BLESSED WITH the luminous benedictions of the Triple Gem, the protection of our guardian deities, the wisdom of our leaders, the everlasting fortunes of the Pelden Drukpa (Glorious Bhutan), and the command of His Majesty . . . Jigme Singye Wangchuck. . ."

So begins the preamble of one of the world's newest constitutions -- drafted in March, but not yet promulgated, that would institutionalize democracy in a tiny Himalayan kingdom still unsure it wants to change.

It may not mean as much to the world as a new constitution in Iraq. But it is big change for the half to three-quarters of a million people living in the eaves of the world's roof, citizens of the Kingdom of Bhutan, squeezed in between Tibet and Bengal where India and China meet.

Bhutan is one of the world's most remote places -- a Buddhist kingdom practicing the Tibetan form of that religion. It is overwhelmingly agricultural, and the cliches describe a land of few lawyers, no stoplights, and the fact that more people are killed by bears every year than in traffic accidents. A traffic light was installed in the capital, Thimphu, a few years ago but was removed when locals said it looked out of place.

Bhutan's 49-year-old king has tried to modernize slowly and cautiously to prevent the disintegration of culture that often accompanies collision with the West. When I visited him nine years ago, he still did not allow television in the kingdom. He subsequently relented and is now introducing something even more dangerous: democracy. I say dangerous, for it is in the childhood years that democracies risk sudden infant death syndrome, in which competing factions have not reconciled themselves to the notion that sharing power doesn't have to be a zero sum game. But the king thinks it worth the risk.

His people are not quite reconciled yet to what their king is doing for them. Thus he will spend the better part of the late summer traveling around the kingdom in his four-wheel-drive Land Cruiser, from the high mountains to the jungle lowlands, to sell his people on the idea of a constitutional monarchy. There are many districts so remote that the king will have to travel by foot. People will be able to express their views directly to the king and later to their elected representatives in a National Assembly.

The new constitution guarantees ''life, liberty, and security of person" -- the pursuit of happiness was apparently not thought necessary in that magic land. Freedom of speech is guaranteed, as is freedom to obtain information, although the bicameral parliament will have the right in emergencies to deny information to ink-stained wretches of the press such as myself. Nor would I be able to buy property in Bhutan, as citizens may not sell land to noncitizens.

Parliament's upper house, the National Council, will have 25 members, one elected by the people from each of the country's 20 districts, and five ''eminent persons" nominated by the king. The 75-member National Assembly will be entirely elected.

What a contrast between Bhutan and its Himalayan neighbor, Nepal; a Hindu kingdom facing a bitter and brutal Maoist insurrection in which King Gyanendra turfed out an elected parliament, jailed dissidents, suspended civil liberties, and seized absolute power in February.

He announced the lifting of the emergency last spring, but it's still not clear when and if constitutional rule will be fully restored.

Nepal's Maoist movement is similar to Peru's Shining Path, and the killings by rebels, anti-Maoist vigilantes, and antigovernment soldiers have reached atrocity levels reminiscent of Central America in the 1980s.

While Bhutan is sparsely populated and has protected its forest cover, overpopulated Nepal has cut down most of its trees and degraded its land. Poverty in Bhutan is rare. In Nepal it is endemic. Perhaps the greatest threat to Bhutan's security has been, and will be, illegal immigration from Nepal.

Nepal won its measure of democracy 15 years ago, then lost it, while Bhutan is just introducing it now. But my bet is that Bhutan will succeed while Nepal is fast becoming a failed state."