A Kuensel –hyped Ugen Tsechup engineered Bhutan Times propaganda

The public of Bhutan have been the victim of an orchestrated smear campaign spear-headed by Kuensel to demonize me at the behest of Dasho Ugen Tsechup Dorji and his fellow accomplices. Now the Royal Securities Exchange has joined the bandwagon.

I did not want a judicial trial let alone a public media trial about the destruction of Bhutan Times Corporation Ltd. because it involves Dasho Ugen Tsechup Dorji, a royal uncle whom I should respect and keep away from. But the smear campaign has gone too far. I therefore lay the facts before the public to reach their own conclusions. Please take the time to go through the OAG charges submitted to the Court; my appeals to the King, the Prime Minister and the Chief Justice; my primary rebuttal of the OAG charges; the OAG appeal to the Court withdrawing its charges and thus the dismissal of the Case. 

The public must be awaiting a response from me after Kuensel has repeatedly published articles distorting facts and engaging in character assassination at the behest of the party of four headed by Dasho Ugen Tsechup Dorji. Well here is my response.

I was a Board Director representing the Minority Shareholders who own 17% of now defunct Bhutan Times Corporation Ltd. not a Cashier clerk who runs errands to Bank to withdraw cheques. How low Kuensel reporters stoop to serve Dasho Ugen Tsechup Dorji and shamelessly declare that I personally withdrew Nu: 3.5 million cash from the Bank.

First it was the Royal Bhutan Police, then the Office of Attorney General and now Kuensel and Royal Securities Exchange (RSEBL) out to demonize Wangcha Sangey and glorify Dasho Ugen Tsechup Dorji and his three accomplices. The judicial trial was over on 23^rd November, 2012 when the Royal Court of Justice dismissed the Case. Now a public trial has begun by the party of four in collusion with Kuensel reporters.

As I had submitted to the Office of Attorney General and the Royal Court of Justice, I would never want to be on the wrong side of the Royalty in Bhutan. But if pushed to the edge, I shall defend the dignity of a human being and the right of an honest, hardworking and responsible Bhutanese. And this I did in a Court of Law. The Attorney General realized that his Office was caught in the wrong footing and withdrew the charges based on my primary rebuttal. And the Thimphu Royal Court of Justice dismissed the case.

I understand that the legal arms of the government, the relevant executive agencies of the government and Kuensel and RSEBL’s rush to stand by Dasho Ugen Tsechup Dorji. No Bhutanese individual, law enforcement personnel, media personnel or bureaucrat would risk doing otherwise.  When the OAG filed the Court Case and the Bench I of Thimphu Royal Court of Justice gagged me, I appealed to His Majesty the King, His Excellency the Hon’ble Prime Minister and the Hon’ble Chief Justice of Bhutan. I did not seek for self help. I asked that the rule of law be permitted to operate. That the Chief of Royal Bhutan Police and the Attorney General of Bhutan need to be restrained from being henchmen of the rich and the socially well placed Dasho Ugen Tsechup Dorji. And the grievances of what-so-ever among Bhutanese citizens are allowed to be processed in a Court of Law, free of implied intimidation.

On behalf of Dasho Ugen Tsechup Dorji and his accomplices, the Office of Attorney General charged me of embezzlement and breach of trust based on self styled police investigation report. 

As required under the law, I submitted my defense (the primary rebuttal). I illustrated the absurdities of the charges against me and filed criminal charges against Dasho Ugen Tsechup Dorji and his 3 accomplices Tenzin Lekphell CEO of IMS, Dago Beda of Etho Metho group and Phub Zam of Yarkay group, based on irrefutable documentary evidences. I had to rely on documentary evidences because no Bhutanese would dare to come forward as witness. Moreover, two key witnesses had already been re-enrolled under the payment of the Party of four.

I submitted to the hon’ble Judge of Thimphu Royal Court of Justice that Judiciary of Bhutan could either deliver Justice or nail shut the coffin of Bhutan’s fragile democracy experience.

Most Bhutanese would be aware of the temporal clouts of Dasho Ugen Tsechup Dorji. I have no such resources. However, I have a deposit of personality merits. Through sheer diligence,      life-long discipline, honesty and personal integrity, I have carved a respectable place in the Bhutanese society. I am not a businessman and yet business society of the nation approached me publicly twice (in days gone by) to lead them. I obliged them the second time as Secretary General of Bhutan Chamber of Commerce and Industry. I am not a student of law but my legal opinions and intuitions are well regarded. I am not a student of political science but it was I who predicted in 1998 the coming of Democracy and in 2008 general election, I foresaw the impact of the educated voter influence. I am not a student of journalism but I was at one time a very successful Chairman cum CEO cum Chief Editor of a news Corporation. By profession I am a management expert in the field of tourism and hotels thanks to my 3 years undergraduate course in India and Japan where I learned the art and skills from professionals from the fields and professors at the Rikkyo University.

His Majesty the 3^rd King of Bhutan granted credence to my political opinion, His Majesty the 4^th King grants credence to my integrity and His Majesty the 5^th King comprehends my allegiance to the Tsa-Wa-Sum. I have earned the gracious regards of His Holiness the Jhe Khenpo, His Excellency the Prime Minister and His Lordship the Chief Justice of Bhutan based on my personal traits of straight forwardness and insights and my dedicated love for the Country, the People, the Kings and the Buddha Dharma.

In October, 2009, Bhutan Times Corporation Ltd. went bankrupt when it was managed by the Promoters Group and both the Chairman and CEO resigned as after effect. The Board begged me, the only, Minority Board Director to take over the management. I took the position of Chairman cum CEO and Chief Editor. And in 9 months (October 2009-June, 2010) I turned the Corporation around and made a profit of Nu: 8.5 million after meeting all operating and management expenses. I decided to leave after the Promoters who own 83% of the Corporation agreed to take over the Corporation and refund my family investment. The decision was made in the 3^rd AGM. The Shareholders at the AGM reached this decision after working out the details over 2 days of discussion (28^th and 29^th May, 2010). A legal document was executed and signed by all Shareholders at the AGM and witnessed by the AGM secretary, making the decision of the takeover legally binding.

Dasho Ugen Tsechup Dorji who is a major Promoter Shareholder took over the Chairmanship after me. He then deferred the implementation of the AGM decision. The deferment is illegal but one is powerless against such a force. However, between October, 2011 and March, 2012, Dasho Ugen Tsechup Dorji and his three Promoter accomplices, surreptitiously took over the two primary assets of the Corporation viz. 1. Bhutan Times Printing Press. 2. Bhutan Times Sunday Paper. Then the Party of four arbitrarily had shut down the Corporation on 31^st March, 2012. They sacked the M.D and all corporate employees with one month notice pay and divided among themselves the remaining assets including 3 vehicles and sold what they did not need to raise fund for their new venture. The hijacking of the Corporation was complete by March, 2012. Then two months later, on 31^st May, 2012, they convened a Board Meeting in the morning and an AGM in the afternoon and the Chairman declared that the Corporation had been shut down 2 months ago and the closing affairs were being managed by a stand-in management till 30^th June, 2012. It was 2 months too late to protest because the Party of four had wiped out the total structure of the Corporation.

For more than 25 days starting 1^st June, 2012, I poured over the records of the defunct Corporation in the one room office used by the stand-in Managing Director and his Deputy. It was clear that Dasho Ugen Tsechup Dorji and his 3 accomplices had formed a new Pvt. Company from the ashes of the Corporation they had burned down. True to their declarations recorded in the past Board Meetings “profit was not a priority”, and the Bhutan Times Sunday Paper must be made a, “political paper”, they had accomplished their goal under the guise of IMS management.

IMS and the people behind it have formed a political party registered as Druk Nyamrup Tshogpa. They have their political paper to voice their propaganda and a Printing Press to produce their campaign materials. However, I cannot be made to fund their political ambition.

I have been apolitical. I felt that it would be enough for a Bhutanese to exercise faith in the Blessings of the Deities, the grace of the Dharma and the wisdom of the Kings, to lead a peaceful quiet life. On that belief, my family did not cast vote in the first General Election. The 3^rd King was incredible and in the 4^th King we have the greatest visionary leader and as for the 5^th, His Majesty has in his royal veins the blood of both Wangchuck dynasty and the Shabdrung. Therefore, I have had genuine factual reasons to feel safe and secure for generations to come. But the antics of Dasho Ugen Tsechup Dorji and his hold over RBP, OAG, Kuensel and now RSEBL have cast doubts in my faith.

Dasho Ugen Tsechup Dorji, Tenzin Lekphell, Dago Beda and Phub Zam who represent the 41 original owners of Bhutan Times (Pvt.) company before it was floated as a public corporation, have re-taken over and made it a Private Company. The details are in my primary rebuttal to the Royal Court of Justice. Read it in the following posts. Bhutan Times Corporation Ltd. has been reverted back to its original status of Bhutan Times (Pvt.) company since 31^st March, 2012.

The investment of my family has been refunded as per the unanimous decision of Shareholders in the 3^rd AGM. Now they need to refund the investment of Nu: 4.06 million that belongs to the 250 Minority Shareholders who had bought the Shares when it was publicly floated. The defunct Corporation then must be de-registered as a public entity by the Company Registrar and automatically it will be delisted from the Stock Exchange.

At this juncture, it is necessary to question this recent public gimmick of Royal Securities Exchange to suspend trading of Bhutan Times Shares on the purported reason that my family investment of Nu: 2.7 million was refunded (as per the unanimous decision of the Shareholders in the AGM). Why was the Share trading not suspended in February, 2012, when the Nu: 4 million Share of Tenzin Rigden was taken over by the Corporation? Was the CEO of RSEBL on extraordinary leave then? And now is he joining the Druk Nyamrup Tshogpa and is demonizing Wangcha Sangey a required pre-requisite credential for him to earn a party ticket.

I repeat that I never wanted this issue to be a subject of public conjecture but this orchestrated demonization has crossed its limits. There is no need to demonize any character because it is said that the only way to deal with the Devil is to be a demon in nature. When devils take over, demons will sprout. I do not think that this nation should be heading in that direction. May the Triple Gyem save us!