November 7: The U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration, Ms. Ellen R Sauerbrey said the US will take in any number of people from the camps in eastern Nepal.

Talking to the Bhutanese media yesterday afternoon, she said a year ago she announced that the U.S. would be interested in settling 60,000 people over a period of four to five years.

She said subsequently their position has been and is that they do not have a limit or a ceiling on the number if more than 60,000 people are interested in being resettled in the United States.

Ms. Sauerbrey said the UNHCR has already received informally the desire to be resettled in the U.S. from about 3,000 people.

An overseas processing unit has already been set up to conduct the resettlement work. A complex where the interviews and medical examinations would be conducted has been constructed.

She said they have begun interviewing people from the camps who wish to be resettled in the United States. She said if everything goes smoothly, they expect to see the first arrivals by January end.

Talking about the political developments taking place in Bhutan, she said she is extremely impressed by His Majesty the fourth Druk Gyalpo.

She said Bhutan has the potential to be a model in the region. But she said the path to democracy will not be an easy one because the people have to be educated and political parties have to understand their own role.

She said the people who are running for political offices have a major responsibility in building confidence in the democratic institutions in the democratic institution.