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Maoist activists were killed in detention: HURON A fact-finding team of the Human Rights Organisation of Nepal (HURON) has said that security personnel had killed pro-Maoist activists, Bharat Dhungana, and Baikuntha Pokhrel, after taking them into custody. Dhungana and Pokhrel were killed in security operations at Gumdi of Dhading district adjoining Kathmandu over two months ago. Dhungana was a central secretariat member of the Maoist-affiliated All Nepal Peasants Union while Pokhrel was alternative member of the ANNISU (Revolutionary)-student wing of the Maoists. The HURON team led by its central committee member, Charan Prasai, quoted eye witnesses as saying that security forces took Dhungana and Pokhrel duo in custody from a house at Gumdi in the morning of July 15 and shot them dead after nearly one hour at a nearby stream. HURON has handed over the report and evidences collected from the site of incident to National Human Rights Commission for further action. The organization has also demanded judicial investigation into the incident and that culprits be brought to book. When contacted by Nepalnews, a senior Royal Nepalese Army source said the army would look into the incident. He, however, blamed the rights activists of attempting to seek publicity out of regular security operations. The Royal Nepalese Army is yet to comment on the report formally. nepalnews.com by Oct 04 04 Related
News Dahal elected president of HURPES Journalist and human rights activist, Purushottam Dahal, has been elected as president of Human Rights and Peace Society (HURPES), a leading human rights organization in the country. The seventh annual general meeting of HURPES held in Kathmandu also elected Suresh Chandra Pokhrel, Hom Kant Chaulagain, Uddhav Lohani and Balaram Aryal as vice president, general secretary, secretary and treasurer of the organization. A
total of 258 delegates from 46 district units of the organization took The organization has called upon both the government and Maoist rebels to be fully committed towards human rights. nepalnews.com by Oct 04 04 Maoists call indefinite industrial strikes in Udaypur All major industries in Udaypur district remained closed down on Monday as the Maoists announced indefinite strikes in industries. According to reports, Udaypur Cement Factory stopped operation from this morning while transport has also been affected in the district due to Maoist threat. A day’s closure causes Rs.4 million to Udaypur Cement Factory. The Maoists have announced that they would not withdraw the strikes if the government does not fulfill their demands including that of the release of some of their cadres. Last month, the rebels who had forced nearly four-dozen big industries including some leading hotels to closure had agreed to call off the strikes after separate agreements with the government and the entrepreneurs. They had agreed to settle the problems concerning laborers through negotiation. nepalnews.com mbk Oct 04, 04 Related
News The palace has learnt its lesson since October 2002: US envoy The ambassador of the United States of America to Nepal, James F Moriarty, has said (he thought that) the royal palace has learnt from what happened since October 2002 up until July this year.
Talking to Kantipur and The Kathmandu Post dailies on Monday-that coincides with the completion of two years of the royal move of October 4, 2002-the US envoy said (the Nepali monarchy) could not stand by itself and that it needed to work with legitimate political forces. "I won't disregard or try to minimize the distrust between the palace and the political parties but both are beginning to understand that the biggest threat to both of them and the (1990) constitution as a whole comes from the Maoists," said Moriarty. His Majesty King Gyanendra had dismissed an elected government on October 4, 2002 and assumed executive powers himself following the recommendation by then premier Sher Bahadur Deuba for the postponement of parliamentary elections by more than a year. When asked about his impression of the current political situation in Nepal, the US ambassador admitted that they hadn't realized fully back in Washington the degree to which (the Maoists) had made progress and the degree to which they were able to intimidate people, disrupt normal life and try to force their agenda on the country. Moriarty
further said (the US government) didn't see a military solution to the
Nepali conflict. "You need the majority of the Maoists back into the
mainstream. But to get there Maoists have to make serious compromises at
the negotiating table," he said. He opined that only the unity among
what he called the legitimate political Responding to a question on (Maoist demands of) involving international bodies in the peace process, Moriarty made it clear that his government had reservations about the (proposed) mediation. "But we don't have any opposition to (outside) facilitation," said the US envoy adding that the Indian government seemed pretty reluctant even on that. India is uncomfortable to (the possibility of) likely pressure (from the outside facilitators) to release Nepali Maoists that are in their jails, he added. Echoing the (Nepal) government's views on negotiations with the rebels, the US ambassador asked what was wrong with the (government's proposal for) secret talks. "Bilateral secret talks by definition are done outside the glare of media and I think part of the problem you had last time around was you had both sides having to play to public," he added. In the interview, the US ambassador raised suspicion towards the Maoists' commitment to the multi-party democracy and also discussed about his government's security assistance to Nepal and the recent US decision to temporarily suspend Peace Corps volunteer programme in Nepal, among others. nepalnews.com by Oct 04 04 Ten more rebels arrested in Patna Police in the state of Bihar of India have taken into custody ten more Nepali Maoist rebels on Sunday, reports said. Those detained include three women. ETV, a Bihar-based private television channel, showed video clips of all ten Nepali Maoists but did not mention about their positions in the underground party. Rajdhani daily reported from the terai town of Rajbiraj that Bihar police also seized a huge quantity of explosives, arms and Maoist documents from the arrested Maoist activists. The daily quoted Bihar police as saying that they are raiding various places within the state on the basis of information provided by the arrested rebels. Bihar police has already apprehended dozens of leaders and cadres of Nepali Maoists within the state. In a separate incident, a Nepali youth was seriously injured when Indian security personnel opened fire on him suspecting him as a Maoist at a forest near Taratal in mid-western district of Bardiya bordering India. Nepal Samacharpatra daily quoted 20-year-old Sitaram Lodh, who is undergoing treatment at a government-run hospital in Nepalgunj, as saying that he had gone in the forest to collect firewood. He said local people rescued him and brought to the hospital for treatment. Indian
security personnel have also arrested two Nepalis from the bordering area
suspecting them as Maoists, the news report said. Related
News German envoy appeals the Maoists Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Nepal, Franz Ring, has appealed the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) to respond positively to Nepal government's invitation for talks.
Talking to Kathmandu-based dailies on the occasion of 14th anniversary of the German Unity Day Monday, ambassador Ring said his arrival in Nepal coincided with the most difficult historical situation Nepal was facing. Political relations, tourism and the economy as a whole are seriously affected by the prevailing security circumstances, he added. "As a partner in development and friend of Nepal, Germany welcomes very much the recent efforts made by the Nepalese government to restart talks with the Maoists," said ambassador Ring. He also stressed on the importance of unity among government coalition partners and a common coherent position. Responding to another question, the German envoy said his government was determined to continue its development cooperation as long as the circumstances allowed the project operations to be run in a reasonable manner. He said the German cooperation in Nepal concentrated in three focal areas, namely health, renewable energy and local governance. Germany is one of the major bilateral donors to Nepal. nepalnews.com by Oct 04 04 West Bengal seeks more force to watch Nepal border The West Bengal state of India has approached the central government in New Delhi for more security personnel to keep vigil on the Indo-Nepal border against the infiltration of Maoist rebels. The Hindu, a leading Indian newspaper, on Monday quoted chief minister of the West Bengal Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee as saying that he had spoken to Home Minister (of India), Shivraj Patil, of the need to deploy the Indo-Tibetan Border Police along the (Indian) border with Nepal to strengthen the vigil against infiltration of Maoist rebels. "I had also taken up the matter with the Prime Minister at my last meeting with him [on September 17] in New Delhi," he said. Bhattacharjee further said that the state government would not allow any corridor in West Bengal for the Nepal Maoists to maintain contact with the ultras here. He further said there was no possibility of talks with Naxalite groups in the state till they laid down their arms. "A dialogue can be considered thereafter," he added. Radical Maoists in India are usually referred to as the Naxalites as a violent peasant movement was launched from a place called Naxalbadi in the late Sixties. "There was always room for talks in a democratic set-up to sort out socio-economic problems but a pre-requisite was that the party concerned gives up its violent ways," Bhattacharjee told the daily. He said the West Bengal state government would also watch how the talks between the Andhra Pradesh state government and the Peoples' War Group shape up. The governments in other Naxalite-affected states felt that the talks would only worsen the situation in their regions, Bhattacharjee said. Thousands of Indian security personnel from the Special Security Bureau (SSB) already man a large section of the nearly 1,800 km long common, open border between Nepal and India, especially to control the Maoist activities. nepalnews.com by Oct 04 04 Related
News Maoists force teachers in Dailekh to take part in their campaign Teaching and learning in nearly 300 schools in the mid-western district of Dailekh have been disrupted following Maoist rebels' act of forcing school teachers to attend their 'people's military campaign,' reports said. A number of teachers have fled the district and have arrived in Surkhet or Nepalgunj. Nepal Samacharpatra daily quoted headmaster of a primary school, who declined to be named, as saying that teaching environment in the schools (in Dailekh) remain disrupted for the last two months, he said. A displaced teacher said the rebels force teachers to walk for up to three days and conduct training at places like Naumule, Salleri in Dailekh and other places in the nearby district of Kalikot. District Education Officer of Dailekh, Jaya Raj Acharya, admitted that the Maoists' campaign had disrupted teaching and learning activities in the schools. "Some of the teachers have informed us about the situation in their schools while several others have left their schools without informing us," he added. nepalnews.com by Oct 04 04 Related
News RPP dissidents ask party leadership to call special general convention The dissident faction of the ruling Rashtriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) Sunday gave a seven-day ultimatum to the party leadership to call a special general convention to settle the intra-party hassle. After a meeting Sunday, the dissident faction threatened that it would separately organize a special general convention to settle the theoretical and organizational problems within the party if the establishment failed to respond to the ultimatum. "Today’s meeting has come to the conclusion that a special general election is the best way to settle the problems within the party," Kamal Thapa, a member of the rival faction, told reporters. In today’s meeting held at Thapa’s residence, senior leaders Surya Bahadur Thapa, Lokendra Bahadur Chand, RPP vice-chairman Padma Sundar Lawati, spokesperson Roshan Karki, treasurer Deepak Bohora, and a few other leaders were present. The rival faction has accused party chairman Pashupati Shumsher Rana of not being able to keep the party united and is particularly unhappy with his selection of representatives in the Deuba government. The RPP establishment had decided to join the Deuba-led coalition when the earlier government led by Thapa was ousted. nepalnews.com mbk Oct 03, 04 Related
News Ministerial team leaves for Gulf A government team comprising ministers and senior officials left for United Arab Emirates on Sunday for a weeklong tour to Gulf countries to negotiate with the governments regarding the problems faced by Nepali migrant workers. Minister of State for Labour and Transport Management Urba Dutta Panta and some government officials left for UAE this afternoon. The team led by communication minister Dr Mohammad Mohsin is scheduled to visit UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait. Mohsin will fly to the Gulf on Tuesday and state minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Prakash Saran Mahat, who is currently in New York, will join the team. Talking to reporters at the Tribhuvan International Airport, minister Panta said, "We will hold talks with the government officers of Gulf countries on how the problems faced by Nepali migrant workers could be solved." The team, according to him, will interact with the workers and as well as their employers. Immediately after the violent public outcry of September 1 against the killing of 12 Nepali hostages in Iraq, the government had announced to send the a ministerial team to the Gulf as part of building confidence as well as to assess the problems faced by Nepali workers. nepalnews.com mbk Oct 03 04 Related
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