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No. of torture victims increases five-fold due to conflict: CVICT As the nine-year-old conflict escalates in the country, the number of people subjected to torture has nearly doubled, Centre for Victims of Torture Nepal (CVICT), a leading human rights organization in the country, said. The organisation, that runs specialized centers of counseling and treatment for torture victims in Kathmandu, Biratnagar and Nepalgunj, said it has treated over 20,000 people subjected to torture over the last 14 years. Of them, the number of people who had approached CVICT for treatment and counseling was only 3000 until 1996. But over the last nine years since the beginning of the conflict, the number of people treated by CVICT has increased by more than five fold to 17,000. Addressing an interaction in the capital Tuesday, chairman of CVICT, Dr. Bhogendra Sharma, said up to 8,000 people are arrested by police and almost an equal number of people from the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) rebels in the country every year. Some 16,000 people are subject to torture in Nepal thereby affecting an estimated 100,000 people including family members of these victims every year, he said. According to data compiled by CVICT, at the beginning of the Maoist insurgency 80 percent of the victims said they were subjected to torture from the state and the rest by the rebels. But, a latest study in the mid-western district of Jajarkot showed that number of people subjected to torture from the rebels had doubled and reached 40 percent. Around 60 percent of the people who were treated by CVICT said the security personnel had tortured them. "One of the root causes of the present conflict is torture," said Dr. Sharma. Director of CVICT, Dr. Bidur Osti, said the state or non-state actors employ torture out of political motives, to spread terror or suppress activities inimical to them. But in most of the cases, the objective is to destroy the personality of the person concerned. "If we don't stop the practice of torture now, our future generation would have devastating psychological consequences," he added. Women, dalit and people belonging to low economic status have more chances to suffer from torture from either side in the country, studies say. nepalnews.com by Sep 22 04 Peace Committee officially calls Maoists for talks The high-level Peace Committee under Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba officially called on the Maoists for peace talks Wednesday. The first meeting of the high-level Peace Committee chaired by the Prime Minister at the office of the Peace Secretariat this afternoon made the call. "The meeting of the Peace Committee has officially called the Maoist to agree for talks," Deuba told media following the meeting. He said that the talks with the Maoists were going to be held secretly and with proper homework. On a question about the Maoist demand of removal of the terrorist tag and the red corner notice, the Prime Minister said, "The government is not informed about such a demand." Other members of the Peace Committee – CPN UML general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal, Rashtriya Prajatantra Party chairman Pashupati Shumsher Rana, communication minister Dr Mohammed Mohsin and Nepal Sadbhawana Party chairman and minister Badri Prasad Mandal were present at the meeting. Talking to reporters, the UML general secretary said, "The Peace Committee's official call for the talks is one step forward in the direction to restore peace in the country." The government had formed the high-level peace committee on August 4, 2004 with the participation of the heads of the ruling parties in order to initiate negotiation with the rebels and coordinate the efforts for rehabilitation of those affected by the conflict. nepalnews.com mbk Sept 22, 2004 Related
News Four-party agitation continues The four agitating political parties continued their protest against ‘regression’ on Wednesday. The four-party alliance comprising the Nepali Congress, People’s Front Nepal, Nepal Peasants and Workers Party and Nepal Sadhawana Party (Anandi Devi) took out a rally from Ratna Park in the afternoon. Chanting anti-government slogans, protestors marched past Bagbazar, Putalisadak, Bhadrakali, Shahid Gate and Bhotahiti and assembled again at Ratna Park. Professional organizations such as Federation of Nepalese Journalists, Engineering Association of Nepal, Human Rights and Peace Society and Nepal Bar Association joined in the protests to express solidarity to the four-party movement. Addressing the gathering, Congress general secretary Sushil Koirala said the movement against ‘regression’ would continue unless the sovereign power is restored to the people. He said, "Unless the dissolved parliament is reinstated, the present political deadlock is not going to be resolved." He claimed that the movement would continue against all odds posed by the government. The four-party alliance announced fresh rounds of agitation from Tuesday after a two-month break during monsoon. The parties have said the movement would be centralized in Kathmandu for some time for which their cadres and leaders in districts have started flocking to the capital. nepalnews.com mbk Sept 22 2004 Related
News Fire in residential building at Dhobichour
A building belonging to Jawhar Shrestha at Sath Chowk in Dhobichour caught fire at 3:00 p.m., but there were no casualties. Fire fighters and security personnel were able to control the fire within two hours. The inside of the four-storey building was completely destroyed by the fire. The details of the damage caused by the fire are still awaited. Along with five fire engines, trained local volunteers of the Kathmandu Metropolitan City Office helped in dousing the fire. nepalnews.com rh Sep 22 04 Security tightened along Nepal-India border In a bid to stem growing activities of Nepali Maoists in the bordering areas, Nepalese and Indian security officials have agreed to toughen security along the eastern borders. Media reports quoting security sources said the security officials of Nepal and the Indian state of Bihar have agreed to step up vigil in the bordering areas from Janakpur to Kalgaria, Mechi Zone. Security men on both sides of the border have started strike security checking on vehicles as well as commuters. Following a meeting with Nepali officials last week, DIG of Bihar police, Ram Prabesh Singh, had given directions to the Indian police to stay alert. Both sides have also agreed to exchange information on Maoist activities on their respective areas.
Nepali Maoists have their hideouts in
Kishanganj and Araria, the bordering towns of Bihar, reports said. Bihar,
one of the poorest Indian states, has border links with Nepal where a
sizable number of CPN Maoist leaders and cadres are believed to have holed
up and keeping links with Naxals who are active in parts of Bihar,
Jharkhand, Chhatisgarh, Andra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh states. Related
News Nepalis leaving for jobs abroad rise The number of Nepali workers going abroad for jobs, which had come to a complete halt after the September 1 riots, has increased lately, sources at the Ministry of Labor and Transport Management (MLTM) said. Talking to Nepalnews, Dhurba Kumar Sharma, spokesperson at the MLTM, said that the number of youths seeking approval for overseas work has increased with renewed vigor. The Department of Labor and Employment Promotion has been providing preliminary approval to 700 –900 job seekers daily, which is the same number as compared to the job seekers getting final approval before the September 1. Similarly, the final approval is provided to 335 job seekers daily, which is 20 percent less compared to the job seekers getting final approval before September 1. “The department began its work from September 9 and the present data is encouraging,“ Sharma added, “The department has already issued final approval to 3354 Nepalis in the last 10 days”. After the September 1 vandalism against manpower agencies, the entire process had come to standstill for over a week, the spokesperson said. According to the president of Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies Nirmal Gurung, the manpower agencies resumed their work after the government’s decision to provide compensation to the vandalized manpower agencies, reports said. The government on September 14 decided to provide Rs 500,000 each to the manpower agencies which were vandalized during the September 1 protests over the killing of 12 innocent Nepali workers in Iraq. nepalnews.com pd Sep 22 04 Related
News Nepal's economic growth to remain same this year: ADB Nepal's economic growth is projected to be 3.7% in fiscal year 2004-05 (FY2005, ending 15 July 2005), essentially unchanged from that of the previous year, mainly due to the continuation of the internal strife, an Asian Development Bank (ADB) report released in Manila on Wednesday said. The updated report, Asian Development Outlook (ADO), has revised the FY2005 growth forecast downward due to the negative impact of frequent disruptions associated with the conflict in the first quarter of the fiscal year on manufacturing output, transport and tourism. In April, ADB had forecast gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 5% in FY2005. GDP growth in FY2004 was 3.6%. The ADO Update forecast has been based on the assumption that weather conditions in the country would remain normal and that there would not be substantial deterioration in the security situation. Agriculture-the mainstay of the country's economy, depends largely on the monsoon. The agriculture sector is expected to expand by 3.7% in FY2005 due to an anticipated growth in summer crops following a favorable monsoon, the report said. Similarly, services are likely to falter, rising by 3.8% in FY2005 as gains in tourism slow from the previous year. Industry is forecast to strengthen to 3.3% in FY2005 due to some improvement in construction. Inflation is forecast to increase to 5.5% in FY2005, slightly higher than the 5.0% previously forecast by ADB in April this year. This reflects higher prices in India and higher international oil prices. Trade deficit is expected to widen in FY2005 due to an expected decline in garment exports, the ADB forecast said. nepalnews.com by Sep 22 04 Related
News SC asks the govt to make public whereabouts of 14 people The Supreme Court (SC) has ordered the Offices of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet, the Ministries of Defense and Home and the headquarters of the army, police and the armed police force to make public whereabouts of 14 people, who were taken into custody by the security forces on suspicion of being Maoists, within three days. A division bench of justices Min Bahadur Rayamajhi and Balram KC issued the order following a hearing on Tuesday. According to international human rights groups, Nepal now tops Columbia as a country with the highest number of people reported as 'disappeared' in the world. Amnesty International has said over 600 people have been reported as 'disappeared' in Nepal as the conflict intensifies. nepalnews.com by Sep 22 04 Related
News Indian dacoits attack bordering village; two killed, three injured in retaliation Two villagers were killed and three injured when a group of Indian dacoits attacked Lahorthokari VDC of Parsa Monday night, a newspaper report said. The villagers had retaliated when the Indian bandits, who were over 45 in number, arrived and started pillaging the village on Monday midnight, Nepal Samacharpatra reported on Wednesday. Those killed in the incident by bullets fired by the dacoits have been identified as Najib Miya Dhobi of Lahorthokari-1 and Bahadur Miya Jolaha of Lahorthokari-2, the daily said. Wakil Miya and Mohan Miya of ward no. 1 and Mathura Raut of ward no. 4 of the VDC, who were severely injured after being shot by the dacoits are undergoing treatment at the Narayani Sub-regional Hospital in Birgunj. Despite retaliation from the villagers, the dacoits made off with cash and valuables worth six hundred thousand rupees. The Lahorthokari village, which is at a distance of 27 kilometers from Birgunj, lies next to the India border. After Maoist activities increased in and around the village, the security camp in the nearby Pokhariya village of Parsa was removed more than six months ago. Following the removal of units of security agencies, the villagers said, the Indian dacoits have been terrorizing the bordering villages. nepalnews.com amt Sept 22 04 Related
News Thousands stranded at Thankot check post due to 'slow checking' Thousands of passengers, including opposition party activists, on their way to Kathmandu were stranded at Thankot check post overnight Tuesday due to 'slow checking' by security personnel. Hundreds of passenger buses and other vehicles remained stuck along the Khanikhola-Thankot check post stretch as security personnel carried out 'routine' inspection of the vehicles and passengers. "We got stranded at Khanikhola for ten hours waiting for our turn for security check," Bam Bahadur D. C., vice president of Nepal Trade Union Congress (NTUC)-affiliated to opposition Nepali Congress-- told Nepalnews Wednesday morning. D. C. said he was traveling in a bus (plate no. Na. A. Kha. 4207) from Dang and had reached Khanikhola at 6 p. m. Tuesday. But he said he and dozens of his party colleagues could reach Thankot at only 4 a. m. Wednesday 'due to slow checking' by the security personnel. A number of people left their buses at Thankot and walked on foot to enter the capital, said D. C. who had come to take part in the anti-King demonstrations organised by four opposition parties. Nepali Congress has summoned its workers from all over the country to take part in the 'Kathmandu-centered' anti-King protests that started from Tuesday. When contacted, spokesman of the Royal Nepalese Army, Brigadier General Rajendra Thapa, said he did not have any information about the incident. "It is the regular job of the security personnel to inspect vehicles and passengers at the Thankot post," Thapa told Nepalnews. He said he himself had got stuck for nearly three hours in the Kathmandu traffic Tuesday evening. nepalnews.com by/pd Sep. 22 04 |
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