KING GYANENDRA AND QUEEN KOMAL reached Itahari, Sunsari on Sunday (January 1) beginning their informal tour to hilly districts of eastern region. The royal couple will be staying at the eastern regional division headquarters of Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) and visiting other districts on the region in order to take stock of the situation there.
THE COMPULSORY IDENTITY CARD system has been enforced for people staying in border regions for their travels to and fro Nepal-China border points beginning January 1, 2006 . President of Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) Pashupati SJB Rana marked the beginning of the system by receiving his ID card in Tatopani, Sindhupalchowk. In fifteen districts, local people will be provided with ID cards by the local Immigration Offices. People from other districts would need to obtain visa to visit Chinese border areas including Khasa.
THE FIRST ANNUAL REPORT of the Royal Nepal Army’s Human Rights Cell – RNA Human Rights Report 2061 – has come out with a listing of Maoist atrocities and army’s clarification on accusations of rights abuse, extra-judicial killings, disappearances and the like against it. The report has recorded 10,725 abductions and 72 killings by the Maoists during the last six months of the year. It also recorded 65 cases of explosion; 40 cases of extortion and looting; and 30 cases of threatening by the Maoists. Citing an Informal Sector Service Center (INSEC) source, the recently released report stated the country has already incurred financial losses worth $ 1095 million due to the Maoist conflict. The report has stated that the Maoists have destroyed 1825 VDC buildings; 35 telecommunication towers; 420 post offices; 540 police posts and six hydro-power plants till date. The fresh data in the report stated that 4404 Maoists, 371 army men, 142 APF personnel, 297 civil policemen, 15 personnel of the National Investigation Department and 579 civilians were killed within a year after the ceasefire was broken on August 27, 2003 . The report says that the RNA released 2145 people taken into custody, handed over 751 to the police and civil administration for legal proceedings. One hundred and forty-nine are still in custody till April 13 last year. It said the RNA has given clarification on 717 out of 1367 cases of disappearances listed by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), while investigation is still going on into the rest 650 cases. RNA has punished at least 100 army men found guilty of rights abuses, it said.
READYMADE GARMENTS – THE top export product of Nepal – registered a decline of 41 percent in 2005 compared to the previous year. The exports of garment to the United States came down drastically after the expiry of Multi Fiber Agreement (MFA) on January 1, 2005 , which denied preferential access to LDCs. According to Garment Association of Nepal (GAN), garments amounting $ 50.7 million were exported in 2005 compared to $ 85.7 million in 2004. Over 80 percent of Nepalese garments are exported to the US .
AROUND 14000 CHILDREN WERE abducted in the last ten months due to internal conflict in the country. And sixty of them were killed. According to a report prepared by Child Workers in Nepal Concerned Sector (CWIN), between January and November of 2005, 60 children were killed including 16 girls of the total abducted. Security forces had arrested 22 children. Most of the abducted were given ‘training’ by the Maoists before they were let free. Around 144 children were injured, the report adds.
A MEMBER OF NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS Commission (NHRC) Sudip Pathak has said that the commission was seeking audience with the King soon. He said that the NHRC team would urge the King to announce ceasefire, reports Kantipur daily. “We are in dialogue with responsible officials of the government,” Pathak said, adding, “The NHRC will soon meet with the King. The commission is confident that there will be ceasefire.” He also predicted possibilities of government holding talks with the Maoists. He urged the Maoists to extend their ceasefire and communicate with the government for peace process. Meanwhile, Pathak has lamented “the continued intimidation, kidnapping, extortion and curbs by the CPN-Maoist,’ something which reflects very poorly on the 12-point agenda signed by the alliance, reports The Himalayan Times daily. While Pathak criticized the parties for lacking consistency, UML leader Sahana Pradhan shared view with him on the issue, although she said that 12-point understanding ‘came as a flicker of hope.’ Outlining seven conditions, including public commitment to give up violence, Pathak said the government could be made to open talks with the Maoists. Referring to the visits undertaken by the NHRC to the eastern part of the country, he enumerated instances of as much as 84 people reported dead during the last six months while the extortion and kidnapping has not come to an end even after the signing of the pact. “We have report from 36 districts which enumerates cases of kidnapping, extortion and intimidation. Over 300 teachers have been abducted. This does not leave any room for optimism, although we insist that efforts must be taken to improve the scenario,” Pathak said at Reporters’ Club on Wednesday. People displaced from their homes have not been able to go back home since the situation has not changed, he said. “The Maoists have not even allowed NC general secretary KB Gurung to go to his home.”
