The unrest in Nepal's Terai plains that has killed at least 21 people and paralysed key towns in the south, near the Indian border, claimed its first diplomatic casualty after an Indian minister put off his trip to the Himalayan kingdom.
India's Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh, who was to have arrived in Kathmandu Wednesday, cancelled his three-day official visit, presumably due to the continuing turmoil in the southern plains.
Also, Nepal's Minister for Commerce, Industry and Supplies Hridayesh Tripathi, who had extended an invitation to Ramesh, has himself resigned over the Terai unrest.
Ramesh was also to visit Birgunj, Nepal's commercial hub in Parsa district and inspect the dry port there, managed by an Indian joint venture.
Birgunj has remained under curfew off and on since last month.
After the Madhes Janadhikar Forum, a group of plains people, pledged to keep up protests demanding an autonomous Madhes state for the people of Indian origin, Birgunj along with other towns has remained tense.
Most of the 21 people died in police firing, triggering a demand for the resignation of Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula.
On Jan 26, when India celebrated its 58th Republic Day, the lunch organised by the Indian consulate in Birgunj as well as a ghazal programme had to be cancelled due to curfew.
The Terai turmoil has also affected the ongoing work by the United Nations (UN) to register the arms of the Maoists.
On Monday, dozens of protesters stopped four UN vehicles in Janakpur town and tried to prevent them from proceeding to a Maoist guerrilla camp in nearby Sindhuli district, Nepal's official media said Tuesday.
Earlier, acting chief of the UN Mission in Nepal Ian Martin had expressed concern that if Terai remained restive, it would affect UN efforts to help the government hold elections by June.
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Thursday, February 01, 2007
Nepal's PM pledges federal state
Nepal's PM pledges federal state
Nepal's prime minister, Girija Prasad Koirala, has pledged that a future Nepal will be federal in nature.
This is one of the main demands of southern Nepalese who have been demonstrating for the last two weeks.
Eight people have died in the protests. However, there have already been protests saying the prime minister has not conceded enough.
Nepal recently formed an interim coalition after its King abdicated power ending a decade long civil war.
Mr Koirala did not mention by name the Madhesis, or southern Nepalese, whose ongoing protests have resulted in the deaths.
But he did say all problems must be solved through dialogue, and that he had instructed a minister to form a committee to initiate this.
Devolution required
Madhesis are very much under-represented in government structures. One of their demands is for devolved, federal-style government.
Mr Koirala has now promised that a new permanent constitution, due to be written by an assembly elected later this year, will make Nepal a federal state.
He has also said he accedes to another of their demands, which is to increase the number of electoral constituencies in densely populated areas.
These include the southern plains.
Demonstrators in one southern city, Janakpur, have already staged protests against Mr Koirala's speech saying it does not go far enough.
An indefinite curfew in another city, Biratnagar, has already lasted more than 24 hours.
A BBC correspondent there says Madhesi protestors armed with bows and arrows are defying it.
Others have set a police station on fire. Police responded with teargas and live rounds.
Many of the southern protests have been peaceful but a steady stream of northern hill people who were living in the south have started fleeing their homes after being threatened.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Thapa, Mandal arrested for 'instigating' violence in Terai; other royalists under watch
Two of the former high-profile royalist ministers were arrested in late night raid on Monday for working to instigate the violence in Terai.
Former Home Minister Kamal Thapa and former minister Badri Mandal were arrested on Monday night from Kathmandu and Biratnagar, respectively.
Police arrested Thapa from his residence in Bishal Nagar, Kathmandu, at around 9:45 pm. Thapa reportedly refused to receive the arrest warrant, but the police team insisted to take him with them saying they had order from above to arrest him.
Thapa is accused of fuelling violence in the ongoing protests of Madhesi groups in several Terai districts over the last few days.
On the other hand, Mandal was arrested from his residence in Biratnagar at around 11:00 pm. He is also accused of similar charges. Mandal, who is a former chief of Nepal Sadbhavana Party (NSP) is accused of turning the agitation violent in many places including Kalaiya and Rautahat.
Thapa has been detained at Nepal Police Battalion 2 facility in Maharajgunj whereas Mandal is kept at District Police Office of Morang.
Their arrest came hours after Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula claimed at a press briefing that royalists were infiltrating into the protests in Terai to instigate violence and vowed action against those trying to create unrest. Sitaula had claimed that the government would bring Terai situation under control within few days.
Thapa, one of the key figures in the past royal government, is also accused of ordering brutal clampdown on 19-day pro-democracy agitations last April.
Meanwhile, the government has ordered administration to keep strict vigil on certain royalist elements including those who assumed positions of mayors and deputy mayors after royal municipal elections held in February of 2006.
At least seven people have been killed and dozens others injured in the ensuing violence in Terai during protests organised by Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (MJF) and two factions of Terai Janatantrik Mukti Morcha (JTMM), demanding amendment in the recently-promulgated interim constitution to guarantee proportional representation in the upcoming constituent assembly polls and a federal system.
Former Home Minister Kamal Thapa and former minister Badri Mandal were arrested on Monday night from Kathmandu and Biratnagar, respectively.
Police arrested Thapa from his residence in Bishal Nagar, Kathmandu, at around 9:45 pm. Thapa reportedly refused to receive the arrest warrant, but the police team insisted to take him with them saying they had order from above to arrest him.
Thapa is accused of fuelling violence in the ongoing protests of Madhesi groups in several Terai districts over the last few days.
On the other hand, Mandal was arrested from his residence in Biratnagar at around 11:00 pm. He is also accused of similar charges. Mandal, who is a former chief of Nepal Sadbhavana Party (NSP) is accused of turning the agitation violent in many places including Kalaiya and Rautahat.
Thapa has been detained at Nepal Police Battalion 2 facility in Maharajgunj whereas Mandal is kept at District Police Office of Morang.
Their arrest came hours after Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula claimed at a press briefing that royalists were infiltrating into the protests in Terai to instigate violence and vowed action against those trying to create unrest. Sitaula had claimed that the government would bring Terai situation under control within few days.
Thapa, one of the key figures in the past royal government, is also accused of ordering brutal clampdown on 19-day pro-democracy agitations last April.
Meanwhile, the government has ordered administration to keep strict vigil on certain royalist elements including those who assumed positions of mayors and deputy mayors after royal municipal elections held in February of 2006.
At least seven people have been killed and dozens others injured in the ensuing violence in Terai during protests organised by Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (MJF) and two factions of Terai Janatantrik Mukti Morcha (JTMM), demanding amendment in the recently-promulgated interim constitution to guarantee proportional representation in the upcoming constituent assembly polls and a federal system.
Monday, January 29, 2007
Minister Tripathi resigns,Terai unrest continues
Although the tensions in the eastern Terai have started to calm down, life has not returned to normalcy yet as the local administrations Monday issued fresh curfew orders in four towns.
The District Administration Offices issued curfew orders in Janakpur, Birgunj, Kalaiya and Gaur today to control the increasing unrest in the southeastern region.
Meanwhile, citing the government reluctance to resolve the Madhesi issues, Minister for Commerce, Industry and Supplies Hridayesh Tripathi today resigned from his post from the ruling coalition government.
He said that the ruling seven-party alliance was "not serious enough over the present turmoil in the Terai region."
Minister Tripathi tendered his resignation to Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala through the chief secretary today.
"The eight parties have failed to show the level of seriousness that merits the present situation. Madhesh is moving ahead with its genuine demands regarding the proportional electoral procedure and federal setup, among others." He said adding, "We had issued a note of dissent on the very day the interim constitution was promulgated on January 15, however, there has been no hearing over them."
Central Committee members of the Nepal Sadhbhawana Party (Anandidevi) had recently urged the party to leave the coalition government accusing the government to have suppressing the Madhesi movement in the Terai region.
Meanwhile, shops and transportation services remained closed for the 11th day running as protests resumed in some parts of the eastern Terai since Monday morning.
In Lahaan where the Madhesi People's Right Forum (MPRF) first carried out the protests, life seemed to returning to normalcy but markets and shops remained closed.
Although Lahan has been comparatively calmer in the past two days, transportation services have not begun operations and marketplaces remained closed.
Krishna Bahadur Yadav, central member of the MPRF, said that the indefinite banda programme would continue until their demands like proportional electoral system, federal state and declaration of constituencies based upon the population, among others, are addressed by the government.
In Birgunj, local administration imposed a nine-hour curfew (10am to 7pm) today again.
Likewise, DAO Rautahat also imposed a curfew in Gaur from 9 am to 7 pm.
Janakpur remained peaceful today. However, a 10-hour curfew has been imposed by the local administration from 8am to 6pm.
Meanwhile, just before the curfew order came into effect, a group of Nepali-speaking people traversed the city area and expressed their solidarity with the Madhesi movement and appealed all to maintain peace and harmony in the region.
Similarly, in Kalaiya of Bara a curfew has been imposed from 8am to 9pm today.
Modraj Dotel, chief district officer of Morang blamed those who called the protests to have failed to maintain the peace during the demonstrations despite their continuous pledge to organize peaceful demonstrations.
Likewise, life was badly affected in Jaleshwor, Mahottari, as the residents were deprived of essential daily goods as the shops remained closed.
Due to the closure of transportation, newspapers have not been delivered for the past 10 days. In addition, even the local newspapers have not been published.
According to our correspondent, due to the lack of newspapers people have been deprived of factual information.
In Mirchai, Siraha, agitators forced around 300 Maoist cadres out of Shobha Shahi's house. The Maoists had captured Shahi's house six months ago.
Protesters vandalized the Village Development Committee Office, Post Office and the Drug Administration Office in Mirchaiya.
Meanwhile, the Nepali Congress leaders who are here in Janakpur to hold talks with the Madhesi leaders today expressed their solidarity with the ongoing movement.
They stressed that that the protests should be peaceful and urged all concerned to maintain peace and harmony in the region.
The team of NC leaders comprises of Ram Baran Yadav, joint general secretary of the party, Smriti Narayan Chaudhary and chief whip Anand Prasad Dhungana.
Speaking at a press conference today, the leaders said that Madhesi people's rights have not been addressed adequately and this movement should only end with a plausible solution.
They added that the Madhesi people's demands are justifiable and should be addressed.
The District Administration Offices issued curfew orders in Janakpur, Birgunj, Kalaiya and Gaur today to control the increasing unrest in the southeastern region.
Meanwhile, citing the government reluctance to resolve the Madhesi issues, Minister for Commerce, Industry and Supplies Hridayesh Tripathi today resigned from his post from the ruling coalition government.
He said that the ruling seven-party alliance was "not serious enough over the present turmoil in the Terai region."
Minister Tripathi tendered his resignation to Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala through the chief secretary today.
"The eight parties have failed to show the level of seriousness that merits the present situation. Madhesh is moving ahead with its genuine demands regarding the proportional electoral procedure and federal setup, among others." He said adding, "We had issued a note of dissent on the very day the interim constitution was promulgated on January 15, however, there has been no hearing over them."
Central Committee members of the Nepal Sadhbhawana Party (Anandidevi) had recently urged the party to leave the coalition government accusing the government to have suppressing the Madhesi movement in the Terai region.
Meanwhile, shops and transportation services remained closed for the 11th day running as protests resumed in some parts of the eastern Terai since Monday morning.
In Lahaan where the Madhesi People's Right Forum (MPRF) first carried out the protests, life seemed to returning to normalcy but markets and shops remained closed.
Although Lahan has been comparatively calmer in the past two days, transportation services have not begun operations and marketplaces remained closed.
Krishna Bahadur Yadav, central member of the MPRF, said that the indefinite banda programme would continue until their demands like proportional electoral system, federal state and declaration of constituencies based upon the population, among others, are addressed by the government.
In Birgunj, local administration imposed a nine-hour curfew (10am to 7pm) today again.
Likewise, DAO Rautahat also imposed a curfew in Gaur from 9 am to 7 pm.
Janakpur remained peaceful today. However, a 10-hour curfew has been imposed by the local administration from 8am to 6pm.
Meanwhile, just before the curfew order came into effect, a group of Nepali-speaking people traversed the city area and expressed their solidarity with the Madhesi movement and appealed all to maintain peace and harmony in the region.
Similarly, in Kalaiya of Bara a curfew has been imposed from 8am to 9pm today.
Modraj Dotel, chief district officer of Morang blamed those who called the protests to have failed to maintain the peace during the demonstrations despite their continuous pledge to organize peaceful demonstrations.
Likewise, life was badly affected in Jaleshwor, Mahottari, as the residents were deprived of essential daily goods as the shops remained closed.
Due to the closure of transportation, newspapers have not been delivered for the past 10 days. In addition, even the local newspapers have not been published.
According to our correspondent, due to the lack of newspapers people have been deprived of factual information.
In Mirchai, Siraha, agitators forced around 300 Maoist cadres out of Shobha Shahi's house. The Maoists had captured Shahi's house six months ago.
Protesters vandalized the Village Development Committee Office, Post Office and the Drug Administration Office in Mirchaiya.
Meanwhile, the Nepali Congress leaders who are here in Janakpur to hold talks with the Madhesi leaders today expressed their solidarity with the ongoing movement.
They stressed that that the protests should be peaceful and urged all concerned to maintain peace and harmony in the region.
The team of NC leaders comprises of Ram Baran Yadav, joint general secretary of the party, Smriti Narayan Chaudhary and chief whip Anand Prasad Dhungana.
Speaking at a press conference today, the leaders said that Madhesi people's rights have not been addressed adequately and this movement should only end with a plausible solution.
They added that the Madhesi people's demands are justifiable and should be addressed.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
U.N. says alarmed at violence in Nepal's plains
The United Nations said on Sunday it was "deeply concerned" by rising violence in Nepal's food producing southern plains which has left seven people dead.
Ethnic Madhesis in the country's Terai lowlands have been protesting for 10 days over what they say is the political and commercial dominance of people who live in the hills and mountains of Nepal's north.
In the latest unrest, one man was shot and killed by police on Sunday while dozens were injured. Three towns were placed under curfew.
"We are seeing a very worrying escalation of tension and violence in communities in the Terai," said Lena Sundh, representative in Nepal of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Madhesis say they face widespread discrimination, resulting in their under-representation in parliament, political parties, the army and police, despite being the majority in an area that is home to almost half the country's population of 26 million.
The Madhesis, who live in the fertile strip of land by the Indian border, are ethnically and culturally closer to people from neighbouring Indian states than to Nepalis from the hills.
The violence has tarnished a peace deal between the government and Maoist rebels sealed in November ending a conflict which killed 13,000 people.
Sundh warned that unless there was action, including dialogue, the violence could grow.
Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala has said he wants talks, but community leaders say they are yet to receive an invite.
In a statement, the United Nations urged leaders to reach out to the Madhesis and signal they are working to address their concerns. It called on the police to exercise greater restraint.
Six of the seven people to die have been shot by police, while one Madhesi was gunned down during a clash with Maoists.
In Sunday's violence in Kalaiya, 75 km (50 miles) southeast of Kathmandu, protesters defied a curfew to confront police.
Ethnic Madhesis in the country's Terai lowlands have been protesting for 10 days over what they say is the political and commercial dominance of people who live in the hills and mountains of Nepal's north.
In the latest unrest, one man was shot and killed by police on Sunday while dozens were injured. Three towns were placed under curfew.
"We are seeing a very worrying escalation of tension and violence in communities in the Terai," said Lena Sundh, representative in Nepal of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Madhesis say they face widespread discrimination, resulting in their under-representation in parliament, political parties, the army and police, despite being the majority in an area that is home to almost half the country's population of 26 million.
The Madhesis, who live in the fertile strip of land by the Indian border, are ethnically and culturally closer to people from neighbouring Indian states than to Nepalis from the hills.
The violence has tarnished a peace deal between the government and Maoist rebels sealed in November ending a conflict which killed 13,000 people.
Sundh warned that unless there was action, including dialogue, the violence could grow.
Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala has said he wants talks, but community leaders say they are yet to receive an invite.
In a statement, the United Nations urged leaders to reach out to the Madhesis and signal they are working to address their concerns. It called on the police to exercise greater restraint.
Six of the seven people to die have been shot by police, while one Madhesi was gunned down during a clash with Maoists.
In Sunday's violence in Kalaiya, 75 km (50 miles) southeast of Kathmandu, protesters defied a curfew to confront police.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Nepal:New War Erupts as UN Peace Mission Gets Nod
Five people have died and a curfew has been imposed in a district in Nepal's plains region after a clash between Maoists and activists for regional autonomy left a student dead.
The 'madheshi' (after the 'madhesh' or plains region) activists were blocking traffic Friday to protest the interim constitution approved by the new government when they stopped two vanloads of activists from the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist). A fight erupted and student Ramesh Kumar Mahato was shot dead.
The killing provoked riots by the activists, who then clashed with police sent to control the situation. On Monday, police shot and killed three protesters and a 12-hour curfew was imposed in the city of Lahan and surrounding areas in Siraha district. The curfew was reduced to eight hours Wednesday, but local media reported that protesters were burning tyres in some areas.
The unrest comes as the United Nations Security Council approved a mission Tuesday to monitor the arms and armies of the Maoists and an equivalent number of both from the Nepal Army. The United Nations Political Mission in Nepal will also help organise planned June elections to the Constituent Assembly, whose members will draft a permanent constitution.
As agreed in November's Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended the Maoists' 10-year uprising, soldiers from the rebel army and their weapons are being sequestered in seven main and 21 smaller camps across the country. Nepal Army troops will be assigned to barracks for a similar period, which could be as long as two years, according to some observers.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala blamed the Maoists for the Terai violence. "The Maoists are yet to give up the charm of arms," said Koirala, telling them publicly, "You must mend your ways."
In turn, Maoist Party Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal (aka Prachanda) pointed a finger at forces loyal to King Gyanendra. The monarch was forced from power when the then underground Maoists united temporarily with Koirala's Nepali Congress and six other parties to lead a 'people's revolution' on the streets of this South Asian nation. After three weeks of demonstrations in which 19 people died, the king recalled parliament in late April.
"Negotiation is done with political forces, not with criminals and gangsters. The (protesters) are being given undue importance. They are people who ran away from our party. We know who they are and who are dictating them," said Dahal on Wednesday.
But both he and Koirala, who control the largest parties in the interim parliament, downplayed madheshis' long-standing grievances against the power centre in the capital Kathmandu.
Madheshis are one of numerous 'excluded' groups that have long been underrepresented in Nepal's power structures, which have been historically dominated by upper caste Hindu men. For example, although madheshis officially comprise 17 percent of the population, they were given only five percent of government appointments between April and November, according to a study by NGO Namuna Nepal.
The new government made an effort to answer their demands in recent months by changing the law and promising to award citizenship to roughly three million madheshis who do not have papers before June's polls. The Maoists also took a step earlier this month by naming 16 of their 73 representatives from the madhesh to their parliamentary team.
But Madheshi People's Rights Forum (MRPF) leader Amaresh Narayan Jha said the group's movement will not be withdrawn until and unless their demands are addressed by the government, reported website Nepalnews.com. Those demands include redrawing electoral constituencies based on population and provisions to ensure the rights of madheshis in the interim constitution, it added.
"We concede that MPRF is not a big party and, therefore, we alone did not have the strength of leading such a big movement," Jha told an FM radio programme. "But this has ceased to become only our movement. All the people of Madhesh have risen up against oppression and even workers of eight parties have joined us."
On Wednesday, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour said she was not surprised at the violence, which broke out at the start of her six-day visit to the country. "What is happening in the Terai is in a sense inevitable," Arbour told a news conference.
"The conflict has obscured a lot of chronic, human rights shortcomings," she added. "As the space for democracy opens.marginalised groups take it seriously. Democracy is much more chaotic than autocracy. The key issue is pressing the leaders of these movements to take responsibility so that this is done peacefully."
The 'madheshi' (after the 'madhesh' or plains region) activists were blocking traffic Friday to protest the interim constitution approved by the new government when they stopped two vanloads of activists from the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist). A fight erupted and student Ramesh Kumar Mahato was shot dead.
The killing provoked riots by the activists, who then clashed with police sent to control the situation. On Monday, police shot and killed three protesters and a 12-hour curfew was imposed in the city of Lahan and surrounding areas in Siraha district. The curfew was reduced to eight hours Wednesday, but local media reported that protesters were burning tyres in some areas.
The unrest comes as the United Nations Security Council approved a mission Tuesday to monitor the arms and armies of the Maoists and an equivalent number of both from the Nepal Army. The United Nations Political Mission in Nepal will also help organise planned June elections to the Constituent Assembly, whose members will draft a permanent constitution.
As agreed in November's Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended the Maoists' 10-year uprising, soldiers from the rebel army and their weapons are being sequestered in seven main and 21 smaller camps across the country. Nepal Army troops will be assigned to barracks for a similar period, which could be as long as two years, according to some observers.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala blamed the Maoists for the Terai violence. "The Maoists are yet to give up the charm of arms," said Koirala, telling them publicly, "You must mend your ways."
In turn, Maoist Party Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal (aka Prachanda) pointed a finger at forces loyal to King Gyanendra. The monarch was forced from power when the then underground Maoists united temporarily with Koirala's Nepali Congress and six other parties to lead a 'people's revolution' on the streets of this South Asian nation. After three weeks of demonstrations in which 19 people died, the king recalled parliament in late April.
"Negotiation is done with political forces, not with criminals and gangsters. The (protesters) are being given undue importance. They are people who ran away from our party. We know who they are and who are dictating them," said Dahal on Wednesday.
But both he and Koirala, who control the largest parties in the interim parliament, downplayed madheshis' long-standing grievances against the power centre in the capital Kathmandu.
Madheshis are one of numerous 'excluded' groups that have long been underrepresented in Nepal's power structures, which have been historically dominated by upper caste Hindu men. For example, although madheshis officially comprise 17 percent of the population, they were given only five percent of government appointments between April and November, according to a study by NGO Namuna Nepal.
The new government made an effort to answer their demands in recent months by changing the law and promising to award citizenship to roughly three million madheshis who do not have papers before June's polls. The Maoists also took a step earlier this month by naming 16 of their 73 representatives from the madhesh to their parliamentary team.
But Madheshi People's Rights Forum (MRPF) leader Amaresh Narayan Jha said the group's movement will not be withdrawn until and unless their demands are addressed by the government, reported website Nepalnews.com. Those demands include redrawing electoral constituencies based on population and provisions to ensure the rights of madheshis in the interim constitution, it added.
"We concede that MPRF is not a big party and, therefore, we alone did not have the strength of leading such a big movement," Jha told an FM radio programme. "But this has ceased to become only our movement. All the people of Madhesh have risen up against oppression and even workers of eight parties have joined us."
On Wednesday, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour said she was not surprised at the violence, which broke out at the start of her six-day visit to the country. "What is happening in the Terai is in a sense inevitable," Arbour told a news conference.
"The conflict has obscured a lot of chronic, human rights shortcomings," she added. "As the space for democracy opens.marginalised groups take it seriously. Democracy is much more chaotic than autocracy. The key issue is pressing the leaders of these movements to take responsibility so that this is done peacefully."
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Government calls protesting groups for talks
The government has called all the groups protesting in terai region for talks.
According to reports, Tuesday’s special meeting of the council of ministers called all groups protesting in terai region for talks to solve the impasse.
The cabinet also decided to give one million rupees to each person killed during the protests in Lahan district.
Two protestors have been killed during the protest programme held after the murder of a student, Ramesh Mahato, reportedly by a bullet fired by a Maoist cadre, during a rally called by the Madhesi Janadhikar forum.
The meeting also decided to provide free treatment facilities to all people injured during the protests in Lahan.
The meeting also approved the judicial commission formed by the Home Ministry to probe the Lahan incident.
The Home Ministry had formed a three member judicial commission headed by Judge of Patan Appellate Court Janardan Bahadur Khadka to probe the incident.
Monday’s meeting of the ruling seven party alliance and the Maoists asked the government to form high level commission to probe the Siraha incident and also provide appropriate compensation to the families of the deceased people.
According to reports, Tuesday’s special meeting of the council of ministers called all groups protesting in terai region for talks to solve the impasse.
The cabinet also decided to give one million rupees to each person killed during the protests in Lahan district.
Two protestors have been killed during the protest programme held after the murder of a student, Ramesh Mahato, reportedly by a bullet fired by a Maoist cadre, during a rally called by the Madhesi Janadhikar forum.
The meeting also decided to provide free treatment facilities to all people injured during the protests in Lahan.
The meeting also approved the judicial commission formed by the Home Ministry to probe the Lahan incident.
The Home Ministry had formed a three member judicial commission headed by Judge of Patan Appellate Court Janardan Bahadur Khadka to probe the incident.
Monday’s meeting of the ruling seven party alliance and the Maoists asked the government to form high level commission to probe the Siraha incident and also provide appropriate compensation to the families of the deceased people.
Monday, January 22, 2007
Nepal to form probe commission to look into Lahan incident
Nepal's all-party meeting decided to recommend government to constitute a high level probe commission to investigate the Lahan incident on Monday.
The meeting was held at the Prime Minister's residence in Kathmandu on Monday.
Leaders of Nepal's eight political parties gathered for the meeting. They expressed deep regret over the death of Ramesh Kumar Mahato, a student and member of the Madhesi People's Rights Forum (MPRF, also called as the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum), and incidents of vandalism and arson that took place in Lahan municipality of Siraha district which is some 150 kilometers to the southeast of capital Kathmandu.
Party leaders recommended the government to take stern action those involved in the death of Mahato and provide appropriate compensation to the family members of the deceased.
Speaking to the media persons following the meeting, Nepali home minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula said that considering the constituent assembly election as a primary objective of the present government, leaders of eight political parties expressed commitment to restore peace and good governance in the country.
Home Minister Sitaula also stated that he was on way to hold dialogue with the transport entrepreneurs to end the indefinite strike that had crippled the daily life throughout the nation.
CPN-UML general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal said leader of the Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) (formerly known as guerilla) Dev Gurung apologized for the fault of the CPN cadres committed in Lahan.
Ramesh Mahato was shot dead in a shoot-out breaking out on Friday when MPRF tried to stop the CPN' vehicles for violating the general strike in Lahan it had called.
The irked Lahan locals' vandalizing and torching public vehicles from Friday, which ignited indefinite nationwide transport strike from Sunday on. Meanwhile, MPRF torched government and CPN offices in south Nepal. Accordingly, local government clamped curfew in Lahan since Friday.
MPRF is a section of people in Nepali terai region with Indian origin
The meeting was held at the Prime Minister's residence in Kathmandu on Monday.
Leaders of Nepal's eight political parties gathered for the meeting. They expressed deep regret over the death of Ramesh Kumar Mahato, a student and member of the Madhesi People's Rights Forum (MPRF, also called as the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum), and incidents of vandalism and arson that took place in Lahan municipality of Siraha district which is some 150 kilometers to the southeast of capital Kathmandu.
Party leaders recommended the government to take stern action those involved in the death of Mahato and provide appropriate compensation to the family members of the deceased.
Speaking to the media persons following the meeting, Nepali home minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula said that considering the constituent assembly election as a primary objective of the present government, leaders of eight political parties expressed commitment to restore peace and good governance in the country.
Home Minister Sitaula also stated that he was on way to hold dialogue with the transport entrepreneurs to end the indefinite strike that had crippled the daily life throughout the nation.
CPN-UML general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal said leader of the Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) (formerly known as guerilla) Dev Gurung apologized for the fault of the CPN cadres committed in Lahan.
Ramesh Mahato was shot dead in a shoot-out breaking out on Friday when MPRF tried to stop the CPN' vehicles for violating the general strike in Lahan it had called.
The irked Lahan locals' vandalizing and torching public vehicles from Friday, which ignited indefinite nationwide transport strike from Sunday on. Meanwhile, MPRF torched government and CPN offices in south Nepal. Accordingly, local government clamped curfew in Lahan since Friday.
MPRF is a section of people in Nepali terai region with Indian origin
Friday, January 19, 2007
Former Nepal rebels begin handing over weapons
UN monitors were collecting weapons from former communist rebels at two camps in south Nepal and were expected to start in all seven such camps by next week, officials said Thursday.
Ian Martin, chief UN official in Nepal, said the registration and collection of the Maoist rebels’ weapons had begun Wednesday in camps at Chitwan and Nawalparasi towns. UN monitors were also ready to begin the task at the camps in Surkhet in west Nepal at an unspecified time, and in the remaining camps by early next week, Martin said.
He declined to say what types of weapons or how many of them had been collected so far from the first two camps. “The beginning of the registration process has gone smoothly,” Martin said.
The rebels have blocked journalists from camps where the collection had begun. However, UN officials in the capital, Katmandu, showed journalists video and photographs of the process.
Under an agreement between the rebels and government, the rebel fighters will be confined to the seven main camps and 21 smaller ones until a still-to-be-formed special assembly decides on their futures.
Monday, January 15, 2007
Nepal approves new constitution
Nepal has approved a new, temporary constitution to bring former rebel Maoists into an interim parliament and strip the king of his executive powers in favour of the prime minister.
The speaker of the lower house of parliament says the proposed interim constitution has been unanimously approved after no 'nays' were heard during voice voting.
The new parliament with 83 former rebel members is due to meet for the first time later today.
The speaker of the lower house of parliament says the proposed interim constitution has been unanimously approved after no 'nays' were heard during voice voting.
The new parliament with 83 former rebel members is due to meet for the first time later today.
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