Leader of Janamorcha Nepal, Lilamani Pokahrel, addressing a mass gathering organised to mark the Democracy Day at New Baneshwor, Kathmandu, Sunday. nepalnews.com/rh

Leaders of the seven party opposition alliance have warned that they are preparing for the final showdown against what they called the “autocratic regime” in the country.

Addressing a protest rally at New Baneswore on the occasion of National Democracy Day Sunday, vice president of Nepali Congress Sushil Koirala alleged the King of being a major barrier towards restoring peace in the country. He also accused the royal government of prolonging violence in the country by refusing to reciprocate the four-month-long unilateral ceasefire called by the rebels last year.

Senior leader of the CPN (UML), Mrs. Sahana Pradhan, said there was no other option left than to further intensify protests against the royal regime. She called upon all to join the peaceful movement being launched by the seven party opposition alliance for the restoration of peace and democracy in the country.

Senior leader of Jana Morcha Nepal, Lilamani Pokhrel alleged that the king was not serious towards finding a democratic way out to the problems facing the country. He said out of 5,000 monarchies around the world in the past there are only 28 monarchies today out of which eight are autocratic monarchies.

The opposition leaders also denounced the killing of UML activist, Umesh Chandra Thapa, in firing by Royal Nepalese Army personnel in western district of Dang on February 8. They also demanded independent probe into the incident and compensation for the family of the victim.

Reports from around the country say opposition parties organised nationwide protests on Sunday calling for restoration of peace and democracy in the country. Police allegedly used force against peaceful demonstrators in the remote northern district of Mugu. Details are still awaited.

Meanwhile, police detained over a dozen activists affiliated to the Democratic Movement Co-ordination Committee of differently-able people in Kathmandu this afternoon as they were heading for New Baneswore to take part in the pro-democracy rally and mass meeting from Bhrikuti Mandap in their wheel-chairs.

Those arrested included Rukmangat Neupane, Bhijraj Shrestha, Dhurba Neupane, Tika Dahal and Kamala Budhathoki. They were kept at the ward police office at Singha Durbar and released later after a couple of hours.

Human Rights activists have warned that the upcoming meeting of the European Union (EU) Parliament and the 62nd session of the United Nations Convention on Human Rights may announce sanctions against Nepal as the rights situation of the country was deteriorating in the recent days.

Speaking at a programme in the capital on Saturday, chairman of the Informal Sector Service Centre (INSEC) Subodh Pyakurel, said, “EU countries and UN member states can announce smart sanctions against Nepal owing to the country’s turn of events.”

The UN convention in Geneva could also decide on the Royal Nepalese Army’s role in UN peacekeeping missions, he said, adding that dialogue between the two parties to the conflict is the only way out of the crisis.

Sudip Pathak, member of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), however, urged the EU Parliament and UN member states to refrain from imposing sanctions against the country.

He commented that the report of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Nepal is not complete.

He also claimed that some rights activists of the country are presenting distorted facts about the rights situation of the country at the international level and urged them to stop such acts.

“Such targeted sanctions will ultimately affect civilians,” Pathak said. He was displeased with the possibility of the UN convention barring Nepal’s security forces from participating in UN peacekeeping missions. However, if the UN decides so, “I request the authorities to allow the NHRC to forward letters to the UN verifying whether the concerned security personnel are human rights perpetrators,” he said.

Former NHRC member Kapil Shrestha said the UN convention may not bring Nepal under ‘Item 9.’ He, however, said sanctions cannot be ruled out. Expressing concern over the country’s current situation, he wondered if “we are under medieval rule.”

The rights activists also condemned the death of the joint regional administrator of the eastern region, Prem Prasad Sapkota, in Maoist custody and called on the rebels to take responsibility for it.

Rights activist Birendra Keshari Pokhrel said that civil society should strongly raise voices against the Maoists atrocities adding they are committing serious rights violations.

Nepali Congress (Democratic) President Sher Bahadur Deuba (File photo)
President of the Nepali Congress-Democratic (NC-D), Sher Bahadur Deuba, said the 12-point understanding reached between the seven-party alliance and the Maoists on November 22 needed some clarification.

Talking to journalists after meeting with Indian ambassador to Nepal, Shiv Shankar Mukherjee, at his residence in Budanilkantha on Friday Deuba said, “Some points need to be clarified, others need to be added or taken out.”

According to party sources, Deuba and Mukharjee discussed about the current political situation of the country and the 12-point agreement reached between seven party alliance and Maoists.

Indian ambassador to Nepal, Shiv Shankar Mukherjee
(File photo)

Reports quoted party sources as saying that Mukherjee asked Deuba why the 12-point understanding was not being implemented properly. Deuba is learnt to have told the Indian envoy that he would take up the issue in the upcoming meeting of the seven agitating parties.

The seven political parties and Maoists reached to an agreement to bring Maoists into the mainstream of politics and for peaceful outlet of the Maoist insurgency.

“Mukherjee told Deuba that only talks and consensus between the King and the parties would lead to a solution to the crisis,” the sources said.

Mukherjee told reporters that the meeting was only a ‘goodwill call.’ He refused to comment when asked if India had changed its views on the 12-point pact after having read the US ambassador’s comments on Wednesday.

Mukherjee also held a separate meeting with Rastriya Prajatantra Party Chairman, Pashupati SJB Rana at the latter’s residence on Friday.

US envoy to Nepal James F Moriarty and one of the senior officials of the British government Antony Stokes expressed dissatisfaction over the 12-point agreement between seven political parties and Maoists saying consensus between the King and political parties is the only way out to resolve the problems dogging the country and to solve the Maoist insurgency.

The Mahendra Highway has been blocked since Thursday after Maoists erected barricades and planted bombs along the Sukharkhola Bridge in the district.

Rebels have erected stone walls and dumped sand along the 107 meter long bridge. Bombs and electronic explosives can also be seen on the barricades, according to reports.

The bridge is located 15 km east of the Joint Security Base Camp at Shamshergunj and 20 km west of a similar security establishment at Kusum. However, no security team has arrived even two days after the obstruction was placed, reports The Kantipur daily.

A huge number of passengers have been stranded on both sides of the bridge in Kohalpur and Kusum areas. Hundreds of travelers have also resorted to walking.

The seven agitating political parties have said that the government is yet to resume the telephone lines of more than one hundred leaders of seven-party alliance.

The government disconnected telephone lines of leaders and cadres from January 19 ahead of mass meeting of the alliance.

Though the government has been releasing leaders and cadres of political parties arrested ahead of municipal polls, the telephone lines are yet to be resumed, according to reports.

The government is yet to resume the telephone service of Nepali Congress (NC) President Girija Prasad Koirala, though he was released from house arrest after six days.

The telephone lines of General Secretaries of NC Ram Chandra Poudel and Kul Bahadur Gurung, joint general secretary Dr Ram Sharan Mahat, Dr Ram Baran Yadav and spokesperson Krishna Sitaula have not resumed yet, reports Kantipur daily.

Likewise, NC leaders Nara Hari Acharya, Chakra Prashad Bastola, Arjun Nurshing KC, Bal Dev Majgainya, Dil Bahadur Gharti, Laxman Ghimire and Shyam Lal Shrestha are also out of telephone service.

Likewise the telephone lines of General Secretary of CPN-UML Madhav Kumar Nepal and central committee members Surendra Pandey, Rajendra Pandey, Raghuji Pant, Gokarna Bista, Mahendra Pandey and Bhanubhakta Dhakal also remain dead.

The telephone lines of Lila Mani Pokhrel of People’s Front Nepal, General Secretary of NC (Democratic) Bimalendra Nidhi and central committee members Dr Minendra Rijal, Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat and Bal Krishna Khand among others also remained disrupted.

Two telephone lines of party headquarter of CPN-UML and All Nepal Trade Union Federation (GEFONT) and the mobile phone of student leader Gagan Thapa also remain dead.

The Nepal University Teachers’ Association (NUTA) has warned that it would not help in conducting the forthcoming TU examinations and elections to the Free Students Union if the government did not release the detainees, including president and general secretary of the NUTA, Professor Dr Bhupati Dhakal ‘Kamal’, and Rameshwor Upadhyaya, at the earliest.

Issuing a press release on Friday, the NUTA has asked the government to release all detainees.

The election of the Free Student Union (FSU) is going to be held from 28th of February.

A number of professors and intellectuals were arrested while they were taking part in an anti-autocracy rally organised by the NUTA on February 3.

US Ambassador to Nepal, James F Moriarty, speaking in the talk program “Nepal’s Political…

Ian Martin, head of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Chief of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Nepal Ian Martin has demanded that the military court cases be tried at the “civilian courts.”

Urging both the warring factions to conflict to respect international humanitarian law, he said Nepal’s human rights situation is of great concern to the international community.

Speaking at a programme in Nepal Bar Association on Friday he said, “Details concerning the Royal Nepal Army’s court martial and court of inquiry procedures are unknown to us as the Army officials have not given us the details of such cases,” adding, “Such cases should be dealt with in civilian courts instead of RNA courts.”

Expressing concern over arbitrary detentions, he said, “I recently met the Home Minister but I was not given any assurances when all the detainees would be released.”

He rued that the government does not have any policies to control vigilante groups that have been formed to defend Maoist atrocities. “We raised our concern about the vigilante groups. We were told that the government does not have any policy on the matter and that it has nothing to do with them.”

Pointing out that the International Criminal Court in the Hague has no jurisdiction in Nepal, Martin pointed out the need for Nepal to ratify the Rome statute to be able to try Nepal’s cases at the ICC.

Martin informed the journalists that the OHCHR is in contact with both the warring parties and has had “dual dialogue with the representatives of the Maoists and the government.

Leading human rights activists and conflict victims have said restoration of democracy is the must to protect and promote human rights in the country.

Activists during an interaction programme organized by the International Human Rights and Duties Institution-Nepal (IHRADIN) in Kathmandu on Saturday. nepalnews.com/rh

Activists during an interaction programme organized by the International Human Rights and Duties Institution-Nepal (IHRADIN) in Kathmandu on Saturday. nepalnews.com/rh
During an interaction programme organized by the International Human Rights and Duties Institution-Nepal (IHRADIN) in Kathmandu on Saturday, human rights activist and lawyer Gopal Siwakoti ‘Chintan’ said protection of human rights could be guaranteed only in a democratic society. He added that cases of human rights violation would continue to increase unless the State took initiatives to punish the rights violators.

“National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) must be empowered to file cases against the violators at the court or fix compensation to the victims,” he added.

General Secretary of the NGO Federation of Nepal, Shanta Raj Mulmi, alleged that the State had been withdrawing from it’s responsibility of protecting people’s human rights in the name of privatization and globalization.

Senior vice president of IHRADIN, Major (Retd.) Purna Singh Khatri, said that human rights violation continued in the country due to negligence from both the State and the society.

Human rights groups and civil society leaders must put pressure on the state to make strong laws and take actions against human rights violators, he said.

Narrating the story of conflict victims, vice chairperson of Nepal Maoist Victims’ Association, Kamala Rai, said both the warring groups had turned irresponsible towards protecting rights of the people who were not directly involved in the war.

National and international human rights groups have said the rights situation in Nepal has become one of the worst in the world due to the decade-old armed rebellion. Rights groups as well as civil society leaders have been calling both the parties in Nepal conflict to give up violence and resume peace process to find a negotiated settlement to the insurgency.

Over 13,000 people have lost their lives in the decade-old Maoist insurgency.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has launched investigation into the death of the assistant regional administrator of the Eastern Region, Prem Prasad Sapkota, in Maoist captivity on Friday at Kurule area, Dhankuta district.

Issuing a press statement on Saturday, the NHRC said an investigation team of NHRC’s Biratnagar office visited the incident site and the place where Sapkota’s body has been kept.

“The NHRC has taken the death of Sapkota, who was not involved in the war, in Maoist captivity, as violation of international human rights law,” the rights commission said, calling upon the CPN (Maoist) to bring into light its official position over the incident and assist the NHRC team in the investigation process.

The NHRC further said it would coordinate with Nepal Red Cross to handover Sapkota’s body to his family.

Abducted on February 7 along with 14 other government officials and security personnel during a Maoist attack in Dhankuta, Sapkota, 57, who had been suffering from hypertension, diabetes and asthma, died in Maoist captivity on Friday.

Maoists have confirmed his death.

The upcoming meeting of the Parliament Sub-committee of European Union (EU) is likely to adopt ‘strong resolution’ for revival of democratic processes in Nepal. The meeting is scheduled for February 20 in Brussels.

News reports say the EU has been working to put pressure on the Nepal government for the restoration of peace and democracy at the earliest.

Head of the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Nepal, Ian Martin, is set to brief the committee about the current situation of Nepal. Martin is to leave Kathmandu on Saturday to take part in the meeting.

Sushil Pyakurel, former member of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), and Dr Arjun Karki, president of the NGO Federation, will also present papers on the systematic curtailment of human rights and civil liberties by the state.

The EU is also expected to present its decision before the annual session of UN human rights body to be held in Geneva from March 15 to April 22 this year.

In another development, the Irish government has hinted that it would push a proposal of ‘smart sanction’ against the present government of Nepal.

Agency reports quoted Irish State Minister for Foreign Affairs with Special Responsibility for Overseas Development and Human Rights, Conor Lenihan, TD, as saying, “We [EU] are seriously considering imposing smart sanction against the king’s government without hurting the poor people.”

He said that Ireland would to propose the appointment of a special EU envoy to Nepal.

The EU has been critical of the present government since the royal takeover of February 1 last year. Recently, in a statement the EU dubbed the February 8 municipal polls as another step to legitimise the royal government and asked the King to take immediate steps to restore democracy and peace.