The government of Switzerland has called recent arrests during peaceful anti-government protests in the capital, Kathmandu, an abuse of human rights.
The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) described the detention of more than 150 lawyers, doctors and journalists as arbitrary.
Swissinfo, a Swiss news service, quoted Jörg Frieden, the SDC’s country director in Nepal, as saying that even though the human rights situation in the Himalayan kingdom left a lot to be desired, last year had actually seen some improvement.
“I am certainly not saying the human rights situation is good [but] efforts made by the international community have kept the damages and abuses in check and have certainly reduced the level of impunity.”
His comments came during a four-day strike called by the seven-party opposition alliance against the 14-month-old direct rule of King Gyanendra.
As a countermove, the authorities imposed all-day curfews in Kathmandu and the surrounding valley to prevent massive anti-royalist rallies against the king’s absolute rule.
Three people have died and hundreds have been injured in clashes with the police as thousands of activists defied curfew orders at several points around the capital. Police have been ordered to shoot anyone violating the curfew, which entered its third consecutive day on Monday.
“There is an extensive repression apparatus on the state side, which now denies democratic rights but intimidates and limits the freedom of movement,” Frieden said.
The strike started only a few days after Switzerland had invited representatives of the government and civil society for talks in Geneva to discuss the country’s human rights situation.
The meeting, which is scheduled for April 18, will serve as a platform for the head of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Kathmandu, Ian Martin, non-governmental and human rights organisations to express their views on the situation in the Himalayan kingdom.
Despite daily clashes between armed forces and demonstrators defying the government’s ban on political rallies, Frieden said the Nepali people had coped very well with the conflict, which has lasted more than ten years and has left more than 13,000 dead.
“It seems impossible that people so kind and friendly are not able to find a compromise to their political problems. A possible solution would be to integrate the Maoist rebels into the political life, leave some role to the king and establish a democratic regime based on elected representatives,” Frieden concluded.
Rebel violence has escalated since King Gyanendra sacked the government and seized absolute power in February last year.
Meanwhile, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has strongly condemned the crackdown on pro-democracy leaders and activists in Nepal.
“The government of India should demand an end to all repressive actions by the King, failing which, steps should be taken to make the King realise that he cannot continue with his present course of action,” party Polit Bureau said on Friday, according to reports.
The Left Party also demanded the release of all those arrested, including CPN (UML) General Secretary Madhav Nepal. nepalnews.com by Apr 10 06