Monday, February 28, 2005

Non-Violent Militancy, Concerted Global Action


Wow _____. Nice to hear you are well. I was wondering.

It would have been foolish to get arrested. I am glad you are in Delhi.

I have read of the army coming to look for the "_____ _____" in some news articles. So I am glad you are not in the country.

As for your US visit. Great idea. Looks like the logistics would be very easy to arrange. I can see most/all of your activities in the DC to Boston corridor. The Chinatown bus takes you anywhere for $10. Places to stay, we have people everywhere who can come pick you up and feed you and make you cook and things like that. And I persoally would be more than happy to contribute. The kind of help you seek, even if everyone on this list pitched in $50 each, that would be smooth sailing for a starter. I am in.

I think it is time to have a two-word political program: Democratic Republic. That makes room for Maoists also if they change their ways and long term goals. And most of the organizing could happen outside of Nepal to start with.

At this point, I would really like to emphasize blogging as a tool. There is nothing like it.
http://www.blogger.com

(1) People could use assumed names if they do not want to use their real names, and also from inside Nepal.

(2) The individual voice has unlimted space. So the discussions remain super-democratic. You could get outvoted, but your ideas remain in the public domain.

(3) No need to move stuff like with print pamphlets. There is immediate global access. And internet access is pretty out there within Nepal also. My brother in Janakpur has it, for one, not that he is much of a political person. So I know, the regime has not thought to see websites as threats. They are light years behind.

Check out http://demrepubnepal.blogspot.com

It has really helped me gather my thoughts, keep up with the news (http://news.google.com/), and reach out to large numbers of people without having to repeat myself, or show up in many places in person.

By the way, do you think you could help me get in eTouch with Rajendra Mahato and Hridayesh Tripathy? I know they are in Delhi. Have them write to me at paramendra@yahoo.com, or if they have phone numbers, if I could have them, that would help. Thanks.

Come on over. Keep us posted. That solidarity site is just great. And the Democracy Desk(s) early bulletins really helped. Great work.


Amnesty International
  • Nepal: on the brink of disaster .... A human rights catastrophe is looming in Nepal following the declaration of the state of emergency by King Gyanendra on 1 February. ..... "Wherever we went, we encountered a deep sense of fear, uncertainty and insecurity among the people" ..... Human rights in the countryside have been virtually destroyed by the conflict. Now, under the state of emergency, human rights in urban areas are under attack. The human rights crisis could soon be a human rights disaster...... appoint a Special Rapporteur to scrutinize Nepal’s human rights record
  • Nepal: A long ignored human rights crisis now on the brink of catastrophe (report, 18/02/05) ...... a human rights catastrophe is looming amidst heightened militarization and an attack on democracy ..... all internal and external communications were cut for seven days. ..... The new ministers .. are mostly hard-line politicians from the panchayat ..... a return to Nepal’s oppressive past ..... the bandh and observed the severe restrictions it was imposing on local communities ..... as it progressed, the bandh was becoming increasingly strong outside Kathmandu valley...... the main political parties are considering establishing a coalition to campaign for the restoration of democracy, which most likely will result in larger and more coordinated demonstrations. In the current repressive climate any mass demonstrations are likely to prompt a harsh reaction from security forces, with serious consequences for human rights ..... Since its deployment to fight the CPN (Maoist) in 2001 the RNA has grown rapidly to become the strongest element of the state. The state of emergency has further increased the military’s power .....daily violence and terror inflicted on ordinary communities across the country ..... grave human rights abuses continue to be carried out by both security forces and the CPN (Maoist) ..... threats to human rights defenders in Nepal ..... grave human rights violations by security forces, which had gone unpunished. The delegation found a growing pattern of extrajudicial killings, as well as large numbers of illegal detentions and "disappearances". The delegation met detainees who had been illegally detained and tortured in RNA barracks, including two 15 year old boys who had been severely beaten in RNA custody, before being sent to Kathmandu jail where they have been held for seven months in arbitrary detention, unaware of any charges against them and with no prospect of release. There were also reports of sexual violence by security forces against local women, including women living in camps for internally displaced people (IDPs). In Nepalgunj, one woman told the delegation how she had been gang raped by security forces personnel during a search operation in her village in 2004...... children who had been forcibly recruited, beaten and compelled to participate in Maoist military activities. There appear to be no facilities for the rehabilitation of children who have been involved in military activities ..... The state of emergency has aggravated the existing culture of non-accountability and lack of transparency. It has increased the pattern of militarization and restricted the space for political dialogue, thereby reducing the chances of peace. .....Those who were exposing and condemning the human rights abuses .. are being muzzled...... restrictions that are already in place under anti-terrorist legislation, which allow preventive detention for up to one year ..... although some rights provided in international human rights treaties to which Nepal is a party - such as freedom from torture and freedom from discrimination – are not suspended, in practice the Nepali people have no means for legally asserting these rights. ...... the effect of the censorship is profound ..... the lack of free information has greatly increased the sense of insecurity and fear among ordinary Nepali people ...... a lawyer in Surkhet district had recently been arrested for filing a torture case. ..... bus drivers being told by the CPN (Maoist) that they would cut the drivers’ hands off if they drive during the bandh, and then being told by local security forces that they would cut the drivers’ hands off if they do not drive .....a more coordinated approach by the international community is needed .....Under the state of emergency all legal remedies, apart from habeas corpus, have been suspended. However, although habeas corpus remains available, lawyers and human rights defenders told Amnesty International that in practice it is often ineffectual as the security forces mislead the courts and ignore court orders. ..... Security forces have demonstrated a widespread disregard for the courts for some time ..... why the security forces personnel involved had not been held in contempt of court...... on 10 February the Supreme Court - ruling in the habeas corpus case regarding former Chairman of the Nepal Bar Association, Sindunath Pokharel, who had been arrested in the crackdown following the state of emergency - for the first time requested that the defendant be physically produced before the court. Rather than complying with the court’s orders and allowing a precedent to be set, the authorities released Sindunath Pokharel on 14 February 2005. ..... The NHRC ... has been consistently denied full access to detainees, despite its mandate to visits all places of detention...... Both the government and military and the CPN (Maoist) leadership have failed to investigate human rights abuses or punish those responsible. The state of emergency will only reinforce the existing culture of impunity....... the RNA and police human rights cells - are largely cosmetic...... the security forces continue to remain outside the law for grave human rights violations, including possible crimes against humanity.....information provided by the RNA revealed a disturbing pattern of extremely light punishment imposed by courts martial on members of the RNA accused of serious crimes, including murder and rape..... in order to address impunity, all allegations of human rights abuses by security forces should be investigated by an independent authority and prosecutions should take place in the civil courts. ..... cases of rape or murder by security forces should by law be transferred to the civilian authorities...... Government representatives appeared to be genuinely concerned about Nepal’s image abroad ..... However, there appeared to be discrepancies between the information provided to the delegation by the government and that which the delegation was able to corroborate from other sources. ..... During the royal audience the King assured Amnesty International that the government remains entirely committed to its 26 March Commitment. ..... One sad casualty of the state of emergency is the proposed Human Rights Accord, which would commit both the government and CPN (Maoist) to abide by clear human rights standards and accept human rights monitoring....The Accord would be a valuable confidence building measure towards future peace negotiations. ...... ordinary Nepalis who are suffering most, as they are caught between the armed forces and the CPN (Maoist), both of whom adopt a ‘with us or against us’ approach ...... the human rights crisis in Nepal - which has for so long gone almost unnoticed by the international community ..... Given the importance that Nepal places on its international image and its dependence on international assistance, the position that the international community adopts will be of critical importance in shaping the policy of the Nepal government in coming months. It is therefore important that the international community, when sending a strong message about the importance of restoring democracy, stresses that this must be a democracy with human rights and protection for a pluralist civil society at its core.......

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