"Urgent: Disappearance Of My Father" by Sarahana Shrestha

(To be clear, my father is neither political nor a human rights advocate. The last time
I spoke to him, like all of my friends'parents, he was telling me why the king should be supported).

At Samudaya

Sorry to have mass-mailed. Please help me spread the word to media contacts, etc.

Just got this from my brother:

URGENT: Kidnapping and Disappearances In The Hands Of Armed Forces In Nepal.

On Thursday, 21st April 2005, my father Mr. Gyanendra Das Shrestha was kidnapped from
his office Baneshwor Bazaar, New Baneshwor, by a group of men who clamied to be members of
the Royal Nepal Army. Mr. Shrestha was taken into the house of Prabha Manandhar in the
same compound at around 11:30 AM. Since then, the where abouts of Mr. Shrestha has not
been known and the people guarding the house of Prabha Manandhar have denied that Mr.
Shrestha has come into that area at all. Later that evening, his personal secretary who was
witnessed Mr. Shrestha being taken in the house was also taken inside the same house. There,
a group of men who were dressed in civil clothes and armed with automatic machine guns
threatened and interrogated them for more than 1 hour.

When I myself went to the house at around 8PM to investigate the situation two people who
were staying there as security guards in civil clothes threatened me. After I refused to go inside
the house they said, “Nobody called Mr. Gyanendra Das Shrestha has come here today.
I don’t work for anybody, any company or any organization. If you don’t leave now
it won’t be good for you.”

Today, 22nd April 2005, it has been over 22 hours since people who claimed to be RNA took
Mr. Gyanendra Das Shrestha into Prabha Manandher’s house. If the RNA has taken into
custody Mr. Shrestha, then I would like to urge them to immediately make public where they
have taken him and for what reason(s) they have done this. The people armed with machine
guns inside Prabha Manadhar’s house who kidnapped Mr. Shreshta have not said they are the
army. If those people with guns are not from RNA, then who are they? And if they are from
RNA, then why have they denied the fact that Mr. Gyanendra Das Shrestha was taken into that
house on Thursday morning?

I would like to plead to my friends, colleagues and fellow journalists working the media to make
this “act of disappearance” a public knowledge and question what is happening in this situation
to not only help find information not only about Mr. Gyanendra Das Shrestha and many others
who have fallen victim of similar situations, but also to help prevent incidents like these
happening to others in the future. I look forward to your solidarity against “acts of
disappearances in the hands of armed forces” in Nepal.

Sincerely,

Editor, WAVE
www.wavemag.com.np
Himalmedia P. Ltd

(Sarahana Shrestha has been the dynamo behind Samudaya.org and she has been instrumental with
the Dinesh Prasain tour. She sent this out in a second email. Below.)

My father has had a problem with her for a while now. She is the owner of the space he leased
to create a bazaar. She has not let him collect much rent from the storekeepers so far (this has
gone on for a few years already, I believe they are in a lawsuit).

From what I know she is the daughter of one of the former ambassadors to UK or something.
And according to my brother, the day before his disappearance, what appeared to be a body
wrapped in cloth was taken out from her house and into an army jeep. It was later reported
that a Maoist had been killed in New Baneshwor. My suspicion when I heard this was that she
had fabricated the story and that the person wasprobably not a Maoist at all, if it was a body
in the first place. From all I have heard, she appears to besomewhat of a nut case.

My brother is sending out a press release and going to meet with everyone possible. This is really
confusing. My father is neither political nor a human rights advocate. In fact, he is a supporter of
the King. I believe the circumstance is being misused against him.

thanks! I will send out more info as it becomes available.

Action

To: Ambassador Moriarty (Urgent --- disappearance incident)

Your Excellency.

From one of your media interviews, I got the
impression that you have been actively involved in
resolving individual cases of human rights abuse and
disappearances through your private audiences with the
king and the army top brass.

I would like to draw your attention to this recent
case that involves the non-political father of a
friend of mine. So far it looks to be the case where a
personal vendetta might have been acted out by perhaps
bribing some army personnel, though other
possibilities remain.

Thank you.

"Urgent: Disappearance Of My Father" by Sarahana
Shrestha
http://demrepubnepal.blogspot.com/2005/04/urgent-disappearance-of-my-father-by.html

Positive Resolution: Said person released.....

“There is too much pressure regarding yesterday’s case. if you can stall
them from your side, I will stall things from here. today vehicles from
different places have come to the location to inquire about it .”

In The News

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• Pro-democracy leader in Nepal arrested by royal commission United We Blog
• UN official to monitor torture cases in Nepal Hindustan Times, India
• Guerrillas continue attacking schools in Nepal Xinhua, China
• 'SIMI active in Nepal' Times of India, India
• Nepal's Government Says Local Elections Will Be Free and Fair Bloomberg
• ‘Nepal wants democracy restored’ Daily Times Nepal’s Supreme Court has ordered the government to explain a ban on private radio news broadcasts in the first legal challenge to censorship imposed after King Gyanendra seized power .... court has reportedly asked the government to reply within two weeks
  
• Nepal says plans to restore democracy soon Reuters AlertNet
• India, Nepal try to mend fences The Statesman Nepal has agreed to allow observers from the office of the UNHRC to monitor the human rights situation in the kingdom for two years. It has also agreed to allow a special representative of UN Secretary-General Mr Kofi Annan to assess the internal displacement in the country caused by the nine-year-old escalating Maoist insurgency and allow a UN rapporteur for torture to investigate allegations and incidents of torture, both by security forces and Communist guerrillas, with access to all detainees..... Spared from Agenda 9, Nepal is on Agenda 19, to which all the 53 members of the UNHRC unanimously agreed last night. It means the countries agree that Nepal has a human rights problem, but one that can be resolved with technical support from the international community. ...... “We have a UN High Commissioner for Refugees for almost a decade now. We welcome technical support since it would mean strengthening our institutions. For instance, Nepal’s national Human Rights Commission doesn’t have a sufficient number of computers.” ..... Fresh communication channels having opened up between India and Nepal, a rapprochement could be on the cards.
  
• Amnesty claims Nepal has detained more than 3,000 political ... eTaiwan News, Taiwan the torture of some prisoners included "being kicked and beaten with sticks, doused with cold water, forced to spend a long time in stress positions and being denied food and water."
• Nepal: Human rights abuses escalate under the state of emergency ReliefWeb (press release), Switzerland the human rights situation in Nepal continues to deteriorate while the conflict escalates .... information is being passed on by those human rights activists and journalists who are finding ways to operate and the picture that is emerging is deeply troubling. .... Pandey, stressed that restrictions under the state of emergency are being "continually relaxed", a similar statement to that made by the King .... government's actions over the last two months directly contradict this claim, as many fundamental rights remain suspended; mass arrests continue; media censorship tightens; and the constitution and rule of law is further undermined ..... more than 3,000 people have been arrested since 1 February ..... the rate of arrest increased dramatically in March .... more than 300 prisoners estimated to be held illegally in army barracks ..... Amnesty International has received detailed reports of torture of political party members detained in army barracks ..... journalists in the districts who face the greatest risk ..... in recent weeks the press have become increasingly bold in reporting on security force actions, Maoist activities, political protests and international criticism of the Nepal government. It appears that the Nepali media will not accept being silenced....... Breaking with the precedent set during the 2001-2002 state of emergency, throughout February and March the Supreme Court refused to hear writs related to non-suspended articles of the Constitution ..... some detainees arrested under the PSA, which allows for preventive detention for 90 days, are having their status illegally converted to detention under the 2004 Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Control and Punishment) Ordinance (TADO), which allows for preventive detention for up to one year..... "Justice Sector Coordination Committees" that bring judges together with police, lawyers and civil society have been established ...... he stated that the judiciary’s response to the crisis should be one "of respectful deference to executive wisdom". Such apparent partially from the Chief Justice ..... "intensified military offensive.... may be underway........ Bizarrely, the RNA has also reported mass surrenders of Maoist cadres..... While the stated aim of the mobs was to wipe out local Maoists and Maoist supporters, it is reported that most of the communities attacked were landless labourers...... the apparent support provided by the security forces and authorities to the vigilantes. .. local people were forced to participate in the violence by the security forces.. some members of the mob were security forces personnel in plain clothes ..... on 30 March members of a self-styled "Maoist retaliation committee" tortured and later killed Ramkishore Chamar of Somani VDC, Nawalparasi district. Ramkishore allegedly had his hand cut off and was forced to eat part of it, before being shot and killed a few days later...... a wider strategy by the authorities to develop "village defence forces" - armed groups of local people who would help fight the Maoists ...... local residents were summoned to a RNA barrack near Kathmandu and ordered by army personnel to form a local village defence force. ...... security forces continue to kill civilians, including children ..... Local people continue to be threatened by Maoists to comply with their demands, as well as by security forces to resist them......1 April the RNA Kathmandu valley commander, Dilip Karki, warned that stern action would be taken against businessmen who give donations to the Maoists in response to extortion demands..... An unfortunate result of the restrictions placed on the activities of human rights defenders and journalists is that human rights abuses by Maoists remain largely uninvestigated and unreported. This only increases the impunity with which Maoist cadres can terrorise local civilian populations....... on 26 February Subodh Pyakurel, Chairperson of INSEC, Nepal’s largest human rights NGO, was prevented from travelling to Nepalganj, where he was due to lead a human rights training for security force personnel. This was despite being told by officials in the RNA and Ministry of Home Affairs that he would be able to travel..... on 4 March NHRC Commissioner Sushil Pyakurel was turned back from Kathmandu airport when he attempted to lead an NHRC mission to investigate the mob violence in Kapilvastu...... The loss of independence and credibility of the NHRC is now a very real concern and one to which the international community must be alert....... This international mission will monitor and report on abuses by both sides to the conflict and will establish offices across the country. Such a presence is urgently required and must now be deployed rapidly and in full. The security forces and the Maoists must cooperate in every way with this new presence, as they have both promised to do..... it is vital that the international community does not become complacent, but stays alert to the very grave human rights situation in Nepal. The international community must act in coordination to ensure that every pressure is placed on the government of Nepal to restore full rights and freedoms to the Nepali people and on both parties to respect human rights and end impunity for abuses.
• The challenge of restoring democracy in Nepal ReliefWeb (press release) urges the Nepal government to immediately restore democracy, civil liberties, withdraw the state of emergency, release all political detainees, journalists and human rights workers,to end all kinds of restrictions on the press and ensure autonomy to the National Human Rights Commission ..... called on the Maoists to abide by the international humanitarian laws..... Fossils from the one party Panchayat system, such as Tusli Giri ..... the King, who runs many businesses, and many people in the Royal family who have been involved in massive corruption do not appear to be an issue for the RCCC. After all, it was set up to silence all forms of dissent and therefore, even the Supreme Court judges were brought under its purview ...... On 17 March 2005, King Gyanendra established a high-level nine-member Human Rights Committee headed by the Attorney General to undermine the NHRC...... Justice Hari Prasad Sharma supported the coup as an attempt “to rectify bad governance, eradicate corruption and instill transparent public life” ..... King Gyanendra has no interest to respect human rights and democratic freedoms. ...... In order to evade a country resolution at the 60th session of the Commission on Human Rights, the government of Nepal announced 25-point commitments on human rights on 26 March 2004. But not a single comittment has been respected...... The emergency expires on 30 April 2005. King Gyanendra has very limited options - either extend the emergency through another illegal ordinance, revive the Raj Parishad, Royal Council, in the absence of the Pratitinidi Sabha, the House of Representatives, to justify the illegal measures or cobble up a government with the democratic forces loyal to him..... If the troika does support the charade to look for a way out for not confronting the tyrant, it will have devastating effects on Nepal. There is no military solution to the Maoists crisis. The involvement of the democratic forces for resolving the Maoist crisis is indispensable and their support cannot be obtained under dictatorship and tyranny of King Gyanendra........ persuasions must be accompanied by measures which will force King Gyanendra to listen to international community ..... Gyanendra will continue to exploit the undecisiveness of the troika and will not relent under the pressure of countries like Denmark and Switzerland alone.
  
• Analysis: Nepal must not be left alone Washington Times An upsurge in attacks by Maoist rebels in recent weeks has coincided with the monarchy's crackdown on civil liberties ..... With an estimated 10 killings a day, Nepal is home to Asia's deadliest conflict.... a no-party state that has decimated democracy, kills people at will in the countryside (and) forbids freedom of expression .....the Maoists, estimated to number between 10,000 and 15,000 ...... Experts say the king has boosted the Maoists by crushing democratic institutions and the media..... "There is a real danger that war crimes in Nepal will spiral out of control." .... Analysts say because the monarchy and the Maoists lack a clear strategy, third-party intervention is vital to diffuse tension ..... a failing anti-insurgency strategy...... "Imperfect democracy in Nepal is preferable to no democracy" ..... "What the king has done is fundamentally unsustainable," Norris said. "He cannot take the football when things don't turn out his way. Now he'll have to recognize that he has made grievous errors or the dynamic on the ground will change rapidly ... for the worse."
• Political figures set free in Nepal NEWS.com.au, Australia ...61 political prisoners, including former deputy premier Bharat Mohan Adhikari ... Adhikari had immediately demanded that political parties forge an alliance to fight for democracy.... demanded the release of all other political detainees, including NCP-UML general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal.
• Nepal frees 61 political detainees Sify, India
• A Strategy Of Failure Outlookindia.com Two and half months later, with emergency still in force, there is little sign of improvement...... most of the present regime's policy assumptions are flawed and, consequently, point towards a continued future of violence and conflict..... the traditional ruling elite and the business and industrial lobby support the king's actions and point to the relative quiet of Kathmandu streets, the coup and the emergency have not gone down well among the majority .... Militarily, the Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) and the other security services are still in a defensive mode, allowing the Maoists to seize the initiative at will. Recent military 'successes', therefore, are nothing more than a repulsion of Maoist attacks, and are not offensive operations in their true sense.... Nepal's political parties have little popular appeal at this point in time. Support for the parties is practically confined to their activists and partisan civil society groups. The population at large remains indifferent to their plight. ..... If the Royal regime makes serious missteps and fails to provide a general impression of progress, that window will close fast. That can be seen to be happening now....... The king's appointment of hardline Panchayat elements in his cabinet, the decision to revive hated Panchayat-era zonal commissioners, the campaign against democratic politicians through selective use of the Royal Corruption Control Commission, and efforts to constrict the role of the National Human Rights Commission by creating another parallel human rights body are all indicative of a vindictive approach towards political parties and civil society...... But reviving Panchayat era politicians and institutions has inevitably created the impression that the king is moving beyond his stated aim of establishing peace and strengthening democracy...... as public support for their protests remain lacklustre, the parties will be forced to re-think strategy ...... "they have actually come off better than the Palace in the eyes of the international community." ...... Almost all the party leaders realise that striking an operational deal with the Maoists could spell doom since that will mean the Maoists will have hijacked the political opposition to the Royal regime from the parties' hands...... After February 1, the Maoists have been very active both in the military and political sphere..... There seems to be a policy tussle at the top rungs of the leadership ...... Recruitment and financial resources, already drying up before the coup, may have worsened in recent months ....... the Maoists do want a peace interregnum to shore up their organization and finances, but are caught in their own rhetoric....... the most obvious aspect of security forces deployment was that they were guarding their own bases and perimeters. Offensive operations are rare, if any ...... the strategy is also handicapped by the lack of a hearts and minds campaign as well as a political component ...... The usual military modus operandi is to use helicopter gunship with dumb bombs that cause more collateral damage than Maoist kills....... In recent weeks, the RNA has used two strategies to counter growing perceptions of its failure: it has made strong attempts to fan rumours of an imminent split in the Maoist ranks, and it has also portrayed recent Maoist attacks as 'victories' for the RNA. Both are misleading....the Khara operation highlighted that it is the Maoists who still hold the initiative. They choose the place and timing of battle rather than the RNA. And despite being unable to overrun the RNA base in Khara, the Maoists did have the satisfaction of knowing that they successfully probed and tested the RNA's defensive capabilities and tactics. Prachanda himself made this clear. Acknowledging losses on the Maoist side, he said on April 12, "the two-day Khara campaign has provided valuable experiences and lessons and will help in taking the war to a new level." ......no important power is willing to antagonize India over a marginal country like Nepal.
  
• Nepal’s war without end Open Democracy Almost all major studies conducted since the insurgency began in February 1996 – from the International Crisis Group (ICG) to UN visitors and parties to the conflict themselves – share two conclusions: that the root of Nepal’s crisis is socio-political rather than ideological, and that there is no military solution.... suggesting an alliance of all political forces and the abolition of the monarchy. But their spokesperson has indicated that there is room for negotiation....... Politically, the rebels can’t be expected to abandon their rebellion and surrender their arms, while the king can’t be expected to surrender his own future by conceding a constituent assembly that is likely to draft a republican constitution .... Militarily, each side admits the impossibility of complete victory yet neither will envisage giving up the struggle. King Gyanendra’s new promise of a fight to the end makes a break in the patter unlikely...... the path beyond war seems clearly to lie in the democratic drafting of a new constitution to be approved by popular mandate.......
  
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