Nepal Students' Union USA & Canada Chapter
45-01B, 47th Ave., Woodside, NY 11377, USA
Cell: - 917 742 7566
Tel: - 718 472 0536
Fax: - 718 706 7601
E-mail: somu13@hotmail.com
Press Statement Date: January 21, 2006
After nearly a year of royal coup, King Gyanendra has once again unleashed the military brutality against political opponents coming from major parliamentary parties, members of civil society, human rights activists, and common people opposed to his autocratic rule. The crackdown on democracy and human rights seeking people has come in the context of the seven-party alliance’s planned peaceful protest rally in Kathmandu on 20th January. King Gyanendra, who is behaving like the 17th century's King, ignoring all international appeals to respect people’s aspirations for democracy and human rights.
In early morning hours on January 19th the royal junta unleashed its joint security force comprised of Nepal police, Armed Police and Royal Nepal Army to arrest more than 200 opposition leaders, students and youth activists, senior civil society leaders, human rights activists and journalists on pretext of possible Maoist infiltration in proposed demonstration. The Chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist, Prachanda, has refuted the royalist propaganda and clearly stated on the 18th that his party will not infiltrate in peaceful demonstration organized by the seven-party alliance. Despite the Maoist statement the royal junta is still rounding up political leaders, human rights activists and civil society leaders. There are reports that those arrested are detained in military and police barracks of Kathmandu valley under inhuman conditions.
The royal government has imposed day long curfew in three cities of Kathmandu on Friday, 20th January in addition to overnight curfews in several parts of the country since 16th January and has imposed a ban on peaceful mass meetings, rallies, sit-ins, etc., in the capital until further notice.
In this coup-style crackdown on political dissidents, the state has cut off all of telephone lines and night-vision military helicopters are hovering in the sky of Kathmandu. This barbaric act of Royal Junta is clearly shows that it has already lost its political battle against democratic forces and further buttresses the opposition charges that King Gyanendra is more interested in political confrontation and bloodshed than in political negotiation and peaceful solution of the political impasse.
NSU USA & Canada Chapter condemns these violations of basic human rights, arbitrary arrests, rounding up of political dissidents and demands immediate lift of all kinds of prohibitions and immediate release of all those detained. NSU USA & Canada also thanks all international diplomatic as well as human rights communities for their opposition to human rights violation by royal junta and request to exert diplomatic pressure on Nepali government for immediate withdrawal of all kind of prohibitions including day long curfew on 20th of January 2006 and release of all political detainees with due respect and dignity.
In general, the monarchy in Nepal represents extremely unacceptable ways of gaining and maintaining power and wealth, such as military domination and murder and they claim control of the country through war, murder, betrayal, and any other ruthless act that achieves victory. No matter what, the Royal Nepalese Army works on behalf of the monarchy to keep the citizens toothless and oppressed. We all know that King Gyanendra is creating laws that only allow him to rule legally over the society and by announcing to hold the elections is to construct a political system that allows him to hold the most political power in Nepal.
Today, if we were starting from scratch to map out the way we wanted democracy to work in this great country of ours and began with a blank sheet of paper, there would be no place for monarchy or any form of aristocracy.
That's because in a proper modern democracy:
• everyone is born into the world of equal status.
• Democracy is the only fair way to choose the head of state and other leaders.
• True equality of opportunity allows anyone to aspire to be head of state.
• We each get to vote for our choice of head of state.
Since the Royal Nepal Army and Police are under the direct and undisputed control of Black King "Gyanendra", and since there is no evidence whatsoever that action has been taken to correct the abuses or hold the perpetrators responsible, this places the king in league with such lovely characters as Hitler, Saddam Hussain, Augusto Pinochet, Ferdinand Marcos, Mohammad Reza Pahlevi and others.
NSU USA & Canada Chapter urges all democrats to raise one voice i.e. citizens voice to "overthrow this regime". Let us all fight till the end of this regime in Nepal.
Sincerely,
Somnath Ghimire
President, NSU USA & Canada Chapter
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1 comment:
Paramendra,
Did you discussion on Sajha.com on closed "Nepal Democracy" Google Group
http://www.sajha.com/sajha/html/openthreadall.cfm?forum=2&ThreadID=27009
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