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Nepal
2007: Facts on the Conflict
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| Violence
in south threatens November elections |
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KATHMANDU,
18 September 2007 (IRIN)
Political
parties and top government officials have called for calm amid concerns
over increasing violence and tensions in Nepal's agricultural and industrial
heartland, the lowland Terai region of southern Nepal.
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| Government
officials told IRIN on 17 September that civilians and political parties
should be wary since they stood to lose most if the Constituent Assembly
(CA) elections scheduled for November are disrupted.
"We
will take strict action against anyone trying to disturb social harmony,"
said a statement by the Ministry of Home Affairs on 17 September, expressing
concern after a serious incident between local Madhesi and Pahade groups
in Kapilvastu and Rupendehi districts of the Terai region on 16 September. |
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The
Madhesi are indigenous inhabitants of the Terai while the Pahade are originally
from the hills but migrated to the Terai for work.
''Communal
tension is in danger of growing and this is being sparked by those forces
who don't want the elections to take place.''
Riots
The
killing of pro-Madhesi leader Mohit Khan of the Democratic Madhesi Front
in Shivapur village of Kapilvastu, nearly 200km southeast of Kathmandu,
by an unknown group on 16 September led to a violent riot by Khan's supporters.
According
to local human rights groups, the assailants attacked and vandalised vehicles
and shops run by the local Pahade people.
"Communal
tension is in danger of growing and this is being sparked by those forces
who don't want the elections to take place," said a local government official
requesting anonymity.
Rights
activists, who requested anonymity for fear that they would also be targeted,
are concerned that if communal conflicts are not controlled, tensions could
flare up and lead to very tragic incidents.
Over
the past nine months, pro-Madhesi groups have been staging demonstrations
to demand greater political rights, autonomy and proportional representation.
Radical Madhesi groups want the elections to fail so as to put pressure
on the government and political parties, according to rights groups, politicians
and government officials interviewed by IRIN.
Rights
activists are particularly concerned about the increase in the number of
militant Madhesi groups that have been targeting Pahades.
Furthermore,
according to a recent security situation update report by the UN Office
for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), militant groups like
the two factions of Janatantrik Terai Mukti Morcha (JTMM-Jwala Singh and
JTMM-Goit) have warned civil servants not to take part in any preparations
for the elections.
So
far, only the Madhesi People's Rights Forum (MPRF) and Madhesi Mukti Tigers
(MMT) have agreed to participate in the polls, saying they would benefit
the Madhesi community.
Security
Government
officials said they had been working to provide security to ensure an appropriate
environment for elections.
The
government has begun implementing the first phase of its security plan
for the elections by dispatching members of the Armed Police Force (APF)
to 156 constituencies, OCHA said.
"The
government alone cannot do everything. There is also a need for unity and
consensus among the often quarrelsome political parties," said activist
Kundan Aryal from the prominent local rights group, Informal Sector Service
Centre (INSEC).
| Madhesi
factbox |
|
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 Nepal's
largest ethnic group; make up about one third of Nepal's 27 million people
Concentrated
in the lowland Terai region, southern Nepal, the country's industrial and
agricultural heartland
Traditionally,
their main ethnic rivals are the politically dominant hill people known
as Pahades
Comprised
of various sub-groups with several different languages and dialects and
have only recently developed a political consciousness and unity of purpose
Campaign
for regional autonomy for the Terai, a federal Nepal, and greater representation
in parliament
Militant
factions such as the Madhesi People's Rights Forum (MPRF) and the Janatantrik
Terai Mukti Morcha (JTMM) have carried out violent acts
Not
allied in any way to the Maoists who have separate political goals
Include
some of the most impoverished and disadvantaged castes in Nepal such as
Badis (traditional sex workers) and Kamaiyas (bonded labourers)
According
to rights activists, Maoist leaders are unable to control their supporters. |
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Credit
IRIN 2007
Copyright
© UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2007
[
This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]
Integrated
Regional Information Networks (IRIN), part of the UN Office for the Coordination
of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
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