|
Nepal
in Crisis 2006: Facts |
|
Ceasefire
offers chance to tackle small arms menace |
 |
KAPILBASTU,
2 Jun 2006 (IRIN)
In
the remote village of Mahadiyama in Kapilbastu district, 350 km southwest
of Nepal's capital Kathmandu, local people still shudder with fear when
they recall the murder one year ago of villager Salim Fakir and his elder
brothers Jama and Namdan, who were shot dead in cold blood by Maoist insurgents.
A decade of conflict means small arms are everywhere in Nepal
 |
Local
witnesses said that the Maoists, who have been waging war against the government
for 10 years, had accused the brothers of joining a local vigilante group
which operated against the rebels with help from the security forces.
These
vigilante groups began to spring up in the country in 2003, when Kathmandu
announced that local villagers could hit back at the rebels by establishing
their own militias, known as Village Defence Forces (VDFs). |
|
The
controversial move was slammed by rights groups as a move that would plunge
the country into full-scale civil war. In Kapilbastu district alone, 200
people have died since late 2003 at the hands of the army, the Maoists
and the vigilantes, local rights groups Insec says.
The
spread of these groups as part of the armed conflict has seen an explosion
in the number of guns circulating in the country as a whole, say peace
activists like Bishnu Upreti. "Over 13,000 people have died during the
last decade of conflict and most were killed by army or rebel small arms,"
he said.
But
now in a move that could go some way to halting the proliferation, vigilante
groups in Kapilbastu have now started to disband: many are reported to
have surrendered their arms to the Maoists. In early May, groups led by
notorious vigilante leaders Muna Khan, Murari Kuswaha and Nasir Ali, handed
over their arms to local rebel leaders, according to a report by Lumbini
Radio, a local FM station in Kapilbastu.
"We
are giving up our anti-Maoist campaign as there is now hope for peace due
to the ceasefire and talks," said Khan.
 |
| Young female Maoists seeking refuge in a poor farmer's house. The family
feels uncomfortable about their presence - they fear the reaction of the
security forces if they find out that the family has sheltered rebels.
Nepalese
monarch King Gyanendra gave up direct rule in April and invited the country's
seven main political parties to put together an interim government that
quickly responded to a rebel ceasefire by declaring one of its own.
But
activists warn that this gesture by the vigilantes is not enough, emphasising
that the main problem remains the illegal supply of arms across the Nepal-India
border. |
|
"There is a need to find a way to control the illegal supplies.
Unless that happens the proliferation problem will remain intact," said
Upreti.
Activists
said the possession of arms, whether legally by security forces or illegally
by Maoists rebels and vigilantes, is growing rapidly and desperately requires
government intervention.
What's
worse is that nobody has any idea of the number of weapons in circulation
in Nepal. "There is still no record of the number of small arms used by
either the Maoists or the security forces," said Shobha Shrestha from South
Asia Small Arms Network (SASANET), a regional group lobbying to reduce
weapons proliferation.
Shrestha
said her agency would continue to urge Kathmandu to control the illegal
importation of arms "so that civilians can live in security". Her organisation
is planning to conduct much-needed research into how small arms are currently
spreading in Nepal.
"Once
we have an accurate picture, it will then be possible to press the government
and the rebels to take measures to control the arms supply," said Shrestha.
At
the moment, most weapons come into Nepal from neighbouring India. "The
rebels mostly receive their arms through illegal suppliers in India, the
smuggling of weapons is very easy: it usually takes place along Nepal's
porous 1,700 km border with India," Shrestha added.
According
to a local NGO, Friends for Peace, the bulk of small arms smuggled into
Nepal come from India's illegal arms bazaar just across the border. Activists
maintain the only way to control the supply is through concerted cooperation
between India and Nepal.
If
the ceasefire evolves into a peace process that can draw the rebels into
the mainstream political process, disarming them along with the vigilantes
might be possible.
But
the rebels have already said they are not yet prepared to put down their
guns and are waiting for a comprehensive peace process. "It's too early
to talk about disarmament. Our war is not over. This is merely a ceasefire,"
said rebel leader Akash recently.
Even
if the ceasefire does lead to peace, on the wider question of controlling
the burgeoning number of small arms in the country, activists say the new
government needs to commit to a real reduction.
"This
is not just a military issue, but the leading cause of human rights abuse,
and weapons proliferation fuels the humanitarian crisis in our country,"
said peace activist Upreti.
Credit
IRIN 2006
Copyright
© UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2006
[
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). |
 |
| Links |
|
 |
 |
External
Links |
|
