Maoists in Nepal
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Human rights
Maoists in Nepal
INSEC released the Human Rights Yearbook 2003 Feb 2004
AI: Slide towards human rights catastrophe January 2004
Nepal's growing ranks of "disappeared" December 2003
NHRC accused Army and Maoists September 2003
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INSEC released the Human Rights Yearbook 2003
February 2004
The main facets of the book are:
1.More than 21,084 incidents of human rights violation; 52 percent by the Maoists and 38 percent by the State, the rest were by others.
2.4,952 persons were killed in one year-period, out of which 3,297 were killed by the State alone. The Maoists killed 1,358 people while others killed 297 during the same period.
3.A total of 135,118 violations were recorded against International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
4.A total of 4,873 violations were against the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).
5.Altogether 17,564 people, most of them due to Maoists threats, were displaced.
6.Almost 46 under-aged persons were also detained during the period.
7.Rukum, a mid western district, has been accounted for the highest number of deaths with about 500 killings followed by Dang, Rolpa, Achham, Jumla, Salyan, Bardiya, Surkhet, Doti and Lamjung on the top ten.

Informal Sector Service Centre (INSEC)
Amensty International
January 2004
AI: Slide towards human rights catastrophe

Nepal's growing ranks of "disappeared"
December 2003
Most are said by their families and witnesses to have been taken away by the army and police following accusations of supporting the country's shadowy and violent Maoist rebel movement. Hundreds of Nepali citizens said to be among the country's growing ranks of "disappeared". Nepal's human rights groups and media are taking the situation seriously. Kathmandu newspapers are publishing lists of the disappeared prepared by the country's National Human Rights Commission. "Making people disappear, or holding them in custody without producing them before the court, is a criminal act", human right activists say. Amnesty International has said Nepal's number of "disappeared" is alarming.

NHRC accused Maoists and Army
September 2003
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC)accused the army of extra-judicial killings in Ramechhap district and the Maoists of killing non-combatant security personnel in Siraha and Panchthar districts.
The NHRC rapped the Maoists for human rights violations for murdering unarmed security personnel and civilians in crowded places. The NHRC said the Maoists had exploded a landmine under a civilian truck, which killed at least five non-combatant soldiers and the driver at a place called Nigale at Nagi VDC in Panchthar district on August 5, 2003. The NHRC accused the Maoists of killing two unarmed policemen in the middle of a public square at Dhangadi of Siraha district.

Government accused to torture journalists
June 2002

A Pro-Maoist journalist's alleged custodial death has drawn national and international protests by various journalist unions and human right organisations with demands that full details about the incident should be made public. Unnamed Police officials stated that the journalist was never in police custody, but was held by the Royal Nepal Army. Since the imposition of emergency last November, over 100 journalists have been arrested with more than 30 still in the government custody.

Dang: Human rights investigation on Maoists' human shields
April 2002

A team of National Human Rights Commission has arrived in Dang district to investigate the overall situation of human rights in this region. Human right activists are deeply concernd about reports of human shields used by Maoists during their Dang attacks.

Government accused torturing journalists
A Pro-Maoist journalist's alleged custodial death has drawn national and international protests by various journalist unions and human right organisations with demands that full details about the incident should be made public. Unnamed Police officials stated that the journalist was never in police custody, but was held by the Royal Nepal Army. Since the imposition of emergency last November, over 100 journalists have been arrested with more than 30 still in the government custody.

Teachers in the crossifre of Maoists and security forces
April 2002

The teachers have been one of the primary targets of both the Maoist rebels and the security forces, as almost 60 teachers have been killed in Nepal since the Maoists launched their insurgency in 1996. More than 60 others have fled their hometowns and schools seeking asylum in Kathmandu after the government imposed the state of emergency . According to reports at least 26 teachers have died either in thepolice custody or in the encounters since the declaration of emergency. Maoists have killed 33 teachers. Even the report of the Amnesty International said that besides those deliberately killed by the Maoists, nearly half the number of teachers have died either in the "crossfire" or "killed by gunfire." Though the number of teachers killed in action is growing. Maoists have been asking schools not to let their students sing the national anthem, accusing it of glorifying the Monarch and not to teach Sanskrit.
Even the teachers and organisations outside the country have shown deep concern over the plight of the teachers in Nepal. Education International, the international organisation of teachers, had urged Nepalese government to put an end to the merciless killings and torture on teachers in Nepal and had asked the government to bring the culprits to justice. Despite continues pressure from various national and international organisations, the Maoist rebels are targeting more and more teachers in the villages, forcing tens of thousands of teachers to either flee their schools or quit the profession.

Dang: Human rights investigation

A team of National Human Rights Commission has arrived in Dang district to investigate the overall situation of human rights in this region. Human right activists are deeply concernd about reports of human shields used by Maoists during their Dang attacks.

External links

Source: Education International Welcome Page

Nepal faces spiralling human rights crisis
April 2002
The human rights group, Amnesty International, issued a report strongly condemning both the Nepalese security forces and the Maoists for alleged human rights violations. But in the past weeks, Amnesty and other groups have been harshly critical of the suspension of freedom of the press and the arrest of journalists in the months since the emergency was declared last November. Local human rights activists say around 100, some affiliated with now banned Maoist publications, have been arrested.

Nepal's six-year conflict pitting Maoists against government forces has unleashed a human rights crisis, with abuses committed on both sides, Amnesty International said. Abductions, disappearances, torture and unlawful killings have been carried out by both parties in the fighting, the human rights group said in a report.
The situation has got worse since peace talks broke down and a state of emergency was declared last November. The conflict had hit civilians heavily. More than 2,700 people have died since the Maoists launched their violent struggle for a communist republic in Nepal in 1996. The Maoists have killed more than 440 civilians believed to be 'enemies of the revolution'. 1,300 suspected Maoists have been shodt dead killed by the joint security forces.

Amnesty International
Amnesty International On-line

The report claimed that police had killed several hundred Maoists, who should have been taken into custody, while it said the Maoists had executed scores of police officers who were wounded, taken prisoner or had surrendered.

Amnesty said it recognised the security threat posed by the people's war but called on the government to adopt a broad-based strategy to ensure human rights protection, including access to education and economic development. Amnesty warned the turmoil in Nepal could exacerbate already high regional tensions.

Human Rights Organisations: Maoists linked to Bihari gundas

Apparently departing from the past practices Human Rights Organisations have begun to be equally critical of Maoists who have been waging 'people's war' for the last five years. While commenting on violent Maoist insurgency and its profound ramifications in our society, Human Rights Organisations used to adopt a cautious and simplistic approach and blame the government for all the woes. But now they seem to have been bold enough as to denounce Maoists. A Human Rights activist likened the Maoists to Bihari gundas. According to him Maoists have also been adopting the same policy of hostage making and extortion as Bihari gundas of India. Speaking at a press conference upon the conclusion of a tour of 48 districts including Rolpa, Rukum Salyan and Jajarkot he said: "The government has scandalously committed human rights abuses. Likewise, Maoists have also already crossed the limit when it comes to committing human rights abuses. People in Rukum, Rolpa, Salyan and Jajarkot are forced to live in terror. Entire people are intimidated. The government should give priority to the preservation of human rights. Both the government and the Maoists should not dishonor Geneva Convention".

The Human Right Organisation also revealed that people had petitioned them to do something for providing a certain relief from the present situation of terror and intimidation. The violent Maoist insurgency that has entered the sixth year has already claimed the lives of thousands of people. In a few districts they claim to have been running their own governments. But the government seems to have been a mere passive spectator. The present deadlock between the government and Maoists is rightly believed to be pregnant with explosive imponderable.

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