Posted 07 February 2005 - 07:48 PM
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Nepali Congress Statement:
Spokesman Arjun Narasingha KC issued a statement on February 5th. In
addition to condemning the King's move and demanding the immediate release
of detained political leaders, he asked all members of the Nepali Congress
who might have joined splinter factions to rejoin the "mother party" in
order to effectively rally against the palace.
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Human Rights Community Statement:
Kathmandu – 14 key civil society members met to make a statement on Feb 1
2005. The statement said that after King GyanendraÂ’s speech he dismissed
the cabinet, took all power, and established his own government. This
action is directly in opposition to the basic values and norms of
democracy. From todayÂ’s meeting by human rights activists and the people
from civil society, we condemn these steps by the king After the king
has taken power in Nepal, he has issued a declaration of emergency. This
is a direct threat and violation of human rights. This declaration is in
violation of numerous international accords that Nepal is a signatory to
and accountable for. In this serious and sensitive situation, we are
assembling this meeting in order to request to the national and
international community to secure and restore all human rights codes and
accords.
1) Condemning the arrest of the political leaders and human rights
defenders and demanding that their locations be revealed.
2) The RNA must immediately stop closely directly and indirectly
monitoring all media, human rights defenders, and outspoken individuals.
We are specially requesting the diplomatic community to assist with
arrange security within Nepal and outside Nepal for all these individuals.
3) Without any reason, the mass communication and media have been shut
down. This irresponsible act will create significant obstacles for the
general people. This is why we are asking the international community to
arrange a systematic mass communication for the people of Nepal.
4) We are requesting an independent and sovereign human rights commission.
This commission is unable to do work properly right now. We are
requesting a guarantee of proper work environment for the commission.
5) The countryÂ’s human rights situation is worsening significantly. We
are requesting that United Nations and human rights organizations conduct
human rights monitoring in Nepal
Signatories:
1) Subodh Raj Pyakural, INSEC
2) Govinda Bandi, Nepal Bar Association [Human Rights Committee]
3) Shobhakar Budhadhoki, CEHURBS ?
4) Pradeep Shankar Wagle, Nepal Bar Association [Human Rights Committee]
5) Rajesh Hamal, Advocacy Forum
6) Madhav Pradhan, CIWIN Nepal
7) Bhanu Bhakta Dhakal, Mahendra Narian Smriti Pratestan
8) Usha Titikshu, Civic Solidarity for Peace
9) Dinesh Prasain, Collective Campaign for Peace (CoCAP)
10) Samir Nepal, Human Rights Alliance
11) Gopal Siwakoti, INHURED
12) Surya Bahadur XXX, NGO Federation
13) Anil Bhattarai, Nepal South Asia Center (NESAC)
14) Swanaam, Civic Solidarity for Peace
All 14 signatories of the document are now under threat of arrest by RNA,
who is searching for the activists. They are living underground.
***
From an interview with Shankar Pokhrel, Director of Media Relations,
CPN-UML, February 5
· Pokhrel has been in hiding since the February 1 announcement. His home
has been searched and he is known to be on the 1,000 person list of UML
party members whom the RNA has been given orders to arrest.
· Since Feb 1, he has stayed in three houses over four days, frequently
moving from place to place to avoid his path from being traced by the RNA.
· He has been able to communicate with other party members during the
brief periods where phones have been restored and the party is gathering
information and making a plan at these times.
· The RNA has a list of 1,000 people to arrest, divided into three
categories. Category A is called “sensitive persons” and consists of
people with the capacity to lead the masses, who are spokespeople and ery
well-known. Category B is for Central Committee Members and Category C is
for general cadre.
· The 3 main leaders of CPN-UML are under house arrest.
· 10-12 other leaders are in police custody.
· 200+ active workers from CPN-UML are also in police custody.
· Leaders of Nepali Congress are also under house arrest and in police
custody.
· This is occurring in districts throughout Nepal.
· The CPN-UML held a meeting to form an agenda and address the king’s
proclamation, and addressed three issues: