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Authoritarian Regime Uses Excessive Force: 1/21/06

To Suppress the Democratic Movement

By Defend Human Rights Movement- Nepal

January 21, 2006 (11.10pm), Kathmandu, Nepal: The Seven Political Party Alliance carried out protests in various parts of Kathmandu, defying the state's prohibitive orders of mass assembly, with demonstrators chanting slogans against the autocratic regime.

The protest was rescheduled for today, January 21, as a result of a curfew and demonstration ban in the Kathmandu and Lalitpur Districts on 20 January 2006. These prohibitive orders were aimed at disrupting Friday’s scheduled peaceful protest of Nepal’s political parties. Similar protests have been carried out throughout the country against the regime's arbitrary actions.

The security forces arrested more than 300 pro-democracy activists, while they were taking part in peaceful demonstration in Kathmandu. These arrested leaders include: Assistant General Secretary Ram Sharan Mahat; Treasurer of Nepali Congress of Nepali Congress Mahantha Thakur; and central committee members of Nepali Congress Mahesh Acharya and Suprabha Ghimire; President and Former President of Nepali Congress associated Nepal Student Union Mahendra Sharma and Guru Raj Ghimire; President of Nepali Congress associated Nepal Tarun Dal Binod Kayastha; Standing committee member of Communist Party of Nepal (CPN-UML) Yub Raj Gyawali; leaders of Nepali Congress Democratic Basanta Gurung, Homnath Dahal, Uma Adhikari, Rudramani Bhandari, Keshav Kumar Budhathoki, Krishna Kishor Ghimire;! and People's Front leader Ghanashyam Sharma Poudel.

Similarly, more than a dozen litterateurs were also arrested from the literary program. During the protest, security forces used excessive force against pro-democracy activists who were brutally beaten, including human rights defenders (HRDs) Bimal Chandra Sharma and Samir Nepal and journalists Tank Pant and Prakash Silwal.

Human Rights organizations, including Defend Human Rights Movement- Nepal, Alliance Nepal, INSEC and the NGO Federation, as well as the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights observed today's demonstration programs.

Representatives from various human rights organizations made attempts to visit the detention centers, including New Baneswar Police Station, Jana Sewa Bishalbazar, Covered Hall and Kathmandu District Police Office (KDPO). Security forces barred HRDs to meet with detained leaders at some centers; though HRDs were permitted to meet the detained senior leaders at the KDPO. They found that the detained leaders did not receive water for four hours and were forced to stand throughout their entire time in detention.

Earlier today, the delegation of human rights defenders visited senior leaders of political parties, who have been kept under house arrest since the early morning of January 20, 2006. These leaders include Nepali Congress President Girija Prasad Koirala, Communist Party of Nepal (CPN-UML) General Secretary Madhab Kumar Nepal, CPN-UML standing committee members Bharat Mohan Adhikari and Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli and to the Chairperson of Nepal Workers and Peasant Party Narayan Man Bijukshe. The political party leaders are kept under house arrest under Article 3.2 of the 1989 Public Security Act, which allows the security forces to detain the leaders for three months period.

During the visit, the HRDs found that the family members of the leaders were also restricted on their movements in and out of the houses. Other family members are not allowed to visit Nepali Congress President Mr. Koirala in his house, where he resides with his elderly and ailing sister in-law.

The regime had cut all the telephone services of Mr. Koirala and the regular lines of the CPN-UML office. The HRDs also visited the political party offices of the Nepali Congress, the CPN-UML and the Nepali Congress (Democratic). The members of HRDs include Shanta Lal Mulmi, Dr. Renu Rajbhandari, K. C. Budhathoki, Dr. Rishi Adhikari, Kundan Aryal, Shobhakar Budhathoki, Bhagawati Nepal, Sharmila Karki and Krishna Gautam.

Prepared by

Shobhakar Budhathoki
Steering Committee Member
Defend Human Rights Movement- Nepal
GPO Box 21179, Kathmandu, Nepal
Tel: 977 1 4784574
E-mail: peace_sb@yahoo.com