A Voice For the Voiceless

MISSION

The Advocacy Project seeks to help community-based advocates produce, disseminate and use information, and so become more effective advocates for human rights and social justice

Defiance of Curfew by Pro-democracy Activists: 4/08/06

Hundreds Arrested, Keeping the City Tense

 

COCAP Report - April 8, 2006, Kathmandu

 

The imposition of curfew order by the government since 10:00 this morning till 9:00 in the evening has been defied by the pro- democracy activists today in the restricted area of valley.

 

A twelve member monitoring team of COCAP has monitored the activities, protests, arrests, and overall incidences through out the valley including Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Lalitpur.  Due to the restriction of Travel Pass provided by the District Traffic Office, Kathmandu, only limited number of monitors, in six motorbikes, were mobilized in monitoring team. The team has observed total defiance of curfew order imposed by the government to make failure the peaceful political showdown to be organized by the seven-party alliance in Kathmandu today. Kalanki, Samakhusi, Gongabu, Anamnagar, Dillibazar, Chabil, Basantapur, Maharajgunj and other areas have been observed conflict hit with the defiance of curfew by the public.

 

Major areas of Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur remained tensed throughout the day. Protesters gathered in the major crossroads of the valley and chanted slogans against the present monarchy. At times, they were pelting stones on police personnel causing some injury to a few policemen. A HR observer of COCAP, Sahek BK, has rescued one wounded police from Kalanki taking him to the near by police post for further treatment lifting him in his motorbike. Similarly COCAP team and few journalists have released a reporter of Nepal FM, Diwakar Panta and Arun Thapa, an innocent commoner, who were detained in Nayabazar Police Station. The team has found many detainees in worse medical condition due to excessive beating by the police personnel but they are not being provided with any medication.

 

Thousands of local people and students have assembled at Kirtipur defying curfew orders and demonstrating against the royal regime. Nayabazar of Kirtipur remained tensed throughout the day. Throughout the day, the activists have chanted slogans against present regime. Huge forces of police personnel and army men have been deployed in the area making the area much terrific.

 

COCAP HR observers visited the residence of former prime minister and chair person of Nepali Congress. But they were not allowed to meet him by police personal.

 

The team has observed arrest of hundreds of protesters through out the valley in the name of defiance of curfew. Police took into custody one dozen pro-UML student leaders including president of ANNFSU Khimlal Bhattarai, general secretary Thakur Gaire, Secretary Yagya Raj Sunuwar, central committee members Narayan Basnet and Suman Basnet as they were demonstrating at Bagh Bazar area at 10:45 a. m. Similarly, the team has observed that thousands of local people and students have assembled at Kirtipur defying curfew orders and demonstrating against the royal regime. Similar kinds of demonstrations have been observed in many parts of Lalitpur and Bhaktapur.

 

 Almost two dozen persons including human rights activists, doctors and professionals of Civil Movement for Democracy and Peace (CMDP) have been arrested from the main road in front of Teaching Hospital after they have defied the curfew.

 

Names of Some Members from CMDP arrested by the police force:

1.      Dr. Madhu Ghimire

2.      Daman Nath Dhungana

3.      Kapil Shrestha

4.      Dr. Sundar Mani Dixit

5.      Dr. Saroj Dhital

6.      Laxman Aryal

7.      Padma Ratna Tuladhar

8.      Dr. Mahesh Maskey

9.      Kanak Dikshit

10.  Arjun Parajuli

11.  Dr. Bidur Basti

12.  Charan Prasai

13.  Bharat Pradhan

14.  Bhaskar Gautam

15.  Bimal Aryal

16.  Kedar Sharma

17.  Anubhav Ajit

18.  Malla K Sundar

19.  Shanta Dixit

20.  Rupak Adhikari etc.

 

Nationwide protest has been reported by the member organizations of COCAP Network. Accordingly, a report from Pokhara mentions a casualty of a protesting civilian, Bhimsen Dahal, by the gun fire of army man at Mahendrapool. He was running a cyber at Prithivichowk. Dahal was reported to have rushed to the Western Regional Hospital in an army van soon after he was hit by a bullet. He is a permanent resident of Kavre district.