The United States of Nepal?

Michael Poulsen

Kathmandu, April 6: At the moment there is a lot of debate on whether Nepal ought to convert to a federation along ethnic lines. This is mainly a demand from the Maoist and the UML but grassroots movements like NEFIN (Federation of Indigenous Nationalities) are also making their voices heard.

However if Nepal would look to the latest experience with federations along ethnical borders (Sudan and Nigeria), they will quickly realize that ethnical disturbance will very likely increase if a federations border are drawn to make according to ethnic demands.

Furthermore, such a construction would very likely lead to the strengthening of the ethnic identities at the expense of the Nepalese identity, which in turn would make the nation open to identity "struggle", where the group that articulates the strongest claim to the land receives autonomy over it –and thereby access to the political and economical sphere, in spite of any other claims.

This would lead to continuing resentment among the ethnic groups which has not articulated as strong a claim. And lastly this would lead to a nation with divided loyalties–which any foreign power (private or nation) can exploit.

But as with many examples of federalism, be it USA or Nigeria, there are no easy or fast solutions.

(Michael Poulsen is a Danish national currently doing internship in Nepal)

Source: Nepal Human Rights News

Abuse of Indian children 'common'

By Geeta Pandey BBC News, Delhi

Two out of every three children in India are physically abused, according to a landmark government study.

Commissioned by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, the study says 53% of the surveyed children reported one or more forms of sexual abuse. This is the first time the government has done such an exhaustive survey on the controversial issue of child abuse. Abuse of children, particularly sexual abuse, is rarely admitted in India and activists have welcomed the study.

Releasing the report at a press conference in the capital, Delhi, Minister for Women and Child Development Renuka Chowdhury said: "In India there's a tradition of denying child abuse. It doesn't happen here is what we normally say.

"But by remaining silent, we have aided and abetted the abuse of children."

Thousands quizzed

Describing the findings of the study as "disturbing", Ms Chowdhury called for an end to the "conspiracy of silence". The issue of child abuse has been raised in the past by non-governmental organisations, but this is the first time an attempt has been made by the government to document the scale of the problem.

The study took two years to complete, and covered 13 states where 12,247 children (between five and 12) and 2,324 young adults (over the age of 12) were quizzed. Dr Loveleen Kacker, the official in charge of child welfare in the ministry, compiled the report. She said the study had revealed that contrary to the general belief that only girls were abused, boys were equally at risk, if not more. She said a substantial number of the abusers were "persons in trust and care-givers" who included parents, relatives and school teachers.

Dr Kacker said a disturbing finding of the study had been that 70% had not reported the abuse to anyone. Besides surveying physical and sexual abuse, the study also collected statistics on emotional abuse and neglect of girls. The study called for efforts to make society aware of the rights of children and officials say the data will help them formulate better policies to protect children.

'One too many'

The report has been welcomed by child rights activists who say such a study was sorely needed in India. Roland Angerer, country director of Plan International, told BBC News it was "very important that the government has finally taken up the issue". "It doesn't matter what statistics say. Whether the percentage of abused children is 75 or whether it is 58 is unimportant. Each child that is abused is one too many," he said. "It's important that parents and adults must learn that children are not property, that they have rights too."
In India, parents are often reluctant to admit child abuse and sexual abuse of children involving family members is almost always hushed up.

Perhaps that is why - as the study shows - more than 50% of the young adults surveyed wanted the matter of abuse to remain within the family. Only 17% of the abused young adults wanted harsh punishment for the abusers. Officials and activists say the biggest challenge for the authorities and society is to ensure that children are encouraged to report abuse.

India is home to almost 19% of the world's children. More than one-third of the country's population - 440m people - is made up of children below 18 years of age. According to one study, at least 40% of these children are in need of care and protection. The country has millions of child workers. Many are employed in hazardous industries and also in homes and small restaurants, which makes them vulnerable to violence and exploitation.

Last year the government banned children under 14 from being employed in homes and at restaurants to avoid their exploitation and abuse, but millions of children continue to work in these sectors.

India is a signatory to various international laws on the protection of children, but implementation of these laws is often lax.

Source: BBC

Video Footage of Gaur massacre

Please watch the video here

Why is the government hesitating to take action against the perpetrators? It does't make any hell of a difference if Prachanda or Upendra Yadav is guilty. People died, the race of the body count doesn't make any hell of a difference.

Save Nepal: Tension in south could lead to war, analysts warn

Source: United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs - Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN)

KATHMANDU, 9 April 2007 (IRIN) - As Nepal continues its transition from a decade-long armed conflict towards a peaceful democratic nation, analysts say a serious hurdle stands in its way - violence and unrest in the country's southern Terai region.
For the past three months, ethnic Madhesi groups have been demanding regional autonomy and greater political rights for their community in the Terai - home to almost half of Nepal's 27 million inhabitants, the majority of whom are Madhesis.
More than 60 people have been killed in violent clashes between police and Madhesi protestors, largely led by the popular Madhesi People's Rights Forum (MPRF) - known as a platform for all pro-Madhesi activists and supporters but yet to be recognised as a political party.
There are other Madhesi political groups, including militant ones, which are gaining notoriety for abductions, kidnappings and killings of civilians, government officials and observers say.
What started as anti-government protests has turned into violence between various ethnic groups, largely the Madhesis and the Pahadis. The Pahadis are from the hill areas, but over the past half-century many migrated to the Terai to escape hardship in the hills.
Terai is a fertile area which is considered the country's breadbasket, in contrast to less productive hill and mountain areas. Pahadis make up about 30 percent of the Terai population.
Most of the Pahadis are better educated and richer than the Madhesis, say analysts. They are more active and dominant in Nepal's political parties and government offices.
The Madhesi leaders say their community has been neglected and excluded from most of the country's developmental and political processes due to Pahadi leaders discriminating against them.
Security in Terai worsening
Analysts say the security situation in the Terai is worsening with extortions, intimidation, threats and kidnappings occurring every day. The government frequently announces curfews to maintain security.
Last week, some senior officials were abducted by a Madhesi-affiliated group known as the Terai People's Liberation Front. The police have been pursuing the case but with no success.
Independent analysts, both local and international, have urged the government to take Madhesi demands seriously.
There are fears that if these demands are not addressed, the current regional uprising is at risk of escalating into a full-blown war between the Madhesi and Pahadi communities.
"This fear is always there. The risk of communal war is always there whenever you have inefficient political parties and government," said Chandra Kishore Lal, a prominent analyst in Nepal. He added that the government was taking the issue as a law and order case rather than a crucial political issue.
International specialists say Madhesi demands should not be construed as political gimmicks to jeopardise the peace process, as has been implied by the Maoists and other political parties.
"The issues need to be taken seriously as we have already seen that the country was recently on the brink of paralysis," Rhoderick Chalmers, an analyst with the International Crisis Group (ICG), told IRIN. He added that there was still a chance to address the Madhesi issue by promoting an inclusive political process, particularly one that includes a majority of Madhesis in the electorate.
Pivotal role of elections
Nepal is for the first time preparing for Constituent Assembly (CA) elections, scheduled for June, but the CA hardly addresses the Madhesi issue, analysts say.
"Even the formation of the CA mechanism fails to address any aspiration of the Madhesi and there is still no talk of how to develop the mechanism process," said Lal. He added that instead of resolving the issue, its main aim is to legitimise former Maoist rebels by bringing them into mainstream politics.
With the elections nearing, Madhesi groups have said they will jeopardise them and make the CA irrelevant. Madhesi leaders have already gone underground and taken refuge in India, from where they are giving directions for more protests, said Lal, an ethnic Madhesi himself.
Some political party leaders, who did not want to be identified, said the elections should be postponed until the Madhesi issue is sorted out.
"The next few months prior to the elections will be very critical for Nepal's new phase but there are fears of the country slipping into conflict again if the Terai issue is not resolved," said Natalie Hicks from International Alert, an NGO working on early warning issues.
Local NGOs say that many families in the Terai have already left their villages and migrated to India in search of better security and livelihoods. They say there is no longer the old harmony between the Madhesis and Pahadis.
"I fear to walk at night in the Madhesi neighbourhood," said Sharan Poudel, an ethnic Pahadi in the southwestern city of Nepalgunj.
Om Kumar Kurmi, a Madhesi who also lives in Nepalgunj, now fears the Pahadis. "I fear that I might get beaten up by the Pahadis for my Madhesi identity. I have nothing against them and most of my friends used to be from the Pahadi community, but the situation has completely changed now," he said.

Source: Reliefweb

एउटा नयाँ नाटक वा नयाँ अवसर

- नरेश कुमार उप्रेती

एक वर्ष अघि जब नेपाली जनता सडकमा उत्रिएका थिए, उनीहरु न कुनै वाद्का निम्ति या कुनै राजनैतिक शक्तिलाई पुनर्स्थापित गर्नका निम्ति टाउकोमा कात्रो बाँधेर प्रहरी र सैनिकको बन्दुक का गोली छिचोल्दै स्व स्फुर्त आन्दोलनमा अघि बढेका थिए । नेपाली जनता त देशमा मर्ने र मार्ने द्वन्दको पिँडाबाट वाक्क भएका एकतिर थिए भने अर्कोतिर राजा विरेन्द्र को हत्यामा हात रहेको भनेर जनताका नजरमा गिरेका ज्ञानेन्द्रको चुरिफुरिको अन्त चाहन्थे। त्यसैले जनताले बिगतमा पार्टिहरुले गरेका भ्रस्टाचार र दन्ड हिनताको शासनलाइ बिर्सिएझैँ गरेका थिए। त्यसैले जनताको त्यो आन्दोलनलाइ भजाएर, माओवादी वा खाओबादि, लाओबादी वा अरु कुनै वादि ले जनताको नाममा ठूला ठूला कुरा गर्नु मूतको न्यानो जस्तो मात्रै हो भन्दा यहाँ अतिशयोक्ति नहोला।

जनता लोकतन्त्र चाहन्छन्, शान्ति चाहन्छन्, बांच्नका लागि बिकास चाह्न्छन। एउटा नयाँ नेपालको परिकल्पना साकार भएको हेर्न चाह्न्छन। जनताको जनमत बिना शासन गर्ने यूग यो होइन। जनता नै सर्वोपरि हुन र उनिहरुको मत नै सर्वोपरि हुन्छ। त्यसैले जनताले निर्धक्क भएर मत हाल्ने वातावरणको सिर्जना गरी संबिधान सभाको चुनावमा जानु र त्यसको मतलाई कदर गर्दै नयाँ नेपाल निर्माणमा लाग्नु नै सबैको कल्याण हुने बाटो हो। तर चुनावलाइ एउटा बिगतको नाराको रूपमा बाध्यता सम्झेर जसो तसो सक्ने अनि मिलिजुलि बाँडिचुडि खाने आन्तरिक उद्देश्य जुन देखिन थालेको छ,त्यो आफैमा खतरनाक कदम हुन सक्छ।

चैतको अन्त भैसक्यो, दल दर्ताको प्रकृया बल्ल सुरु हुदैँछ। मार्टिन स्वयँले हतारमा जसो तसो गरिएको चुनाव अन्तररास्ट्रिय समूदायलाई मान्य छैन भने पनि हामी जसरी भए पनि चुनाव असारमै गराएर छाडछौँ भन्दै कुर्लिने प्रचन्डलाई ताली को निम्ति गालि गर्न रमाउने कम्युनिस्ट शैलि भन्ने कि उही ज्ञानेन्द्रले गराएको चुनावी नाटकको दोस्रो पाटो भनेर जनताले बुझ्ने ? जनताको मतलाई कदर गर्ने उद्देश्य साँच्चिकै राखिएको हो भने र बिगतमा जनताको त्यो उर्लिएको महासागर आफ्नै पार्टीको नेतृत्त्वमा देश चलाउने आह्वानको लागि हो भनेर सोचेको हो भने कुनै पनि शक्तिले अहिले कू गर्छन भन्ने बहाना देखाएर भागबन्डाको चुनाव गर्न खोजियो भने देशले शान्तिपूर्ण अवतरणका लागि अझै धेरै पापड बेल्नु पर्ने देखिन्छ।


देशका प्रधानमन्त्री कै अनुसार राजा ज्ञानेन्द्र बाट ज्ञानेन्द्र मात्रै भैसकेको अवस्थामा, नेपाली सेना र माओबादि सेना दुबै आफ्नै मातहतमा रहेको अवस्थामा पनि अब असारमा चुनाव भएन भने यस्तो हुन्छ, उस्तो हुन्छ भनेर भन्छन भने नेपाली जनताले यिनिहरुलाई हुति नभएका, असफल नपूंसक नेता भन्दा फरक पर्ला र? कू भनेको जहिले पनि हुन सक्छ, चुनाव पछि पनि हुन सक्छ, त्यो नहुनका लागि जनचाहना अनुसार काम गर्नु पर्छ, पार्टीभन्दा राष्ट्रलाई प्राथमिकतामा राख्नु पर्छ। जनता आफ्नो पक्षमा छैनन भने, कू गर्नका लागि ज्ञानेन्द्र चाहिदैन, नयाँ शक्तिको जन्म हुन्छ जस्ले आजका स्वघोशित(चुनावको परिणाम आईनसकेकोले) महाशक्तिहरु पनि भोलि कठघरामा उभिनु पर्ने हुनसक्छ। बिगतका हत्या र बिध्वँसको जवाफ दिनु पर्ने हुन सक्छ।

जनताले धेरै नाराहरु सुनिसके,अब कुनै क्रान्तिकारी नारा बिक्ने अवस्था कमसेकम म चाँही देख्दिन। चुनाव असारमा हुन नसक्ने भयो, मँसिरमा गर्नु पर्ला भनेर कुनै नेताले भन्यो भने जनता सडकमा ओर्लिदैनन,बरु एउटा नेता त सही बोल्ने पाइयो भनेर दंङ्ग पर्छन नेपालि जनता। उनीहरु यतिखेर कुनै पनि मूल्यमा शान्ति र विकाश चाहन्छन। उनिहरुका हातमा फोका उठिसक्यो तालि बजाउँदा बजाउँदा,उनिहरुका गला सुकिसक्यो नारा लगाउँदा लगाउँदा,उनिहरु वाक्क दिक्क भैसके नेपालीले नेपालीलालाई मारेको देखेर। केवल चाह्न्छन त शान्ति सँग दुई छाक बिहान बेलुका खाना पाइयोस र बेलुका सुते पछि बिहान ज्युँदै उठ्न पाइयोस। उनीहरुलाई चुनाव असारमा होस य मँसिरमा,केहि हतार छैन।

चाहे राजा रहून् या नरहून,यसले नेपाली जनतालाई कुनै फरक पर्दैन,माओबादि सत्तामा जाउन या नजाउन;यसले पनि उनीहरुलाइ कुनै महत्त्व राख्दैन,गिरिजाप्रसादले चुनावी मसला खोलून् या नखोलून्,त्यस्ले पनि कुनै लछार् पाटो लाउँदैन। माधवले के बोल्छन त जनताले सुन्नै छोडिसके। खालि चाहन्छन् त कुकुरले हड्डीमा लुछा चुँडि गरे झैँ; पद र शक्ति, फालिएको हाडमा होइन जनताको मतमा खोजेको हेर्न चाहन्छन आफ्ना नेतालाई। सायद एउटा नया सुद्दिकरणको क्रान्ति नभए सम्म दम्भको राजनितिले अन्त पाउंदैन र तबसम्म नेपाली जनताले पनि एउटा स्वच्छ सफा समाज देख्न्न पाउंदैन। आशा गरौँ त्यो सुद्दिकरणको आन्दोलन आगामी चुनावको परिणामको रूपमा सुरु होस। त्यसैले, चुनाव एउटा नाटक मन्चन् मात्र नभएर एउटा परिवर्तनको अवसर बनोस।

(Uprety currently works as an IT Consultant in US . He has instructed at various educational institutions and is involved with projects related to education. He can be reached at
upretynaresh@yahoo.com)

Peace Spoilers

What we need at a time like this is courageous leaders and cohesion among the groups in negotiation: courageous leaders to harness the outrage of the public and not let them vent it out in adverse ways and cohesion among the main parties to continue working together to complete the peace process that they started.

- By Dipendra Tamang

Given the resurgence and predominance of violence in the last few months, especially with the ghastly massacre of 28 people at Gaur on 21 March, I turn to theory and general experience to explain it. Nepal has undergone massive changes in the last one year, from a country under dictatorial rule of the King with an ongoing violent conflict to a nascent re-emergent democracy with a comprehensive peace process. But violence always poses fundamental challenges to peace processes.

We all need to know that peace is very fragile during the implementation of agreements. In the recent opinion poll conducted by International IDEA in the Balkan countries, societies in the immediate post-conflict phase are characterised by a high degree of hope, energy and trust in domestic and international institutions. And the failure of working in stabilisation and rehabilitation efforts can - within a few years - turn this hope and trust into skepticism, desperation and disillusionment. After the Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed between the Maoists and the Seven Political Parties, the Nepali people expected everything to be resolved and life to return to pre-conflict normality. But the reality is that this is an agreement between two or more former conflicting parties and in order to make it work, it will require cooperation

This means that the Maoists must be able to bring all their followers with them, the government must be able to persuade the army and the disaffected parties and ones who own guns must be persuaded to lay them down. But establishing and consolidating peace is not so easy, it inevitably takes time and duly, frustrations rise. Different actors in violent conflict hardly choose peace at the same time and the ones who seek to end the conflict will often face opposition from parties who are excluded or who exclude themselves from peacemaking. These spoilers - leaders and factions who view peace as opposed to their interest and who are willing to use violence to undermine it - pose a grave threat to those who risk making peace.

In Nepal , we are seeing the emergence of more groups demanding their rights, justifiably so, but through the use of violence and weapons. With the Maoists literally shooting their way to the Talks Table, other groups seems to be copying their strategy. Given the current security vacuum in the country, with the Maoists inside cantonments and the Army confined to their barracks, the situation seems a ripe moment, not for peace but for the resurgence of violence, as demonstrated in Gaur. There is no surefire answer to a dilemma like this, but one of the solutions is for the political parties to behave more responsibly and take more proactive measures to form the interim government as quickly as possible (which have been done) and hold the Constituent Assembly elections at the earliest feasible date. But the process to the formation of the CA should also be well thought out, so that there is equal representation of all groups and classes.

One of the solutions is maintaining participatory approach of working- involving civil society, academicians and the experts in its stabilisation and peace building process. The lack of it undermines basic democratic institutions, democratic reforms and reconciliation and stabilisation efforts.

Another solution, which should go along with the previous one, is the provision of international resources. When there is no economic interdependence between or among warring parties, then there is not much incentive for them to cooperate in the face of spoilers. Research shows that differences vary predictably with the amount of international resources and attention they receive. In Bosnia , over $16 billion was provided to implement peace which translated to $4200/person where as in Rwanda , to implement the Arusha Accord, $35 million was provided translating to about $4/person. Although the international actors may do too much, but where difficulty is high and local capacities are weak, international actors must increase the resources allotted to making and building peace.

Occasionally, certain atrocities provoke universal condemnation and galvanise popular reaction against the perpetrators. So, let the Gaur atrocity be such an example as the1998 Omagh bombing in Northern Ireland or the 1992 massacre at Boipatong in South Africa . In these cases, instead of destabilising negotiations or an agreement, they became a stimulus for negotiation. What we need at a time like this is courageous leaders and cohesion among the groups in negotiation: courageous leaders to harness the outrage of the public and not let them vent it out in adverse ways and cohesion among the main parties to continue working together to complete the peace process that they started.

(Tamang is the Director (Programs) at the Alliance for Peace - Nepal , a non-governmental organisation working to enable and empower Nepali youths and can be reached at dipendra@afpnepal.org)

Source: Nepalnews.com

NEPAL: Girls not spared by violence in Terai

NEPAL: Girls not spared by violence in Terai

RAUTAHAT, 29 March 2007 (IRIN) - In the remote Pathaya village of Rautahat district, some 200km southeast of the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, local women are coming to terms with seeing three young girls killed in recent clashes between supporters of the ethnic Madhesi party and former Maoist rebels.

“There have been sleepless nights for every witness and yet they could do nothing to save these girls from their perpetrators,” said women’s rights activist Shobha Gautam, who had travelled to the area to report on the incident. “This was a crime against humanity. I’m still too shocked to recount the details.”

Rights groups say Saraswati Upreti, Pratima Pariyar and Usha Thapa - all aged between 16 and 18 years old and Maoist sympathisers - were killed by supporters of the Madhesi People’s Rights Forum (MPRF) on 21 March.

The girls were dragged to a local Hindu temple in Rautahat where they were raped, tortured, had their breasts cut off and their heads crushed with rocks in front of hundreds of people in broad daylight. “Why is there so much hatred? Why is it always helpless women who have to suffer the most?” cried a local female villager who declined to reveal her name for fear that she would be killed for sharing any information about the incident. No villager in Pathaya was willing to say anything about the incident as they too feared for their lives.

Hundreds of villagers have reportedly left their homes in Pathaya and neighbouring villages fearing recurring violence.

The MPRF has been organising protests for the past three months, demanding autonomy for the Madhesi people in the southern Terai region. During the protests, some MPRF protesters have targeted Pahadis, Nepalese hill people who make up the majority of Maoist supporters in the region. NGOs have expressed concern that the deteriorating security in the Terai is affecting the most vulnerable and that the recent killing of three girls will lead to more violence against women. The fact that most local Terai men live and work in India, trying to provide for their families, makes the many women living alone with their children feel more insecure.

“The Terai violence has so much impact on women. This incident has stirred so much fear of insecurity among women across the nation, mostly in the Terai region, where there is no sign of violence stopping now,” said Devkumari Mahara, an activist with the Women’s Rehabilitation Centre (WOREC), a national NGO focussing on the protection of women.

Mahara added that women’s rights activists were also at risk. “We often get attacked and abused, even as women’s rights defenders. You can imagine the vulnerability of ordinary women,” she said. Kamala Rai, an activist who works in Dhanusa, one of the most volatile districts of the Terai, said that incidents of rape and abuse could be on the rise amid escalating violence. But most of them would go unreported as the victims would not be willing to report the cases to the police, whom they do not trust, she said. “Can you believe that a 72-year-old woman was recently raped many times? But the rapists managed to get away as the security system of the country has totally failed,” Rai said.

Source: IRIN Asia