Human Rights Features (HRF) on Maoist conflict in Nepal

On 23 November 2001, the rebel Communist Party of Nepal (Maoists) unilaterally withdrew from peace talks with the Government of Nepal and formed a 37-member ‘People’s Council’ as the transitional underground government of the so-called ‘People’s Republic of Nepal.’ According to Maoist sources, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of the Maoists attacked several targets throughout the country. More than 20 district headquarters were targeted within a few hours of the formation of the ‘People's Council.’

In response to the Maoist onslaught, the Government of Nepal declared a state of emergency on 26 November 2001. Fundamental rights under the Constitution including the right to freedom of expression and opinion (Article 12.2a), press and publication rights (Article 13), and the right to information (Article 16), were suspended.

The government also promulgated the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Control and Punishment) Ordinance on 26 November 2001 which empowers law enforcement personnel to detain suspects without trial for six months and provide for 20 years' imprisonment for convicted terrorists.

Cases instituted under the ordinance are not subject to any statute of limitations. The Home Ministry of Nepal also declared the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) a terrorist organisation.

In his address to the nation on 28 November 2001, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba declared that “encouraging terrorism under any pretext will be considered as a serious crime against the country, [the] people and democracy. All the persons, groups and institutions within and outside the country aiding and abetting terrorism through a supply of arms, money and information have to be brought under the purview of law and punished accordingly." The Prime Minister asked the people to be ready for “some discomfort to the people.”

In addition to declaring war against the Maoists, the Government of Nepal has declared a virtual war against the press.

On 26 November 2001, police raided the offices of three publications which are allegedly associated with the Maoist movement: the weekly Janadesh, the daily Janadisha, and the monthly Dishabodh.

The police arrested nine staff members and also confiscated equipment and written materials.

The detainees include Janadesh editor Govinda Acharya, executive editor Khil Bahadur Bhandary, Janadesh correspondent Deepak Sapkota, computer operator Ram Bhakta Shrestha, Janadisha editor Om Sharma, computer operator Deepak Mainali and Dipendra Rokaya of Janadisha.

Dishabodh executive editor Ishwarchandra Gyawali and another unidentified Dishabodh employee were also arrested that day, local sources said. Dishabodh computer operator Nim Bahadur Budhathoki was arrested on 25 November 2001.

Since 26 November 2001, these journalists have been held in incommunicado detention. They are reportedly being detained on police premises near the Maharajgunj police training school in Kathmandu.

People detained in unofficial places of detention are often victims of torture or ‘disappearance.’ They should have been produced before a judicial authority within 24 hours of their arrest; however, the right to production before a judicial magistrate has been suspended under the Emergency Ordinance.

On 27 November 2001, the Nepalese army issued a notice to media outlets asking them to seek permission from the army's Information Department before publishing any news about military affairs.

On 28 November 2001, the government seized all copies of the largest English daily, Kathmandu Post, after the newspaper printed a photo of Maoist militants, according to sources in Nepal. Government officials then warned the paper’s editors not to publish articles or photos that “glorify” the Maoist movement.

In a statement issued on 28 November 2001, the Ministry of Information and Communication listed several proscribed topics, including reports that “create hatred and disrespect against His Majesty the King and the Royal Family,” or “harm national dignity, create social disintegration and instigate terror.”

The statement also encouraged the media to publish official news and reports “regarding bravery and achievements of [the] Royal Nepal Army, police and civil servants.”

Earlier according to Kantipur Daily of 5 December 2001, the local administration has reportedly released 37 of the 38 journalists of High Tech arrested on 29 November 29 in Butwal in western Nepal. No news was received about management consultant Mr Basanta Pokhrel.

On 15 December 2001, the government ordered Nepalese and foreign journalists to leave the areas where fighting between the army and Maoists was concentrated.

On 17 December 2001, Doloram Ghimire, managing editor of the local daily Mechi Kali, was arrested by policemen in Butwal. On the same day, plainclothes policemen arrested Gopal Budhathoki, director of the Nepalese weekly Sanghu, and Bandhu Thapa, director of the weekly Deshantar, from their residence at Kathmandu for publication of “objectionable” articles. Gopal Budhathoki and Bandhu Thapa were released in the evening of 18 December 2001.

On 31 December 2001, Pushkar Lal Shrestha, editor-in-chief and publisher of Nepal Samacharpatra, a Nepali language daily, and also president of the Nepal chapter of the Vienna-based International Press Institute, was summoned by Chief District Officer Kirti Bahadur Chand and interrogated for over two hours in connection with the publication of an interview with Maoist ideologue Dr Baburam Bhattarai. Shrestha was told that publishing a statement by a “terrorist leader” would invite punishment as it would have an adverse impact on the morale of the security forces.

More than 500 people have reportedly been killed since the clashes began on 23 November 2001. The Nepalese army, called in for the first time since the insurgency began, launched air and ground assaults on rebel strongholds. The insurgency has affected nearly all of the country's 75 districts, with most activities taking place in the central and western regions.

In blatant violation of international humanitarian laws, the Government warned doctors, hospitals and nursing homes not to provide medical care to wounded “terrorists” without permission from the security authorities.

Health Minister Sharat Singh Bhandari said that doctors working in government hospitals as well as private health institutions would be “liable to government action if they treat the terrorists without getting permission from the security wings.”

Any medic defying the rule could be prosecuted under the recently promulgated anti-terrorist ordinance, the minister warned.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has been denied access to the arrested and the wounded. The Geneva Convention authorises ICRC delegates to go to all places where there are protected persons, prisoners of war or civil internees and to talk to them without witnesses.

The ICRC must be granted all the necessary facilities to carry out its humanitarian work. Following the outbreak of hostilities, the ICRC reminded the Nepal government authorities of their obligations under international humanitarian law during the implementation of counter-insurgency operations.

Jean-Jacques Bovay, head of the ICRC delegation in Kathmandu said the ICRC would be able to distribute assistance based on needs.

However, he added, the team should be able to visit the facilities and monitor the distribution and use of the supplies. "We are afraid because of the situation, we still haven't had access to those who have been arrested… we are getting some information that leads us to believe the situation in the country is serious."

Earlier in March 2001, the government denied long-term visas to nearly 15 ICRC delegates. The ICRC had repeatedly approached the Home and Foreign Ministries for extension of visas for another six months, but had been turned down by the ministries.

According to a Home Ministry official, the denial of long-term visas and the alleged stalling of the ICRC’s application for recognition of its Kathmandu office could be “a strategic one.” The government would not want the ICRC to get a foothold in the country at a time when reports of human rights violations by security forces were on the upswing.

The conflict has already claimed 2,000 lives and displaced nearly 60,000 persons. And none of the parties - the Nepal police, the army, or the self-proclaimed revolutionaries - have shown any regard for human rights and humanitarian laws.

Both the insurgents and Nepalese law enforcement officials used incommunicado detention, rape, torture, inhuman and degrading treatment as well as extrajudicial executions. At least 150 people have disappeared from police custody and many more have been held in unacknowledged detention since the start of the ‘People’s War.’ Although several habeas corpus petitions were filed in the courts for their release, the police denied the arrests and dismissed all the petitions.

The government of Nepal has consistently claimed that all of the people killed by the police as part of the ‘People’s War’ have been Maoist guerrillas killed in police-insurgent encounters.

The UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions after a nine-day tour of Nepal however concluded that “extrajudicial killings have taken place” and that “the police have not been made accountable” for these crimes.

As the Government of Nepal throttles press freedom, the security forces enjoy the license to resort to all illegal means including violation of humanitarian principles.

The international community must intervene with the Government of Nepal to ensure freedom of the press and to lift restrictions on the freedom of expression. If not, the truth, when it finally emerges, might be too hard to confront.

War against Maoists extends to media