An email I received today..take time to fill out a form to send to the ambassador

December 30, 2004

Dear Linda,

Raju Sharma Dhakal, a 17-year-old college student in Nepal, was reportedly released from prison on November 3, 2004, but was immediately re-arrested by security forces at the prison gates. His whereabouts are currently unknown and he stands at very high risk of torture or "disappearance."

Please take a moment to contact the Nepalese authorities to express concern for the safety of Raju Sharma Dhakal and urge them to immediately make his whereabouts public.
Click here to take action:
http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/action/index.asp?step=2&item=11440

In both 2002 and 2003, Nepal recorded the highest number of "disappearances" of any country in the world. People detained by the security forces are often held in army barracks with no access to their families, lawyers or medical treatment. They also face a high risk of torture, including beatings, and are sometimes held in solitary confinement or kept blindfolded for the entire time they are in custody.

Other cases where your urgent response can make a difference:

Ecuador: Fear for safety of indigenous community leader in Amazon’s rainforest
Marlon Santi, President of the Sarayaku indigenous community in Ecuador Amazon’s rainforest and candidate to the Presidency of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE), received death threats on December 21 and 22. Amnesty International is concerned for his safety as the threats were made before the CONAIE elections on December 23.
http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/action/index.asp?step=2&item=11439

United Arab Emirates: Two women sentenced to flogging for becoming pregnant outside marriage
Rad Zemah Sinyai Mohammed and Wasini bint Sarjan have been sentenced to flogging for becoming pregnant outside marriage by a Shari’a (Islamic law) court in the Emirate of Ras al-Khaimah. Amnesty International considers the punishment of flogging to constitute cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment amounting to torture.
http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/action/index.asp?step=2&item=11441

Thank you for supporting Amnesty International's efforts to defend the human rights of the individuals featured in these actions.

Best wishes,

Rosa Del Angel
Web Advocacy Associate
Online Action Center
Amnesty International USA

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Maoists withdraw Kathmandu blockade

The Maoists have withdrawn the weeklong blockade they had imposed on various routes leading to Kathmandu with effect from Wednesday, reports said quoting Kumari Moktan, executive head of the ‘Tamang Region Autonomous Government’ of the Maoists.

The blockade has been withdrawn following requests by human rights activists, journalists, and the civil society, reports quoted Moktan as saying.

The Maoists had imposed the blockade on the ‘Tamang Autonomous Region’ declared by them, which includes nine districts including Makwanpur, Dhading, Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Sindhuli, Ramechhap, Dolakha, Sindhupalchowk.

nepalnews.com Dec 29

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Six Nepalis still missing in Thailand:

At least six Nepalis are still reported missing in Thailand after Sunday’s devastating tidal waves that followed a 9.0 magnitude earthquake off Sumatra's coast in Indonesia, officials said.

A body of a Nepali, identified as Krishna Adhikari of Maitidevi, has been recovered, spokesperson at the foreign ministry Durga Prasad Bhattarai told Nepalnews Wednesday afternoon.

Bhattarai added that another Nepali injured in the tidal wave identified as Rupesh Gurung of Maharajgunj- has returned to his residence in Thailand after undergoing treatment.

The spokesperson at the ministry added that the Nepali authorities stationed in Thailand were searching for the missing Nepalis in the incident. “There are reports of property damage of Nepalis as they were conducting business along the Thai coast,” He said. He did not elaborate.

There are no reports of Nepalis dead or missing in Sri-Lanka, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Bangladesh, sources said.

The numbers killed by the tsunami has increased to above 60,000 with tens of thousands still missing. A U.N. health agency has warned that disease could double the toll yet again as thousands of bodies lay rotting and unidentified on lawns and streets of battered Sumatra island Wednesday, reports said.
nepalnews.com Dec 29 04
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Govt announces Rs 7.5 million relief to Sri Lanka

The Nepal government on Monday announced a Rs 7.5 million relief support to the government of Sri Lanka, state owned Radio Nepal said.

At least 13,000 people, including 70 foreigners have been reported killed in Sri Lanka during Sunday’s devastating tidal waves that followed a 9.0 magnitude earthquake that hit off Sumatra coast in Indonesia, reports citing the Sri Lankan army and Tamil rebels said. The death toll is the highest in the SAARC countries.

The death toll in tsunami waves have reached over 26,000 with 13,000, 6,600, 4,725, 860, 51, 56 and 46 people were killed respectively in Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia Myanmar and Maldives. The toll is expected to rise.

CEO of Laxmi Bank Suman Joshi, handing over Nrs. 100,000.... (More)

In Kathmandu, Laxmi Bank handed over Nrs. 100,000 to the Sri Lankan ambassador, Monday, to aid the victims of the disaster in Sri Lanka. Laxmi bank is the technical partner of Hatton National Bank, based in Sri Lanka. The Confederation of Nepalese Industrialists (CNI) have also appealed for packed food, medicine, tents, clothes and blankets to be sent there.

Meanwhile, a mild tremor shook far western district of Bajura on Sunday evening at 7.31 p.m. The earthquake measured 4.3 on the Richter scale. nepalnews.com pd Dec 28 04

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Two sick women die due to Maoist blockade

Two women died on Monday in Dolakha while being rushed to the district hospital in the headquarters, Charikot. They were delayed in reaching the hospital due to the ‘Maoists blockade’ in the area.

According to reports, Ghanamaya Phuyal of Chyama VDC died due to excessive bleeding after delivering a baby. She died on the way while being rushed to the hospital for treatment, which was nearly 40 km away from her village. The villagers carried her, as there were no vehicular movement, including ambulances, due to the blockade.

Similarly, 29-year-old Mira Sunuwar of Hawa VDC died while being carried piggy back to the district hospital. Sunuwar was suffering from urinary problems. Kantipur daily has quoted the husband of Mira as saying that he lost his beloved due to the Maoists imposed blockade. nepalnews.com pd Dec 28 04

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Maoists all for dictatorship of proletariat: Prachanda

The Maoists have made it clear that it is nowhere near softening its stance for what it calls the ‘dictatorship of the proletariat’.

Issuing a statement Sunday on the occasion of 112th birth anniversary of late Chinese leader Mao Tse Tung, CPN (Maoist) chairman, Prachand, said, “Our party expresses strong commitment to the idea of the dictatorship of the proletariat that had evolved during the course of the great cultural revolution initiated and led by Comrade Mao.”

Prachand’s statement somewhat contrasts the expressions of the Maoist leaders who, during the last round of peace talks with the government, had announced at several forums that they were not against the multiparty system and that they were ready to accept the existence of other political forces. Of late, the rebels have declared moral support to the street protests of four political parties - including the Nepali Congress - against ‘regression’.

In the statement the Maoist supremo also said that his party was trying to practically establish Mao’s thesis that says “political power comes from the barrel of gun” and, as part it, it was embarking on the first phase of ‘strategic retaliation’.

The rebel leader also said his party was fully committed to what he said the ‘synthesized form of Marxism, Leninism and Maoism’. nepalnews.com mbk Dec 26 04 Sphere: Related Content

Two thousand Nepali workers on the way back home

At the initiation of Amnesty International, over 1800 Nepali workers are about to return to Nepal, the Daily Times of Malaysia reported on Saturday, qouoting Dathuk Ishak Muhammad, immigration director of enforcement, Malaysia.

Spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry, Durga Prasad Bhattarai confirmed that the Nepali workers were about to return home. He, however, said that the exact number of the workers was yet to be confirmed.

Earlier, the Malaysian government had given November 15 deadline to all illegal workers to return to their home countries which was later extended up to the end of December. Hundreds of Nepalis are still in Malaysian jails for violating immigration rules. nepalnewscom ap Dec 26 04 Sphere: Related Content

Maoists force 200 schools to close on ‘Mao Jayanti’

The Maoist rebels have forced nearly 200 schools to close in the southwestern district of Kapilvastu to observe the birth anniversary of Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong, reports said.

Today marks the 111th anniversary of the birth of the late Chinese leader.

When contacted by Nepalnews, the District Education Officer (DEO) of the Kapilvastu district Dhundi Raj Aryal said that they had no formal information regarding the closure. “We have also heard rumors about the Maoists announcement (to close schools on the occasion of Mao’s birth anniversary) but schools in the headquarters and its periphery are open,” he said.

The DEO however, added that he lacked knowledge regarding schools in VDCs other than those VDCs near the district headquarters on Sunday. “The right information will arrive tomorrow,” he said.

In Kapilvastu, there are altogether 73,000 students studying in the district’s 240 schools. There are approximately 5,000 students in the headquarter area, the district education office said. nepalnews.com pd Dec 26 04 Sphere: Related Content

Maoists kill two villagers in Nawalparasi

Maoists killed two persons and injured five others in Paklihawa VDC, Nawalparasi district, for forming an anti-rebel group Friday night.

Munna Koili and Mauddin Khan of Ward No.5 of Paklihawa were killed in the Maoist attack. The villagers had fought against some 150 heavily armed Maoists for nearly an hour, reports from the district said.

In the same village, the rebels bombed the two-story house of Munna Khan, a member of the retaliation group.

A month ago, villagers of Thulo Khiratawa of the same district had killed five Maoists and had then formed retaliation groups for their security. nepalnews.com mbk Dec 25 04

Related News
- Maoists abduct 200 students in Dhangadi, kill 80-yr old in Bhojpur

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Nepalese armed police patrol the main supply route of Nagdhunga road on the outskirts of Kathmandu December 23, 2004. Nepal's Maoist rebels said on Wednesday they would block two of the three main highways leading to the capital, raising fears of another serious disruption of supplies to Kathmandu. The rebels, fighting to topple the constitutional monarchy and establish communist rule, successfully cut off the hill-ringed capital from the rest of the country for a week in August, choking it of food and fuel supplies.

23 Dec 2004 REUTERS/Gopal Chitrakar Sphere: Related Content

Maoist murder one and loot communication equipment

Clash in Solukhumbu, one security personnel killed

At least one security personnel was killed in a clash with the Maoists near Phaplu airport in mountainous district of Solukhumbu Wednesday.

The clash erupted when the Maoists opened fire at the security troops who were patrolling the airport at Phaplu. Reports quoting security sources at Solukhumbu headquarters said the battle lasted for half an hour.

Security sources claim casualties on the Maoist side, but details are still awaited.

The Maoists have looted the communication equipment from the Phaplu airport.

Meanwhile, the southeastern cities of Biratnagar, Lahan, Itahari, Udaypur and Dharan among others have remained closed Wednesday amidst rumours that the Maoists had called for the ‘general strike’ in the area.

According to reports, local Maoist leadership have issued conflicting remarks regarding the ‘general strikes’ in the area. The Saptari Maoist secretary called the media to confirm that their party had called the strike in the area, while the leadership in Morang and Dhankuta have denied the rumors.

nepalnews.com pd Dec 22 04

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Terrorist tag will be removed once Maoists agree for talks: DPM

Deputy prime minister Bharat Mohan Adhikari Tuesday said the government would remove the terrorist tag and the and the red corner notice on the Maoists as soon as the rebel side agreed for dialogue.

Addressing a three-day ‘women court’ convened by some non-governmental organisations in Kathmandu, Adhikari said, “The terrorist tag and the red corner notice will be scraped once the Maoists express readiness to come to the negotiating table.”

Renewing the call for dialogue, the deputy prime minister averred that the continuation of violation was not in the best interest of the Maoists themselves. “The government has already announced that it is ready to discuss all the agendas of the Maoists. They should understand the gesture,” he further said.

Adhikari, however, declared that there was no use declaring ceasefire before the peace negotiations start.

Speaking at the program, women leaders stressed that women were the prime victims of the ongoing conflict and crime against them were on rise.
nepalnews.com mbk Dec 21 04 Sphere: Related Content

Last Updated: Sunday, 19 December, 2004, 15:09 GMT

Maoist raid kills 10 Nepal troops

Violence has escalated ahead of a peace talks deadline At least 10 security personnel have died in an ambush by Maoist rebels to the north-east of the capital, Kathmandu, authorities say. They say the rebels suffered an unknown number of casualties in the attack in Sindhupalchouk district. A booby-trap device exploded on a section of highway as a patrol arrived and rebels then opened fire. Over 10,000 people have died in the Maoist insurgency which aims to replace the monarchy with a communist republic. 'Grave threats' The rebels claimed 12 security personnel were killed in Sunday's ambush, in which they said they had seized weapons and ammunition. They said three Maoists had died during the attack on a section of the highway that links Kathmandu with Tibet. The rebels often use explosive devices to target highway patrol teams. At least 70 people have died in the past week as violence escalates ahead of a 13 January deadline set by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba for the rebels to enter peace talks. The rebels have rejected the deadline. Separately, three international organisations have alleged that human rights activists in Nepal face "grave threats" from both security forces and Maoists. Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the International Commission of Jurists say Nepal's human rights situation is causing growing international alarm. They say local rights activists, journalists and lawyers have been detained under anti-terrorist legislation and their offices raided, while some have been abducted, tortured, threatened or even killed.

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Maoists bomb power plant in Bajura

The Maoist rebels on Sunday night bombed the powerhouse of the Hydropower Project at Selaghat of Bajura district, cutting off power supply in the Martadi area- the district headquarters of Bajhang.

The 200 KW power plant was the only project that supplied electricity to the remote far western district of Bajhang. According to reports, electricity was supplied only in the Martadi area in the entire district.

Property worth over Rs.5 million was destroyed in the explosion. There is no report of human casualty.

Reports said that it was the second Maoist attack on the powerhouse. The Nepal Electricity Authority had repaired the powerhouse only last year after the rebels attacked and destroyed it.

nepalnews.com Dec 20 04 Sphere: Related Content

MAOISTS UPSET OVER EU STATEMENT

EU statement unexpected: Maoists

The CPN (Maoist) has expressed surprise over the ‘unexpected’ statement of the European Union at the end of a three-day visit of a high-level delegation to Kathmandu on Wednesday.

Issuing a statement today CPN (Maoist) chairman, Prachanda, said, “Our party is seriously concerned over the expressions of the EU delegation. The one-sided and irresponsible expressions against our party from a responsible international organisation like the EU were unexpected.” He insisted that the EU statement came with the suggestion of the ‘old regime’ and the army.

Organising a press conference Wednesday, the EU delegation had expressed support to the government, asking the Maoists to return to the negotiating table without preconditions and stop the human rights violations. The EU team had also asked all the constitutional forces in Nepal to rally behind the incumbent government and had said that the cases of human rights abuses by the security forces, particularly in view of the absence of a functioning parliament, were nothing surprising.

The Maoist supremo claimed that the statement of the EU came against the will of the Nepali people and the agitating political parties and it ignored the Maoist demand for a reliable international mediation as well as the demand for a constituent assembly.

“If the EU is up to forcing our party, the agitating parties and the Nepali people to surrender to the feudal dictatorial regime, its desire will never become a reality,” Prachanda said, adding that the Maoist party expected a ‘balanced and positive’ role of the EU to settle the ongoing civil war. nepalnews.com mbk Dec 16 04

Related News
- EU expresses grave concern over rights situation in Nepal

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Maoist claim responsibility for blast at health center

Maoist claim responsibility for blast at health center

The CPN (Maoist) has taken responsibility of the explosion at a community health center run by the Ward No. 20 of the Kathmandu Metropolitan City.

Issuing a press statement Tuesday evening, in-charge of the Eastern Central Command of the CPN (Maoist), Aditya, confirmed that the ‘sabotage’ was carried out by the Maoists. He, however, claimed that the attack was not targeted at the community health center. He also said the Maoists would continue such attacks in the future.

The rebels had exploded a bomb at the community health center located at the premises of the ward office at around 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, completely bringing down the two-storey building.

Medicines and other physical properties worth hundreds of thousands of rupees were destroyed in the blast. nepalnews.com mbk Dec 15 04

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Nepal Disciplines Soldiers for Abuses

December 8, 2004, 11:16 AM EST

KATMANDU, Nepal -- The Royal Nepalese Army said Wednesday it has disciplined 105 soldiers and officers for human rights abuses, ranging from excessive use of force to murder.

The punishments handed down in the last year have ranged from warnings and suspension to jail terms -- with seven years in an army prison the maximum sentence, said army spokesman Col. Deepak Gurung.

The admission came as a team of U.N. investigators was in Nepal to investigate allegations that the military has been involved in extrajudicial killings, disappearances, arbitrary arrests and torture while fighting Maoist rebels.

Independent human rights groups say as many as 1,200 people have disappeared in Nepal, and that the army is largely to blame. Gurung said only 47 people are in army custody.

The Maoists, who say they are inspired by Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong, have been fighting since 1996 to replace Nepal's monarchy with a communist state. The insurgency has claimed more than 10,000 lives.

Rebels walked out of peace talks and withdrew from a seven-month cease-fire in August, and local and international human rights groups have expressed concerns about a growing number of alleged abuses by both the government and the guerrillas. Sphere: Related Content

A Nepalese soldier on guard in the Kailali region west of the capital Kathmandu. The army says it has recovered the bodies of 32 Maoist guerrillas after a major battle in west Nepal, during which hundreds more may have died. REUTERS/Gopal Chitrakar   Sphere: Related Content

Nepal says hundreds killed in battle

Wednesday November 24, 05:56 PM

Nepal says hundreds killed in battle

KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Nepal's army says it has recovered the bodies of 32 Maoist guerrillas after a major battle in west Nepal in which hundreds more may have died.

"I think that at least 300 may have been killed. This is a big success and with minimum losses on our side," Brigadier General Rajendra Thapa, chief of army operations in Kailali district, said on Wednesday where the weekend fighting took place.

Local Maoist leaders telephoned newspaper offices in the area and insisted only nine guerrillas were killed in the battle that erupted on Saturday night when rebels attacked an army patrol in heavily forested hills.

Nepal's army frequently says it has killed large number of guerrillas, even when few bodies have been found. It says the Maoists usually take away the bodies of their comrades.

Thapa said 10 soldiers were killed in the fighting in Kailali, a rebel stronghold 415 miles from Kathmandu.

The battle was the deadliest since last month, when a temporary truce between the Maoists and government forces ended during the Hindu festival of Dasai, marking the triumph of good over evil.

A local reporter who visited the site of the fighting on Wednesday said he saw half-naked bodies of suspected rebels on the mountain slopes.

"The area was stinking, bodies were rotting with flies on them. It was a disgusting scene," said Dipak Rijal, a reporter for local daily Nepal Samachar Patra.

More than 10,000 people have died since the Maoists rose in revolt in 1996, seeking to topple the constitutional monarch and set up a communist republic.

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Maoist Internationalist Movement (MIM)

This is a website that makes my stomach churn. Sphere: Related Content

BBC NEWS | South Asia | 'Nepal Maoists kidnap officials'

Suspected Maoist rebels in Nepal have kidnapped a judge and a former adviser to the late king, police say.

They said Jhapa district court judge Tanka Bahadur Moktan was abducted in a village in the eastern area of Ilam.

An adviser to King Birendra Chet Bahdur Kunwa was apparently seized in another incident in south-western Nepal.

More than 8,000 people are estimated to have died since 1996 - when the Maoists took up arms intent on toppling the country's monarchy.

Mr Moktan was in his house when he was abducted on Friday afternoon, Nepal Samacharpatra newspaper reported.

Suspected Maoist rebels said they had some business with him, the newspaper quoted family sources as saying.

King Birendra's secretary was returning after attending the second World Buddhist Summit in Lumbini when he was kidnapped at Madaulia of Rupandehi district on Friday, reports said. Sphere: Related Content

Maoist murder 6

Six security personnel killed in rebel attack

At least six security personnel were killed and and three others injured when Maoist attacked an army patrol near `Surai Naka’ along the Mahendra highway in the western district of Kapilvastu Saturday afternoon, reports said.

Security sources in nearby district of Dang said that the clash took place when the rebels attacked a troupe of security personnel that was on a regular patrol along the highway.

Security sources have claimed that there has been heavy casualty on the part of the rebels. A body of suspected rebel has been recovered from the site of incident after the clash.

The rebels reportedly retreated after a helicopter carrying security personnel reached the area, reports said.

A senior security source in Kathmandu confirmed that two-way gun battle had taken place in Surai Naka area but said details were still awaited.

Traffic has resumed along the highway, latest reports said.

The rebels have stepped up their attacks against security forces along the major highways in the country over the last few weeks. They have been erecting roadblocks at several places along the highway “to use it as a trap” against the security personnel.

Traffic along Man Khola (in Banke)-Bhuri Gaon (in Bardiya) section of the East-West highway in the mid-western region remains disrupted for nearly last two weeks, reports said. The rebels have erected a mud-and-stone barrier along the highway and have also placed explosives beneath it, reports said.

Thousands of people have been stranded due to disruption of traffic along the major highway in the country and are even forced to travel by bordering districts of India, according to reports.
nepalnews.com by Dec 04 04

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Six security personnel killed in rebel attack

Six security personnel killed in rebel attack

At least six security personnel were killed and and three others injured when Maoist rebels attacked at an army patrol near `Surai Naka’ along the Mahendra highway in the western district of Kapilvastu Saturday afternoon, reports said.

Security sources in nearby district of Dang said that the clash took place
when the rebels attacked a troupe of security personnel that was on a regular patrol along the highway.

Security sources have claimed that there has been heavy casualty on the part of the rebels. A body of suspected rebel has been recovered from the site of incident after the clash.

The rebels reportedly retreated after a helicopter carrying security personnel reached the area, reports said.

A senior security source in Kathmandu confirmed that two-way gun battle had taken place in Surai Naka area but said details were still awaited.

Traffic has resumed along the highway, latest reports said.

The rebels have stepped up their attacks against security forces along the major highways in the country over the last few weeks. They have been erecting roadblocks at several places along the highway “to use it as a trap” against the security personnel.

Traffic along Man Khola (in Banke)-Bhuri Gaon (in Bardiya) section of the
East-West highway in the mid-western region remains disrupted for nearly last two weeks, reports said. The rebels have erected a mud-and-stone barrier along the highway and have also placed explosives beneath it, reports said.

Thousands of people have been stranded due to disruption of traffic along
the major highway in the country and are even forced to travel by bordering districts of India, according to reports.

nepalnews.com by Dec 04 04

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