04-10-06,9:52am
KATHMANDU, 9 Apr 2006 (IRIN) - Millions of Nepalis have been affected by a day-long curfew imposed in the capital and other major cities for the second consecutive day by the royal government, said the country’s key human rights coalition group, on Sunday.
“The curfew has severely affected the dignity and freedom of the citizens,” said activist Subodh Pyakhurel from Insec.
The curfew, according to the Home Ministry, is being imposed to prevent the ongoing violence due to the mass demonstrations led by the seven main opposition parties.
However, political activists claim that the government wants to repress the democratic rallies held in protest of the authoritarian rule of the monarch.
King Gyanendra seized absolute rule over the country on 1 February 2005, sacking then prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, for his alleged failure to curtail the decade-long Maoist insurrection; a conflict which has already taken over 13,000 lives.
Human rights activists are seriously concerned over the deteriorating security situation in the country mainly due to the government’s use of excessive police force to thwart off the peaceful demonstrators.
In the last four days of democratic rallies, the number of demonstrators has been growing every day, even including the participation of also the government’s own civil servants, according to daily reports in the leading local and international newspapers.
The government has also been mobilising more security personnel on the streets and now more police and army with guns are seen openly aiming their guns at the demonstrators, which is causing serious concern among human rights organisations.
According to Insec, over 100 demonstrators were seriously injured in the capital alone after the police fired tear gas shells and baton charged. It added that the police opened fire even at bystanders in the nearby town of Kirtipur, where eleven-year old Batu Krishna Thapa was severely wounded. In another incident, the security personnel were held responsible for the death of an innocent bystander, 32-year old Tulali Dumrakoti Chettri, who died of gun wounds on Sunday in Bharatpur town, 165 km south of Kathmandu.
With the number of fatal injuries among demonstrators rising due to the excessive force of the security personnel, the government clampdown has provoked severe criticism from citizens, international human rights groups and politicians.
“We are concerned over what was anticipated and what is going on,” said Ian Martin, Nepal representative of the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), during a programme held in the capital on Sunday. Martin added that his office was deeply concerned over the ongoing action of the government to violate the citizen’s human rights.
