Indian guerrillas shifting to Nepal, ex-rebel says

GUWAHATI (AFP): One of the main guerrilla groups fighting Indian rule in the remote northeast is shifting its camps to Nepal following crackdowns in other neighbouring countries, an ex-rebel said Wednesday. The United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), blamed for ethnic massacres and a bombing campaign in oil and timber-rich Assam state, has also gained support from Nepal's Maoists, the defector said in claims that were quickly denied in Nepal."We were in touch with Maoist groups in Nepal and procuring arms, ammunition and explosives for ULFA," said Ghanakanta Bora, a senior ULFA rebel who along with his wife surrendered to Indian troops in Assam on Tuesday."With both the military junta in Myanmar and the caretaker government in Bangladesh deciding to crackdown on groups like ULFA, the top leadership decided to look for safer sanctuaries," he told reporters.

Nepal was considered the safest location," Bora said at a ceremony marking his surrender also attended by senior army officials.The ULFA, which wants an independent homeland in Assam, had previously also been based in camps in neighbouring Bhutan, but the Himalayan kingdom also cracked down on their presence there in 2003.Earlier this year Myanmar also promised to step up military action against Indian rebel groups including the ULFA, regarded as the most powerful among the 30-odd separatist groups in India's northeast.But the latest claims are likely to increase concern over the conduct of Nepal's Maoists, who late last year agreed to end a decade-old insurgency against Kathmandu and enter the political mainstream.Although the Maoist peace has been widely hailed, including in New Delhi, the United States continues to class them as a foreign terrorist organisation."ULFA have set up some bases in Nepal with the active support of Maoist guerrillas," a senior Indian army official told AFP on condition that he not be named.

He said the group "is currently preparing to shift a large number of cadres and leaders" to Nepal, which shares a 1,800-kilometre (1,125-mile) unfenced border with India.In Kathmandu, however, a top Maoist leader dismissed the allegations."This is totally baseless, we don't know anybody from ULFA and we have never had any relationship with them at any point in the past," Baburam Bhatterai, the second-in-command of Nepal's Maoists, told AFP in Kathmandu."These allegations could have been made to try and derail Nepal's peace process and drag us into disputes," he said.ULFA has been blamed for a string of bomb attacks in Assam in recent months, and was also accused killing 80 people, mainly Hindi-speaking migrant workers, in January.Separatist violence has claimed an estimated 20,000 lives since 1979 in Assam, the largest state in India's northeast.

Source: The Financial Express, June 7, 2007

CPN-M denies any link with Indian separatists

The Communist Party of Nepal ( Maoist) (CPN-M) has denied the party's any relationship with Indian separatists of the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), local newspaper the Himalayan Times reported Thursday.

Baburam Bhattarai, the second-in-command of the CPN-M, on Wednesday denied the allegations that the ULFA have made Nepal as their new base with the help of CPN-M, saying "this is totally baseless, we don't know anybody from ULFA and we have never had any relationship with them at any point in the past. These allegations could have been made to try and derail Nepal's peace process and drag us into disputes."

Ghan-akanta Bora and his wife Tulsi, both senior ULFA leaders, Tuesday surrendered to Indian army and civil authorities in Assam State of India, according to local media.

"The ULFA have set up some bases in Nepal with the help of the Maoist guerrillas and the outfit was preparing to shift a large number of cadres and leaders to the neighboring country (Nepal)," a senior Indian army commander quoted the couple as saying on Wednesday.

"We have been in touch with the Maoist groups in Nepal and procuring arms, ammunition, and explosives for the ULFA," Bora told journalists on the sidelines of the surrender ceremony.

Source: Peopole's Daily Online, June 7, 2007

Delhi durbars come under Maoist fire

Sudeshna Sarkar

Kathmandu, June 7: A series of meetings between top Indian officials and leaders of two of Nepal's biggest political parties in New Delhi has given rise to deep unease among Maoist guerrillas here, with their chief Prachanda lashing out at "Indian interference".Maoist supremo Prachanda, who was touring the Terai plains as top leaders of his rival Nepali Congress and Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (UML) were in New Delhi to attend a conference of MPs from South Asia, Wednesday accused India of trying to suppress the Maoists by playing a divide and rule game."India has no right to say which Nepali parties should come close or which ones to stay away from," the Maoist leader said.The anger was caused by a meeting Tuesday between Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UML chief Madhav Kumar Nepal, who was also accompanied by two former deputy prime ministers, K.P. Oli and Bharat Mohan Adhikari.

The Maoists are smouldering at the Indian prime minister reportedly urging close ties between the UML and the Nepali Congress, two of its biggest rivals in the upcoming November elections.Though Maoist MP Dinanath Sharma is also taking part in the parliamentarians' conference, he had not been included in the meetings between UML leaders and the Indian authorities, including Congress president Sonia Gandhi and External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee.The Delhi meets come at a time there has been a fresh war of words between the Maoists and Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala.Earlier this week, Maoist cadres handed over to the police a businessman wanted for nearly a year for defrauding a bank of about Nepali Rs.200 million.The "arrest" of wanted businessman Sitaram Prasain, who is considered close to Koirala's Nepali Congress party, triggered an angry reaction from Koirala, who called the cadres of the Maoist Young Communist League the 'Young Criminal League'.

The comment has given rise to widespread anger and criticism, both among the Maoists and the public, who are accusing Koirala of shielding corrupt businessmen.Maoists MPs Wednesday threw a challenge to the prime miniser in parliament, saying he should ban the YCL if it was a criminal organisation, or else, apologise.Information and Communications Minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara, who is both the government spokesperson as well as one of the top Maoist leaders, said Koirala's comment smacked of bias towards criminals.The growing rift between the prime minister and the Maoists may have growing implications in the days to come, especially since Nepal is in the process of amending its new constitution.Once the amendment comes into force, the prime minister can be removed if two-thirds of the MPs support a no-trust vote.The king, whose powers and privileges have been suspended by the new statute, can also be removed by a two-third majority vote and Nepal be declared a republic well ahead of the November election, an action that the Maoists are gunning for.

Source: IANS, June 7, 2007

Peace process Need for an independent monitoring body

Birendra P Mishra

The peace process has been going on without any kind of monitoring. The constitutional assembly (CA) was accepted as the meeting point of the insurgents and the government. But the prospect of CA polls still hangs in the air. The last meeting of the eight-party alliance (May 31) has authorised the government to fix a date no later than December 15, 2007. Originally, the CA polls were to be held by mid-June. Later, it was changed to June 20. Who is to be blamed for such frequent changes?The Maoists declared a three-month-long ceasefire on April 26, 2006 after the King’s midnight proclamation on April 24, 2006, ceding all his powers and reinstating the House following the 19-day people’s movement. The government reciprocated the Maoists’ move by declaring an indefinite ceasefire on May 3. The government and the Maoists formed their Negotiating Teams (NT), which signed the 25-point Ceasefire Code of Conduct on May 26. Subsequently, the NT formed the National Monitoring Committee for Ceasefire Code of Conduct (NMCC) on June 15, which was reconstituted on June 26 with the fixing of its Terms of Reference and Powers.

The main function of the NMCC was to monitor the activities of the warring sides — the government and the Maoists — and report them fortnightly. Significantly, the NMCC had to transcend the limits set by the 25 points as its very preamble directed the NMCC to act in a way that the ceasefire was to be transformed into lasting peace and problems were to be solved only through dialogue. It was quite specific about the commitment to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948, International Human Rights Laws and other fundamental human rights doctrines and values. The NMCC was asked to abide by the spirit of the 12-point understanding, 8-point agreement and any agreement to be signed in the future.

The NMCC had to go beyond human rights monitoring as it had to see to it that the ceasefire agreements were not breached and the two armies not allowed to resort to guns again and spoil the peace process. Moreover, there were rights organisations, both national and international, to monitor the human rights violations, hence reducing the responsibility of the NMCC. The NMCC could submit only three reports incorporating the weaknesses of the government and the Maoists to the NT.

As per the agreed upon provisions, the NT had to form a joint committee to study and act upon the reports of the NMCC. But unfortunately it was not formed even till the last date the NMCC was supposed to work up to despite its repeated verbal and written requests. The Maoists were insisting on the implementation of the 8-point agreement saying that they would dismantle the people’s courts and stop abduction and extortions when the political issues were settled. Ultimately, the NMCC resigned en masse finding no place for it in the proposed Peace Accord and subsequently the NT dissolved it.

The peace process took a concrete shape with the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Accord (CPA) on November 22, 2006, replacing the Ceasefire Code of Conduct signed by both sides on May 26, 2006. With the signing of the epoch-making CPA the peace process began to move forward. It took nearly six months to sign the CPA. As per the agreement reached by the eight parties on November 7, 2006, the CPA was to be signed by November 16, the Interim Government (IG) to be formed by December 1, the Interim Constitution (IC) to be finalised by November 21 and the Interim Legislature (IL) to be formed by November 25. Regretfully, all these could not happen as stipulated in the meeting, and the dates were rescheduled. Accordingly, the first stage of the peace process was to commence with the constitution of an IL, the second was the adoption of the IC and the last was the formation of the IG. The first two stages were completed on January 15, 2007, one after another about one and a half months behind schedule as the eight-party alliance signed the IC only on December 16, 2006. The leaders of the eight-party alliance formed the IG three months later on April 1, 2007, after signing of a Common Minimum Programme (CMP).

It is apparent that there has been unusual delay at every stage and there is no independent monitoring body to assess the delay and pinpoint the weaknesses of the alliance partners or the government or any other institutions. Interestingly, the CPA does not envisage any independent monitoring body. The NHRC has been assigned to monitor the violation of human rights with the help of international and national human rights organisations. It is urgently required to have an independent monitoring body, which should be beyond the influence of the government. Such a body will definitely be able to dispel the doubts or uncertainty over the CA polls and the forward movement of the peace process.

Source: The Himalayan Times, June 7, 2007

Nepal Media Still Under Fire: RSF

Kathmandu, June 7More than a year after the fall of King Gyanendra's absolute regime, Nepal's press continues to be under fire from armed groups, media watchdog Reporters Without Borders said.The attacks have intensified in the Terai plains in the south, the epicentre of fresh unrest in a kingdom bedevilled by a 10-year communist uprising and decades of political instability, where at least 72 journalists have been assaulted or threatened since January, the Brussels-based watchdog said in a statement issued on Wednesday.

Expressing alarm at the continued attacks on the media, especially with elections scheduled for November, the press freedom organisation urged the eight-party government to ensure security for journalists.'This is alarming,' it said. 'Armed militants are harassing journalists with the aim of silencing them or turning them into propagandists. The authorities, especially the interior and information ministries, must do everything possible to put an end to this climate of open hostility.'The government has a duty to ensure that the press is able to work, especially in the run-up to elections.''Death threats have become commonplace in the southern provinces,' the media organisation said.

The media watchdog has also come down on the Maoists, now part of the government, saying their youth wing, the controversial Young Communist League, has been reported to be involved in harassing a journalist working for Nepal1, last month.It also cited at least three instances of journalists being harassed without any group taking responsibility.'Journalists think they bear the hallmarks of Maoist groups,' Reporters Without Borders said.The group said it was particularly calling on the minister to 'quickly intercede with all affiliated organisations in order to get them to stop the attacks and threats against journalists'.

For 15 months from 2005, when King Gyanendra seized power with army backing, Reporters Without Borders had marked Nepal as one of the bleakest places for journalists with a high incidence of arbitrary arrests, closure of critical media organisations and a draconian ban that prevented journalists from criticising the royal family or the royal government.Though the royal regime ended due to a public uprising and the new government pledged to restore media freedom, the emergence of new dissenting groups now poses a fresh threat to the media.

Source: The Himalayan Times, June 7, 2007

One Year After King's Rule, Nepal Media Still Under Fire

More than a year after the fall of King Gyanendra's absolute regime, Nepal's press continues to be under fire from armed groups, media watchdog Reporters Without Borders said.The attacks have intensified in the Terai plains in the south, the epicentre of fresh unrest in a kingdom bedevilled by a 10-year communist uprising and decades of political instability, where at least 72 journalists have been assaulted or threatened since January, the Brussels-based watchdog said in a statement issued late Wednesday.

Expressing alarm at the continued attacks on the media, especially with elections scheduled for November, the press freedom organisation urged the eight-party government to ensure security for journalists.'This is alarming,' it said. 'Armed militants are harassing journalists with the aim of silencing them or turning them into propagandists. The authorities, especially the interior and information ministries, must do everything possible to put an end to this climate of open hostility. 'The government has a duty to ensure that the press is able to work, especially in the run-up to elections.'

Though the Maoists signed a peace pact with the government last year and joined the ruling alliance in April, formally signalling an end to their armed revolt that has killed over 11,000 people, their success with the gun has inspired the emergence of new armed groups in the Terai, some of whom are led by their former comrades.Nearly nine armed groups have become active in the plains, continuing the extortion, abduction and killings once started by the Maoists.Journalists are especially vulnerable in the plains where the government has little control.'Death threats have become commonplace in the southern provinces,' the media organisation said.

In one of the most recent cases on June 1, members of the Jantantrik Terai Mukti Morchha (JTMM), a band of former Maoists, threatened the employees of two private radio stations -- Narayani FM and Radio Birgunj -- for not broadcasting any reports about a closure enforced by them.Earlier, the faction took under their control two journalists of the Auzzar National Daily, Rajendra Rai and Dewaan Rai.'In some cases, they criticise journalists for producing reports that highlight their abuses,' Reporters Without Borders said. 'In other cases, their motive for attacking journalist is the lack of coverage of their activities.'

The Madhesi Janadhikar Forum, a group that calls itself unarmed and this month began talks with the government, has been branded as the most aggressive towards journalists. 'It alone has been responsible for at least 16 cases of threats or violence against journalists since the start of the year,' the statement said.'Its members attacked reporters Ram Sarraf, Dhruba Sah, Bhuwan Jha and Kiran Pande in January and threatened to kill any journalists who tried to cover the rioting then taking place.'The Forum, however, says it is a victim of biased reporting by the Nepali press dominated by people from the hill community, who have been exploiting the plains people and ignoring their plight.

The media watchdog has also come down on the Maoists, now part of the government, saying their youth wing, the controversial Young Communist League, has been reported to be involved in harassing a journalist working for the Indian TV channel, Nepal1, last month.It also cited at least three instances of journalists being harassed without any group taking responsibility.'Journalists think they bear the hallmarks of Maoist groups,' Reporters Without Borders said.The statement comes at a time Nepal's Information And Communications Minister Krishna Bahadur, who is also the government spokesperson, belongs to the Maoist party.

The group said it was particularly calling on the minister to 'quickly intercede with all affiliated organisations in order to get them to stop the attacks and threats against journalists'.For 15 months from 2005, when King Gyanendra seized power with army backing, Reporters Without Borders had marked Nepal as one of the bleakest places for journalists with a high incidence of arbitrary arrests, closure of critical media organisations and a draconian ban that prevented journalists from criticising the royal family or the royal government.Though the royal regime ended due to a public uprising and the new government pledged to restore media freedom, the emergence of new dissenting groups now poses a fresh threat to the media.

Source: News Post India, June 7, 2007