IRIN: Violence in south threatens November elections August 2007

Violence in south threatens November elections

KATHMANDU, 18 September 2007 (IRIN)

Political parties and top government officials have called for calm amid concerns over increasing violence and tensions in Nepal's agricultural and industrial heartland, the lowland Terai region of southern Nepal.

Government officials told IRIN on 17 September that civilians and political parties should be wary since they stood to lose most if the Constituent Assembly (CA) elections scheduled for November are disrupted. "We will take strict action against anyone trying to disturb social harmony," said a statement by the Ministry of Home Affairs on 17 September, expressing concern after a serious incident between local Madhesi and Pahade groups in Kapilvastu and Rupendehi districts of the Terai region on 16 September.

''Communal tension is in danger of growing and this is being sparked by those forces who don't want the elections to take place.''

Riots

The killing of pro-Madhesi leader Mohit Khan of the Democratic Madhesi Front in Shivapur village of Kapilvastu, nearly 200km southeast of Kathmandu, by an unknown group on 16 September led to a violent riot by Khan's supporters.

According to local human rights groups, the assailants attacked and vandalised vehicles and shops run by the local Pahade people.

"Communal tension is in danger of growing and this is being sparked by those forces who don't want the elections to take place," said a local government official requesting anonymity.

Rights activists, who requested anonymity for fear that they would also be targeted, are concerned that if communal conflicts are not controlled, tensions could flare up and lead to very tragic incidents.

Over the past nine months, pro-Madhesi groups have been staging demonstrations to demand greater political rights, autonomy and proportional representation. Radical Madhesi groups want the elections to fail so as to put pressure on the government and political parties, according to rights groups, politicians and government officials interviewed by IRIN.

Rights activists are particularly concerned about the increase in the number of militant Madhesi groups that have been targeting Pahades.

Furthermore, according to a recent security situation update report by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), militant groups like the two factions of Janatantrik Terai Mukti Morcha (JTMM-Jwala Singh and JTMM-Goit) have warned civil servants not to take part in any preparations for the elections.

So far, only the Madhesi People's Rights Forum (MPRF) and Madhesi Mukti Tigers (MMT) have agreed to participate in the polls, saying they would benefit the Madhesi community.

Security

Government officials said they had been working to provide security to ensure an appropriate environment for elections.

The government has begun implementing the first phase of its security plan for the elections by dispatching members of the Armed Police Force (APF) to 156 constituencies, OCHA said.

"The government alone cannot do everything. There is also a need for unity and consensus among the often quarrelsome political parties," said activist Kundan Aryal from the prominent local rights group, Informal Sector Service Centre (INSEC).

Madhesi factbox

Nepal's largest ethnic group; make up about one third of Nepal's 27 million people Concentrated in the lowland Terai region, southern Nepal, the country's industrial and agricultural heartland Traditionally, their main ethnic rivals are the politically dominant hill people known as Pahades Comprised of various sub-groups with several different languages and dialects and have only recently developed a political consciousness and unity of purpose Campaign for regional autonomy for the Terai, a federal Nepal, and greater representation in parliament Militant factions such as the Madhesi People's Rights Forum (MPRF) and the Janatantrik Terai Mukti Morcha (JTMM) have carried out violent acts Not allied in any way to the Maoists who have separate political goals Include some of the most impoverished and disadvantaged castes in Nepal such as Badis (traditional sex workers) and Kamaiyas (bonded labourers) According to rights activists, Maoist leaders are unable to control their supporters.

Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN), part of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

External Links

	ReliefWeb		UNO
	OCHA		UNO

More on Nepal's Nationalities

Ethnic Groups & Nationalities

Nepal People