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Nepal
2008: Facts on the Conflict
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OHCHR-Nepal
condemns bus bombing in Bara District
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19
January 2008 (OHCHR-Nepal)
OHCHR-Nepal condemns the bombing Friday of a bus in Bara District, which
killed at least seven people and injured many others. The Office offers
condolences to the families of the victims, and urges security officials
to take swift action to bring to justice members of the Tarai Army, which
has claimed responsibility for the bombing.
The
incident occurred one year after the start of the Madheshi Andolan, which
ended in the deaths of at least 24 people, and on the eve of a series of
planned rallies and demonstrations in the Tarai relating to the upcoming
Constituent Assembly elections. OHCHR-Nepal is calling on all concerned
actors to exercise restraint and take the necessary steps to ensure that
violence will not recur at this critical time in the peace process.
Law
enforcement officials must balance respecting the right to freedom of assembly
with their duty to protect the population. In the face of aggressive or
violent demonstrators, any force used should be proportional to the level
of threat.
Leaders
of protesting groups also have a responsibility to ensure that demonstrations
are peaceful and that their supporters carry no sticks, guns or other weapons.
OHCHR-Nepal calls on all actors to respect the rights of journalists and
human rights defenders to carry out their activities without threat of
violence. At the same time, they are urged to take all necessary protection
measures to avoid exposing young people under 18 to violence, or to manipulation
for political ends.
Constituent
assembly elections are an essential step in the peace process towards creating
a more equal and representative Nepal. OHCHR-Nepal urges the Government
to establish an authentic participatory dialogue and confidence-building
measures in the Tarai as important ways of addressing genuine grievances
related to the rights to nondiscrimination, participation and representation
of all marginalized groups, including Madheshis, Dalits and Janajatis/Adivasis.
Armed
groups that claim to be pursuing political objectives must immediately
end criminal activities such as killings, abductions, bombings and extortion,
as well as threats and intimidation, and use peaceful means to achieve
their stated objectives. Such activities are having a serious impact on
the human rights of others and on establishing an environment conducive
to free and fair Constituent Assembly elections.
In
addition, credible investigations still need to be carried out to determine
the facts surrounding the killings which occurred during the Madheshi Andolan,
which should result in prosecution of those responsible.
"The
Madheshi Andolan was a critical event that regrettably ended in the killings
of at least 24 people and injuries to many more. Such violence must not
be repeated. The Government has pledged to ensure participation of marginalized
groups in the Constituent Assembly elections and in the general State machinery.
I urge all these actors to come together in a spirit of co-operation to
ensure human rights are respected and to move the peace process forward,"
said OHCHR-Nepal Representative Richard Bennett.
Source: OHCHR
United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights January
2008
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