Appeal to prosecute Maoists in Nepal for crimes against humanity

Dear Mr. President Bush, Mr. Chairman, Hon. Judge Kirsch and Senator Bayh,

Ten years after the Maoists started their armed insurgency to get rid of the monarchy and establish a communist state in Nepal, more than 12,000 civilian have been killed, 300,000 people have been internally displaced. The Moaists lead by Dr Baburam Bhattari and Prachanda, have shown that they have no regard for human rights since the early days of their campaign. Please allow me to present before you some of the crimes committed by the Maoists.


2006
February 7: Five soldiers were killed and three sustained injuries when Maoists launched a massive attack in Dhankuta targeting the district administration office, regional administration office and all security agencies in the district.

2005

August 27: Seven persons traveling in a passenger bus from Kathmandu to Dang were killed and three others sustained injuries in an explosion at Surai Naka section on the Mahendra highway at the border of Kapilvastu and Dang districts.

August 26: Five SF personnel were killed and two others were injured in an IED explosion at Khairanpur in the western district of Kapilvastu.

June 14: Maoists kill seven family members of police personnel, including three women and a one-year old child, at Attariya in the Kailali district.

April 16: Maoists kill ten civilians, including a child, at Baragdawa in the Somni area of Nawalparasi district.

April 9: Insurgents attack the District Police Office, an Army battalion, district prison and also burn some Government offices at Charikot, headquarters of the Dolakha district, and freed some 30 prisoners from the prison.

March 6: A group of Maoists kill five civilians, allegedly members of an anti-Maoist retaliation group, at Kudarmatewa village in the Kapilavastu district.

2004

August 26, 2004: A group of 50 armed Maoist insurgents shot dead a former Chairman of Dhanusha District Development Committee and Rashtriya Prajatantra Party (Nationalist) leader, Badri Bahadur Karki, in the Bharatpur area.

March 20 - 21: In a Maoist attack on the District Jail, Office of the Chief District Officer and Army Camps at Beni Bazaar in the Myagdi district, at least 51 security force personnel, including 33 Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) personnel, and 20 civilians are killed.

March 3: Maoists insurgents, numbering around approximately 1500 to 2000, attack Nepal Telecommunication Towers and kill 32 security force personnel in Bhojpur district.

January 15: Maoist insurgents kill the Mayor of Birgunj and member of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), Gopal Giri, at Bahuaari in the Birgunj district.

2003

The Maoist behead journalist Gynendra Khadka in September infront of school students, because the was writing against them and their policy.

January 26: Armed Police Force chief Krishna Mohan Shrestha, his wife and bodyguard are killed in an attack by Maoist insurgents in Kathmandu.

2000

February 7: Maoists waylay a bus in Dolakha district carrying Polish tourists and rob them of approximately US$ 5,000 in cash. This is the first major incident by Maoists targeting foreign visitors.

1999

March 5: Communist Party of NepalUnified-Marxist-Leninist (CPNUML) leader Yadu Gautam is assassinated by Maoist insurgents

(Source:http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/nepal/database/majorincidents.htm)

The above list, although is focuses mostly on the security force and Maoists clashes, no way represents the way the Maoists have been terrorizing the public with their violent and brutal actions. For example: Eight members of the dalit(untouchables, according to Hindu customs) community allegedly had their legs crushed with hammers by CPN (Maoist) members at a secondary school in Thalsa, Achham, in June, apparently as punishment for working for a local landlord. Also the Maoists often abduct minor students in remote villages and force them to take part in the political meetings, where the students are indoctrinated with the Maoist agenda. They are told that the government is their enemy and anyone asking for help will be punished. There have been many incidents where students have been forced to join the guerilla army.

The following links contain more details about the Maoist violence,

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/nepal_insurgency.htm

http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?topic_id=1462&fuseaction=topics.event_summary&event_id=29247

http://www.nhrcnepal.org/

Due to the insurgency, Nepalese economy has also suffered. One the poorest nation, Nepal has a per capita income of $250(as per 2004 data). 70\% of the population lives in the villages, with less than $1 a day. According to the World Bank, in the year 2004, Nepals total GDP was $6.7 billion (Sergey Brin, 32, of Google is worth twice as much).

Many foreign investors have pulled out their ventures in Nepal because of the security situation. The Maoists in their part have increased their attacks on factories with foreign (especially Indian) investment. They have forcibly closed much business in villages in small towns. It seems that their strategy is to drive people into desperation, with economic hardship and violence so that the public would accept their every demand, notably proclaiming Nepal as republic.

For more on economy of Nepal, please visit:

http://www.adb.org/Documents/Economic_Updates/NEP/default.asp

www.worldbank.org

Dear Mr. President, Mr. Chairman, Hon. Judge Kirsch and Senator Bayh, the hopes of Nepali people and everyone who respects human rights rests with you and the international community. We request you to support the people of Nepal in prosecuting the Maoist rebels for committing acts against humanity.

We request the Internal Criminal Court to prosecute the Maoists leaders, Mr Bhattari and Mr Prachanda for committing crimes against humanity, also the members of the Maoists organization and their supporters for aiding them in committing these acts.

We hope that you will not fail humanity in the crucial test.