MANOJ ADHIKARI Around 40 kins of the conflict victims met Dahal and other senior party leaders in the hut number six inside the plenum site after the completion of the sixth plenum and Dahal was lost for words when a relative fainted during the meeting. The faces of the leaders fell when the relatives vented ire at the party´s failure to fulfil the dreams of their dear ones who lost their lives or have been made to disappear for the party´s cause. The relatives, who had waited in the dark hut for around an hour, also blasted the leaders including vice-chairmen Mohan Baidya, Dr Baburam Bhattarai and Narayankaji Shrestha, and leaders Ram Bahadur Thapa and Hishila Yami for neglecting them. Baidya took off his glasses and wiped the tears with handkerchief when the relatives were lambasting the party with teary eyes themselves. Dahal tried to placate the relatives of the missing arguing that the party is not in the government and expressed commitment to find the truth behind the disappearances by forming a probe commission. But the relatives didn´t buy his arguments and accused the party of playing with the blood of their dear ones. Samundra Kumari Gandarva of Gorkha passed out in front of the leaders when a plenum participant told that her only son Bikash, who was missing for 11 years, had died during the war six years ago. “My only hope in life was the son. I had lived with hope of his return till now. Why should I live now?” she said before passing out. The leaders who could not react after seeing her collapse were in for more bashing as the relatives accused the party of cheating by using their dear ones for their self-interest even as the party cadres carried her out of the hut. Chief of the Tamuwan State Committee Hit Man Shakya, who had arranged the meeting with the leaders, tried to cool the relatives down but to no avail. “It turns out our comrades failed to inform the family of Bikash´s martyrdom due to technical reasons. The concerned comrade has written an apology for failing to inform the family on time. Please relay this to Bikash´s wife,” Dahal said after she fainted. General Secretary Ram Bahadur Thapa then said that the plenum declared Bikash as a martyr Saturday. Bikash had joined the Maoist party 11 years ago while he was an eighth grader and was killed by the bullets of the Armed Police Force (APF) at Jhyanspokhari, Bhojpur in June, 2004. “I never knew that my son was involved in the war. Why didn´t anybody tell me wher my son was?” she questioned. A man, who had lost his kid brother 10 years ago, said the party has done nothing for the family of the martyrs while a girl, who had lost her father during infancy, complained that her futures has been doomed due to lack of proper education in her father´s absence. “There are schools for the children of martyrs but I have not got opportunity for higher education,” the girl complained before adding, “You all shed tears before us but do nothing afterward. Don´t just nod your heads and shed tears. Do something for us.” Similarly a woman, whose husband has been missing since the days of conflict, said that her tiny son leaves her speechless asking about the father. “You all should answer about his whereabouts. I cannot pass my whole life in tears. Show us the body if he has died or else bring him to us,” she said breaking into tears. Dahal claimed that the party´s first priority was to find the whereabouts of the disappeared cadres but the political parties didn´t allow the formation of the commission in the absence of law. “Our government went down even as we were trying to formulate act. The party will pay attention to the plight of martyrs´ families and will take initiative to find out whereabouts of the missing. Your tears will inspire us in the mission of fulfilling the martyrs´ dream,” Dahal said. But the relatives were still not impressed. Published on 2010-11-29 02:30:58 http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=25675 |
Showing posts with label victims. Show all posts
Showing posts with label victims. Show all posts
Monday, November 29, 2010
Kin of conflict victims leave Maoist top brass speechless
Friday, November 26, 2010
Nepal struck off mine making countries’ list
The delisting of Nepal comes following the government’s request for it
KATHMANDU, NOV 25 -
Nepal is considering becoming a party to the Mine Ban Treaty, and the “Landmine Monitor 2010” has removed it from its list of mine producers, leaving a dozen countries on the list, of which as few as three are believed to continue to actively manufacture anti-personnel mines.
The 65-page report released at the United Nations on Wednesday is an annual survey issued by the Human Rights Watch and other members of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL).
“Nepal was removed from the list of producers following an official declaration by it,” states the report adding that India, Myanmar and Pakistan were believed to be actively manufacturing the landmines.
The delisting of Nepal comes in the light of the official letter sent by the government to Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor in June stating that Nepal is a non-producer of mines and the landmines that the Nepal Army was using had been produced abroad. Following the admission by Nepali officials in 2003 and 2005, the Monitor had continued to list Nepal as a producer of landmines until Nepal made an official statement against it.
The report has concluded that there has been record breaking progress in the use and production of mines, casualty rates and clearance of the explosive remnants of war. The Monitor has removed Russia also from its list of mine users, leaving Myanmar as the only country country using landmines in 2009-2010.
There has also been significant progress in demining in certain nations not party to the Mine Ban Treaty, notably in China, Iran, Lebanon, Morocco, Nepal, and Sri Lanka as well as in Taiwan, states the report. The Landmine Monitor has also recognised Nepal’s initiative for the development of a five-year national strategic framework for victim assistance.
“There was confusion in the past about whether Nepal produces landmines or not as officials used to give varying opinions,” said Purna Shova Chitrakar, coordinator of Ban Landmines Campaign in Nepal.
She said the report “Land Mine Monitor 2010” has given a positive message by recognising the significant progress made by Nepal in removing the mines and Improvised Explosive Devices (IED’s) planted during the decade-long conflict.
According to Nepal Army, it has cleared anti personnel mines planted in 33 out of 52 places and efforts are underway currently to clear such mines in three places. The Nepal Army website maintains 5,950 anti personnel mines have been destroyed after the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of November 2006.
Of the IED’s possessed by the Maoists during the decade long Maoist insurgency, at least 17 tonnes of the explosives have been destroyed under the UN’s supervision, according to officials. However, a “considerable amount” of explosives are still stray as the Maoists had not put any identification while planting or storing them.
Chitrakar said over 5,000 people were victimised by the mines during the conflict however the number has declined to 300 per year after the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in Nov. 2006. The Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction has been studying the responsibilities of and opportunities of becoming a state party to the Mine Ban Treaty.
Posted on: 2010-11-25 08:37
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