Nepal Under Military Rule

Protesting the Actions of the State
that Undermine "Rule of Law"

Press Statement

April 30, 2004, Kathmandu

We express our serious concern about the deteriorating situation of human rights after the assumption of all executive power by King Gyanendra, the formation of the council of ministers under his chairmanship, and declaration of "state of emergency" on February 1, 2005. We protest the mass arrest of political leaders and their cadres, journalists, lawyers and human rights defenders in Kathmandu and throughout the countryside that aims to discourage them from conducting their legitimate activities.

We condemn the forced entry and subsequent vandalizing of the Communist Party of Nepal (CPN-UML) central office by plainclothes security forces on 25 April 2005 immediately after the last tribute ceremony of the late women's leader Sahana Adhikari. We also condemn the arrest of former Prime Minister and President of Nepali Congress (Democratic), Sher Bahadur Deuba, by the security forces upon the instruction of Royal Commission for Corruption Control in the middle of night from his residence on 27 April 2005 after shutting down his electricity and telephone services.

We protest the arrest of central committee members of the Nepali Congress Party Dr. Ramsharan Mahat, Chakra Prasad Bastola, and Dil Bahadur Gharti, and of central committee members of CPN-UML Subash Nemband and Raghiji Pant, as well as the president of the Nepali Congress-associated Nepal Students Union (NSU), Keshav Singh and student leader Gagan Thapa. We strongly denounce the arrest of the vice-president of the NSU, Pradip Poudel, and several other political leaders immediately after their release that had been ordered by the Supreme Court under habeas corpus.

By deliberately vandalizing political party offices and arresting party leaders even in the name of anti-corruption, the regime is purposefully dismantling the effectiveness, if not the existence, of political parties. We believe that these acts of intimidation have been conducted to restrain the basic norms of democracy, freedom and democratic rights of the citizen by carrying out arrests and undermining court orders. These undemocratic steps of the state clearly violate the Memorandum of Understanding signed with the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR) on 11 April 2005 and the resolution unanimously adopted by the 61 st session of the UN Commission on Human Rights under "Agenda Item 19" on 20 April 2005.

We strongly protest the inability of the state to resume the "rule of law" in the country even during the official suspension of civil liberties. We demand that the state ensure the "rule of law" in the country by enforcing non-derogable human rights and humanitarian laws even during this critical situation in the country.

On behalf of 25 human rights organizations

Subodh Raj Pyakurel
Dr. Gopal Krishna Siwakoti
Shobhakar Budhathoki