Nepal Under Military Rule

Condemning Arrests and Brutal Beatings

Press Statement

May 14, 2005, Kathmandu

We condemn the brutal beatings of women and children and the arrest of more than four-dozen people by the security forces on May 14, 2005, while Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) were conducting a protest sit-in program in Kathmandu. They were demanding internal refugee status for thousands of people displaced by the ongoing violence from the more than nine-year-old insurgency, and that the state fulfill its obligation to protect victims of the conflict, particularly IDPs.

The security forces demonstrated their insensitivity toward women, children and elderly victims of the conflict, by brutally beating demonstrators from age eight to 75. These cruel and inhuman acts carried out by security forces clearly violate the basic principles of human rights. This case also demonstrates the irresponsibility of the state and its insincere commitment to the Memorandum of Understanding with the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights, signed on 11 April 2005.

We demand that the state immediately stop such inhumane treatment and vicious beatings, and that they actively respect human rights and humanitarian laws. In addition, we strongly demand the unconditional release of the arrested IDP demonstrators, that medical treatment be provided for those injured, and that action is taken against the officials involved.

On behalf of 25 human rights organizations,

Subodh Raj Pyakurel
Dr. Gopal Krishna Siwakoti
Shobhakar Budhathoki