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| Sunday, 14 November 2004 |
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Villagers bearing the brunt of torture in Nepal: rights group KATHMANDU, Saturday (AFP) Villagers in remote parts of Nepal are increasingly suffering torture at the hands of both troops and Maoist rebels, according to a human rights group treating torture victims. "The docile Nepalese people living in remote villages are sandwiched between the security forces and the Maoist rebels," said Bhogendra Sharma, president of the Centre for Victims of Torture, Nepal, (CVICT). "On the one hand the security forces victimise villagers, charging them with helping the Maoists by providing them with food and shelter and financial assistance," Sharma told AFP. "On the other hand the Maoists punish and kidnap the villagers for allegedly being informers for state security and helping them arrest or kill the rebels." Sharma, a medical practitioner, said some 17,000 people had been tortured in Nepal since Maoists launched a rebellion in 1996 aimed at installing a communist republic in the world's only Hindu kingdom. "The majority of the victims are adult males while the rest are women and children," he said. "We are trying to help as many victims as possible ... by providing medical, psycho-social and legal assistance." Sharma said the government was spending billions of rupees (millions of dollars) to battle the Maoists but was not providing funds to help torture victims. "International donors, too, are spending a lot of money on seminars and meetings but they don't spend much on torture victims," he said. The CVICT is a non-governmental organisation staffed by doctors and social workers and funded by the European Union, the United Nations and various international rights groups. Sharma also strongly criticised the recently announced Terrorism and Disruptive Activity Ordinance (TADO) as a "most undemocratic" move by the government. Under the law suspected terrorists can be detained for a year without trial. "The TADO may cause even more civilians to fall victim to torture and inhuman treatment by the security forces. This ordinance must be withdrawn," Sharma said. National Human Rights Commission member Shushil Pyakurel agreed torture is on the increase in Nepal, as are the number of disappearances of ordinary people. Nepal has more political disappearances than any other country and activists claim many of those who disappear have been tortured to death. "There is a sharp increase in human rights violations by both security forces and the Maoists," said Pyakurel, adding that his organisation was investigating some 1,665 cases of disappearances. |
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