Fear Spreads As Arrests Continue

by Devdoot Sharma

(IPS) KATHMANDU -- There is a deep sense of fear and insecurity in the Himalayan nation of Nepal as politicians and journalists continue to be arrested after King Gyanendra's seizure of power and the imposition of a state of emergency.

The latest to be arrested on Wednesday were Nepali Congress spokesperson Arjun Narsingh and president of the Nepali Congress affiliated Nepal Women's Organization, Meena Pandey.

Both Narsingh and Pandey were arrested in the Nepali Congress central office in the capital, while they were speaking at a press conference.

Last week, Narsingh told the media some 1,000 activists from political parties, student groups and trade unions had been rounded up nationwide. He also said some party leaders had crossed into India to avoid arrest but others who escaped the security net are meeting underground.

Also on Wednesday, Sujeeb Bajrachary, editor-in-chief of the vernacular 'City Times' was arrested in his office. Later, a few editors of both the Nepali and English language press were summoned by Kathmandu's chief district officer and warned not to defy the six-month ban of writing and printing anything critical of King Gyanendra.

A report published in the 'Kantipur' daily on Thursday said eleven weeklies and one daily paper published from Kavre district, near the capital Kathmandu, were forced to shut due to military pressure. Left with virtually no choice, the publications had to lay off 60 Nepali journalists.

Meanwhile, president of International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) Christopher Warren, has asked the new government to unconditionally release the general secretary of Federation of Nepalese Journalists, Bishnu Nisthuri who has been detained for close two weeks, after King Gyanendra seized power.

Since Feb. 1, when the Royal Nepal Army supported King Gyanendra's takeover of power, the military has enforced restrictions on the press and human rights activists. The military shut down the primary source of news for most Nepalis: radio news broadcasts. In many cases, even sports news is banned. Similarly, newspapers face stringent guidelines about what they can report.

On Feb. 1 Nepal's King Gyanendra went on state-run television and said democracy in his country was in peril and the "Nepali people's right to live peacefully" was being threatened by a long-running Maoist insurgency since 1996 that has seen over 10,500 people killed.

He then accused the government of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba of failing to conduct parliamentary elections and being unable to restore peace in the country.

Soon after the king's address, a state of emergency was declared and news agencies reported that all telephone lines and mobile phone networks were shut down -- effectively cutting the country off from the rest of the world.

"The longstanding conflict between the Maoists and the armed forces has destroyed human rights in the countryside. Now, the state of emergency is destroying human rights in the urban areas, taking the country to the brink of disaster," said Irene Khan, secretary general of Amnesty International, in a private conversation with journalists here.

The London-based Amnesty International human rights observer mission was in Nepal from Feb. 10 -- 16. The mission was due to hold a press conference here on Thursday but backed off at the last minute citing media censorship.

Instead, the team flew to neighboring India and spoke to the media there at New Delhi's Foreign Correspondents Club.

"The state of emergency has strengthened the hands of the security forces, reduced the prospects of a political process towards peace and increased the likelihood of escalation of the conflict that could lead to even greater human suffering and abuse," added Khan.

"Wherever we went, we encountered a deep sense of fear, uncertainty and insecurity among people," she revealed.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch in a statement on Wednesday said the media blackout imposed by the king heightens the risk of abuses in the Himalayan country.

"The army's clampdown on Nepal's media is more than a matter of free speech," said Brad Adams, Asia Director at Human Rights Watch. "Prohibiting public scrutiny of the army's actions puts Nepalis at greater risk of abuses."

Added Adams: "The army's tightening of restrictions on the media reflect its deepening grip on political power in Nepal."

"International pressure on Nepal must be directed at the army as well as the king. The king must immediately lift these restrictions on the media, and return the military to civilian control."

According to Indian security analyst S. Chandrasekharan, the army appears to be happy with the emergency and the locking up of political leaders -- which it believes would make it easier for them to fight the Maoists.

But Chandrasekharan said this was ironical, even for the Royal Nepal Army.

"The army chief himself had conceded some time ago that the army by itself cannot bring about a military solution. He needs the support of the people of all hues except that of the Maoists if Nepal is to ultimately succeed," he said.

The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) has successfully brought transportation across the nation to a near halt since Feb 13. The latest "indefinite" blockade began on the day that coincides with the 10th anniversary of the armed rebellion of the Maoists. The nation-wide blockade has been called to protest King Gyanendra's "murder of democracy."

Although Kathmandu is still unaffected transportation-wise due to the heavy army presence in the capital, prices of essential commodities have gone up.

The CPN (Maoist) launched, what they call a "people's war" on Feb. 13, 1996 to overthrow monarchy and establish a king-less socialist republic in the world's only Hindu kingdom.

Since Feb. 1, many Nepali villagers have started fleeing to neighboring India, fearing heightened clashes between the security forces and the rebels. Unconfirmed reports say that Nepali refugee camps on the India-Nepal border have sprung up.