Government crackdown on democracy demonstrators

Over 50 demonstrators were arrested on Wednesday in the Nepali capital Kathmandu during rallies organised by the Professional Alliance for Peace and Democracy (PAPAD), a local network of professionals including lawyers, journalists, doctors, teachers and engineers. The group says it is campaigning for the restoration of democracy and an end to absolute rule by King Gyanendra, who took over in February 2005 after suspending the government of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba. PAPAD, which has been organising a series of protests across Nepal, is concerned that more arrests will follow as tomorrow’s four-day general strike called by seven key political parties begins. “We are gravely concerned at the way the government has indulged in the arbitrary arrests of peaceful demonstrators,” said lawyer Madhab Sapkota of the Nepal Bar Association soon after his release from police detention following his arrest. He said all those arrested had been assaulted by the security forces and then denied food and water for over 10 hours. The government has banned all rallies in Kathmandu ahead of Thursday’s strike and imposed a dusk to dawn curfew from Wednesday evening. Anyone violating the decree is in danger: 36 journalists were arrested in the capital on Wednesday during a peaceful demonstration organised by the Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ). “The situation for journalists is becoming quite worrisome, especially with the use of police force to curb press freedom,” said FNJ President Bishnu Nisturi, speaking on the phone from a police station while in detention. Veteran journalist Gopal Thapaliya, President of Nepal chapter of the South Asia Free Media Association (SAFMA), was severely injured with a fractured arm while being arrested. “No opportunity seems to be being permitted for peaceful protest and those engaging in peaceful protest are being detained arbitrarily,” said Kieran Dwyer, spokesman for the Nepal Office of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). He added that OHCHR teams have been monitoring demonstrations in different parts of Kathmandu in order to document any rights abuses.