F OCHA Nepal Situation Overview Issue No. 11/ March Highlights: • Interim government formed, Political parties propose date for Constituent Assembly elections • Clash between Madhesi Peoples Rights Forum and CPN-Maoist in Rautahat leaves 28 dead • Bandhs called by Madhesi and other groups continue to paralyse life in east and central Terai • Citizenship Certificate distribution and voter lists updates continue amidst challenges • New groups continue to pose challenges to humanitarian and development work • Delivery of services by state in Terai districts hampered by Madhesi and other groups • Refugee census nears completion • Emergency food aid programmes in Mid and Far western Nepal to continue • Transition Appeal launched Kathmandu, 5 April 2007 development drew public debate on whether all the CPN- CONTEXT Maoist weapons had been registered. During the reporting period, a number of CPN-Maoist s’ PLA were reported to Politics and major developments have threatened to leave the Cantonment sites, citing poor living conditions. A joint committee composed of On 1 April 2007, following intense negotiations, the Prime government and CPN-Maoist formed to assess the living Minister Girija Prasad Koirala formed a 22- member Council conditions at the cantonment sites has made of Ministers. The interim government includes 5 cabinet recommendations for improvement of the living conditions ministers from the CPN-Maoist, 5 ministers from the Nepali at the cantonment sites. Congress, 6 from CPN-UML, 4 from NC- Democratic and one each from the NSP (Ananda Devi) and ULF. The leaders of In preparation for the planned Constituent Assembly (CA) the 8 political parties also endorsed a 5- point document that elections, citizenship registration and voters’ list updates would guide the functions of the coalition government. The went on in most parts of the country, with UNMIN teams political party leaders also set up the date for holding getting out to support the district Election offices. Similarly, Constituent Assembly elections as 20 June and resolved that citizenship registration was reportedly progressing well in the Monarchy would be abolished by a two thirds majority Mid and Far Western regions, albeit at a slower pace than vote in parliament if the King made any conspiracy against previously anticipated. Initial reports from Mid and Far the Constituent Assembly elections. Western region continued to indicate that the majority of new citizenship certificate recipients are women. In the On 21 March, a clash between CPN-Maoist and Madhesi Eastern region, both citizenship and voter registration went Peoples Right Forum ( MPRF) cadres over who had the right on but with difficulties. For example, on 22 February, 200 between the two groups to hold a rally in Gaur, Rautahat local people reportedly padlocked the citizenship distribution District, left 28 people dead, the majority being CPN-Maoist team offices in Triyuga municipality, Udaypur district, supporters. Following this incident, the District accusing the teams of denying them citizenship certificates. Administration Office (DAO) imposed day time curfew in the Similarly, on 28 February, demonstrators temporarily vicinity of Gaur to avert any escalation of violence. The CPN- disrupted citizen distribution exercise in Jhumka VDC of Maoist Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) cadres presently Sunsari district after a dispute with citizenship distribution confined in Cantonment site located in Chulachuli in Ilam teams. District temporarily left the Cantonment site to protest against the Gaur incident. The MPRF leader Upendra Yadav During the reporting period, proliferation of different ethnic reportedly went underground when the police started and political groups by sections of Nepalese society who felt arresting people suspected to have taken part in the Gaur that the Interim Constitution and government did not killings. adequately address their varying caste and regional interests continued. OCHA office managed to track 20 such groups, During the reporting period, UNMIN announced that the many of which called bandhs and blockades to try and drive first phase of registration of CPN-Maoist weapons and their point home. These groups include Madhesi Tigers, combatants at all the 7 cantonment sites had been Tamang Autonomous Region Democratic Front, Nepal completed. At a press conference, UNMIN reported that the Federation of Indigenous Nationalities (NEFIN), Federal total number of CPN-Maoist combatants registered at the Democratic Republic Joint Struggle Committee, Tharu seven main cantonment sites, including those from the Kalyankarini Sava (Tharu Welfare Assembly), Loktantrik associated satellite cantonment sites, was 30,852. UNMIN Madheshi Morcha and Federal Republican Forum (For more also stated that it was in the process of registering members information, please visit our website: www.un.org.np) of the CPN-Maoist army currently engaged in leadership Conflict and Security Clashes between CPN-Maoist, MPRF security arrangements or undergoing medical treatment and other groups were reported in different parts of the outside the cantonment sites. UNMIN also reported that the country, with little or no intervention by the police being total number of weapons registered so far is 3,428. The latter reported in such clashes. On 25 February, a clash between OCHA Nepal Situation Overview, Issue No. 11/Mar 1 CPN-Maoist and MPRF in Gulariya VDC of Bardiya District group asked NGOs in Panchthar district to only employ in Mid Western region left 3 people dead and 5 other serious Limbu people or close down their offices. injured. On 27 February, a similar clash between CPN- Maoist and MPRF in Banke District of the same region led to the death of 2 MPRF activists and injury to 14 others whereas On 29 March, the Goit faction of TJMM reportedly abducted on 28 February clashes between Nepal Federation of 2 employees of an NGO in Bara district of Central Nepal and Indigenous Nationalities (NEFIN) activists and CPN-Maoist imposed 3 conditions for their release namely that the NGO in Dang District, 3 people were seriously injured should register and pay taxes to the TJMM (G) faction and to During the reporting period, Young Communist League undertake not to employ any person of hill origin (Pahadi). (YCL), seemingly a transformed version of the group Similarly, the Jwala Singh faction of TJMM reportedly formerly known as ‘CPN-Maoist militia’ was increasingly demanded 70 million Rupees as “tax to the Madhesh getting active in pushing CPN-Maoist policy issues in government” from a sugar factory in Sunsari District. different districts, including law enforcement. A joint OCHA / OHCHR mission to Rukum and Rolpa was informed that the YCL in the two districts are responsible for ‘criminal In Mid Western Region, CPN-Maoist continued to block investigations’ at local level before referring relevant cases to development and humanitarian workers from carrying out the Peoples’ Court. Similar involvement of YCL in law and their activities. In Surkhet district, the management of order situation was reported by OCHA offices in Eastern Jhupra Drinking Water Project, one of the biggest drinking Region’s Itahari area in Sunsari District. water projects in Birendranagar Municipality, announced that it would halt its operations as from 1 March owing to The re-establishment of police posts that had been displaced continued pressure and extortion by the CPN-Maoist to the during the conflict continued across the country, but with contractor. The contractor had reportedly been paying challenges. During the reporting period, a joint money to the CPN-Maoist prior to the signing of the OCHA/OHCHR mission to Rukum and Rolpa districts of Comprehensive Peace Agreement, but stopped doing so due Mid Western region was informed that the police in Rukum to the changed context. have re-established only 7 rural police posts out of the original 24, while 9 out of 23 posts have been opened in Rolpa. The OCHA/OHCHR mission was informed that the process of re-establishing even a very modest police presence in the rural areas has been a difficult and sometimes a humiliating experience for the police, always preceded by consultations and negotiations with the CPN-Maoist at the district headquarters level and in the VDCs. Lack of sufficient resources, including adequate equipments to enable re- established police posts function effectively remained an issue. Use of explosives and bombs to instil fear or make political statements notably increased during the reporting period, especially in the Eastern region. On 26 March, a group calling itself the Eastern command of Nepal Defence Army (NDA) hurled a bomb at the regional office of Kantipur Publication in Biratnagar, Morang District. The same group Re-established police post, Nawalparasi District also reportedly took responsibility for the detonation of another bomb inside the premises of a factory at Tankisinawari VDC in Morang on the same day. NDA also Reach of State owned up for the detonation of another bomb in the residence of a Nepal Congress politician in Biratnagar as While CPN-Maoist had blocked most of the development well as at an education training centre in Inaruwa, Sunsari activities of the VDCs, they recently allowed the VDC district on March 27 March. No human casualties were Secretaries to allocate their budget of 1 million rupees in reported during both incidents. consensus with the newly formed 8 parties committee. A recent all party meeting held in Liwang VDC, Rolpa District, discussed priority development projects, particularly in Operational Space relation to the 1 million rupees budget remaining to be spent. The CPN-Maoist reportedly made a proposal to spend 50% of Whereas there appeared to be a marked reduction in the budget from many of the VDCs in the district to complete interference by the CPN-Maoist in the way development and the so-called 'People's Road'. Reports vary as to whether this humanitarian organizations deliver services, new groups proposal was formally endorsed. However, these VDC especially in the Terai region continued to pose operational committees have only 3 months left to spend their envelope, challenges.