February
13, 2008 Rebels Enforce
Indefinite Closure
in Nepal's Terai By Sudeshna Sarkar
Kathmandu
With two months to go for the critical constituent assembly election
in Nepal, dissident parties from the southern plains Wednesday began
an indefinite closure of the Terai, warning the government that the
polls would not be held in the region if their demands were not met.
Three newly formed regional parties from the plains, the Terai
Madhes Loktantrik Party formed by former ministers and lawmakers
from the Terai, the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum, which last year staged
several crippling strikes in south Nepal and forced the government
to amend the constitution for an autonomous state in the Terai, and
the Sadbhavana Party formed by another disgruntled former minister,
have jointly called the strike.
Their main demands are the formation of an autonomous state in the
Terai and to give people living there the right to
self-determination, proportional representation in the bureaucracy
and security forces, and compensation to the families of 46 people
killed during the movement for an autonomous state.
The beleaguered government of Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala
failed to pre-empt the strike though it was announced over a week
ago.
Till Tuesday night, the seven ruling parties were floundering in
their attempt to form a team and open negotiations with the rebels.
The Koirala government says that the rebels' demands have been
mostly met.
The new constitution was amended last year to provide for a federal
republic and this week, the cabinet asked the army and other
government wings to ensure reservation for people from the plains as
well as women and disadvantaged communities.
The government is asking the dissenters to participate in the
crucial April 10 election, saying the rest of the demands would be
addressed after that.
However, the rebels say they had held talks earlier too and the
state failed to implement the agreements.
Districts in central and east Nepal along the Indo-Nepal border were
the hardest hit by the closure.
Already reeling under an acute fuel shortage, Nepal would see a
crisis in the coming days as the protesters have also announced they
would blockade the highways connecting Nepal with India and the
entry points on the Indo-Nepal border through which essential
supplies and fuel reach the landlocked nation.
Ironically, the closure comes even as the Maoists began celebrating
the 12th anniversary of their "People's War" - the armed uprising
they started in February 1996 to dethrone Nepal's kings and found a
republic.
The Maoists' success with the gun has spawned dozens of armed groups
in the Terai, which include bands of former Maoists, who say the
communist guerrillas exploited the plains,
The Madhesis, people from the plains, are among the most
discriminated-against communities in Nepal where the elite are from
the mountain communities.
The growing demand for equal rights for the people from the plains
has deepened like never before the rift between the two communities
and triggered sectarian violence in the plains.
Last year, the government failed to hold the election in June due to
the turbulence in the Terai.
India, which has been insisting on the election and is believed to
have influence on the Terai parties, has rushed a team comprising
members of its ruling Congress party to talk to the different
political parties, including the Terai outfits.
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