State Blamed for 119 Disappearances after Conflict in Nepal

Kathmandu, Dec 29-The organisation of the families of disappeared people during conflict has demanded the government to disclose facts of their disappeared relatives.

Organising a press conference in the capital on Wednesday, the organisation informed that they had also handed over a memorandum to United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan on December 10.

The organisation has formed a three-member team to keep an account of those disappeared by the State and the Maoists. ”We have so far completed four phases of keeping the account of people in a state of disappearance,” Bhim Bahadur Basnet of the team said.

The report prepared by the team states that a total of 119 people, including 70 from the Kathmandu Valley, have been disappeared by the State so far.

Mainwhile,“During the field inspection, we found that 84 people were killed during the truce at the hands of both the government and Maoists,” Sudip Pathak, a member of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), said the residence of Nepali Congress General Secretary KB Gurung was still locked up by the Maoists. he said.

National Human Rights Commission of Nepal is holding talks with “responsible people” from both the government and Maoist sides to facilitate dialogue to restore peace in the country, he disclosed here on Wednesday.

Pathak, told that talks were on between the Commission and “responsible people ” from both the sides, and that the NHRC may soon receive an audience with His Majesty the King to deliberate on the Maoist crisis.

He accused the Maoist insurgents of continuing to violate human rights even during the four months of truce that they declared unilaterally. “Though the period remained non-violent, there was a massive increase in cases of abductions and extortions,” Pathak said, adding that displaced people were not able to return home during ceasefire .

The NHRC is releasing its report of the field inspection of the Maoist-affected areas on Thursday.