Full Coverage: Nepal

02/25/2005 Sujata Koirala, a senior leader of one of Nepal's main political parties, fled the country in disguise after the King seized absolute power earlier this month and began an intense crackdown against political leaders, students, trade unionists, and human rights activists. She sheds light on how the country reached such a crossroads, and what's coming next.

02/22/2005 Although international condemnation of the King Gyanendra's suspension of democracy in Nepal is universal, many people inside the country are conscious that the elected government had many failings. Is it possible that the King will win popular support?

02/21/2005 A Nepali citizen, who has declined to identify himself, hits out at the royalty in Nepal for setting up the Royal Commission on Corruption Control, which he says will be used to browbeat and threaten critics of the royal coup.

02/18/2005 WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb 18 (OneWorld) - Nepal stands on the ''brink of disaster'' following King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah's Feb. 1 military coup and an ensuing wave of human rights violations under a palace-decreed state of emergency, according to Amnesty International.

02/18/2005 The Economist magazine practically predicted Nepal's coup two months before it happened, warning that military aid pouring in from the country's "allies"--the U.S., UK, and India--was stoking the false belief that the Maoist rebellion could be crushed under force of arms. But was Nepal just being used by superpowers fighting their own battles?

02/18/2005 Ihmisoikeusjärjestö Amnestyn delegaation on sallittu vierailla Nepalissa ja tavata helmikuun alussa maahan hätätilan julistanut kunningas Gyanendra. Amnestyn mukaan ihmisoikeustilanne maassa on edelleen heikentynyt. Hallituksen ja maolaisten sissien välinen konflikti todennäköisesti eskaloituu entisestään, ennustaa järjestö.

02/17/2005 "Dopo l'entrata in vigore dello stato d'emergenza, proclamato dal re Gyanendra il 1° febbraio, sul Nepal incombe una catastrofe dei diritti umani" - riporta Amnesty International presentando le conclusioni della missione che l'organizzazione ha svolto nel paese dal 10 al 16 febbraio. "Il lungo conflitto tra i maoisti e le forze armate ha distrutto i diritti umani nelle zone rurali. Ora lo stato d'emergenza li sta distruggendo nelle aree urbane e sta portando il paese sull'orlo di un disastro. Lo stato d'emergenza ha rafforzato i poteri delle forze di sicurezza, ridotto le prospettive di un percorso politico verso la pace".

02/16/2005 Amnesty International is concerned for the safety of human rights leaders in Nepal, along with hundreds of student activists and members of political parties who have reportedly been arrested since the King seized absolute power on February 1. Pressure from citizens around the world is needed to ensure their safety and the country's return to democracy, the group says.

02/15/2005 Some 17 human rights defenders in Nepal have been arrested and the threat of "disappearances" is growing following the King's seizure of power two weeks ago, warn international observers. A rally has been organized for this weekend in New Delhi by one of the activists who managed to escape the country.

02/11/2005 Nepalese police moved swiftly to smother protests in capital Kathmandu and arrested nearly a dozen people even as it prevented the US ambassador from visiting political leaders under house arrest.

02/10/2005 Nepal released seven detained political leaders, including two former prime ministers, but the chiefs of the country's main political parties - Nepali Congress, the Communist Unified Marxist-Leninst party and the Nepali Congress Democratic party - remain under house arrest.

02/10/2005 Tähän asti pidätysten pelossa salaisesti toiminut nepalilainen ihmisoikeusaktivistien ryhmä on ilmoittanut pitävänsä julkisen mielenosoituksen kuninkaan viime viikolla asettamaa poikkeustilaa vastaan. Viime päivinä maasta on kantautunut raportteja joukkopidätyksistä, tiedotusvälineiden toiminnan tukahduttamisesta ja opiskelija-aktivistien kidutuksista.

02/10/2005 WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb 8 (Advocacy Project) - Nepal's human rights community is preparing a major public protest against the imposition of military rule by the King, as reports emerge from Nepal of mass arrests, the suppression of the press, and the apparent torture of students.

02/09/2005 Il Nepal ha riattivato le comunicazioni con il resto del mondo: funzionano a tratti i numeri telefonici fissi, mentre continuano a rimanere irraggiungibili i telefoni cellulari. La Fondazione Pangea Onlus è riuscita a parlare direttamente con i propri contatti a Kathamndu con cui sta strutturando il Progetto Sharma di microcredito a favore delle donne nepalesi. Sono arrivate altre notizie di gravissimi scontri nelle province orientali tra truppe dell’esercito a bordo di elicotteri ed elementi della guerriglia maoista. “Il rischio di deriva assolutista è di ora in ora sempre più grave: l’utilizzo dei telefoni cellulari è stato vietato ed inabilitato per almeno un anno, la censura sui media è praticamente totale, radio, tv e giornali non possono più lavorare liberamente se non dando voce ai bollettini ufficiali del palazzo reale".

02/09/2005 A group of human rights advocates that has until now operated clandestinely for fear of arrest has announced that it will publicly protest the military rule imposed last week. The demonstrators will carry blank black banners without any slogans or symbols.

02/09/2005 International media organisations RSF, CPJ and IFJ have said that though the Nepalese king has restored Internet and telephone connections, authorities continue to censor media outlets and arrest dissidents. A new series of directives say that those who ignore the ban on negative reporting face imprisonment or house arrest.

02/09/2005 Vaikka maassa piti olla yleislakko, helmikuun 3. päivä alkoi Nepalin pääkaupungissa normaalein liikenneruuhkin. Kaupat ja yritykset avasivat ovensa, ja lapset menivät kouluun. Tieto maolaisen sissiliikkeen julistamasta kolmipäiväisestä lakosta ei kantautunut ihmisten korviin, sillä kuningas on kieltänyt tiedotusvälineitä raportoimasta poliittisista tapahtumista.

02/09/2005 As more and more adults are dying of AIDS in Nepal, more and more children are becoming deprived of parental care, shelter, food, health, education, love and affection.

02/08/2005 Nepali troops backed by helicopters have attacked Maoist camps in the jungles in the west of the country, as part of a new offensive against the rebels launched after the king seized power a week ago.

02/08/2005 The ILO has urged King Gyanendra of Nepal to take necessary steps to ensure the safety of the trade union leaders and its members.