Kathmandu: The US has passed a law that
denies financial aid to the Nepal government, amid stepped up
pressure on the country's army to fulfill its human rights
obligations, a news report has said.
US President Barack Obama has signed into law the
Consolidated Appropriations Act 2010 prohibiting assistance to
the Nepal Armed Forces till they fulfil their human rights
obligations, among other things, myrepublica online, the
website of Republica newspaper, has said.
The law passed on December 16 states the Nepal Army
will be entitled to funds under the US Foreign Military
Financing Programme only if it fulfills certain criteria
including full cooperation on human rights violations, it
said.
"In large measure, and as others have pointed out,
Maina´s death will decide whether a civilian, democratic
government and the rule of law will determine Nepal´s future,
or it will remain dominated by the interests of the Nepal
army," Senator Patrick Leahy was quoted as saying by the
Nepalese news portal.
Leahy asked the Nepal Army chief Chhatra Man Singh
Gurung "to seize this opportunity to demonstrate that the army
is reforming, that it recognizes in a democracy its members
are answerable to the civilian courts, and that it will no
longer perpetuate the impunity that has undermined the rule of
law in Nepal for far too long."
The US funds would be conditional on the ground that
it is cooperating fully with investigations and prosecutions
by civilian judicial authorities of violations of
internationally recognized human rights, the report said.
The law also make it necessary for the military to
facilitate the assimilation of former rebel combatants into
the armed forces consistent with the goals of reconciliation,
peace and stability, the report said.
The US decision comes amid widespread pressure to
arrest and hand over Nepal Army Major Niranjan Basnet to the
civilian administration to be tried at the district court for
his alleged role in the torture and subsequent murder of a
15-year-old Nepalese girl Maina Sunar.
The UN rights watchdog and top envoys in Nepal,
including the US, have asked the government to end the culture
of impunity and punish those involved in rights violations
both during and after the civil war in the country.
They flayed the government for failing to probe
"forced disappearances" in the country during the decade-long
Maoists'-led civil war, which ended in November 2006.
On December 10 nine envoys representing mainly Western
countries urged the Madhav Kumar Nepal-led government to
deliver justice to the families of 170 people, who were
victims of forced disappearances during the insurgency in
Bardia district.
International human rights groups have accused both
the Nepal Army and the Maoists guerrillas of rights violations
and "forced disappearance" during the insurgency, which killed
at least 15,000 people and left thousands displaced.
The Maoists, who waged a decade-long insurgency,
joined mainstream politics after a 2006 peace deal with the
interim government led by GP Koirala.
Last year CPN-Maoist formed Nepal's first post-royal
government that collapsed amid dispute with President Ram
Baran Yadav over the reinstatement of then army chief Gen
Rukmangad Katawal, who was dismissed by Prachanda in May.
Political tensions have been high in Nepal since
Prachanda resigned and the Maoists took to the streets,
accusing the government for blocking the way for the
integration of former rebels into the military as stipulated
under the 2006 peace agreement.
Maoists supporters today disrupted normal life across
the country as they blocked roads, attacked vehicles, forced
shops to close and clashed with riot police in an effort to
mount pressure on the government to rectify the
"unconstitutional" decision of the President.
Riot police clashed with Maoists supporters who
enforced a nationwide general strike as part of its three-day
anti-government protests, resulting in injury to over 24
people and arrest of 62 former rebels today.
The US has expressed concern over the political crisis
in Nepal, describing it "a major challenge" "Nepal is going
through some major challenges," State Department Deputy
Spokesman Robert Wood said last week in Washington.
"It's important for the countries of the region, the
United States, and others to try to do what we can to help
Nepal where we can," he said, adding that "they are going
through a very difficult moment."
PTI
First Published: Monday, December 21, 2009, 00:06