Kathmandu, May 16: Bowing to death threats by Maoists, scores of local body representatives of Nepal continued to resign today even as Amnesty International condemned the rebels for killing civilians. Mayor Buddhiraj Bajracharya of Lalitpur sub-metropolitan corporation in Kathmandu and 20 other nominated office bearers of the sub-metro have resigned from their post, according to party sources. Their resignation came in response to the recent threats by the Maoists. "We have decided to resign en-mass as there is no environment to remain in the post," Mayor Bajracharya said in a statement.
Similarly, Kirtipur Mayor Shishir Prasad Dhital and other nominated office bearers in the municipality also tendered their resignations yesterday, according to media reports here.
Mayor of Kathmandu metropolitan city Keshav Sthapit is also considering resigning from the post along with all other office bearers of the KMC after they received a similar threat from Maoists, a close associate of the Mayor said. The Maoists had recently urged the nominated office bearers of the local bodies to resign or face consequences.
Meanwhile, the Amnesty International has condemned the mounting attacks on civilians by Maoists and called on the Maoist guerillas to respect human rights and abide by international humanitarian standards.
The human rights watch dog said they have received reports of at least 14 civilians being killed by the Maoists since beginning of May. This includes seven civilians killed in indiscriminate fire on a public bus in Dolakha on May 9.
Bureau Report