UN asks Maoists to cooperate in rights abuse cases
Kathmandu: The United Nations on Friday asked
former Nepalese Prime Minister Prachanda to instruct his party
leaders to cooperate with the investigations in the human
rights abuse cases against them.
In a letter to the Maoists chief, Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights, Nepal, has asked the Unified
CPN-M to instruct its members to surrender before the
authorities and fully cooperate with ongoing investigations.
The UN rights body also expressed its concerns over lack
of progress in the investigations into killings of trader Ram
Hari Shrestha and journalist Birendra Sha and Chitwan bus
bombing in which 34 people were killed.
The letter sent to Prachanda on July 24 was made public
on Friday.
"These cases are among those in which there is
substantial evidence of Maoists' involvement and we are
following them closely," OHCHR-N said in a statement today.
UCPN-M cadres were held responsible for the murder of
businessman Shretha inside the Third Division camp of the
Maoist combatants on 27 April 2008, it said.
Although the police have identified Kali Bahadur Kham as
the main culprit in the incident, they have not arrested him
under Maoists' pressure, the statement said.
Similarly, journalist Sah was murdered on October 5,
2007 in Bara and four Maoist cadres were accused in the case.
But none of them have been yet arrested.
Bureau Report