By Kristy Tridhavee
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Asia

KATHMANDU, Nepal – After 10 years of insurgency by Maoists and almost 240 years of monarchy by the family of King Gyanendra, Nepal is set to have elections on April 10^th that will elect an assembly which will transform the country. However, ahead of the elections the United Nations fears that voters face violation and intimidation from supporters of political parties.

A UN report attributed most of the acts to the Maoist party. In its report, it wrote, “The Young Communist League and other Maoist cadres continued to be involved in the largest proportion of these incidents.”. In mid-March youth cadres beat up workers of the Communist Party of Nepal, and harmed one person so severely that he needed a hospital stay. In February, the Nepali Congress accused Maoists of setting a candidate’s home on fire. When the candidate attempted to flee, he was hit with a boulder and fractured his hip.

The UN Mission in Nepal and the Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights found that during campaigning there have been a number of abductions and explosions near voting sites. There are three reported deaths thus far and numerous injured persons. Some rebel groups in Nepal’s southern plain region have vowed to disrupt the elections.

The organizations also reported there was credible evidence that State resources were being used to buy votes through “donations” of food, clothing, and other goods.

The Nepalese government tightened security to decrease the violent incidents. About 135,000 police were deployed to keep watch until elections on Thursday. In addition, helicopters are patrolling the skies until the election and will later be used to transport the ballot boxes from remote polling stations.

The up and coming elections are crucial to the country’s future because the newly elected assembly will write a new constitution. This will likely result in a republic, a foundation to lasting peace with Maoists, and a change to the workings of the government. The assembly will also decide how ethnic groups will be represented in the government.

For more information, please see:

The Hindu – UN Asks Political Parties to Stop ‘Intimidatory Behaviour’ – 7 April 2008

International Herald Tribune – Nepal Prepares to Vote with an Uneasy Eye on Ex-Insurgent Candidates – 6 April 2

Reuters – Tight Security in Place Ahead of Nepal Elections – 5 April 2008

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – More than 1,000 Khmer Rouge Regime survivors have filed complaints with the Khmer Rouge Tribunal.  The complaints are a method for greater participation from public in the prosecution.  Survivors are able to share their stories with the Khmer Rouge Regime and give the prosecution additional evidence.

For more information, please see:

Radio Australia – Filed Complaints Bolster Cambodian Trials – 8 April 2008

By Ariel Lin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

SRINAGAR, India – Amnesty International, an international human rights group, urged the Indian government to launch an immediate investigation into nearly 1,000 unidentified graves found in the remote-hit region of Kashmir during the past two years.  Amnesty International wants the government to determine if any of the graves contain the bodies of those listed as missing by local rights groups.  Human Rights Watch also released a letter to the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC), indicating that HRC should insist that the Indian government take strong steps to hold accountable members of its security forces responsible for torture, arbitrary detentions, killings, and “disappearances”.

The plea from Amnesty International comes after a local rights group, the Association of Parents of Disappeared People, said it discovered nearly 1,000 unidentified graves scattered in cemeteries around the town of Uri. Uri is one of the most violent parts of Kashmir and neighbors the Pakistan-administered zone of Kashmir.

“The grave sites are believed to contain the remains of victims of unlawful killings, enforced disappearances, torture and other abuses which occurred in the context of armed conflict persisting in the state since 1989,” Amnesty International said in a statement.

Last week police in Indian-administered Kashmir rejected a demand for action to identify the bodies.  At least 200 demonstrators led by senior leaders of Hurriyat held a protest in Srinagar, the summer capital of Kashmir, against what they called gross human rights violations by security forces.  The protestors carried placards reading “Stop human rights violations” and pictures of “missing persons”.

Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan, but claimed by both in its entirety.  Many Islamic groups have been fighting mainly Hindu India in Kashmir since 1989, demanding independence or a union with mostly Muslim Pakistan.  The insurgency has left more than 43,000 people dead by official counts while rights groups put the toll at 70,000 dead and disappeared.

For more information, please see:

BBC – Amnesty urges Kashmir grave probe – 07 April 2008

Human Rights Watch – India: UN Rights Council Should Tackle Impunity – 07 April 2008

International Herald Tribune – International rights group urges India to probe unidentified graves in Kashmir – 07 April 1008

Reuters – Amnesty urges India to probe unmarked Kashmir graves – 07 April 2008