Kathmandu, May 14:

Maoist victims today staged a sit-in in front of the United Nations office here to draw the attention of the UN towards their problems.

Coordinator of the National Struggle Committee of the Victims of Maoist Atrocities, Bhojraj Timilsina, said: “We have greater hope from the UN than other missionaries in Nepal and we are hopeful that the government will not ignore the request of the UN.”

The Maoist victims staged a peaceful protest for an hour from 11 am.

“As the government turned a deaf ear to our call, we started knocking the doors of the international community so that the government would realise the need to address our demands,” he said.

They are demanding the government return their property seized by the Maoists, compensation for the property damaged and create environment for their rehabilitation. “The

government should recognise us as internal refugees,” Timilsina said.

The victims have already demonstrated in front of the Indian and American embassies. He said they are scheduled to stage a sit-in in front of the Office of the High Commission for Human Rights on May 21.

About 200 Maoist victims of 60 households are putting up in makeshift camps at Tinkune since February 7 and holding protest programmes in the capital.

The Maoist victims say they are facing a number of problems in the huts. They are facing drinking water crisis and there is also a shortage of food, as they don’t have any source of income in the capital. A few households have accepted the amount of Rs 5,000 distributed by the government as compensation.