Kathmandu, October 19

Terai Human Rights Defenders Alliance (THRDA) today issued a press statement taking strong exception to the use of live bullets during protests.

Expressing concern over non-implementation of the OHCHR recommendations and the Supreme Court’s stay order regarding the use of live ammunition, the THRDA said use of excessive force against protesters was a severe breach of international and national laws.

It said more than 40 people were killed during the protests in various districts.

Advocate Dipendra Jha, who is associated with the alliance, said APF’s indiscriminate firing at a local market near Tinau Bridge in Rupandehi on September 15 killed five people, including a four-year old child.

The alliance said that Bikram Rauniyar, a Mahottari correspondent of Mountain TV, was also beaten by police.

The alliance said a regulation passed this summer by the government gave Armed Police Force permission to use force to remove obstructions while carrying out their duties. The regulation, the alliance said, bars people from filing complaints against APF personnel if anyone dies or is injured in the course of such action. “This shows that the state is absolutely unwilling to punish use of excessive force,” read the release.

The alliance has demanded investigation into use of excessive force by the security forces in the Tarai.

“We also urge the national and international community to investigate as to why the UN Human Rights Committee’s recommendations to the government are not being implemented,” read the statement.