Campaigners defy govt crackdown
KATHMANDU, FEB 25 -
Anti-corruption activists have defied numerous attempts by the government to disrupt protests, repeatedly threatening a fast-unto-death if their demands are not addressed promptly. After being released from the police station, campaigners set up a tent at Shanti Batika in Ratnapark and continued protests for the third day in a row. Three campaigners , released on Sunday morning from the Kamalpokhari-based police station, were arrested again and sent to the Durbar Marg police station when they were preparing to re-launch the fast-unto-death. They were detained for nearly five hours, after which they were released in coordination with Chief District Officer Chudamani Sharma. According to one of the campaigners , Shyam Lal Sah, they have submitted a memorandum to the CDO. “We have demanded our right to protest against corruption,” said Sah. However, the campaigners were advised by the CDO to not continue with their protest. “The CDO said he will discuss the matter in a security meeting,” said Sah.
CDO Sharma said the campaigners will be allowed to protest in a “democratic way” if they do not disrupt the daily affairs of public institutions. “Controlling corruption is not an easy task, especially when the country is passing through a serious transition. It is up to all responsible citizens to control corruption, instead of protesting in front of certain government offices,” said Sharma.
KATHMANDU, FEB 25 -
Anti-corruption activists have defied numerous attempts by the government to disrupt protests, repeatedly threatening a fast-unto-death if their demands are not addressed promptly. After being released from the police station, campaigners set up a tent at Shanti Batika in Ratnapark and continued protests for the third day in a row. Three campaigners , released on Sunday morning from the Kamalpokhari-based police station, were arrested again and sent to the Durbar Marg police station when they were preparing to re-launch the fast-unto-death. They were detained for nearly five hours, after which they were released in coordination with Chief District Officer Chudamani Sharma. According to one of the campaigners , Shyam Lal Sah, they have submitted a memorandum to the CDO. “We have demanded our right to protest against corruption,” said Sah. However, the campaigners were advised by the CDO to not continue with their protest. “The CDO said he will discuss the matter in a security meeting,” said Sah.
CDO Sharma said the campaigners will be allowed to protest in a “democratic way” if they do not disrupt the daily affairs of public institutions. “Controlling corruption is not an easy task, especially when the country is passing through a serious transition. It is up to all responsible citizens to control corruption, instead of protesting in front of certain government offices,” said Sharma.
However, Sah maintained that the protest would turn “fiercer” as the health condition of campaigners is deteriorating by the day.
“We demand a credible basis to why our demands have been suppressed by the government. It is just that the government doesn’t want to expose Madhesi corruption,” said Sah. On Friday, a few campaigners , including protest leader Sharada Bhusal Jha, Shyam Lal Jha, Sangita Thapa and Binod Mandal, were arrested for holding a fast-unto-death in front of the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority(CIAA).
As the anti-graft body has not expedited investigations into a corruption complaint filed four years ago, the campaigners , displaced from their homes in Mahottari for raising their voices against the misuse of funds meant for local bodies, arrived in Kathmandu to protest at the CIAA directly.
Authorities claimed that the campaigners were arrested because such protests could further jeopardise the current political transition and tarnish the country’s image.
Police on Saturday even pulled out the campaigners ’ tent set up at Shanti Batika, displacing campaign supporters. “The police tore down the tent and denied compensation and rent when we asked for them,” Sah said.
The campaigners had filed a complaint against the Banauli Damauli and Laharpatti VDCs at the CIAA, claiming that the VDC secretaries there had misused millions of rupees allocated for local bodies. Ram Ekwal Yadav of Banauli Damauli VDC is accused of embezzling Rs 1.9 million, while Shatrughan Mishra, secretary of the Lahapatti VDC, has been charged with misusing Rs 7 million.
The same group of campaigners had organised a fast-unto-death four years ago, demanding a probe into the misuse of local funds in Jaleshwor, Mahottari. However, the protest ended after a team of officials led by then Secretary Trilochan Uprety assured them of an investigation into the matter.
The anti-graft campaign ers also claimed that they, along with their supporters Lalan Sah and Santosh Sah, both residents of Banauli Damauli VDC, had been receiving death threats for publicising the irregularities of the VDC secretaries.
Posted on: 2013-02-25 03:00
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