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Asian Human Rights Commission
(AHRC).
19/F, Go-Up Commercial Building,
998 Canton Road, Kowloon, Hongkong S.A.R.
Tel: +(852) - 2698-6339 Fax: +(852) - 2698-6367
1. NEPALESE 'UNTOUCHABLES' FACE
BAN OVER RIGHTS DEMAND
PRESS RELEASE
AHRC-PL-69-2004
(Hong Kong, September 16, 2004) The Asian Human Rights
Commission (AHRC) today expressed grave concern for a community of Nepalese
Dalits banned from using public facilities by upper caste villagers
angry at their refusal to dispose of the bodies of dead animals.
The thirty-five families in Bhagwatpur-9 village in Saptari
District have been banned from using public facilities since September 6, after
they joined a nationwide campaign to end caste-based discrimination, the Hong
Kong-based regional rights group reported in an urgent appeal.
The families belong to the Chamar group, which has traditionally been obliged to remove carcasses. The campaign has urged all Chamars to refuse to do this work and assert their rights to freely choose their occupations.
In response to the move, powerful upper caste villagers have
imposed a ban on the Chamars from buying goods, using the pond and feeding
their animals on the public field.
"They have threatened to fine us Rs 1151 (US$16.50) if we are
found using any of the public facilities in the village," said Devnath
Ram, one of the affected persons.
The upper caste leaders have warned that any of their community
found breaking the ban, or even found speaking to one of the Chamars, would also
be fined.
Twenty of the Chamars have been sacked from their jobs, and at
least one child has been evicted from school for the same reason.
A complaint was filed with local government officials against
the ban on September 12. The following day, the police also dispersed a crowd
of 1000 persons protesting the ban.
Under strong public pressure, the police are reported to have
arrested five upper caste men on September 14. However, many fear that the
arrests are just for show, and the police have no intention of taking action
against the men.
In the appeal, the AHRC notes that although discrimination on
the basis of caste is illegal in Nepal, it is widely practiced and the
perpetrators rarely prosecuted.
"The government of Nepal has failed to implement measures
that might significantly contribute to ending the discrimination," said
the AHRC
The AHRC wrote to the Prime Minister of Nepal, Sher Badhur
Deuba, to intervene in the case and take strong action to protect the rights of
the Chamar community.
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2. A BAN IMPOSSED ON THE DALIT
COMMUNITY IN BHAGAWATPUR
--AHRC
Thirty-five families of Chamar Dalits in Bhagwatpur-9 village
have been suffering at the hands of the so-called "upper caste"
people who have outlawed them from using public facilities since 6 September
2004.
All the community of Chamar (a kind of Dalit) in Nepal has been
making a nationwide campaign to promote human rights and social status of
Dalits in the society. As a part of campaign, they have encouraged the Chamar
community not to remove carcasses, which was regarded as their traditional work
in the society for a long time. To assert social status and rights, on 5 September
2004 the Charmar Dalits of Bhagwatpur-9 also decided to stop cleaning carcasses
from the area onwards.
This decision made upper caste people in the village angry. On
September 6, Baidhyanath Mandal, a former chairman of the Bagwatpur Village
Development Committee, allegedly called a meeting at Shri Janata Secondary
School in Bhagawatpur and many upper caste villagers attended the meeting. It
was also alleged that among the participants, the landlords or influential
figures of the village, Baidhyanath Mandal, Rajendra Mandal, Pratham Lal
Mandal, Hari Mandal, Narayan Mandal, Mantun Mandal and Sitaram Mandal, were
presented. At the meeting, the upper caste villagers decided to impose a ban on
all these Chamar Dalits to enter and use any public places.
According to their decision, Chamar Dalits in the village are
not allowed to buy any goods. They are not allowed to purchase supplies from
grocery and medical stores; they are not allowed to use the village pond they
had been using for ages; they are not even allowed to feed their domestic
animals in the public field. If any of Dalits violates this blockade, they are
punished by the upper caste villagers. Devnath Ram, an aggrieved Dalit stated,
"They have threatened to fine us Rs 1,151 (about US$ 16.5) if we were
found using any of the public facilities in the village." The meeting also
decided that if any person sell goods or speak to the Dalits, they would also
be fined Rs 1,151. Baidhyanath Mandal appointed Rajendra Mandal, Pratham Lal
Mandal and Hari Mandal as responsible persons to watch the practice of this
decision and to inform if anyone violates this new regulation in the village.
204 Chamar Dalits belonging to 35 families are suffering from this unlawful and
discriminative ban on them since 7:00pm of September 6.
To add insult to injury, employers have sacked Dalits from their
jobs. 20 Dalits claims that they lost their jobs due to this imposed ban and it
is threatening their lives, as their daily labor is their only means of support
for their families. The AHRC has received 13 names out of these 20 people. They
are Ram Kishun Ram, Shiba Ram, Kailu Ram, Sebak Ram, Muneshwar Ram, Shiba
Narayan Ram, Rameshwar Ram, Phagu Ram, Ramji Ram, Sinheshwor Ram, Ramcharan
Ram, Kalar Ram and Sita Ram. In addition, a Dalit boy named Bijaya Kumar Ram,
the student of grade 4 in Shri Janata Lower Secondary School, reported that his
teacher Mr. Manoj Mandal forced him to leave the school immediately saying that
he was a Dalit so he is not allowed to come to study at the school.
Charmar Dalits issued a press release against this imposed ban
in the village. On September 12, the Dalits also filed a complaint (case no.
67/61-5-28) against this ban and asked the Chief District Officer (C.D.O.) Mr.
Ananda Raj Pokharel in Rajbiraj, to take action. However, the C.D.O. did now
show any interest in this matter. On September 13, about 1,000 people including
the victims, other Dalit groups and human rights activisits held a protest in
front of the C.D.O's office calling for an immediate intervention into this
matter and ensuring the security of the victims. But C.D.O. called the police
and scolded the protest participants and dispersed them.
The last information the AHRC has received is that the police
arrested five alleged perpetrators, Harihar Mandal, Mantul Mandal, Lal Prasad
Mandal, Ram Krishna Mandal, and Rajendra Mandal, on September 14 after being
pressured by the people. However, the Chamar Dalits in the Bhagwatpur-9 village
worry that as these Mandal (upper caste) people are rich and landlords of the
village, the police might take these powerful people's side and would not
deliver the justice to them as usual and they would have to face grave problems
to deal with their lives in the village.
AHRC is gravely concerned by this outlaw discriminative ban on
the Chamar Dalits in the Bhagwatpur village. Article 11(4) of the Constitution
of Nepal clearly states, "No person shall, on the basis of caste, be
discriminated against as untouchable, be denied access to any public place, or
be deprived of the use of public utilities. Any contravention of this provision
shall be punishable by law." In addition, Article 5 of the International
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which
Nepal is a state party, states, "In compliance with the fundamental
obligations laid down in article 2 of this Convention, State Parties undertake
to prohibit and to eliminate racial discrimination in all its forms and to
guarantee the right of everyone, without distinction as to race, color, or
national or ethnic origin, to equality before the law."
However, despite these provisions, the practice of
untouchability remains rampant, and the perpetrators in most cases are not
prosecuted. It illustrates that the government of Nepal has failed to implement
measures that might significantly contribute to ending the discrimination
against Dalits, and seeing Article 11 of the Constitution enforced.
AHRC strongly urges the government of Nepal to immediately
intervene into this mater and protect rights of the Dalits. All the responsible
perpetrators must be brought to justice without delay. AHRC also urges the
government of Nepal to take appropriate action to ensure the security of the
victims. The Government of Nepal should implement all the possible measures to
enforce Article 11 of its Constitution to put an end to the inhuman caste
discrimination in Nepal.
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Source: MANAV ASTITWA-Human Existence, VOICE OF HUMANITY FOR
PEACE & JUSTICE (16 September 2004, Vol. 02, No. 14.)