OCHA Situation Report No. 7
Nepal Situation Overview
5 October 2006


Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Highlights:

Nationwide protests by CPN-Maoist against alleged arm imports by the SPA 
government

CPN-Maoist resists government's efforts to re-establish police posts

CPN-Maoist tightens its control on the development agencies' operational 
space

Thousands of Nepalis return home for the annual Dashain holidays

CPN-Maoist opens new offices to facilitate IDP returns

Nepal Red Cross Society, UN, I/NGOs respond to floods in western Nepal

CONTEXT

Politics and major developments

On 13 Sept, the SPA-CPN-Maoist relations hit a low with nationwide 
protests by the CPN-Maoist against alleged arms imports from India by 
the SPA government. The protests subsided the same day after the 
National Monitoring Committee for Ceasefire, the Home Minister, the 
Nepali Army and India dismissed the allegations.

Following its central committee meeting, the CPN-Maoist announced that 
the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) would neither be confined to camps nor 
separated from its arms until there was an agreement with the SPA on 
outstanding political issues. Three national conventions led by its 
trade union, ANTUF, its women's organization, ANWA-R, and the student 
wing ANNISU-R were also organized in the capital during the reporting 
period. This led to a nationwide and unprecedented rise in CPN-Maoist 
demands for donations on the business community, NGOs and private 
individuals.

The confirmation of the Chief of Army Staff, Rupmangat Katuwal, turned 
controversial with the CPN-Maoist and human rights workers insisting 
that Mr. Katuwal had directed the suppression of the people's movement 
in April.

On 23 Sept, an RPP lawmaker Krishna Charan Shrestha was shot dead in the 
Eastern district of Siraha. The CPN-Maoist breakaway TJMM claimed 
responsibility for the killing; TJMM declared a ceasefire starting from 
23 Sept until 9 Oct to mark the beginning of the Dashain festivals.

On 23 Sept, 24 people including the State Minister for Forest died in 
Nepal's worst helicopter accident. The helicopter, chartered by World 
Wildlife Fund, also had on board Finnish Embassy Charge d'Affaires and 
USAID Deputy Director.

Conflict and Security

Across the country, the CPN-Maoist strongly resisted the government's 
efforts to reestablish police posts displaced or damaged during the 
conflict, arguing that the expansion of security installations violates 
the mutually agreed ceasefire code of conduct.

Abductions, which had not been a noticeable trend since the ceasefire in 
April, re-emerged during the reporting period.

A high incidence of extortion was reported in Siraha, Saptari, Jhapa, 
Sankhuwasabha, Bhojpur, Morang, Terhathum, Dhankuta and Udaypur 
districts. Businessmen and others, who were approached by the CPN-Maoist 
or its sister organizations for donations, however, reported that the 
CPNMaoist cadres were engaging in negotiations and resorting to threats 
only as a last resort.

During the reporting period, CPN-Maoist also continued to exert justice 
through their own courts. In Kailali district, it ordered six 
individuals to six months' labor, charging them with murder and incest.

The reporting period also saw CPN-Maoist expanding its support base in 
the Eastern region, encouraging military and PLA recruitments. Reports 
from Sunsari, Bhojpur, Solukhumbu and Morang districts in the Eastern 
region indicated that CPN-Maoist was recruiting new militia. The 
CPN-Maoist leadership in Morang confirmed the recruitment, adding the 
militias would be deployed to maintain law and order, and possibly 
transfer to PLA. CPNMaoist cadres in Sankhuwasabha district were 
reportedly involved in issuing party membership to the school students.

In Kathmandu, the Hotel Association of Nepal said they would be forced 
to close down their businesses if CPNMaoist continued to make 
unrealistic donation demands. It said all hotels have received letters 
from CPN-Maoist asking anywhere between half a million to two million 
rupees. CPNMaoist said the donations were voluntary.

A high incidence of public demonstrations and road/highway closures 
during the reporting period led to a general feeling of lawlessness in 
urban centers across the country. Protestors emanated from all classes 
of society ranging from prison inmates in Jhapa district, landless 
people in Sunsari, students in Saptari, professionals and workers 
demanding salary increment and improvement in terms of service in Ilam, 
Sunsari and Jhapa districts, traders protesting municipality license fee 
hike in Morang district as well as locals protesting over road accident.

Another security threat during the reporting period came from the armed 
vigilante groups in the Western Terai districts of Kapilvastu, 
Nawalparasi and Rupandehi. In Nawalparasi, eight parties (including the 
CPN-Maoist) and human rights workers asked the local administration to 
confiscate arms from the 'vigilantes' who were armed by the security 
forces during the royal rule. The Chief District Officer said his office 
has no records of the arms distribution.

Operational Space

The capacity of development and humanitarian actors to work free of 
CPN-Maoist interference further eroded during the reporting period. A 
high incidence of the Basic Operating Guidelines (BOGS) violations 
continued to be recorded. In the Far West, CPN-Maoist has reportedly 
directed its district committees to impose tax on imports and exports 
and to stop the Municipalities, DDCs and the VDCs from carrying out any 
development work. In the Western region, the party issued a notice to 
the Community Forest Users Federation in Nawalparasi district to suspend 
activities of all forest users groups.

In the Eastern region, CPN-Maoist threatened to continue frustrating all 
development projects implemented by/through the government. Its cadres 
have asked local residents of Rangeli, Morang district not to pay their 
electricity bills and frustrated revenue collection in Jhapa, Saptari 
and Siraha districts. In Terhathum district, they issued a six-point 
circular to the I/NGOs operating in the district to give 10% of their 
total budget to the party before starting a project; CPN-Maoist 
leadership reportedly also stated how the NRs. 1 million of the VDC 
budget proposed by the SPA government should be used?10% of it should go 
directly to CPN-Maoist, 20% to community based education and health 
projects and 70% to road constructions. CPNMaoist has reportedly 
pre-positioned its cadres to tax the road construction projects. In the 
Eastern Terai, there is a poor working environment for development 
agencies based along the Indo-Nepal border due to the strong presence of 
TJMM in Saptari and Siraha districts; the CDO in Saptari said the 
security for the staff members of development agencies in the districts 
was a serious concern.

In response to complaints from NGOs in Udaypur that CPNMaoist was 
exerting increasing pressure on them to give donations, OCHA held 
meetings with the CPN-Maoist district leadership to address the 
concerns.

NATURAL DISASTERS

Floods and landslides

September heavy monsoon rains caused floods and landslides in 26 
districts, the most affected being Banke, Bardiya and Achham in the Mid 
West and Far West. Nearly 50 deaths were reported and thousands were 
displaced from their water-logged homes for days. After detailed 
assessments, the Nepal Red Cross Society (NRCS) put the number of 
disaster-affected population at 84,449 in the three districts. Supported 
by a number of UN agencies, notably WFP and UNICEF as well as I/NGOs, 
the Red Cross provided the needy population immediate relief in the form 
of food and non food.

Immediate health needs were addressed by the DHO supported by WHO, 
UNFPA, INF and IRC who rapidly dispatched medicines, mobile health 
clinics to operate in the worst affected areas and surveillance teams. 
Fortunately, no communicable epidemic outbreaks were reported.

Following a detailed assessment of the needs in the education sector, 
educational kits are being provided by UNICEF, Save the Children 
Alliance and Plan while other INGOs are studying the possibility to 
support the rehabilitation of damaged schools.

The District Administration Office and the NRCS district chapter in 
Banke and Bardiya estimated that 3,297 houses have been damaged by 
floods. However, a detailed interagency assessment led on the longer 
term house rehabilitation needs is under revision.

Drought

On 4 September, at an inter-ministerial meeting with the donor 
community, the government appealed for food aid to cover an estimated 
shortage of 350,000 MT of rice as a result of the drought affecting a 
number of districts in the East and Terai districts. The government also 
highlighted the need for longer-term mitigation measures such as 
irrigation facilities, river training, reforestation and an emergency 
revolving fund for disaster management and seed buffer stock. WFP VAM 
monitors are currently assessing the food security situation in these 
areas while a detailed crop status survey is also under preparation in 
conjunction with the MoA.

In the meantime, the drought food emergency operation led by WFP in the 
ten most vulnerable and hard to reach districts of the mid-and far west 
- Bajura, Dailekh, Jajarkot Kalikot, Rolpa, Rukum, Dolpa, Humla, Jumla 
and Mugu districts continues. During the reporting period UNICEF 
presented the findings of a rapid assessment done in Jumla where 14% 
wasting, 82% stunting and 77% underweight was found among children. In 
Bajura, UNICEF carried out a rapid nutrition assessment in two clusters 
(also in August), which put wasting at 21%1, stunting at 73% and 
underweight at 81%. UNICEF has already commissioned a district wide 
assessment of Bajura and based on preliminary findings; assert that the 
outlook for the entire district will be similar to that of the findings 
of these two clusters.

Population Movement

During the reporting period, thousands of Nepalis returned home from 
India for Dashain; CPN-Maoist continued to encourage IDP returns right 
across the country with promises to return properties confiscated during 
the conflict and facilitating the returns through its newly established 
offices aimed at working with the returnees.

In Udaypur district in the East CPN-Maoist announced that it would 
return the property of four of the 30 families whose land had been 
confiscated by the party; CPN-Maoist informed OCHA that 15 families have 
returned to their villages from the district headquarters since the 
April ceasefire. CPN-Maoist also announced that it was willing to return 
land belonging to the IDPs in Saptari and Siraha districts. In 
Sankhuwasabha district, a joint follow-up meeting between UNHCR, SPA 
representatives, CPN-Maoist and the CDO agreed to support the IDP 
returns, with CPN undertaking to provide security to the returnees.

In Ilam, the party opened its office to facilitate the process of IDP 
returns; there were two applications from the displaced people by 22 
Sept. A returnee reported that the local cadres of CPN-Maoist had banned 
her to harvest cardamom from her own field. Following the assassination 
of a lawmaker in Siraha district on 23 Sept, the people of hill origin 
went on a high alert in the southern VDCs of the Terai district; some 
fled to urban centers for safety. Also, CPN-Maoist opened the contact 
office for displaced persons in the district headquarters to facilitate 
the IDP returns.

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