2015 June 25, Kathmandu, NEPAL. Nepal police has arrested more than 80 Madheshis, according to Hulaki News, including at least seven activists from the Alliance for Independent Madhesh (AIM), from Kathmandu during the donor’s conference on Thursday.

The arrested activists include Sanjay Yadav, Arvind Chaudhari, Jaser Yadav and Rajan. The activists from AIM were preparing for a demonstration near the conference venue to draw the attention of donor countries to foreign aid induced migration, deforestation, resettlement projects and human-rights violations in Madhesh/Terai, in the post earthquake period.  However, many common Madheshis, who have to come to the Department of Foreign Employment, just near the programme venue, to apply for a permit, were arrested too. They have accused the police of racism for arresting only the Madheshis from the department’s site solely looking at the dark colour of their skin, while not bothering other non-Madheshis standing with them.

Yesterday only, Dr. C. K. Raut, the coordinator of the Alliance of Independence Madhesh (AIM), along with his six supporters were arrested from Lahan while attempting to hold a meeting about the possible role of foreign aids in deforestation, migration  and resettlement projects in Madhesh/Terai.

Despite the Special Court has given Dr. Raut a clean cheat on a treason charge filed against him on October 8th last year, he has been virtually put into a house arrest, forbidding him from speaking to public, holding a mass-assembly, or even giving an interview. Last time he attempted to come out the house was on May 26th to give an interview to Arena Television in Itahari of Sunsari district, but he was arrested from the interview room, prior to giving the interview, and kept in custody under very torturous condition by Nepal Police. In the past, he was arrested even while going to the hospital (on April 2nd, 2015), and prevented even from attending funeral rites (on February 12th, 2015).  The police had even broken his leg during a brutal suppression on January 3rd, 2015 in Biratnagar and injured his head and arms severely by brutal attacks on April 4th, 2015.  He had to even undertake a fast-unto-death (from 2014 September 21 – 2014 October 1) against the torture given to him in the police custody.

In addition to that, almost a hundred activists have been injured in the police suppression in the last few months, and the police have filed more than a dozen of fake public offence case against Madheshi activists allegedly for supporting Dr. Raut. The supporters of Dr. Raut are regularly being harassed and tortured by police. Besides, despite Dr. Raut receiving dozens of serious death threats, which include government-registered organisations officially issuing death threats on their letterheads, the government has not taken any measures against them.

Notwithstanding such brutal physical suppression of the Madheshis by Nepal Police, Dr. Raut has instructed his supporters to stick to non-violence, and not to submit to police provocations. On 9th January 2015, he announced a ‘flower movement’ and asked all of his followers and well-wishers to hand-over roses to police, in retaliation to the force and violence they use.

Born in Saptari district of Nepal, Dr. Raut holds a PhD from Cambridge University and worked as a scientist in the USA prior to returning to Nepal to advocate for the rights of the Madheshis.  He has been a recipient of a number of awards including Mahendra Vidyabhusan, Kulratna Goldmedal, Young Engineer Award and Trofimenkoff Academic Achievement Award.  He has also authored ‘A History of Madhesh’, ‘Madhesh Swaraj (Self-rule)’ and ‘Denial to Defense (autobiography)’. He is also a director of the documentary, ‘Black Buddhas’, highlighting discrimination, racism and colonisation imposed on the Madheshis by the Nepali ruling class people.  Just a couple of weeks before his first arrest on 13th September 2014, upon an official invitation from the Constituent Assembly of Nepal, he had attended a meeting of the Constitutional  and Political Dialogue and Consensus Committee (CPDCC) in Singh Durbar, and suggested for the constitutional right of secession in the upcoming constitution. He has been advocating for independent Madhesh, through peaceful and non-violent means and is the central coordinator of the Alliance for Independent Madhesh (AIM).

Alliance for Independent Madhesh (AIM) is a coalition of Madheshi people, activists, political parties and various social organisations working for the independence of Madhesh, through non-violent and peaceful means following the principles of Buddha, Gandhi and Mandela. The alliance advocates an end to the Nepali colonisation, racism, slavery and discrimination imposed on the Madheshis. It stands for three pillars: (a) Independent Madhesh (b) Democratic System, and (c) Peaceful and Non-violent Means.

Acknowledging that the rights to freedom of speech, movement, peaceful assembly and association are the fundamental rights of all human beings everywhere, as also mandated by the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, of which Nepal is a signatory, we expect acknowledgement and assurance of our rights from the state and its agencies. We hereby appeal for assistance from all national and international organisations, human rights bodies and media to oppose any infringement on human rights by the Government of Nepal and its agencies and to secure immediate and unconditional release of the detainees. Until then, I ask you to assure the physical safety of detainees while in detention and guarantee that they are not subjected to torture or other ill-treatments.