INTERVIEW-Nepal ethnic group leader warns of unrest
Source: Reuters
(Adds details of latest violence and protests) By Kamil Zaheer KATHMANDU, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Nepal will face further turmoil after the end of a decade-old Maoist revolt if the government ignores the concerns of Madhesi people living in the country's southern plains, a protest leader from the ethnic group said. Anti-government protests in the Madhesh, a narrow strip of fertile plain bordering India and mainly populated by Madhesis, have left five people dead and dozens wounded over the past week in a blow to what had been a fast-moving peace process. The Madhesi People's Rights Forum, which has led the protests, said the government dominated by elites from the highlands had discriminated against Madhesis over jobs in the government, police and army as well as seats in parliament. "We will continue the struggle if the government ignores our demands, and the future of the country will be difficult," Upendra Yadav, the forum's chairman, told Reuters on Thursday. The regional unrest comes after a November peace pact ended a Maoist revolt that left 13,000 people dead. The pact brought an impoverished Nepal close to stability as former rebels joined an interim parliament and began to lock up their weapons. The arrest of the 48-year-old Yadav for burning a copy of the interim constitution this month was one of the incidents that sparked protests in the southeastern town of Lahan, which is still under curfew after becoming the focus of unrest. The protests escalated after a Maoist activist shot dead last week a 16-year-old boy. Police said they had to open fire when Madhesi protesters tried to storm a police station a few days later. Four demonstrators died and scores were wounded. The Madhesh, also known as Terai, is home to nearly half of Nepal's 26 million people and many residents have deeper cultural and linguistic links with the people of India than with Nepalis living in the mountains. "They (the politicians and Maoists) have never thought of us as one of their own. They take our votes and revenues and that is all," Yadav, a college teacher from Sunsari district, said. In the latest violence on Thursday, Nepali police fired over the heads of Madhesi demonstrators and lobbed teargas shells to disperse crowds in Janakpur, near the Indian border, a local government official said. Protests were also organised in the industrial city of Biratnagar, hometown of Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, in southeast Nepal. Dozens of people have been wounded in Thursday's clashes, state television said. A NEED TO PROTEST "If we did not shout and protest, no one would have heard of us," said Yadav, who was set free after protests demanding his release. The new political architecture in Kathmandu -- which has replaced King Gyanendra's absolute rule -- has failed in its first major test after the November peace deal, analysts say. It was a mistake for the Maoists and the ruling alliance to agree to an interim constitution without addressing the concerns of the people in the Terai, they added. "The government and Maoists have mishandled the whole thing. They have been outrightly dismissive of Madhesi worries," said Yubaraj Ghimire, editor of Samay, a Nepali weekly magazine. "If they continue with such a dismissive attitude, this could escalate and undermine the peace process," Ghimire added. Madhesi activists say though the people in the Terai constitute nearly half the population, they are less than a quarter of MPs in the 330-member interim parliament. "We want respect and autonomy and proportional representation in the political, administrative and all decision-making processes of the country," Yadav said. The Madhesh is Nepal's bread basket providing maize, rice and wheat as well as home to industries like jute and sugar. It covers 23 percent of landlocked Nepal's area of 147,000 sq km (57,000 sq miles).
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