PRESS CONFERENCE ON NEPAL

Since 2002, developments in Nepal have been affected by triangular interactions between the King, the Maoists and the Political parties. The King has been appointing caretaker governments and dismissing them at his will. He has undermined the 1990 Constitution of Nepal, and imposed his autocratic rule in February 2005, in the name of protecting the Kingdom and the Constitution. Since then he has introduced new ordinance and laws curtailing civil liberties, curbing NGO activities and stifling the media. The past year has seen an escalation in violence and the international community has been urging all sides in Nepal to shun violence and to deal with the issues politically through peaceful dialogue and negotiations.

The municipal elections are being held under tight security. These elections are a step towards the King's promise of restoration of democracy and the holding of the general elections tentatively scheduled in April 2007. However the political parties and Maoists have boycotted the current elections claiming it to be a sham. Much needs to be understood by the international community including the media about the various issues involved in the current conflict of Nepal.

Title: Democracy and Human Rights in Nepal
Main Topic: Nepal Municipal Elections and the Future of Democracy and HR in Nepal
Organizers: ANFREL, AIHR and AI-Thailand
Date and Time: 15 th February 2006 at 1800 hrs (to be confirmed)
Venue: The Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand (FCCT)
Penthouse, Maneeya Center, 518/5 Ploenchit Road , Patumwan, Bangkok 10330
Phone: 02-652-0580-1

Speakers:

General Saiyud Kerdphol, Chair of Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) - Moderator Vice Chair of Poll Watch Foundation for Democracy in Thailand
Mr. Boonthan T. Verawongse , Director, Amnesty International-Thailand
Dr. Surat Horachaikul, Lecturer, Department of International Relations, Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University
Ms. Suvechha Adhikari, Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Master of Science (MSc) in Gender and Development Studies, researching on "Gendered Dimensions of Conflict: Psychosocial impact on women family members of enforced disappeared people, A case study of Kathmandu District, Nepal". Also worked on project by Swisspeace (FAST) on an early warning program to monitor and review news about current conflict in Nepal. She was also in charge of conducting "Peace and Conflict Impact Assessment of CIDA's project in Nepal" and assessment of "Impact of Small Arms and Light Weapons on women of Far western Nepal".

Keeping this in mind the above political changes in Nepal, the Asian Institute of Human Rights (AIHR), Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL www.anfrel.org) and Amnesty International-Thailand (AI-Thailand www.amnesty.or.th) , with inputs from its friends and networks from Nepal, are organizing this press meet to highlight and present a short concise activist and academic perspective of the current situation and to make the generate international solidarity for a peaceful resolution of the violence and restoration of democracy.

Contact person for this press meet

Sanjay Gathia, Mobile: 061345484 Email: sanjay.gathia@gmail.com

Organizational contacts

Asian Institute for Human Rights (AIHR)
111 Suthisarnwinichai Rd., Samsennok,
Huaykwang Bangkok 10320 Thailand
Tel: + (66 2) 275 3954
Fax: + (66 2) 275 3954
E-mail: aihr@hrdfoundation.org
The Asian Institute for Human Rights strives to strengthen the theory and practice of human rights activism, facilitate systematic linkages between academics and activists and contribute to a continuous process of action and reflection. The Institute aims to function as a resource organization for human rights activism in the Asian region and also bring in experiences from other regions of the world.

ASIAN NETWORK for FREE ELECTIONS (ANFREL)
109 Suthisarnwinichai Rd. Huaykwang
Samsennok Bangkok 10320 Thailand
Tel: 66-2-2773627 Fax: 66-2-2762183
Email: anfrel@anfrel.org

ANFREL is a regional network of election monitoring and human rights organizations based in Bangkok. It was created in November 1997 to support democratization in Asia. In addition to sponsoring election observation missions, ANFREL often draws on its regional members expertise, experience and capacity to conduct training and study seminars for local organizations on various areas related to democratization, including elections like observation, voter and civic education, political analysis and good governance.

Amnesty International Thailand
641/8 Ladprao Road, Ladyao Jatujak, Bangkok 10900
Tel. 66 2 938 7746/ 66 2 513 8745/ 66 2 513 8754
Fax: 66 2 938 4756
E-mail: Ampika Saibouyai, cc_aithai@amnesty.or.th
http://www.amnesty.or.th
Amnesty International is impartial and independent of any government, political persuasion or religious creed.

On 2/9/06, ANFREL <anfrel@anfrel.org> wrote:
Moderator is General Saiyud Kerdphol, Chair of Asian Network for Free
Elections (ANFREL)