News update from Nepal, 3 May 2007 News Update from Nepal 3 May 2007 Law and Order The indecision of the government on holding the Constituent Assembly(CA) elections has generated a rift between the left and the non-left forces in the country. The high mobiliza­tion of subsidiary identities without corresponding institutional development has made the political system almost dysfunctional. Political leaders in Kathmandu are jockeying for more power and patronage while the security and human rights conditions are deteriorating in the periphery. The National Human Rights Commission(NHRC) found both the government and Maoist guilty of breaching the peace accord, not disclosing the whereabouts of those disappeared and overlooking the rehabilitation of conflict-displaced people. On April 20, the Office of the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights(OHCHR) in its report on Gaur Kill­ings highlighted the weakness of the law-enforcement agencies that, aware of the potential clashes and other violence, were grossly ill-prepared to ensure an effective crowd control and prevent CPN(Maoist) and Madhesi Jana Adhikar Forum(MJAF) to organize their meeting and suggested the government to carry out investigations into the incident. It also criticized the Maoist and MJAF for the incident where 27 Maoists were killed. The emergence of a series of autonomous armed groups in the country and their competi­tion for power has obstructed the state to establish a countrywide security. On April 2, Home Minister K.P. Sitaula gave the deadline to surrender all the illegal weapons to the lo­cal administration within seven days and expressed readiness to control“anarchist activi­ties.” But, hardly anyone complied with this. The inaction of the state continues to increase the costs for the people and expose the ancient cracks of society. Rastriya Prajatantra Party(RPP) chairman P.S. Rana found no sign of improvement in the law and order situa­tion of the country. He termed the change of regime from the king to the eight-party a “transfer of power from one landlord to another” and added that“people will not accept au­thoritarian rule of the eight-party alliance either.” The Marwari National Council(MNC) revealed that criminal gangs have kidnapped 20 businessmen from its community within two weeks. Both the factions of Janatantrik Tarai Mukti Morcha(Goit and Singh), demanding a separate state for Tarai, continue to kidnap, shoot people and clash with the cadres of rival groups. On April 21, fearing the possibility of an anti-hill agitation in Tarai, the Chure Bhawar Pradesh Ekta Samaj(CBPES) declared an indefinite transportation strike starting from April 23. It withdrew its strike on April 30 follow­ing a successful negotiation with the government. On April 11, the Foreign Ministry sent a list of 80 businessmen blacklisted for non-payment of bank loans to the foreign embassies in Kathmandu requesting them to cancel visa is­sued to them because their passports have been declared null and void. The Revenue In­vestigation Department(RID) has issued an arrest warrant against C.R. Dhakal, President 1