Canada- Join us at the protest rally (on June 15, 2009), help say NO to blatant Indian expansionism in Nepal.

Progressive Nepali Forum in Americas ( PNEFA) organizes

 

Date: Monday, June 15, 2009 At Noon

325 Howe Street, Vancouver, Canada

  

The Indian Border Security Force (IBSF) last week encroached on Nepali lands and committed atrocities along the border areas of western district of Dang. These actions resulted in the displacement of more than 6000 people from their home villages. Cases of alleged rapes and disappearance have also been reported.  What lies behind this attack on Nepali sovereignty? In 1816 Nepal was forced to sign a treaty called The Sugauli Treaty (also known as the Anglo-Nepal Treaty) by the victorious British colonial power.

 

Due to the unequal terms of this treaty, Nepal lost about one third of its territory to the British Raj. The “Brown Sahibs” inherited the Raj in 1947, and since that time have grabbed Nepali lands at their will, violating not only the UN Charter but also even the 1950 Treaty of Peace and Friendship 1950, a treaty which heavily favours Indian domination in Nepal in the first place. Time and again, the IBSF has encroached Nepali territory and committed atrocities all along three sides of Nepali border: from Jhapa in the east all the way to Darchula in the west, where they even have set up a permanent military base. The same pattern -- border encroachment, forceful displacement of Nepali villagers, shifting of border markers -- into the encroached Nepali land in Susta and Maheshpur in the south, and now in the border villages of Dang, lays bare the expansionist policy of Indian rulers.

 

India has already encroached about 59,970 hectares of Nepali territory at 54 points in 21 districts. But if the areas affected by the unilateral activities of our southern neighbor such as construction of dams and irrigation projects are considered as encroachment, the number increases to 85 points. All these cases are well documented. This latest encroachment is part of that same policy of Indian expansionism.

 

Interestingly, this blatant attack on the national sovereignty of Nepal took place soon after Madhav Kumar Nepal, a loser from two constituencies in last year's Constituent Assembly (CA) elections, was declared the prime minister of Nepal. It is no surprise that his government has been silent on these attacks: it is an India-installed puppet government formed from an unethical alliance between regressive forces and those unwilling to challenge the status quo.

 

The newly installed foreign minister, Sujata Koirala – another loser in the democratic CA election – went so far as to claim that there is no issue of land encroachment. Her words parroted the press release of the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu, issued on the same day, that categorically denied any encroachments, calling the concerns of patriotic Nepalis mere fabricated rumors.  Shame!

 

Join us at the protest rally, help say NO to blatant Indian expansionism in Nepal.

 

For more information, please contact Abi Sharma (604)506-9259

 

Chitra Tiwari

Gopi Upreti

Shailesh Shrestha

Abi Sharma, President

Santosh Thapalia, Vice President

Chandra Rai, General Secretary

Bhanu Poudyal, Secretary

Bikash Jaisi, Member

Karsang Lama, Member

Subas B K, Member

Shambhu Kattel, Member

Tel: (604) 506 9259, Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it