Nepal Update : The 5th Day after the King's Military Coup[1] Nepal Democracy Desk(s), Kathmandu 5 February 2005 Latest: Tara Nath Dahal, the President of Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ) was reportedly arrested by the Royal Nepal Army (RNA) this morning from Kathmandu. Immediately after his arrest, the FNJ nominated their General Secretary, Bishnu Nisthuri, to the post of Acting President, in order to go ahead with the struggle for democracy and the right to freedom of opinion, expression and the right to information. Nisthuri was also reportedly arrested by the army this afternoon. FNJ was one of the first civic associations to strongly condemn the king's military coup and to have announced a resistance for the reinstatement of democratic rights including the freedom of opinion and expression. There are also unconfirmed reports that Netra KC, the local correspondent of BBC Nepali Service, was arrested by the RNA from Nepalgunj today. Pro-democracy school teachers and political activists from Chitwan district were also reportedly arrested by the RNA this morning. There are reports of the RNA going around the town to big businesses houses with prepared statements welcoming the king's takeover of power, and forcing businessmen to sign the statements at gunpoint. These statements are subsequently published in the newspapers and broadcast through television and radio as advertisements paid for by the businessmen themselves. The cabinet meeting held at the royal palace, chaired by the king, announced its programs for reforms in the country. One of the most publicized programs is about the plan to form an anti-corruption commission within 15 days, with the authority to investigate and nationalize property got through corruption. It was not stated whether the commission would have the jurisdiction to investigate the corruption scandals involving the royal palace, king Gyanendra, the army top brass and the panchayat-time corrupt politicians. The Foreign Minister, Ramesh Nath Pandey, held meetings with the heads of diplomatic missions yesterday and the day before yesterday, at his office. The implications of these meetings are not known. The government is publicizing the fact that the meeting took place. Aid agencies are reportedly discussing about their strategies. According to informal sources, they are seriously contemplating discontinuing large parts of the development aid to the government. Resistance Jan Morcha Nepal, one of the four parties agitating for democracy and also the one involved in anti-Maoist campaigns as well as nationwide peace campaign until recently, has decided to launch a campaign for a Democratic Republic of Nepal. In this connection, they will start distributing pamphlets in Kathmandu from today, and in rest of the country from tomorrow. Pro-democracy underground newspapers have started being published and distributed in Butwal since yesterday. CPN (UML) Central Committee Members held a secret meeting yesterday and have decided to launch a movement for democracy in coordination with all the major parliamentary political parties including the Nepali Congress. Leaders of all seven student unions have held underground meetings together, and have agreed to form a joint front to struggle for democracy. Most of the student leaders not yet arrested have regrouped and reorganized their strategies. Their first protests will be spontaneous, surprise demonstrations in Kathmandu and distribution of pamphlets. Civil society groups are meeting to plan pro-democracy protests starting next week. After the government warned of serious consequences to the people speaking out against the king's coup, many political and civil society organizations have started openly defying the warning. Several dozen political organizations and civil society groups have issued statements condemning the coup and demanding the restoration of democratic process. Political arrests continued on Friday, conditions of detainees unknown For the first time since February 1, the Nepali broadsheets have carried news on the whereabouts of some of the leaders detained or under house arrest, based on the information provided by the Home Ministry yesterday (updated namelist will be included in the next bulletin). Independent verification of these reports is obviously not possible now. Moreover, the list of district level leaders arrested from around the country have no been made public. In the absence of media and international gaze, and the well-known records of blatant disrespect of human rights by the king and the military, the likelihood of mistreatment against them is very high. According to our sources, a few dozen political leaders who had been detained at the Armed Police Headquarters, Halchowk, Kathmandu were reportedly blind-folded, put into army vehicles with opaque glass windows, taken to Tibhuwan airport, and from there flown to Kakani and Panchkhal barracks o helicopter, with a 'Russian pilot'. Their conditions are not known. According to the Home Ministry reports, the government charged some of the arrested or detained leaders under the Public Security Act and put them under 'preventive detention' for three months. However, the Royal Nepal Army spokesperson Deepak Gurung said yesterday that the five former prime ministers, main leaders of the parliamentary political parties, and their cadres were detained or put under house arrest 'for their own security'.