This document contains: 1) Himsa Birodh Abhiyan Press Note on Unsafe Highways 2) Discussion Summary from Reporters? Club briefing (For Image of Highway with Mine Blast Impact on highway, write to ahimsanp@hotmail.com) Press Note, Himsa Birodh Abhiyan, 19 November 2004 Group Asks Maoists to stop mining highways The Himsa Birodh Abhiyan in a statement today asked the Maoist leadership and activists to desist from plasing landmines and explosives and roads and highways of the country. The group states: Travel along roads and highways has become a hazardous and fearful activity due to the placement of landmines, said to be targeted at the security forces but which in fact also kill and maim ordinary citizens. Such an inhumane activity not only destroys lives and property but also terrorises the larger population. The Maoist use of landmines on highways and roads affects the fundamental right of the people to use public space. Further, it is a blatant violation of international humanitarian law. We ask the Maoists to restore the right of the Nepali people to travel the roads and highways without fear of landmine attacks. The Maoists must immediately end their practice of placing explosives on roads. The danger to citizens escalates when security personnel use public transport in order to protect themselves from attack on highways. This was contributory, for example, to the incidents in Dhankhola of Dang District and Maina Pokhari of Dolakha District. We believe it is inappropriate for the security forces to use public transport vehicles other than for the express purpose of providing security to the passengers within. Contact: Kedar Sharma, 5545888. Kanak Mani Dixit, 5543333 +++ Discussion Summary. Himsa Birodh Abhiyan The Reporter?s Club, Putali Sadak 19 November 2004 Himsa Birodh Abhiyan organised a press interaction on ?Highways and landmines? on 19 November at The Reporter?s Club. Following is a summary of the points made by the speakers. PURNA SHOBHA CHITRAKAR, Coordinator of the Nepal Campaign to Ban Landmines, recently back from a tour of the Western Tarai, described the trauma faced by travellers on roads booby-trapped with explosives by the Maoists. She reported the different ways in which with the explosive devices were placed beneath the road surface and on the sides. Sometimes there were explosives left lying by the roadside, she said, and passenger vehicles had to traverse dangerous sections not knowing what would happen. ?For thousands of travelers in the districts daily, there is a situation of constant fear when traveling the roads,? she said. Ms. Chitrakar provided the numbers of deaths and maimings by landmines in general. She said that while the security forces were also using landmines to protect their positions, but the placement of landmines and improvised explosive devices on the highways were mostly done by the rebels. Political columnist C K LAL pointed out that the roads and highways of Nepal were a lifeline in more ways than one. While the setting off of landmines and explosive devices killed and maimed road users, the obstruction of traffic also hindred traffic and impacted on the economy in numerous ways. The cost of rebhilding destroyed bridges and road sections was prohibitive, he said. The use of land mines and other explosives on public highways was outside ethical boundaries. He agreed with the statement by the Himsa Birodh Abhiyaan, that use of explosive devices on Nepal?s highways must be condemned. He also agreed that when armed forces used public transportation, the civilians in the vehicles became human shields. ?We cannot know when and how the war will end, but we must pressure both sides to stay within ethical bounds in their fighting,? said Mr. Lal. KANAK MANI DIXIT, journalist and member of Himsa Birodh Abhiyan, said that explosions on highways had become as unremarkable as the reports of the daily death toll. This passive acceptance was appalling, and it was necessary to condemn the placing of landmines on public roads and highways. While there were many problems that needed to be highlighted in the context of the current violence, including by the state security forces, the statement by the Himsa Birodh Abhiyan today was directed at the Maoists and their increasing use of improvised explosive devices on roads highways used by the public. This put innocents in danger and was simply unacceptable. Besides the trauma faced by the victims of the explosions, there was the cumulative fear of tens of thousands of citizens who travel on the highways every day, knowing they are booby-trapped. A clear message needs to be sent to the Maoists in this regard that they not recklessly endanger the lives of civilians and remain within the bounds of international humanitarian law.