Anti Landmine Kit
The Beginning
A vehicle belonging to The Annapurna Post carrying the papers and magazines was caught in a landmine explosion planted by the Maoists at Ghansikuwa, Tanhaun. Kanyaras Gurung, the driver, died on the spot and the other two were severely injured. People started flocking to the scene, and the explosion could well be heard at a teashop some fifty meters away from the spot. "What was that?" curious were the customers. One of the customers enjoying a cup of tea made a casual remark," Nothing serious, the Annapurna Post vehicle got caught in a landmine explosion." It appeared as if the Maoists deliberately did this.
Immediately after the first sate of emergency came into effect, we headed towards Rukum-Jajarkot for spot reporting. We had to spend the night at Chhinchu in Surkhet.The next day at nine there was a big explosion in front of the division road office. A young schoolgirl was sopping in blood and panicking. She was the victim of the landmine bomb planted by the security forces stationed there. According to the locals a dog too had died that way there in the past.
A few years ago we ran into a young Maoist guerilla that looked no more than fifteen. Back home for a month long vacation, his working area was Tanahun. He became little expansive and confessed with pride that his team was the one to have trapped the then Deputy Inspector General, Kumar Koirala and his group in landmine explosion. In January 2002 a van escorting a senior police officer that was heading towards Manapang Village Development Committee( VDC) was caught in a landmine explosion some 13 kilometers away from Damauli, the district headquarters.
"We can protect ourselves from the explosion if we can keep away from suspicious objects. If any objects are found in places where they are not supposed to be, for example, Pressure Cooker supposed to be in the kitchen if is found in the garden, road, school, bathroom or in any other place should not be touched, tampered and the bomb exposal team has to be informed." Department of Information, Nepal Government.
The above mentioned examples should be enough to illustrate how people are victimized in landmine explosions and how grave its psychological effects are.
Landmines means ammunition designed to be placed under, on or near the ground or
Other surface area and to be exploded by the presence, proximity, or contact of a person or a vehicle. Likewise, a mine designed to be exploded by the presence, proximity or contact of a person and that will incapacitate, injure or kill one or more persons is called Anti-personnel mine. Generally landmines tear apart the bottom part of the foot, fractures chest and the back, and may cause blindness and deafness. Depending upon the nature of the explosive, it may even claim a human life. As per the definition of landmines, this is factory made and especially made for mines purpose. The context of Nepal, however, is different. In Nepal the explosives planted on the road targeting the vehicles and humans are known as landmines. But such explosive matters used in Nepal are technically Improvised Explosive Devices (IED's).
Though Mine, Landmine, Booby Trap, Improvised Explosive Devices, Bomb, etc, are defined differently, when they are used in anti human task, they serve the same purpose: destruction and annihilation. We strongly feel that all kinds of explosives that destruct life and property should be defined under "explosion." That's why our organization helps all the injured ones in the armed conflicts except for "bullet injury." In this booklet, in place of Improvised Explosive Device's(IED's),landmine and explosion are used in certain places.
From landmine, more innocents are victimized than the parties involved in the conflict. It doesn't distinguish between the commoners and armed person or disarmed one. The scariest thing about it is that it causes untimely deaths years after the war is over. The victims would be children, shepherds, people working in the fields, women going to forest to get fodder etc, who never had anything to do with the war. Not only will the victims and their families suffer economically and socially but also go through a psychological trauma for a long time. The explosives lying scattered at the site and scattered are known as Explosive Remnant of War (ERW). Many Nepalese have lost their lives because of such explosions. Due to geography it's difficult here to dispose such explosives. Says a Maoist leader, Top Bahadur Rayamajhi,"Sometimes against our spirit civilians have been troubled in the war. Likewise we are deeply concerned about how the explosives scattered around the war spot could be removed."
The group within the Maoists associated with the landmine explosion is known as the "Mine Group" and it provides security to their programmes. In 12 July 2001, the some of the Maoist cadres killed in the process of seizing the police post at Bichaur were, according to a statement issued by the Maoists, the members of their mine group. The Maoists had formally announced from their stages at Harmi in Gorkha, Bhawawang in Rolpa and Bafikot in Rukum that landmine explosion had been employed all around the sites for security reasons. Whichever side plants the landmine hasn't just victimized his" enemy" but many victims have been the innocent ones and the ones planting the landmine themselves.Two Maoist cadres died at Sipaghat in Sindupalchok some years back when they were trying to lodge a landmine targeting the police. One met an instant death and the other who was severely injured and unable to bear the pain committed suicide by slitting his throat. Likewise inspector Deepak Kharel, assistant sub inspector Narayan Sharma and constable Jog Bahadur Budha and constable Nurdev Shah died while trying to plant a landmine on 4 April 2000. Likewise ,an innocent woman ,Sharada Devi Acharya sustained injuries on the leg and the eye on twenty March 2003 while cutting grass when a landmine planted by the Narsingh battalion exploded at Simkharkha barrack in Salyan.
Most of the landmine victims lose their lives due to lack of instant treatment and funds. Mortality rate can be reduced if the bleeding can be stopped right away and be rushed to the hospital. The longer it takes to take the injured to the hospital the longer will be the duration of the treatment. This will not only be more costly but at the same time may lead to amputation of limbs, loss of eye sight, hearing power, etc.
The number of Nepalese dying everyday due to different kinds of explosions and landmine has increased. The number due to this was 6 in 1998, whereas in 2005 it rose upto 210. During a span of eleven years, the record deaths due to landmine was marked in 2004. That year 389 Nepalese were killed. The highest casualty at a single incident was marked in 6 June 2005 at Madi Chitwan when a public bus (Na 1 Kha 3245) was caught in a landmine explosion. 39 died and 72 were injured. As no written commitment has been expressed by both the government and the Maoists on non use of landmine explosion, the number of the victims has risen considerably.
Neither the Maoists nor the security forces had used the landmine in the first year of the "people's war". With the coming of the new year , the Maoists started practising the landmine making technique at Thawang in Rolpa. For the first time the Maoist planted a landmine at Rukum Tak VDC in Rukum , targeting the police in May 1996. But a lady came and lingered around the place for long and they couldn't detonate it out of fear that it would hurt her and the two policemen were subsequently shot to death. The first landmine use from the Maoist side was near a police post at Magma VDC in Rukum district on 15 May 1997 where superintendent of police Bhim Raj Nepal and constable Til Bahadur Poudel died on the spot. This problem initially confined to Rolpa, Rukum, Salyan and Jajarkot has now spread throught out the country. According the security sources , the Maoists learnt this method from the "People's War Group" India. This is as destructive as the factory made landmine. Of late, the Maoists have used the explosives snatched from the security personnel in making landmine. In the early days of the people's war the explosives, forty thousand detonators, looted from Kalikatar in Tanahun and in Feb 1996 the explosives looted from the bunker of road office in Charikot, Dolkha had reached the hands of the Maoists. The gelatin and detonators brought for Jumla-Surkhet section of the road and Kaligandaki hydro electricity project too have been seized by the Maoists. The Maoits had taken away explosives in a big amount after attacking the army barrack in Ghorahi, Dang in 23 November 2001.
The Maoists use pressure cooker, iron pieces, glas bits, etc in making landmine. Based on the size and their capacity, the price of the landmine ranges from 0.3 cent to 12 US dollars. The IED's that cost less than 12 dollars could inflict harm of more than 1000 US dollars.
The Maoists killed army brigadier Sagar Bahadur Pandey and his wife Pushpa using landmine at Pandrang in Makawanpur on 15 November 2003. The Maoists had called it a "Roadside Bomb" as well. In 14 June 2004, When the vehicle of the armed police force was trapped in landmine explosion at Khairikhola, Banke 22 policemen died. In 3 Feb 2001, The then chief justice was luckily saved when the Maoists had detonated a landmine placed in the ground at Chhaisatthi while the team was en route to Surkhet from Chhinchu. Before that in May 1999, when the then prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala was in Raniban near Liwang, the district headquarters of Rolpa, in the course of Mid term election campaigns, he had almost been the victim of the landmine planted by the Maoists.
These incidents were based on "Command Wire Guided "and "Timer" technology. The Maoists have been using "Victim Activated Mine" that explodes upon being touched ,vehicles plying over, or meddling with them. This is even more dangerous for anyone.
The Maoists have been detonating various switch system based explosives, like, pull switch, release switch, pressure switch, etc. The gelatin looted from the Royal Nepalese Army too is used for explosion. Till date neither the Maoists nor the Army has used conventional mine. If conventional mine is used in Nepal, Nepal too will face the problems faced by Burundi, Afganistan or Angola. The security sources claim that the chief source of gelatin which the Maoists use for explosion is India. The Maoists have succeeded in getting some it from the Nepalese who work in Indian mines. The Maoists use this commercial high explosive, called gelatin, in making socket bombs and other explosives. Different household utensils connected to timer, digital watch, Integrated Circit (IC), pager, etc, have been linked with explosives and detonated. Some years ago the Maoists had killed an army men at Krishna Mandir, Lalitpur using IC as timer switch. This was the most advanced technology used so far. The Indian fertilizer found in market ,which contains nitrogen, too is used in making explosives.
There are some equipment that can detect bombs and other explosives but it's not technically viable to use them everywhere for they have their own limitations. The rebels have been ambushing the vehicles of the army. The explosives placed that way can't be detected and there will be more damage in such cases. In the vehicular explosion at Chitwan buckets filled with explosives were placed underneath the ground. The army has some antimine vehicles. The high carbon steel that they are made up of protect them from the landmine to some extent but if the amount of explosives is high, then the vehicles may overturn, slip or be totally damaged. The task of defusing explosives is equally difficult.
The data of exact number of landmine victims hasn't yet come out in Nepal. In most of the cases one has to rely on the data that the papers provide. The victims out of fear that they could be in trouble if they go and report the case of the landmine explosion don't go to the concerned place. And because these things normally happen in rural areas, they don't come in light and in many places it's not possible to acquire information about these incidents through phone contact as these places don't have telephone access. Ban Landmines Campaign Nepal (NGO) has published a data "Explosion" that illustrates all the records on Landmine, Aerial Attack, Ambush and Improvised Explosive Devices(IED's). That organization has made its network that expands in thirty five districts as its medium of data collection. The statistics is as follows:
A vehicle belonging to The Annapurna Post carrying the papers and magazines was caught in a landmine explosion planted by the Maoists at Ghansikuwa, Tanhaun. Kanyaras Gurung, the driver, died on the spot and the other two were severely injured. People started flocking to the scene, and the explosion could well be heard at a teashop some fifty meters away from the spot. "What was that?" curious were the customers. One of the customers enjoying a cup of tea made a casual remark," Nothing serious, the Annapurna Post vehicle got caught in a landmine explosion." It appeared as if the Maoists deliberately did this.
Immediately after the first sate of emergency came into effect, we headed towards Rukum-Jajarkot for spot reporting. We had to spend the night at Chhinchu in Surkhet.The next day at nine there was a big explosion in front of the division road office. A young schoolgirl was sopping in blood and panicking. She was the victim of the landmine bomb planted by the security forces stationed there. According to the locals a dog too had died that way there in the past.
A few years ago we ran into a young Maoist guerilla that looked no more than fifteen. Back home for a month long vacation, his working area was Tanahun. He became little expansive and confessed with pride that his team was the one to have trapped the then Deputy Inspector General, Kumar Koirala and his group in landmine explosion. In January 2002 a van escorting a senior police officer that was heading towards Manapang Village Development Committee( VDC) was caught in a landmine explosion some 13 kilometers away from Damauli, the district headquarters.
"We can protect ourselves from the explosion if we can keep away from suspicious objects. If any objects are found in places where they are not supposed to be, for example, Pressure Cooker supposed to be in the kitchen if is found in the garden, road, school, bathroom or in any other place should not be touched, tampered and the bomb exposal team has to be informed." Department of Information, Nepal Government.
The above mentioned examples should be enough to illustrate how people are victimized in landmine explosions and how grave its psychological effects are.
Landmines means ammunition designed to be placed under, on or near the ground or
Other surface area and to be exploded by the presence, proximity, or contact of a person or a vehicle. Likewise, a mine designed to be exploded by the presence, proximity or contact of a person and that will incapacitate, injure or kill one or more persons is called Anti-personnel mine. Generally landmines tear apart the bottom part of the foot, fractures chest and the back, and may cause blindness and deafness. Depending upon the nature of the explosive, it may even claim a human life. As per the definition of landmines, this is factory made and especially made for mines purpose. The context of Nepal, however, is different. In Nepal the explosives planted on the road targeting the vehicles and humans are known as landmines. But such explosive matters used in Nepal are technically Improvised Explosive Devices (IED's).
Though Mine, Landmine, Booby Trap, Improvised Explosive Devices, Bomb, etc, are defined differently, when they are used in anti human task, they serve the same purpose: destruction and annihilation. We strongly feel that all kinds of explosives that destruct life and property should be defined under "explosion." That's why our organization helps all the injured ones in the armed conflicts except for "bullet injury." In this booklet, in place of Improvised Explosive Device's(IED's),landmine and explosion are used in certain places.
From landmine, more innocents are victimized than the parties involved in the conflict. It doesn't distinguish between the commoners and armed person or disarmed one. The scariest thing about it is that it causes untimely deaths years after the war is over. The victims would be children, shepherds, people working in the fields, women going to forest to get fodder etc, who never had anything to do with the war. Not only will the victims and their families suffer economically and socially but also go through a psychological trauma for a long time. The explosives lying scattered at the site and scattered are known as Explosive Remnant of War (ERW). Many Nepalese have lost their lives because of such explosions. Due to geography it's difficult here to dispose such explosives. Says a Maoist leader, Top Bahadur Rayamajhi,"Sometimes against our spirit civilians have been troubled in the war. Likewise we are deeply concerned about how the explosives scattered around the war spot could be removed."
The group within the Maoists associated with the landmine explosion is known as the "Mine Group" and it provides security to their programmes. In 12 July 2001, the some of the Maoist cadres killed in the process of seizing the police post at Bichaur were, according to a statement issued by the Maoists, the members of their mine group. The Maoists had formally announced from their stages at Harmi in Gorkha, Bhawawang in Rolpa and Bafikot in Rukum that landmine explosion had been employed all around the sites for security reasons. Whichever side plants the landmine hasn't just victimized his" enemy" but many victims have been the innocent ones and the ones planting the landmine themselves.Two Maoist cadres died at Sipaghat in Sindupalchok some years back when they were trying to lodge a landmine targeting the police. One met an instant death and the other who was severely injured and unable to bear the pain committed suicide by slitting his throat. Likewise inspector Deepak Kharel, assistant sub inspector Narayan Sharma and constable Jog Bahadur Budha and constable Nurdev Shah died while trying to plant a landmine on 4 April 2000. Likewise ,an innocent woman ,Sharada Devi Acharya sustained injuries on the leg and the eye on twenty March 2003 while cutting grass when a landmine planted by the Narsingh battalion exploded at Simkharkha barrack in Salyan.
Most of the landmine victims lose their lives due to lack of instant treatment and funds. Mortality rate can be reduced if the bleeding can be stopped right away and be rushed to the hospital. The longer it takes to take the injured to the hospital the longer will be the duration of the treatment. This will not only be more costly but at the same time may lead to amputation of limbs, loss of eye sight, hearing power, etc.
The number of Nepalese dying everyday due to different kinds of explosions and landmine has increased. The number due to this was 6 in 1998, whereas in 2005 it rose upto 210. During a span of eleven years, the record deaths due to landmine was marked in 2004. That year 389 Nepalese were killed. The highest casualty at a single incident was marked in 6 June 2005 at Madi Chitwan when a public bus (Na 1 Kha 3245) was caught in a landmine explosion. 39 died and 72 were injured. As no written commitment has been expressed by both the government and the Maoists on non use of landmine explosion, the number of the victims has risen considerably.
Neither the Maoists nor the security forces had used the landmine in the first year of the "people's war". With the coming of the new year , the Maoists started practising the landmine making technique at Thawang in Rolpa. For the first time the Maoist planted a landmine at Rukum Tak VDC in Rukum , targeting the police in May 1996. But a lady came and lingered around the place for long and they couldn't detonate it out of fear that it would hurt her and the two policemen were subsequently shot to death. The first landmine use from the Maoist side was near a police post at Magma VDC in Rukum district on 15 May 1997 where superintendent of police Bhim Raj Nepal and constable Til Bahadur Poudel died on the spot. This problem initially confined to Rolpa, Rukum, Salyan and Jajarkot has now spread throught out the country. According the security sources , the Maoists learnt this method from the "People's War Group" India. This is as destructive as the factory made landmine. Of late, the Maoists have used the explosives snatched from the security personnel in making landmine. In the early days of the people's war the explosives, forty thousand detonators, looted from Kalikatar in Tanahun and in Feb 1996 the explosives looted from the bunker of road office in Charikot, Dolkha had reached the hands of the Maoists. The gelatin and detonators brought for Jumla-Surkhet section of the road and Kaligandaki hydro electricity project too have been seized by the Maoists. The Maoits had taken away explosives in a big amount after attacking the army barrack in Ghorahi, Dang in 23 November 2001.
The Maoists use pressure cooker, iron pieces, glas bits, etc in making landmine. Based on the size and their capacity, the price of the landmine ranges from 0.3 cent to 12 US dollars. The IED's that cost less than 12 dollars could inflict harm of more than 1000 US dollars.
The Maoists killed army brigadier Sagar Bahadur Pandey and his wife Pushpa using landmine at Pandrang in Makawanpur on 15 November 2003. The Maoists had called it a "Roadside Bomb" as well. In 14 June 2004, When the vehicle of the armed police force was trapped in landmine explosion at Khairikhola, Banke 22 policemen died. In 3 Feb 2001, The then chief justice was luckily saved when the Maoists had detonated a landmine placed in the ground at Chhaisatthi while the team was en route to Surkhet from Chhinchu. Before that in May 1999, when the then prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala was in Raniban near Liwang, the district headquarters of Rolpa, in the course of Mid term election campaigns, he had almost been the victim of the landmine planted by the Maoists.
These incidents were based on "Command Wire Guided "and "Timer" technology. The Maoists have been using "Victim Activated Mine" that explodes upon being touched ,vehicles plying over, or meddling with them. This is even more dangerous for anyone.
The Maoists have been detonating various switch system based explosives, like, pull switch, release switch, pressure switch, etc. The gelatin looted from the Royal Nepalese Army too is used for explosion. Till date neither the Maoists nor the Army has used conventional mine. If conventional mine is used in Nepal, Nepal too will face the problems faced by Burundi, Afganistan or Angola. The security sources claim that the chief source of gelatin which the Maoists use for explosion is India. The Maoists have succeeded in getting some it from the Nepalese who work in Indian mines. The Maoists use this commercial high explosive, called gelatin, in making socket bombs and other explosives. Different household utensils connected to timer, digital watch, Integrated Circit (IC), pager, etc, have been linked with explosives and detonated. Some years ago the Maoists had killed an army men at Krishna Mandir, Lalitpur using IC as timer switch. This was the most advanced technology used so far. The Indian fertilizer found in market ,which contains nitrogen, too is used in making explosives.
There are some equipment that can detect bombs and other explosives but it's not technically viable to use them everywhere for they have their own limitations. The rebels have been ambushing the vehicles of the army. The explosives placed that way can't be detected and there will be more damage in such cases. In the vehicular explosion at Chitwan buckets filled with explosives were placed underneath the ground. The army has some antimine vehicles. The high carbon steel that they are made up of protect them from the landmine to some extent but if the amount of explosives is high, then the vehicles may overturn, slip or be totally damaged. The task of defusing explosives is equally difficult.
The data of exact number of landmine victims hasn't yet come out in Nepal. In most of the cases one has to rely on the data that the papers provide. The victims out of fear that they could be in trouble if they go and report the case of the landmine explosion don't go to the concerned place. And because these things normally happen in rural areas, they don't come in light and in many places it's not possible to acquire information about these incidents through phone contact as these places don't have telephone access. Ban Landmines Campaign Nepal (NGO) has published a data "Explosion" that illustrates all the records on Landmine, Aerial Attack, Ambush and Improvised Explosive Devices(IED's). That organization has made its network that expands in thirty five districts as its medium of data collection. The statistics is as follows:
In the span of eleven years of People's War new words, like petrol bomb, bucket bomb, socket bomb, banner bomb, etc, have been added in Nepali language. So many words like, detonator, fuse wire, grenade, etc have already become familiar though they don't have Nepali names. As per the nature of the explosives, the names have been given accordingly, for example, pager bomb, call bell bomb, etc. These kind of explosives have been used both in rural as well as city areas.The schools of the remote areas too have been affected by the explosions. As most of the schools in Nepal lie in flat lands and have good water, toilet and furniture facility, both the Maoists and the security forces choose them . The Maoists use the school even more than the security forces. The Maoists have prioritized the school as it's easy to write slogans and make the students and the teachers compulsorily listen to their views. The bombs unconsciously left behind by the Maoists while lodging at schools have claimed the lives of many schoolchildren. An army officer, under the condition of unanimity, says," We have not used Mine with a view to killing anyone neither have we produced or imported landmines. Mine Clearance or Recovery is equally risky for the army too. We planted the mine for the security of our camp some years ago but that brought us trouble. After leaving the camp we have now, surrounded those places by barbed wires. A mine had been planted to safeguard a telephone tower but one of our officers was caught in it and lost one of his legs. We have been more cautious about it after that." The mine planted by the army to protect its camp is said to have been managed after the camp shifts from that place.
According to that officer, the Royal Nepalese Army doesn't use the mine. But it does detonate the wire connected explosive through the Command Ware Guided principle should it feel threatened. This is exploded by placing on or under the ground as per the convenience. According to him this is not mine but simply explosive weapon because it explodes only when the button is pressed and doesn't explode itself. The army uses Command Ware Guided Devices in all places. Any explosive, like bomb, grenade, could be exploded through this principle. He says that the army has the stock of some of the mines brought for training, under its command.
According to the newsletter of International Campaign to Ban landmines, around ten thousand landmines have been planted in fifty army posts in Nepal. Some years ago the then spokesperson of the army, Deepak Gurung , mentioned that anti personnel mines and anti vehicle mines had been the protective measures of the camps. The army plants the explosives in barracks, important government offices, places it lodges in while out on search operations, telecommunications tower, etc. The army too has the possession of Claymor which can totally destroy the human body and MN-14 blast mine that will totally damage the part that comes in contact with the explosive. But the army claims not to have used these kinds of mines.
For the protection of the barracks, the army plants the landmines around military area. The army also plants the mines in the routes most commonly used by the Maoists at night and removes them in the day time. But the news of the Maoists falling into such traps hasn't come out yet. On the other hand, due to lack of enough precautions, army men have died in the course of planting these mines. It's latest example has been Mohan Basnet of Lamjung Vir Pustun barrack. He has lost the part of the leg below his knee in the first week of April when the mine planted at the barrack exploded. For the human targeted mines, 13 hundred grams of explosives is enough and the more the amount of explosives the more powerful it is. Generally when pressurized by objects that weigh more than nine kg those explosives explode.
Explosions don't have eyes and they don't distinguish between the one's own side and the other. Why should then they be used?
Mine means a type of bomb that is hidden under the ground or in the sea and that explodes when some body /something touches it.
Landmine is a type of self-contained explosive device which is placed on to or in to the ground exploding when trigged by vehicle or person. The name originates from the pratice of shaping, where tunnels were dug under opposite forces or fortifications and filled with explosive. Landmines generally refer to devices specially manufactured for purpose, as disting vished from improvised explosive devices.
Improvised Explosive Devices (IED's) is a formal name for explosive devices as often used in unconventional warfare by terrorists, guerrillas or commando forces in a theater of operations. An IED's is a device placed or fabricated in an improvised manner incorporating destructive, lethal, noxious, pyrotechnic, or incendiary chemicals and designed to destroy, incapacitate, harass, or distract. It may incorporate military stores, but is normally devised from nonmilitary components. An IED's typically consists of an explosive charge, possibly a booster charge, a detonator and a mechanism either mechanical or electronic, known as the initiation system. IED's are extremely diverse in design, and may contain any type of firing device or initiator, plus various commercial, military, or contrived chemical or explosive fillers. Highly sophisticated IED's have been constructed from arming devices scavenged from conventional munitions and easily purchased electronic components, as well as consumer devices such as mobile phones, timer, call bell etc. The degree of sophistication depends on the ingenuity of the designer and the tools and materials available. They are are 'home-made' devices to harm or kill. Since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the press has often referred to these devices as roadside bombs.
Formally the campaign against the landmine started in October, 1992. Seven human rights organizations comprising Handicap International, Human Right Watch, Media International, Mines Advisory Groups, Physicians for Human Right and Vietnam Veterans of America foundation joined hands to campaign for the ban of the landmines. After that in October itself, International Campaign to Ban Landmines was formed. On 3 December, an international conference was held in the capital of Canada that sanctioned the international treaty to ban the landmine. It has imposed restriction on import and export, use and storage of landmines which is known as Mine Ban Treaty or Ottawa Treaty. Nepal has not signed this treaty but has cast its vote in the general convention of the UN in supporting the prohibition of the landmines. The Maoists and the state have neither made the commitment of using the landmines nor have they opposed the Ottawa Treaty. They have been quietly moving ahead from their own places.
Shree bhakta Khanal is an investigative journalist. One of Nepal's best journalists, Khanal personally visit the rural and war affected ares to collect the news. General people have highly acknowleaged his works regarding internal security, human interest and the Maoists 'Peoples war'. He'd even organized a photo exhibition regarding the Maoists war called 'No peace Here' in March 2004 in Kathmandu. He has training of telivision documentary from 'Danish school of journalism' in 2005. He can be reached at : livingrocknepal@hotmail.com
Having finished his schooling from Budhanilkantha High school, Suresh Lohani Presently is a Teacher by occupation. He's had his higher education in English literatwce from Nainital India. He's even the founder Member of Dhapasi school which is a private one. Besides being teacher at few education institutes of kathmandu 'A Level'. Equally interested in social service, he's the founder member of an NGO, " Helpful Friend" which is specially opened for Landmine victims and physically disables of Nepal. He is an active member of it. He can be reached at : sureshlohani@hotmail.com
This booklet is published by This booklet is published by 'Helpful Friend' an organization, working against Landmines and Physical Disability. Executive Body of the organization.
Yadu Lamichhane
Advisor
Bal Kumar Aryal
President
Muna Sharma
Vive President
Suresh Lohani
Secretary
Shree Bhakta Khanal
Treasurer
Ambika Amgain
Member
Nawa Raj Dhakal
Member
Dinesh Lohani
Member
posted by Shree Bhakta Khanal @ 8:55 AM
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