Arun Raj Kunwar Must Stay

Arun was captured by police on Monday 17th April when making his monthly signing at St Mary's Police Station in Derby. Handed over to immigration officials and is now in Campsfield IRC awaiting forced removal to Nepal on Saturday 29th April 2006.

Arun Raj Kunwar is a Nepali asylum seeker who was politically active since his student days. He was a member of the Nepali Students Union and since 1991 of the Nepal Congress Party. While involved in student politics he made friends with other activists from the Communist Party of Nepal (CPN).

Nepal is politically very unstable and groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have been documenting abuses, by government forces for some years. Members of the CPN were especially at risk. Although he is not a member of the CPN, Arun Raj's association with members of the party made him a target. On 21st November 1999 he was arrested on suspicion of being involved with the CPN and held for 4 days at a police station. During that time he was beaten.

On June 1st 2001 the majority of the Nepali royal family and the situation became even more unstable and dangerous for political agitators. Prince Gyanendra, the brother of the Crown Prince reported to be responsible for the assassinations, was pronounced King but many people were unhappy with this turn of events and on 8th November 2001 a demonstration was held. There were many groups involved in this demonstration and Arun Raj contributed to its organisation. A friend of his, Depak Devkota, who was a CPN member, asked Arun Raj to give a speech at the demonstration. The police using batons broke up the demonstration and arrested a number of the protestors.

A few months after the demonstration Depak Devkota was arrested as reported in the weekly newspaper Awaaz (6/6/03). Arun Raj, fearing he would be arrested, fled to the UK in January 2002. According to Awaaz (6/6/03) the police are still looking for him and he will be arrested if he returns to Nepal. Events took a more sinister turn when two friends of Arun Raj, Prit Kumar Moktan and Bhupendra Timalsina who were CPN members, were arrested in April 2003. A week later, according to the Kathmandu Post (28/4/03), their decapitated bodies were found.

Latest U. S. Department of State: Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - Nepal 2005 details:

* Obstruction of citizens' right to change the government
* Arbitrary and unlawful lethal force, including torture
* Vigilantism
* Disappearances
* Poor prison and detention conditions
* Arbitrary arrest and lengthy pre-trial detention
* Impunity for security forces
* Compromised independence of judiciary
* Suspension of news broadcasts
* Restrictions on the Tibetan community
* Restrictions on internal travel
* Discrimination against persons with disabilities and lower castes
* Violence against women and trafficking in women and girls
* Abuses of child labour
* Restriction of worker's rights

The Situation in Nepal is deteriorating day by day; no one is safe in Nepal at the moment.

Friends in Derby also facing deportation and who have been supporting Arun's Campaign now in its third year are making another effort to keep Arun in the UK.

What you can do to help
Download the model letter to Tony McNulty Minister for immigration, make copies and get as many people as possible to sign them and return to the campaign address.

Download model letter: ArunrajML.doc

Arun Raj Kunwar Must Stay
C/o 77 Abbey Street
Derby
DE22 3Sp

Inquiries further information:
Sajin Sharma
saj_in18@yahoo.co.uk