Govt makes room for 2,000 more martyrs
The Cabinet on Tuesday decided to declare 2,000 additional persons, who were killed during the decade-long Maoist insurgency, as martyrs on the basis of their political ideology.
However, they are not entitled to the Rs 1 million the “ideal martyrs” are given.
Minister for Land Reforms and Management Dambar Shrestha said, “They are not genuine martyrs, but the government has decided to respect them as martyrs and their family would get Rs.100,000 each.” The decision follows the May 10 recommendation of a high-level taskforce formed to recommend the definition of martyrs. The taskforce headed by litterateur Mod Nath Prashrit had defined two types of martyrs — general martyrs and ideal martyrs — apart from some accolades.
General martyrs, according to the report, are those who die willingly of security personnel’s bullets while protesting against the establishment on the street for political agenda, whereas “ideal martyrs” are those who refuse to surrender and “willingly sacrifice” their lives in the detention of government security forces for the sake of freedom and democracy.
According to Shrestha, the new martyrs are persons mainly associated with the Nepali Congress, CPN-UML, Madhesi Janadhikar Forum and Tarai Madhes Democratic Party.
Earlier, the Maoist-led government had decided to declare over 8,000 of their cadres, who were killed during the insurgency, as martyrs. Though the current ruling parties had seriously objected to and criticised the Maoist-led government’s decision, the same parties, now in government, are declaring all their cadres killed during the decade-long war as martyrs. Though the UML was also a partner in the Maoist-led government, it had objected to the then Cabinet decision terming it “biased and unilateral” as it failed to incorporate the dead who were affiliated to the UML.
Most of the new martyrs associated with NC, UML, MJF, TMDP
UML, NC had earlier objected to the Maoist-led govt’s plan to declare over 8,000 Maoist cadre as martyrs
Posted on: 2010-05-26 07:41
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Abin
Shit! The note is lost. I had better avoid extemporising. ...have been told not to blab.
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