Nepalis in America March to Washington DC to Mark 100 Days of Protest

Nepalis in America are staging a protest in Washington DC on November 22nd 2015 to mark 100 days of protest in Nepal. Members from Association of Nepali Teraian in America (ANTA), Madhesh Human Right (MHR), Dallas Fort Worth Madhesh Samaj and others are organizing and participating in the event. The event will be attended by several Madhesis and is scheduled from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM.

The event mentioned above is separate from another event organized in Washginton DC around the same time by another group of Nepalis to protest against the ‘blockade’ imposed by India.

The two groups of Nepalis are divided along ethnic lines and agenda, even in America. One group, consisting of mostly Madhesis are protesting against discriminatory constitution, pay tribute to martrys during Madhes Andolan, demand an end to human rights violations, and show dissent by asserting that the border is blocked by Madhesis. In contrast, the other group constituting of mainly Pahadis are protesting and have accused India of imposing a ‘blockade’ in Nepal.

The agenda for the event organized by ANTA and others are as follows.

– To draw attention to Nepal’s regressive and discriminatory constitution, which denies equal rights to the people of Terai-Madhesh (which represents almost 45% of Nepal’s population), the southern plain of Nepal.

– To pay respect to over 40 people killed during the protest resulting from the promulgation of controversial constitution. Human Right Watch Report “like we are not Nepali” can be seen at: https://www.hrw.org/…/protest-and-police-crackdown-terai-re…

– To show respectful dissent and share following with the planned demonstration by some Nepali Organizations in the USA near the same venue: o Blaming neighbor (India) for Nepal’s own mess (ongoing political and economic crisis) you are helping draw attention away from the root cause of the crisis. o Your silence over the blatant violations of Madhesi protestors’ human rights and their brutal murders by the police crackdown is disappointing. o While you are demonstrating in the name of Nepali diaspora as a representative of entire Nepal; the majority of the Madhesi diaspora may not share your sentiment

– To urge and encourage all Nepali stakeholders to seriously engage each other and find a way out of the current crisis for peaceful and prosperous Nepal

Visit Facebook event page to see more details. Contact Satendra Sah if you would like to join or have any feedback.

The event poster shows a brief summary of the event.