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Bombs Blast on Premises of Mosque in Eastern Nepal
By KTM Metro Reporter in Kathmandu
March 31: Two people riding on a motorcycle tossed four bombs on the premises of the mosque in Biratnagar, eastern Nepal at the time of evening prayer when about 60 people were praying in the mosque on Saturday, March 29. Three bombs went off killing two people and injuring two people at about 7:40 P.M. during the outage of electric power. The local administration has imposed curfew since 9:00 P.M. to contain any unwanted civil disorder in the area as a precautionary measure.
The Nepal Defense Army (NDA) claimed for setting off the bombs. The so-called NDA is for saving the monarchy and making Nepal a Hindu state. The Interim Legislature-parliament has declared Nepal a federal democratic republic and a secular state. The first session of a Constituent Assembly (CA) shall endorse it. So, monarchists are nervous and attempting to disrupt the upcoming election for a CA tossing and setting off bombs.
Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala was in his hometown Biratnagar on a visit, and had instructed senior security officials based in the eastern region to tighten security for holding the CA election smoothly on April 10 a few hours before the bomb explosion.
Talking to journalists at his residence in Biratnagar on Sunday, March 30, Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala said, "I am deeply saddened by the incident and it is an anti-social act irrespective of whoever might have unleashed it. Only anti-social groups can resort to such an incident.” "The incident was orchestrated to take advantage of the confrontations and disputes among the workers of seven parties for a few days. The seven party unity is still necessary for a few years,” Prime Minister Koirala said. He also said that the incident had hurt the sentiments of the Muslim community, and requested them to maintain restraint during such a sad moment according to ‘The Rising Nepal’ of March 31, 2008.
Prime Minister Koirala assured the injured and the families of the deceased people of the government compensating them for their loss and injury.
Minister of State for Home Affairs Ram Kumar Chaudhary blamed the palace for the explosions in Biratnagar, and said that the palace had caused such an incident after losing self-control and fearing the loss of its power forever. State Minister Chaudhary said that the government would hold the elections at any cost irrespective of such incidents of blasts and killings.
Different political parties, civil society and human rights activists have condemned the bomb attack by the NDA on the mosque in Biratnagar. They said that it was a conspiracy to foil the upcoming CA election, and asked the government for reinforcing the security at the districts.
Asian Network for Free Election (ANFREL) has strongly condemned the bomb attack on the mosque. "We urge the authorities to bring to book the perpetrators of such a heinous crime,” ANFRIL's mission coordinator Ichal Supriadi said in a press statement. "Targeting a place of worship is a cowardly attempt to fuel communal riots and derail the elections. All those who seek to use violence to disrupt the election should heed the call of the Nepali people who are demanding for their right to vote in a peaceful atmosphere,” she said. (Source: TRN, March 321, 2008)
Muslim communities held rallies at various places of the Jhapa, Morang and Sunsari districts to protest the bomb attack on the mosque, and called for a shutdown in those districts, and obstructed the vehicular traffic on the highways burning tires in the morning of March 30 after the local administration lifted the curfew imposed on Saturday night.
