KATHMANDU, 29 November 2007 (IRIN) - Nepal’s
human rights workers are concerned at the
increasing number of displaced families in the
country’s Terai region where ethnic tension
between the Madhesi and Pahade communities is
rising, activists told IRIN on 29 November.

In the past few weeks alone, over 100 Pahade
families - at least 500 people - fled their homes
in Bara, Rautahat, Siraha, Saptari and Parsa
districts, the most affected areas in the Terai,
a fertile lowland area of southern Nepal which is
the breadbasket and industrial hub of the country.

Whilst the Madhesi are the original inhabitants
of the Terai, the Pahade are hill migrants who
moved to the Terai, own much of the land and
dominate Terai’s political life and economy. The
Pahade make up about one third of the population
of the Terai, which itself accounts for nearly
half Nepal’s population.

The two communities have had a long history of
tensions especially over the control of forests
and regional politics, but not to the extent of
communal violence as in the past few months, say
activists.

"There will be renewed displacement and a crisis
if the current violence is not controlled," said
rights activist Gopal Siwakoti of the
International Institute for Human Rights,
Environment and Development (INHURED).

Since pro-Madhesi political groups launched their
protests in a bid to achieve more regional
autonomy in February, violence has led to ethnic
clashes and the displacement of both groups, with
most displaced being Pahades.

Last week alone, nearly 90 families fled in fear
of the militant group Madhesi Mukti Tigers in
Bara, Siraha and Saptari districts, 400km
southeast of the capital, according to the
Informal Sector Service Centre (INSEC), a local
human rights group.

"Most of the families like ours were constantly
threatened with death if we didn’t leave," said a
displaced villager Om Bahadur Shrestha in
Barachettra village of Sunsari District.

He said Pahade families were being targetted by Madhesi militant groups.

"All the displaced families, including children,
are living in very poor conditions," said aid
worker Hari Bhattarai from the Norwegian Refugee
Council (NRC), one of the main agencies providing
support to the displaced.

Madhesi also targetted

Rights activists say Madhesi families have also
been displaced, among them those who do not
support militant groups.

’’Most of the families like ours were constantly
threatened with death if we didn’t leave.’’

Madhesis working for the government, media and
human rights organisations also live in fear as
they are constantly under threat of losing their
jobs or being killed.

The worst affected are middle class families and
well-off farmers who own large tracts of land or
have a lot of property. They are forced to pay
large sums to militant Madhesi groups, activists
said.

Displaced Madhesi families are now taking refuge
in safer Terai areas like Biratnagar, Inarwa,
Janakpur and near the main highway leading
towards the northern belt of the Terai, according
to INHURED. Many Madhesi families have moved to
the capital for protection and better security.

Dangerous trend

"This is quite a different form of displacement
and it is likely that the displaced families will
never be able to return to their homes," said an
international aid analyst requesting anonymity.

He explained the current links between some
political groups and armed gangs - with the
latter funding militant activities and supplying
arms, and the former giving them space for their
criminal activities.

"Both of them are working towards displacing
anyone who disagrees with them - even Madhesis -
and waging an ethnic-cleansing war," he warned.