http://nepaldalitinfo.net/2007/02/11/181/
Dalit Liberation Front of Nepal (Unified) submits a Memorandum to PM, with an ultimatum A Nepaldalitinfo Special Report February 11, Kathamndu. The National Convention for Unity Organizing Committee of the Nepal Dalit Mukti Morcha - Dalit Liberation Front of Nepal (Unified ), the Dalit organization affiliated with CPN (Maoists) submitted today a Memorandum to Prime Minister of Nepal, with its 31-point demands addressing the contemporary just demands of Dalit community in Nepal. The Memorandum bears an ultimatum of about a month effectively to the end of Falgun, 2063 BS for taking positive steps towards the demands, vows to undertake new dimension in advancing struggles against any inaction on these demands, and holds all responsibility to the government for any consequences of the inaction. The Memorandum addressed to the Prime Minister is signed by the Convener Comrade Tilak Pariyar of the Dalit Liberation Front of Nepal (Unified ) and is copied to Speaker and all other members of the Interim Parliament. The copies of the Memorandum have been handed over to all 75 Chief District Officers of the country. Respecting the struggles made by Nepalese people ever since 2007 B.S. and the spirit of recent peoples' movement, the Memorandum describes the current situation as a transition from a feudalist-brahminist monarchial kingdom to a federal democratic republican state. The Memorandum spells out, in explicit terms, the prevailing necessity for forward looking reorganization of the state structure for resolving all problems related to class, caste, nationalities, regions, Madheshi, women and Dalit community. As the Memorandum narrates, Dalit communities, in particular, have been oppressed due to feudalist-brahminist culture and traditions such as caste based discrimination, untouchability and social discrimination handed down for thousands of years, leading to the current situation of their backwardness in political, economic, social, administrative, military and all other areas of life. Therefore, in order to bring them to a level equal to the mainstream in all these areas, a bill must be passed and enacted in the interim legislature for proportional representation based on their population and, in addition, for special rights to them as a compensation to the oppression meted out to them for thousands of years. For effective and full implementation of these provisions, access of Dalits to all machineries of the state must be ensured. In order to abolish untouchability by declaring it as a social crime, a bill must be passed by the legislature and effectively implemented by the state. If this is not accomplished, the provision made in the Chapter 3, Article 14 of the Interim Constitution will be no different from a white-paper signed by 13 political parties of the country on 2061 Mangsir 16 and the provisions made in several conventions, agreements, declarations of international charters promulgated by the United Nations from time to time, and the provisions made in the past constitutions for effectiveness in abolishing the untouchability. For fulfilling the dreams of 11,000 martyrs including 1100 from Dalit community, who gave their valuable lives during the great Peoples' War as well as 19-day long peoples' movement, and for fulfilling the just demands of Dalit community as a whole, the Front - Nepal Dalit Mukti Morcha (Unified), has put forward the following demands to the interim government and interim legislature: 1. Proclaim a federal democratic republic based on secularism, immediately. 2. Implement proportional representative electoral system in the Constitutional Assembly. 3. Allocate electoral constituencies on the ethnic, regional and population basis. 4. Declaring caste based discrimination and untouchability as social crimes for abolishing discrimination completely, a bill for ending untouchability be enacted and implemented. 5. In compensation of the fact that Dalit Communities have been deliberately pushed backward in all areas, political, economic, social life, by feudal- brahminist state, a Special Rights bill be enacted and implemented to put in place special rights to dalits. 6. National Dalit Commission be made a fully powerful and constitutional body. 7. Stern actions be taken against the royal reactionary elements and criminals declared culprits by Rayamajhi Commission. 8. Amend Election Voters Act and its regulations. 9. Release immediately all political prisoners locked up on false charges. 10. Investigate and make public the whereabouts of disappeared citizens. 11. Abolishing special rights to royal family and the king, their properties be nationalized immediately. 12. Establish full control of peoples over army, police and administration. 13. Stop all sorts of interference by American imperialists in the political peace process currently ongoing in the country. 14. Put an end to imperialists' infiltration in the name of NGOs/INGOs. 15. Dalits be given special rights and made resourceful at all levels, from central to local agencies of state governance. 16. Make a guarantee for compulsory and free of cost health care available to Dalits. 17. Make guarantee of employment as well as the provision of unemployment allowance until employed for all. 18. Provide land to landless Dalits free of cost, and stop immediately the practice of evacuating them from the places where they live, without making alternative arrangement. 19. Establish equal rights to women on parental properties. 20. Dalits be guaranteed with the provision of free education for them upto higher education (both technical and non-technical). 21. Modernize traditional vocations carried by Dalits, and provide them with loans free of collaterals and interests to start their business. 22. Make a guarantee of 20% employment to the people of Dalit communities in public and private sectors. 23. Abolish completely caste based discrimination, untouchability and social discrimination imposed upon Dalits. 24. Issue citizenship certificates by inheritance to all Dalits, without hindrance, based on either of their father's or mother's name. 25. Provide immediately the land and citizenship certificate to Madheshi Dalits. 26. Stop activities of imported Hindu extremists. 27. Make provision for an appropriate management of 'Samaj Bikas Chhatrabas', a hostel located at Bijeshwari in Kathmandu, and resided by Dalit students. 28. Establish Dalit women's hostels. 29. Abolish feudal-brahminist and obsolete culture and traditions to establish a new people oriented (Janabadi) culture in the society. 30. Stop immediately the oppression meted out to Dalits within Newar caste. 31. Put an immediate end to sex exploitation meted out to some Badi women, and provide them with appropriate employment for their respectful living. The fulltext of the Memorandum (in Nepali): http://66.116.151.85/wp-content/DalitMuktiMorcha.pdf
