Dear All, Just would like to inform you that Mr. Ganesh Bk Chairperson of Human Rights Alliance including other civil society leader and human rights worker are arrested by Police this morning while they were participating sit-in-protest infront of PM Office against Raju Basnet's promotion and decision of withdrawn murder charges against UCPN (Maoist) leaders Agni Sapkota and Surya Man Dong. YADAB BASTOLA Kathmandu/ October 7  Police have arrested human rights activist who were protesting against the promotion of Colonel Raju Basnet from the gate of Prime Minister's residence in Baluwatar on October 7.

Rights activists and family of disappeared persons were arrested as they were protesting the promotion of Colonel Basnet to the post of Brigadier General, who has been accused of human rights violations. They were released later.

Lokendra Chand of Metropolitan Police Sector Kamalpokhari said that the rights activists and family of disappeared persons were arrested for protesting at a prohibited zone.

Those arrested include Sundarmani Dixit, Charan Prasain, Dinesh Tripathi, Bishnu Pukar Shrestha, Ekraj Bhandari, Ram Kumar Bhandari, Suman Adhikari, Phanindra Luintel, Kabindra Sharma.

Rights activists Charan Prasain said that the government was adding to the woes of the victims by providing protection to the violators of human rights. Saying that the government was insensitive towards human rights, he said that the government should be serious towards providing confidence to the violators of human rights in getting to higher ranks.

The rights activists had demanded withdrawal of the promotion of Basnet and IGP Kuber Singh Rana and the ordinance which provides amnesty to the perpetrators of human rights violations committed during the conflict.

Basnet has been implicated in the enforced disappearance of 49 persons held at Bhairavnath Battalion in 2003 in the OHCHR-Nepal report.