Attack on mosque, a sign of intimidation ahead of the upcoming elections
Kathmandu (AsiaNews) - Three have been killed and many wounded by the bombs that went off Saturday evening in a mosque in Morang, in eastern Nepal, four hundred kilometres from the capital.
Two men who have not yet been identified, on a motorcycle, launched four bombs against the mosque, where 60 faithful had gathered for evening prayers. It is the first attack on a mosque in the predominantly Hindu country, where Muslims are a distinct minority.
Many Muslims took to the streets yesterday to hold loud protests asking the government to provide compensation for the victims, and to identify those guilty of the attack, against whom they are demanding serious measures.
The curfew imposed immediately after the explosion continues in many areas, by order of the official responsible for the district of Madhav Prasad Regmi. In the meantime, prime minister Garija Prasad Koirala has called upon the Muslim communities to remain calm, and has opened an investigation, promising to find and punish those who are guilty.
Responsibility for the attack has been claimed by the leader of a Hindu group known as the Nepal Defence Army. Mainali aka Paribartan, identifying himself as the "supreme commander" of the army, claimed responsibility for the attack in a press release to independent television station Kantipur Television, declaring that the group "will continue such attacks until Nepal is reinstated as a Hindu nation".
Both the international organisation Human Rights Watch and the United Nations have condemned the attack, and the secretary general of the Nepalese communist party is convinced that the incident is a stratagem to stir up religious conflict and compromise the holding of the elections for the constituent assembly, which will have the task of changing Nepal's history, formally abolishing the Hindu monarchy and rewriting the constitution.
The president of the Association of Nepalese Muslims and Nasrul Hussein, the secretary of the Interreligious Council of Nepal, expressed their dissatisfaction in an interview with AsiaNews, saying: "We are not at all satisfied with how the government is acting. Those who lead a country must act immediately against these groups, and have the responsibility of guaranteeing security for all religious sites. This is not the first time that Muslims have been victims in Nepal. We have endured this situation for a long time, but for how much longer can we remain silent before these attacks?".
.png)
