Canada has suspended its foreign aid program in a remote Midwestern district of Nepal, fearing safety of their staff after Maoists beat up two donor agency employees.
The Canadian effort totalling some C$1.5 million was being conducted under the auspices of the United Nations' World Food Program.
The Canadian International Development Agency along with international aid agencies said they would withdraw from a poverty-ridden district in western Nepal after the beatings of two local staff members with the German development agency GTZ.
| Maoist militiawomen in Nepal |
"The investigation concluded that Maoist cadres seriously assaulted one male and one female staff members," the donor agencies said.
"The female staff member was badly beaten. Maoist cadres tried to force her to dig her grave but she was too badly injured to do so. Both were forced to give money to the Maoists."
It said projects run by groups from Germany, Switzerland, Britain, Finland, Japan, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Canada would be suspended in the district--one of the hardest hit by the insurgency. Residents in the area rely heavily on foreign donors.
The rebels regularly seek payments from development groups in Nepal and have shut down some projects for failing to do so.
The four agencies, which have been supporting the project, said they were forced to suspend it though it would affect the livelihood of over 6,000 people.
"We regret this deeply but cannot put our staff at further risk," the agencies said.
"Donors look forward to a positive Maoist response to this incident and a clear commitment to basic operating guidelines throughout Nepal," the statement said. "The donors also expect an apology for this violent incident."
The Karnali region, 400 kilometres northwest of Kathmandu, is Nepal's least developed zone. Kalikot is among one of the most neglected districts suffering from acute food shortage since the 1970s.
The international donors were running the Rural Community Infrastructure Works Program in 25 districts facing food scarcity. The scheme employs over 75,000 villagers to build roads in return for food. Workers receive about 4 kilograms of rice every day and nearly 50 percent of them are women.
The construction goes on from December to June--known as the "hungry season" when there is little rain. The project is also intended to stop the flight of villagers to neighbouring India in search of livelihood.
Since June 2004, some donors have been forced to curtail rural projects as the rebels, in their bid to set up a parallel government, stepped up the demand that the agencies work through them.
Recently, Nepal's new government headed by King Gyanendra claimed the security situation had improved considerably since the monarch took over on Feb 1 and completed 100 days in power.
