KATHMANDU(16 July, 2007): On the day Nepal's MPs and rights activists were to interact with the gay community and discuss the inclusion of their rights in a new constitution, the police assaulted and stripped five young men in a park here because they were carrying condoms. "Five men, aged between 19 and 25, were sitting in Ratna Park (on Saturday) evening when they were accosted by four policemen led by a sub-inspector," said Sunil Pant, president of Blue Diamond Society (BDS), Nepal's only gay rights organisation. "Though the men were metis (transgenders who prefer to dress as women), they were not in drag but dressed in jeans and T-shirts," Pant said. "However, the policemen made them strip naked and searched their bags. When they found condoms in the bags, they first abused the men, accused them of being sex workers and began beating them up with batons," he added. One of the five managed to run out of the park and call a BDS official, who was also roughed up when he tried to intervene. "Alex Chamling (an HIV/AIDS educator at BDS) was badly beaten up when he tried to stop the cops from assaulting the youths," Pant said. Though Chamling dialled 100 for help and two policemen arrived on the spot, Pant said they remained "silent spectators". The incident came on the day BDS, with the help of the Dutch government, was scheduled to hold a meeting between metis and politicians from Nepal's leading parties as well as human rights activists. (From Sources)
Common Nepalese Cops.... grow up...
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