Kathmandu, May 14: The new government in Nepal has curtailed the activities of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which enjoys the goodwill of Maoist insurgents.

The organisation has been forced to limit visits to detainees held by the army. ICRC officials in Kathmandu however remained tight-lipped about the new restriction.

Its spokesman said it is "not currently in a position to carry out visits under its usual modalities to detainees in the custody of the Royal Nepalese Army".

The modalities, applied worldwide and respected by international laws, include having full access to detainees, receiving information about people arrested, being allowed to have private talks with the detainees and establishing contact with their families.

They also allow ICRC delegates to repeat their visits.

Though the spokesman declined to say which modalities were violated by the army, human rights sources say some places of detention and select detainees continue to be out of bounds.

The restrictions continue even after the new government headed by King Gyanendra signed a memorandum of understanding with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva in March, agreeing to allow UN human rights observers to open office in Nepal for two years and monitor the human rights situation, including allegations of rights abuse by both the state and the Maoists.

The curbs also continue despite King Gyanendra lifting a nearly three-month state of emergency April 29 and despite Nepal's major donors saying continuation of assistance would depend on the government's commitment to human rights.

The latest to assert that was US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs Christina Rocca, who wound up her three-day visit to Kathmandu Wednesday saying Washington would continue to suspend military aid to Nepal's army till the government released all political detainees, restored civil rights and lifted media censorship.

Since 1998, the ICRC has been working in Nepal as an impartial, neutral and independent humanitarian organisation whose goal is to protect the "lives and dignity of victims of war and internal violence".

The ICRC maintains a widespread presence in the field and contacts with both the government and the underground guerrillas.

One of its remarkable achievements has been to negotiate with the rebels for the release of abducted government employees.

As recently as April 29, it obtained the release of two senior government officials - the chief district officer and local development officer of Arghakhanchi district in southwestern Nepal after nearly three months in captivity.

The release earned ICRC publicly expressed gratitude from Nepal's home ministry, which in a press statement acknowledged its contribution.

Last year, the ICRC secured the release of 76 government employees, including policemen, soldiers and civil servants.

As part of its activities, the ICRC tries to visits detainees - those held by the state as well as by the Maoists - and monitor their health conditions and help them contact their families.

In 2004, ICRC delegates visited over 1,650 state detainees in some 340 detention centres. It also had access to Maoists' prisoners.

Last year, the humanitarian body noted the number of arrest allegations showed a "marked increase". "Several hundred people had neither been seen in prison nor reported released," the ICRC noted.

Courtesy Indo-Asian News Service