Nepali Christians split on burial protest issue

(April 04, 2011) As Christians in central Kathmandu demanding burial land entered their 13th day of a hunger strike on Monday and issued an “ultimatum” to the government, some religious leaders suggested the group should drop the issue. The protesters want to be able to bury their dead and seek to force the government to give them burial plots. But a Catholic priest, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Ucanews, “Why make it a issue in a small country where so many poor people do not even have a piece of land to live on.” Other Christians in the capital also expressed the opinion that the protesters should opt for cremation instead of insisting on burial rights. A Protestant leader, Doctor Ramesh Khatry also called on Christians to opt for cremation, though he said many may not agree. In a newspaper article he praised Catholics for their practical, “simple and sane” option to cremate, rather than bury. However, Pastor Sunder Thapa, president of the Christian Advisory Committee for Nepal’s new constitution, said the protest would continue. Some three dozen fasting Christians men and women wearing flower garlands continue to sing hymns, and pray seated under a tent near the clock tower in central Kathmandu.