'US firm responsible for murder of 12 Nepalis in Iraq'

Nepali manpower companies celebrated their third anniversary of 'black day' in Kathmandu recently to mark the day when thousands of people took to the streets protesting the murder of 12 Nepalis in Iraq in 2004 subsequently demolishing offices of dozens of manpower companies.

The anger was poured not into the manpower companies but to the mosques in Kathmandu as well. But latest researches have revealed that an American company was involved in sending Nepali workers illegally to Iraq against their consent and agreement leading to death of 12 Nepalis.

A lawsuit filed in California against Kellogg, Brown and Root on Wednesday, states Nepali men, between the ages of 18 and 27, were recruited in Nepal and were assured they would be doing work in hotel and restaurant kitchens in Amman, Jordan, but were sent instead to Iraq to work at a US air base.

When the Nepali men arrived in Jordan the contractors took their passports and drove them into Iraq.

The lawsuit filed by Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll alleges KBR, based in Houston, Texas, and Daoud & Partners, a Jordan-based subcontractor, engineered the trafficking scheme.

The lawsuit further mentions about 70 Nepali men were driven into Iraq in a large convoy of civilian vehicles. One of the lead vehicles was ahead of the convoy and was stopped by insurgents posing as Iraqi Police. Twelve of the Nepali men were taken by the insurgents and later killed.

A statement in the law firm's website states, "As the men were being transported to Iraq, a car containing twelve of the men was stopped by members of the Ansar al-Sunna Army, an insurgent group. The 12 men in the car were taken hostage and executed by the insurgents."

A 13th man, Buddi Prasad Gurung, was not kidnapped and arrived at the US Al Asad air base in western Iraq in August 2004. Gurung worked in a warehouse managed by KBR and was released 15 months later by the company.

Department of Defense Inspector General's office of the US government, after a number of news reports about KBR involvement in trafficking, had concluded an investigation in April 2006.

Report by the department said, "The primary finding concluded that the US government had no jurisdiction over the persons, offenses, or circumstances that resulted in the Nepali deaths," adding that the events occurred before the Nepali workers 'starting their employment with KBR'.

According to CNN, a KBR statement defended the allegations: "KBR has not yet seen the lawsuit so it is premature for us to comment at this time. The safety and security of all employees and those the company serves remains KBR's top priority. The company in no way condones or tolerates unethical or illegal behavior."

KBR spokeswoman Heather Browne in his statement said, "Each employee is expected to adhere to the company's Code of Business Conduct and complete ethics training, which includes TIPS (Trafficking in Persons) information."

Nepal government has banned overseas employment to Iraq since the incident but failed to make any investigations on situation of other Nepalis who reached the war-torn country along with those killed. nepalnews.com ia Sep 04 08