Monday, March 5, 2012
Oh, the impunity!
The following article was published in today's Republica. Below is the "original" article that I wrote. Click here for the direct Republica link with heavily "edited" version.
Oh, the
impunity!
If
you want peace, understand war—Gautam Buddha
If
you want peace, get ready for war—Adolf Hitler
Disdain and neglect of the rural poor by the urban ruling elite was a major
reason for the emergence and success of the Maoist conflict. The Maoist
insurgency was brutal, but it was borne out of frustration among several
minorities in the hills, mountains, and rural Nepal in the mid-west and
far-west. Ignorance of a large chunk of Nepali population by the educated and
ruling elites led this large chunk to think that a revolution was needed to be
heard. The revolution came, and went. However, unlike in other countries that
have gone through civil conflicts, those responsible for crimes committed
during the conflict have gone unpunished.
Crimes were committed by both the parties in that conflict—the Maoists,
and the Nepali State. Eight dalits who worked for a local landlord in Achham
were beaten and their legs were crushed by the Maoists as a punishment for
working for the landlord. Children and adults, alike, were kidnapped and forced
to join the Maoist army. The Nepali Police kidnapped Hari Prasad Bolakhe from
Banepa on 27 December 2003, and his remains were found two and a half years
later in June 2006. Eyewitnesses had reported that the then District Police
Officer, Khadga Bahadur Lama, was the one who had abducted Mr Bolakhe.
Although the Nepal Police has shown initiatives, at times, in punishing
their personnel, justice in Hari Prasad Bolakhe’s case is yet to come. For
crimes committed during the conflict, the Nepal Police and Army are no
different than the Maoists when it comes to punishing one of their own. In
fact, national and international human rights monitoring agencies have
repeatedly highlighted that of over 13000 people killed during the Maoist
conflict, the majority were killed by the state’s security forces.
When the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was signed between the
Maoists and the Nepali government, there were agreements made on fulfilling
Nepal’s internal as well as international human rights obligations. And, that
meant the violators of human rights during the conflict ought to be brought to
justice, and duly punished. However, that does not appear to be happening
anytime soon. The Maoists and the government security forces have not been held
accountable. And, so, the impunity reigns.
According to the International Criminal Court, the main goal of its
Rome Statute is to put an end to impunity for those that were involved in the
most serious crimes committed against humanity. Killing over 13000 people—no
matter by whom, and for whatever reason—falls under this category. The United Nations Commission on Human Rights
defines impunity to be the “impossibility…of bringing the perpetrators of
violations to account”.
Bringing the violators during the conflict to justice is not an
“impossible” task in Nepal by any stretch of the definition. Clearly, what are
lacking are the willingness, and a blatant neglect of the need, to do so. Several
security Acts grant the security forces immunity from being convicted of human
rights violations if they claim to have committed such violations while
discharging their “duties”. Under the National Code, there is no provision for
“independent inquiry” if security forces are charged of murder. Members of the
security forces cannot be tried for perjury because they are “not obliged” to
tell the truth under the National Code. Such lack of willingness from the State’s
side is not limited to security forces; the above exemptions also apply to
civil servants in government jobs. But, many civil servants are unaware of
that.
A September 1999 study by The Asia Foundation suggested that impunity
in Nepal is structural as well as cultural with the general populace apparently
accepting impunity. However, this acceptance of cases of impunity could have
more to do with structural absence of information and justice rather than a
mere cultural acceptance of the phenomenon. The study highlighted that impunity
was the highest in the highest levels of the bureaucracy and polity. The study
also found that human rights organizations in Nepal were not very active in
documenting impunity cases vis-à-vis human rights violations, and advocating
against those violations. The situation in Nepal, today, has improved, but not
by much.
The public is quickly blamed by many as being apathetic to impunity.
However, it is not the apathy, but the “tied hands” that has hurt the public.
There is only so much an average Nepali citizen can do to fight impunity. Also,
much of the victim population is illiterate or ignorant of the avenues to seek
justice against their perpetrators. So, in actuality, the apathy to impunity
rests with the Nepali government that has done next to nil to reform the disingenuous
Acts or to pursue criminal cases against those who perpetrated human rights
violations during the conflict.
The worst thing about this institutional apathy
towards impunity, as well as its inability in punishing the perpetrators, is
that it has a reinforcing effect. Apathy towards one case of impunity begets
another case in return. The apathy towards Maoist and Army impunity has only
encouraged other factions of Nepali society to pursue violent means. The blatant
violation of human rights during the Madhes uprising was an example of that.
The bombing in Babarmahal this Monday (Feb 27), and a gleeful admission by an
ethno-political outfit for carrying that bombing, is only the latest chapter.
As long as perpetrators of human rights injustice and violence have impunity,
this will only keep going on. Oh, the impunity!
Labels: impunity
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