Enough is Enough!!
Isn't Nepal heading towards being a very irresponsible state towards the security of its citizen, even after the 10 year long conflict is over?
Sudha Maharjan (daughter of ChhoriMaiya Maharjan who has been disappeared since February 28th, 2012) shouts "where is our mom?" everyday at #OccupyBaluwatar ( a civil movement started for justice from violence against women). A citizen of Nepal aged 51 gets disappeared all of a sudden from the capital of Nepal and her family has no clue about her whereabouts for last 11 months, even not sure whether she is living or dead. There may be legal procedures, court processes and all acting towards justice but the main question is what can be the mental pain, trauma and anguishes that gives everyday to the family of Chhorimaiya Maharjan? Isn't here our state being failed to 'secure' its citizen responsibly?
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| Chhorimaiya Maharjan's Daughter and family saying "Where's Our Mom?" (image by : Anil Parajuli on FB) |
PrakashSingha Thakuri, Journalist from Kanchanpur (Vice-president of FNJ Mahendranagar for 3 years) went missing from 5th July 2007 when he was taken away from his rented room in Kanchanpur by an armed group. After that, his whereabouts and status are unknown although there were rumors that he was killed and thrown into Mahakali River or his Skeletal were found. But the fact is he has been missing since 6 years and nobody has any clue what actually happened to the journalist?
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| Prakash Thakuri, journalist from far-western Nepal (iamge : http://article.wn.com/view/2010/05/14/Maoist_threaten_journalists_in_Nepal/) |
Nabaraj Chaulagain, regional director of far-western regional office of Public Service Commission Nepal, went missing from 5th December 2010 from his office at Rajyapur, Dipayal, Doti District while he was preparing for the result publication of Nayab Subba Examination along with other three staffs. He went missing from around 6:30-6:45 in the evening that day and government, his organization, family or none has the clue about his whereabouts. A high ranking government official has been missing for last two years and the security responsible persons have no answer till now except once DIG Rajendra Singh Bhandari of Nepal Police claimed that "he went missing by his own will" which Chaulagain's office rejected.
National Human Rights Commission of Nepal received more than 1200 cases during the conflict with the label of 'disappearance' and this trend has continued even after the years of Comprehensive Peace Accord. NHRC received 161(S)+107(O) complaints on disappearance in the years of July 06 - June 07, 127(S)+86(O) in July 07 - June 08, 17(S)+4(O) in July 08 - June 09, 24(S)+25(O) in July 09-June 2010, 19(S)+21(O) in July 2011 - June 2012 and 16(S)+15(O) complaints in July 2012 - June 2013. These figures received show us a fearful factor of Nepal, forceful disappearances have been continued even after the CPA, by both security bodies and other organizations and groups which include UCPN (Maoist) and the various armed groups from Terai. *{(S) stands for Security organs and (O) stands for other.}
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| The Protests in Kathmandu demanding the whereabouts of Disappeared image : UPI.com |
According To ICRC Report 2012, 3668 reports of people being 'forcefully' and other disappearances were recorded, among which 1401 people are still missing even after the 6 years of conflict ended formally with CPA. Those people's families are still unknown about the whereabouts of their dear ones and they demand for the formal answer from the government, where government has nothing to say except some false promises which never materialized.
According to Nepal Conflict Report 2012 by OHCHR Nepal, upto March 2nd 2012, 458 cases of 'enforced disappearances' have no further information on their whereabouts. In its 2009 report to the United Nations General Assembly, the United Nations Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) stated that during the ten-year conflict in Nepal, the
highest number of cases of enforced disappearances it received were in 2002, when it was notified of 277 cases. The report also states that 672 cases on 'involuntary disappearances' have been transmitted to the Government of Nepal.
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| Mother of disappeared protests at Baluwatar, PM Residence of Nepal (image : Nepal in Pictures) |
Why these things keep happening here, why the state is behaving so cold and so distant to the victims of those enforced disappearances? Just yeaterday, foreign minister of Nepal NarayanKaji Shrestha stated that Nepal Government is committed to preserve the Human Rights of it's citizens and punish the violators when news came from United Kingdom where a Nepal Army Colonel Kumar Lama was arrested accused of being involved in torture. These things appear like a joke when nothing has been done neither in the direction of finding the whereabouts of those missing, nor in securing its citizens from responsible and better manner or altogether preventing those cruel incidents to take place in the future.
The Interim Constitution of Nepal 2063 has purposed a commission to be formed for finding out the whereabouts and settling those cases of involuntary disappearances, which so far couldn't take place because of many reasons. Neither the government and other responsible parties have attempted to find out or track the whereabouts of those victims nor they have properly convinced those related families. Those things and issues recommended by NHRC Nepal to the government of Nepal related to these cases are also implemented very few, leaving many important of them to be ignored.
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| Missing their dear ones suddenly disappeared ( image : flicker) |
The first thing a state is there to provide to it's citizens if right to life or a state is responsible for it's citizen's security which appears to be a 'cool joke' in the context of Nepal. Any involving parties of those conflicts, Nepal Army or Nepal police or Armed Police, or thethen Maoists or any other armed groups shouldnot be let free from their responsibilities to answer the whereabouts of those people who suffered the tragic fate along with their families.
Those, demanding for the information and security of their dear ones are brutally rejected for 'justice' as delaying or deferring the justice is no less than denying the justice. They are kept clueless for years some even for a decade, and the only crime of them was to be born in an irresponsible state where justice is available for VIPs and source-holders. Those common people, losing their lives for these huge political ideologies drag some leaders to the power must be crying with pain seeing those innocent 'involuntarily disappeared' mass and their families' trauma of justice being delayed ir denied.
To conclude, a woman disappeared from the capital of Nepal hasn't been found for last 11 months, a regional director of Public service commission never appeared again in last two years and a journalist went missing for last 6 years show how miserable our law implementation is, how irresponsible our state is and how forgetful our rulers are. While talking once in our canteen, I told one of my friend that even being a worker of NHRC, I don't believe My state or My office will search or find me if I got disappeared one day.
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| Familes .... silent ..... Disappeared in Nepal ( image : Himal South Asian Blog) |
Those who don't like to read such stories or have no time to think once about these badluckers, think once, if you are smiling just because you are a fool. There are very high chances that you could be next on the line to suffer as neither those previous criminals are punished nor those previous are seriously taken to search. If anyone of us gets disappeared, people will simply ignore the way we are doing now because people have better things to worry than those silent sufferers.
Let's think the trauma of these incidents bring to the family. I hope deaf state and its mechanism will be repaired and those ChhoriMaiya, Prakash or Nabaraj won't be missing for years, unnoticed.......... damned and discarded.
We Want Justice!! Justice to be done!!