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VOL. 28, NO. 03, Sept 05 , 2008 (Bhadra 20 2065 B.S.) |
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CASES OF DISAPPEARED
Trauma
Of
Conflict
With the installment of new coalition government under leadership of CPN-Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda, whose party had waged twelve years long insurgency, peace process is in the last phase of completion. However, thousands of people continue to suffer the trauma of insurgency as families of more than one thousand disappeared persons are yet to get information whether their beloved are still alive or not
By KESHAB POUDEL
It was mid-night. Suddenly, some one knocked the door and forced to open it. As soon as a group of men entered into the room, they captured Kumar Gurung, 20, a resident of Ilam and took him away from his home in 2062-7-9.
Although Devi Gurung, 48, mother of Kumar argued with the Maoist cadres not to take away his son, nobody listened to her and his son was forcefully taken away from home. They even promised Devi Kumari that they will send her son back.
"My son never came back. I knocked the doors of Maoists leaders, human right activists, government and United Nations Office of Human Rights High Commissioner but all my efforts went in vain," said Devi. "As Maoist leader Prachanda has become prime minister now, he has to take responsibility about the whereabouts of my son."
Devi Kumari doesn't yet know what crime her 17-years-old son Kumar had committed to deserve this. Her son was a student of class ten in Harkate village development committee of Ilam.
Similarly, Tika Kanel, a resident of Dhading district, has already knocked the doors of different government offices, police posts and other places to know about her son Amrit Kanel who was disappeared from Chabahil in 2060-6-15.
A resident of Benighat village development committee, Amrit was arrested by police while he was on the way to his rented room. "No one has bothered to make public the whereabouts of my disappeared son. I am certain that the state is behind my son's disappearance," said Tika Kanel. "My son was disappeared six years ago. Since then we have been living in miseries."
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Demonstrating against victimization: Need to end impunity |
Devi and Tika are not the only two parents who are suffering the trauma of disappearance. There are more than one thousand parents who have been roaming around various offices knocking doors. "Leaders come to power as a result of sacrifice made by the disappeared people. But thanks to the culture of impunity, those behind forced disappeared are still roaming freely," said Tika Kanel.
From holding the elections of CA to abolishing monarchy and forming a new coalition government under the Maoist leadership, the country has jumped from one end to other in the last two years period. But, the question of disappeared people is still haunting the minds of people.
"Disappearance continues to haunt Nepal's transition to peace and democracy and it is imperative to hold accountable those responsible for the disappearance," said Richard Bennett Office of High Commission for Human Rights-Nepal. "The causes of forced disappearance have caused suffering to thousands of people."
Whatever the trauma and tragedies one has to face, it is very difficult task for both former rebels and state to do anything to find disappeared. As a rebel leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda under whose command Maoist waged twelve years long war, has become prime minister, but he will be hard pressed to take actions against his own cadres and state officials who he is now leading.
Differences Over Number
As various international organizations celebrated the International Day against Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance on August 29, the families of disappeared found forum to express their anguish and rights organizations were busy publishing reports.
But the exact number of disappeared is yet to be asserted as different organizations have different record. International Committee for Red Cross and National Human Rights Commissions have recently come out with separate reports of forced disappearance with two different data. According to NHRC, during the decade long Maoists insurgency, at least 3,299 persons have disappeared. However, the whereabouts at least 1000 is still unknown, it says.
"Out of 3299 persons who had disappeared, the whereabouts of 2329 were made public, but there is no information about the rest 970," said Kedarnath Upadhyaya, chief of National Human Rights Commission.
According to the report, the state is responsible for disappearance of 671 citizens while CPN (Maoist) is responsible for disappearance of 299. During the period of decade-long insurgency, state forces killed at least 142 while Maoists killed 21 people who were taken under their control, it adds. Of all those disappeared (as per the complaints filed at the NHRC), government has publicized the status of 1,427 and the Maoist 739 people.
Meanwhile, the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) and the Nepal Red Cross Society released a separate report stating that the number of disappeared stands at 1200.
The ICRC admits its new publication "a painful thing to look at." It has a stark list of 1,227 names of people, 91% of them men, who have been reported as missing because of the decade-long war.
"We have some rough indication that there were some people compensated at one point or another. But there's never been a letter from any state authority, never any official recognition to any of the families of the missing to our knowledge" said Mary Werntz, head of the ICRC in Nepal.
On the other hand, Informal Sector Service Center (INSEC) stated whereabouts of 828 citizens disappeared by the state and 105 by the Maoists still remain unknown.
The ICRC and the Nepal Red Cross have collected the names of the missing in years of visits to the remotest villages.
Court's Order Ignored
After a long hearing, the Supreme Court had directed government to form the commission (on disappearance) two years ago. But, the government is yet to give shape to the commission.
According to Amnesty International, Both the government and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) (CPN (M)) largely failed to implement human rights commitments in the Comprehensive Peace Accord (CPA), signed in November 2006. Measures to address impunity for past violations and abuses were grossly inadequate.
Two years have passed since the government and the CPN (Maoist) in a written document promised to publicize the status of disappeared citizens within 60 days, yet the whereabouts of missing people remain unknown
Chairman of NHRC Kedar Nath Upadhyaya urged the government to form two commissions – on disappearance and on reconciliation – to ease the investigation process. He also stressed the need for immediate disbursement of relief support to the families of disappeared citizens.
"It is also vital that appropriate action be taken in order to break the cycle of abuses and of impunity, to move towards the type of institutional reform necessary to ensure that Nepal does not again see such a pattern of serious human rights violations," said Bennett.
INSEC Report
Informal Sector Service Centre (INSEC) has made public a report entitled "Impaired Accountability: State of Disappearance in Nepal. INSEC Chairperson Subodhraj Pyakurel released the report based on the assessment of the implementation of the recommendations by UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance amidst a program.
The report states, "still the whereabouts of 828 persons arrested by the state remains unknown. Similarly, 105 persons abducted by the CPN (Maoist) remain disappeared though the Maoists claim to have not disappeared anyone."
The report suggests the government to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance; establish crime of disappearance and promulgate a law on disappearance in compliance with the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, 2006; form a credible and high-level commission to probe into the cases of disappearance, their causes and the status of those allegedly disappeared by the state and parties to the conflict, and immediately implement the directive order of the Supreme Court of June 2007 and provide without any discrimination the relief and assistance package to the families of victims among others.
Complex Problems
Enforced or involuntary disappearance is a complex criminal offence that involves violation of a number of fundamental freedoms and basic human rights, including the right to personal freedom and security, the right to have legal remedy, the right against torture or other cruel, inhuman and degrading behavior, and the right to life as such.
Although Nepal celebrated International Day of the Disappeared, nobody knows whereabouts about more than 1,000 people like Kanel and Gurung even after two and a half years since the conflict ceased.
