KATHMANDU, May 11: With
the objective of making passport service delivery hassles-free and
quick, the government has started necessary preparations to set up Live
Enrollment Centers (LEC) in various 68 districts and 32 diplomatic
missions abroad.
Department of Passports (DoP) can download the passport application
forms along with the photos of the applicants directly in Kathmandu once
the LECs are set up.
Under the existing practice, passport applications are first collected
at various district administration offices and missions abroad and then
they are sent to the DoP for further processing.
While it takes three months in minimum to get passport if a person has
applied from diplomatic missions abroad and at least one month if
applied from the district administration office concerned, due to the
delay in reaching applications to the DoP. Officials believe that
service seekers may receive the passports in half the time once the LECs
are set up.
The DOP, which works under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), is
the central government body entrusted with the issue of passports.
“Preparations are under way to set up live enrollment centers to provide
passports to service seekers without unnecessary hassles and displace
hand-written passports as soon as possible,” said MoFA Spokesperson
Arjun Bahadur Thapa.
Addressing a regular press briefing at MoFA on Friday, Thapa said
feasibility study including technical aspects involved in setting up the
LECs have already been completed. “We have decided to set up live
enrollment centers in various 68 districts and 32 diplomatic missions of
Nepal abroad. We have sought necessary budget from the Ministry of
Finance to execute the plan,” he said.
It is estimated that it will cost at least Rs 1 billion to execute the ambitious plan.
Thapa said they are mulling to make an arrangement for the applicants
from the remaining seven districts to apply for passports from the
neighboring districts. "Since it costs a huge amount of money to set up
such a facility, we have decided not to set up live enrolment centers in
seven districts keeping in view the low turnout of passport
applicants," Thapa further said.
Nepal currently has embassies in various 27 countries, two permanent
missions and three consul general offices. The government plan to set up
live enrollment centers does not include soon-to-be established
embassies in Oman and Bahrain and consul general office in Guangzhou.
The government decision comes in the wake of fast-approaching
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) deadline to replace all
hand-written passports with Machine Readable Passports (MRPs) by
November 24, 2015. “Currently, some 2.5 million hand-written passports
are in use. All these passports will become invalid on the same day
after two years,” said Director at the DoP Rajendra Pandey.
Director Pandey said the urgency to make the passport delivery service
quick and effective was felt as the ICAO deadline is approaching. “We
need to have a whole new system that is effective and can deliver
passports faster than it is today to address the possible problems,” he
further said. “We, therefore, are planning to set up live enrollment
centers in various places in partnership with France-based Oberthur
Technogies.”
Nepal started issuing MRPs on December 26, 2010 -- nine months after the
original deadline of April 10, 2010 set by ICAO for starting to issue
MRPs. Officials at DoP said over 800,000 MRPs have already been issued
so far.
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UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal continues to
hog media headlines for his remarks, often controversial ones. He
dominated the headlines again this week not only for his ´trilateral
cooperation´ proposal between India, Nepal and China, but also for his
visit to India after five years of ´bittersweet´ relations with the
southern neighbor.
The visit is widely seen as Dahal´s bid to mend his strained relations
with India, especially after the UCPN (Maoist) launched what they called
´a struggle for national sovereignty and civil supremacy´ following an
unsuccessful attempt by the then Maoist-led government to sack army
chief Rookmangud Katawal back in 2009. Upon his arrival at Tribhuvan International Airport on Tuesday after a
four-day visit to India, Dahal told media that the visit was successful
in building an environment of trust between the Maoists and India. The
leader of the former rebel party could successfully convey to the Indian
leadership that his party had now chosen peaceful democratic polity
over aggressive nationalism and also took the opportunity to propose a
new chapter of friendly relations. The kind of confidence Dahal has been demonstrating and the kind of
remarks he has been making after his meeting with top Indian leaders
including Prime Minister Manamohan Singh, Foreign Minister Salman
Khurshid and main opposition party Bharatiya Janata Party Chairman Raj
Nath Singh, among others, are understandable enough. India midwifed the 12-point Agreement between the then Seven Party
Alliance (SPA) and the Maoists in November 2005, paving the way for the
Maoists to join mainstream politics. But to India´s dismay, the Maoists
developed cold feet with India when they emerged as the single largest
party after the 2008 Constituent Assembly elections.
The events leading up to the May 4, 2009 resignation of Dahal from the
post of prime minister over his controversial decision to sack the then
army chief was a tipping point for relations between the Maoists and
India. The subsequent hurling of shoes at then Indian ambassador to
Nepal Rakesh Sood and targeting of various Indian joint ventures had
had only accentuated the differences between India and the Maoists.
What has remained unique on the part of Dahal this time round is that he
was ´all sweetness´ with the Indian political leadership. Already
having refrained from terming "domestic reactionary forces backed by
India" as the principal enemy of the party in the political document
endorsed by the Hetauda General Convention earlier this year, Dahal
neither mentioned the 1950 treaty nor did he raise the issue of Indian
interference in Nepal´s internal affairs, something his party used to
keep harping on. Let alone raising other irritating factors such as
border disputes, the issue of ´illegally operation´ of the Indian
embassy´s ´field office´ in Biratnagar --something his own party
colleague and former Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Narayan
Kaji Shrestha has been raising vociferously-- did not figure in any of
his meetings. The only thing he repeatedly said at different meetings
and forums during his stay in New Delhi is: "We are in the process of
learning. We want to move ahead by correcting the mistakes and
shortcomings we have had in the past."
All this substantiates a candid observation made recently by a senior
Indian foreign ministry official before Nepalese journalists. "Nepalese
politicians come to us not with the agenda of broader national interests
of Nepal, but often with petty personal and partisan interests."
Dahal apparently had no national agenda in hand and he had nothing to
say about how he wanted to redefine Nepal-India relations so that these
two countries can enjoy ´problem-free´ relations. What our leadership
must not forget is we do have certain issues with India and they need to
be resolved amicably without any further delay. This requires being
honest and frank in sharing the concerns we have and putting forth our
views to the Indian side for resolving them. Negotiations between the
two sides can eventually yield anamicable solutions to the problems. The
recent border incursion by Chinese security forces in India-held
Depsang Valley in the Ladakh region should be a lesson for both India
and Nepal that keeping border issues in status quo for long could only
breed problems and tensions in future.
It is high time India also pondered why there is so much of anti-Indian
sentiment in Nepal despite it being a great development partner. Many
critics in Nepal say the ´magnanimous´ India often falls short when it
comes to petty issues, giving grounds for ´nationalist´ elements to blow
the issue out of proportion. For instance, the Indian embassy´s ´field
office´ is currently one of the main issues for protest by various
agitating political parties in Nepal. The field office was set up to
facilitate vehicular movement through Indian territory when a section of
the road on the Nepal side was disrupted by the massive flood in 2008.
Though there was an agreement to close the office after the damaged road
section was repaired,the Indian side relocated that office to
Biratnagar and shown no sign of closing it even though the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs has twice written to it to close the office as this was
no longer necessary. There is also concern that India tends to
micro-manage developments in Nepal.
That neighbors ought to work together in a spirit of mutual
accommodation and that engagement is a two-way street are facts no one
can deny. Nepal and India should internalize these verities and act
accordingly in the days ahead. Nepal as a poor country sandwiched
between two emerging economic superpowers, can serve her larger
interests only by becoming good friends to both India and China and
playing a catalytic role in further enhancing "constructive cooperation"
between these two countries. India´s desire for the same can be
understood from the remarks of Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid to
visiting Nepalese journalists last week: "You [Nepal] be friends and
tell them [China] to be good to India also. And if you like to tell us
to be good to them, let us all be good to each other. But please do not
give them [China] anything that will hurt India." This will not only
ensure political stability and development in Nepal, but also in entire
South Asia. Also, it will eventually help realize the trilateral
cooperation that Nepal wishes to see. While centuries-old interaction at the level of the people has continued
to strengthen Nepal-India relations despite some occasional hiccups at
the political level, track II diplomacy has also played an equally
important role in cementing our ties. But what seems missing for further
enhancing our relations is direct communications between the Nepalese
and Indian political leadership.
Experience shows that communications through bureaucratic channels often
leave the Indian political leadership unable to properly understand the
issues Nepal has with India. Hence, there is a need on the part of the
Nepalese political leadership to cultivate friendship with Indian
leadership and develop personal relations. It is to be hoped that
Chairman Dahal and other senior Nepali politicians will be able to
develop better rapport with their Indian counterparts and use that
rapport not just for personal and partisan interests, but in the broader
interests of Nepal and the Nepalese people.
Seven years after the historic peace agreement, Nepal still struggles to restore peace
KOSH RAJ KOIRALA
Tulasa Pariyar, 23, joined the Maoists’ People’s Liberation Army (PLA)
when she was still in Grade VI at a local school in the remote district
of Rolpa. Not only did she drop her studies but also put everything,
including her family and personal life, at risk for the party she
joined.
The armed conflict formally came to an end in 2006 with the Seven Party
Alliance (SPA) and the CPN (Maoist) signing the historic Comprehensive
Peace Accord (CPA).
But this has failed to bring any respite in her personal life. Instead,
she’s now passing through a battle of a different form – a struggle to
live a decent life in society.
“We had a dream to win the whole world when we joined the Maoists. But the reality now is totally different,” says Pariyar.
Maoist combatants performing during a function organized to formally
bring them under Special Committee on January 22, 2011 in Shaktikhor,
Chitwan.
After signing of the CPA, Pariyar, like her comrades, began living in
the cantonment where she fell in love with and subsequently married a
boy from the Chhetri community with the Party’s consent. But as the
United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) ‘disqualified’ her later during
the verification process, only then Pariyar realized that her life was
actually battered.
Worse still, this mother of a two-year old son was also not accepted as
daughter-in-law in her new family as she is from a Dalit community.
“All I’ve known is how to use guns. I feel my life is ruined,” adds
frustrated Pariyar who has a strong feeling of rebellion against her own
party and the government.
Tulasa is a typical case in a point. As the integration process of the
Maoist army- a key component of the Peace Process – draws close to its
end, frustrations and disenchantment of the people who were either
directly part of the conflict or were subjected to sufferings, tortures
and loss of family members at the hand of the rebels or the state are
reaching their tipping point.
UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal (L) and then Prime Minister
Madhav Kumar Nepal exchanging an agreement at a function held in
Shaktikhor, Chitwan to bring former Maoist combatants under Special
Committee on January 22, 2011.
“There’s a wrong notion that the Peace Process is just about the
management of former Maoist combatants. But it in a real sense is
addressing various social problems that were created in the course of
the conflict,” says former Minister for Peace Rakam Chemjong who is now
Vice Chairman of the newly formed Federal Socialist Party.
The government formed a separate Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction
(MoPR) in April, 2007 in the aftermath of the signing of the CPA to
support the technical aspects of the Peace Process, including the
implementation of the provisions of the CPA both at political and
post-war reconstruction works at development level.
“The Ministry is doing all it’s mandated to do. Besides post-conflict
reconstruction and other peace-building initiatives, we’re also working
to addressing the concerns of conflict victims to ensure sustainable
peace in the country,” says newly appointed Peace Secretary Dharanidhar
Khatiwada who holds expertise in conflict management. The process will
further be expedited once the proposed Truth and Reconciliation
Commission (TRC) takes shape and starts its actual works.
But as political parties stand oddly over a provision of granting
general amnesty even to those involved in serious cases of human rights
violations during the conflict in the proposed ordinance on the TRC,
there are apprehensions as to whether the TRC would provide justice to
victims concerned in a real sense and contribute to establishing a
lasting peace in the country.
While some 17,831 people were killed, some 1,517 were disappeared, and
8,191 were rendered physically handicapped. Likewise, the number of
orphaned children has stood at 522; they are provided Rs 5,000 each as
monthly allowance, according to the MoPR.
Kiran Pun
Tulasa Pariyar with her son
Return of the unjustly seized properties
Return of the unjustly seized properties during the conflict to their
rightful owners and helping the displaced people in the conflict go back
home was one of the important agreement clauses reached at in the
12-point understanding, the CPA and subsequent agreements among
political parties. Victims, however, complain that little has been done
so far in this regard from the government as well the former rebel
party.
Though UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal himself reached Bardiya
at the end of 2011 to kick-start the process, a strong resistance from
the Mohan Baidya-led faction had left the plan aborted.
“Let alone the properties of ordinary public, my own property is yet to
be returned despite repeated assurances from local administration and
top leadership of the Maoist Party,” rues NC Central Working Committee
(CWC) member K B Gurung whose properties were unjustly seized by the
Maoists during the conflict. All land belonging to Gurung’s family in
Danabari VDC is unjustly seized by Maoist cadres since 2002.
Former Peace Minister Chemjong said though the government provided some
relief to displaced conflict victims, it’s yet to provide them with
reparation and compensation. What’s worse is there’s no exact data in
the first place as to how many people were actually displaced during the
conflict. While one report suggested that there were 72,000 displaced
persons, another report prepared by a task force showed the number to be
102,000.
Post-conflict reconstruction of destroyed infrastructures
However, there have been remarkable achievements at the front of
reconstructing physical infrastructures, including government buildings
destroyed during the conflict.
“We’ve already handed over 2,896 buildings after their reconstruction.
Many others are currently under construction,” said Deputy Spokesperson
at the MoPR Prem Prasad Sanjel.
Though government data shows that only 5,560 buildings were destroyed
during the conflict, unofficial data put the number to over 7,000.
Officials said the MoPR completed construction 99 destroyed police
buildings through partner ministries and another 171 destroyed police
outposts in different parts of the country are currently in construction
phase. The Peace Trust Fund, a joint government-donor initiative, has
already invested Rs 14.47 billion for 55 various such projects in four
major thematic areas so far.
Sanjel said preliminary estimation put the loss of physical properties
incurred during the conflict at Rs two billion. “But the estimation
appears to have been so while taking into account the value of the
properties at the given time. The amount of loss, if we take account at
the current value, will reach far higher,” he added.
Management of ‘disqualified,’ ‘voluntary retired’ combatants
From the time the former Maoist combatants began living in seven main
cantonments and 21 satellite cantonments across the country, the MoPR
had taken the responsibility to oversee the management of the former
combatants as part of the CPA. While 19,602 were verified by the UNMIN,
4,008 other combatants living in the cantonments were released later
by the UNMIN saying they were ‘disqualified.’ The management of the
former combatants is now over with 1,444 of those verified combatants
choosing to go for integration with Nepal Army, 13,822 others for
voluntary retirement with cash package, and the remaining six combatants
opting for rehabilitation.
According to expenditure details submitted by the MoPR to the Special
Committee, altogether Rs 15.02 billion was spent for the management of
former Maoist combatants who started living in various cantonments after
the CPA. While Rs 9.61 billion was spent from state coffers, the
remaining Rs 5.41 billion was covered by the Peace Fund consisting of
amounts donated by various donor countries.
But as the disqualified combatants started staging protests, the
Ministry took a decision to also provide cash incentives to them. “We
are currently providing identity cards to those disqualified by the
UNMIN,” said officials at MoPR. Though there was an agreement to provide
Rs 200,000 each of the disqualified combatants, the process has been
stopped by a verdict from the Supreme Court.
Bolstering peace through negotiation with disgruntled groups
Emergence of armed groups after the end of violent armed conflicts is
considered a natural phenomenon. Taking advantage of fragile law and
order situation after a political transition in the country, dozens of
armed groups created havoc in various parts of the country, mainly in
the southern plain areas.
“The Ministry held negotiations with 54 armed groups that have already
come to mainstream peaceful politics after renouncing violence.
Altogether, 151 various kinds of weapons were received from those
groups,” Deputy Spokesperson Sanjel further said. “This has helped
improve law and order situation in the country and made all places in
the country equally livable in view of security situation.”
Peace and reconciliation at local level
With the objective of promoting reconciliation and peace at the local
level, the MoPR initiated formation of peace committees comprising
members of all major political parties at the VDC and the district
levels.
“We’ve already formed such peace committees in 2,162 of the total 3,914
VDCs and 29 of the total 58 municipalities and district level peace
committees in all 75 districts,” said Joint Secretary at MoPR, Laxmi
Kumari Basnet who heads the Peace Mechanism Coordination Division. These
committees have also helped fill the vacuum that exists in the absence
of elected representatives in local bodies.
Way ahead
As there are concerns raised from opposition parties that the cash
incentives were provided only to the leaders and cadres associated with
then rebel party, former minister Chemjong said there must be
impartiality in all the works of the MoPR, including while providing
compensation and reparation to conflict victims.
“And since the Peace Ministry is formed exclusively to assist the Peace
Process, the Ministry should be further strengthened as restoring
sustainable peace still has a long way to go in the country,” he further
said.
Though the issues of reparation and compensation to conflict victims
and reconstruction of demolished infrastructure and income generating
skills and opportunities for former combatants and conflict victims are
important elements of the Peace Process, experts argue that sustainable
peace in the country will also depend largely on whether political
parties show real commitment to address serious cases of human rights
violations during the conflict.
“The society could relapse to another form of conflict if the cases of
serious human rights violations aren’t addressed properly,” says Bishnu
Sapkota who has been working for conflict transformation and peace
process in Nepal. This depends on the commitment and willpower of the
political leadership.
Peace process does not end with integration: Dharanidhar Khatiwada, Secretary, MoPR
Many people tend to question the
relevance of MoPR, arguing that the Peace Process is already completed
with the integration of former Maoist combatants in the Nepal Army. Any
comment on this?
This is absolutely a wrong notion. The Peace Process doesn’t come to an
end with just the integration of former combatants. To put in other
words, peace building is more than just a post-conflict reconstruction.
It emerges through a complex phenomenon involving a full array of
processes, approaches and stages and signifies a range of activities and
structures before, during and after formal peace agreement between
signatory parties.
What plans has the MoPR implemented for relief and rehabilitation of conflict victims?
We’ve launched a relief and rehabilitation project to provide people
directly or indirectly affected by the conflict. These include widows,
families of the deceased, displaced persons, martyrs’ families and
financial support to the conflict victims. A total of 152,445 people
have been identified for claims under these heads. Of them, 80,277 have
already received Rs 48.91 million. Likewise, a separate US$50 million
worth of Emerging Peace Support Project is being implemented by the MoPR
under International Development Association (IDA) with an objective to
provide interim cash transfers and services to eligible
conflict-affected groups.
Are there any works being done to manage conflict situation in the country?
We have a separate division working for this at the Ministry. This has
actively taken part in the various negotiations and talks not only in
the resolution of the conflict but also to promote the overall Peace
Process. Its major project of Mine Action initiated by the Peace Fund
Secretariat has reached completion. Also, it held talks with various
disgruntled groups, including armed groups operating in various parts of
the country.
What do you think needs to be done to make the Peace Ministry effective in its works?
The MoPR has a very broad and challenging mandate involving technical
and development tasks as well as peace policymaking mandates.
Particularly the latter ones, including mainstreaming of peace-related
policies into other ministries, form a substantial challenge. In the
given environment of the ongoing Peace Process and the setup of
government institutions, the MoPR has limited convening power and at the
same time needs to rely on other ministries to implement its programs.
This has resulted in a
gap between the mandate and actual functions and activities.
NEW DELHI, April 24: At
a time when top leadership of the UCPN (Maoist) has been pushing the
idea of ´trilateral cooperation´ model in Nepal, India has
cold-shouldered the proposal, saying India and China still need more
time to ´discover each other´ to make that a reality.
Indian Minister for External Affairs Salman Khurshid said though India
and China have been working together multilaterally and bilaterally in
various areas over the past several years they have yet to reach to the
level where they can work trilaterally.
"We still have not reached to the level that we can work trilaterally
everywhere. In some places we have worked with China multilaterally; we
have worked with China bilaterally. But it may be still too early
thinking or working trilaterally [with China]," he said.
The remark by Indian Foreign Minister Khurshid comes in the wake UCPN
(Maoist) Chairman Dahal, who is scheduled to visit India on April 27-28,
proposing during his recent meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping
in Beijing for trilateral cooperation for the development of Nepal.
Dahal had even proposed developing Lumbini and Chisapani hydropower
projects jointly by India, Nepal and China in his meeting with President
Xi in the Great Hall of the People.
Talking to a group of visiting Nepali journalists at his office in South
Block on Tuesday, Minister Khurshid said India and China are currently
in the process of discovering each other and studying whether they can
work trilaterally after the bitter war they fought in 1962. "We are
still in the process of discovering China. China is in the process of
discovering India. As we discover each other and we learn to work
together in a relationship, we still have to see whether this can now be
taken to a level of working multilaterally and trilaterally or
bilaterally," he said.
While responding a query from journalists as to what does India think
about Dahal´s proposal, Khurshid indicated that India is not keen on the
trilateral cooperation model mainly due to China´s relations with
Pakistan. "China has its friend Pakistan also. We have some problems
with Pakistan. We are not saying China should not be friends with
Pakistan. But we are saying to China please don´t give Pakistan any
encouragement to be hostile toward India," he further said.
Khurshid said that India is more than happy to work bilaterally with
both Nepal and China, but not on trilateral basis yet. "You [Nepal] be
friend and tell them [China] to be good to India also. And if you like
to tell us to be good to them, let us all be good to each other. But
please do not give them anything that will hurt India," he said. "This
is the conversation we have with China. This is I said discovery process
between us and the process of evolving relationship."
However, Khurshid cautiously added that such a cooperation model may be
possible in future should the relations between India and China go
straight and China stopped giving any encouragement to Pakistan to be
hostile against India. "But I am not saying no. I am saying that this is
a process we must discover. We want this to reach the level where this
can become reality," he added. "Whereas right now it is only a vision,
something some people want done."
On the occasion, Minister Khurshid said that India has given high
priority to the relations with Nepal and that India is closely watching
and supporting Nepal to help it come out from the political transition.
While adding that India wishes to see Nepal holding fresh Constituent
Assembly election at the earliest and promulgating a new constitution,
he said that federalism as a means of decentralization could help Nepal
to its endeavor for prosperity and progress.
When asked if India had ´cornered´ its traditional allies Nepali
Congress and CPN-UML, Khurshid said India does not have policy to do
anything such to the political parties in Nepal and it is for the people
of Nepal by means of election to decide to the strength and recognition
to individual political party. He said that issues of mutual interests
concerning the two countries and political development taking place in
Nepal will be discussed during the visit of Maoist Chairman Dahal in
India.
KOSH RAJ KOIRALA NEW DELHI, April 23:
Brushing aside the allegations that India is putting ‘undue pressure’
on the Nepali political leadership to have only one or two provinces in
Tarai-Madhes region, Indian Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai on Monday
said India is ready to accept any decision Nepal takes on federalism.
Talking to a group of Nepali journalists at his office in South Block,
Secretary Mathai said India has a policy of supporting whatever decision
Nepali people take on future federal setup in Nepal. “…whatever
decision is taken it has to be sustainable decision. That decision can
be sustainable only if political parties have consensus on it. What
India thinks or other countries think is not going to be lasting,” he
said.
Secretary Mathai also clarified that India does not have any federal
model that Nepalis have to follow. “It is up to the Nepali people to
decide through their related representatives what model they would like
and whatever model they accept we will be happy to work with Nepal,” he
further said.
The remarks of Secretary Mathai come amid allegations from a section of
political parties in Nepal that India has been putting undue pressure on
Nepali political leadership not to have more than two provinces across
the southern plains bordering India.
Indian Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai (File Photo: Google)
There had been widespread protests in Kathmandu after an Indian consular
based in Birgunj reportedly asked local level political leaders to
launch a movement against the decisions of major parties to go for
several provinces in Tarai-Madhes weeks before the dissolution of the
Constituent Assembly (CA) in early April 2012.
“In fact, whatever is the consensus that emerges through the Constituent
Assembly elected by people directly and whatever compromise is worked
out among the major parties and they finally come to some conclusion,
that has to be the basis for going forward,” he said.
Secretary Mathai also took note of the ‘anti-India’ protests that a
section of Nepali political parties are engaged in with reference to
federalism. “On our bilateral relations, there is no issue. And I don’t
think there should be any basis for anti-India feeling on this
[federalism] issue. We have repeatedly said whatever is the wish of
Nepali people we will respect it,” he further said.
When asked about Indian embassy’s field office in Biratnagar, which the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) in Kathmandu claimed was opened
without due process, Joint Secretary (North) at the Ministry of
External Affairs (MEA) Akhilesh Mishra said they will do the needful.
“We are also aware of some requests Nepal government has made. We will
take up the issue,” said Mishra, who accompanied Secretary Mathai in the
meeting with Nepali journalists.
The Indian embassy had opened a ‘field office’ near the Koshi Barrage to
provide ‘permits’ to Nepali vehicles in the aftermath of a breach in
the Koshi embankment at Kushaha, Sunsari district on August 18, 2008.
The office was relocated to Biratnagar without consent from the
government after the broken road section was repaired a few months
later.
The newly-formed Mohan Baidya-led CPN-Maoist, which is leading an
alliance of various 33 parties that are taking to the streets against
the proposed elections by the chief justice-led poll government, has
made closure of the ‘illegally’ operating field office of Indian embassy
in Biratnagar as one of its several demands.
Secretary Mathai said the issue can be discussed in the foreign ministry
and resolved amicably. “We have got a long-long experience of other
countries opening embassy in our country. We have always done in
accordance with the wishes of the host country. These are matters which
can be discussed in detail in the foreign ministry,” Mathai said.
Mathai said India is eagerly waiting to see Nepal government announce
date for fresh election. He said they can start holding consultation
with the political leadership to hold the long-pending meeting of Nepal
India Joint Commission at the earliest possible date once the poll date
is announced. The joint commission is the highest-level bilateral
mechanism, which is mandated to discuss and take decisions on whole
gamut of issues between Nepal and India such as economic cooperation,
trade, transit and water resources.
Justice delayed is justice denied. Yet, the family
members of the slain Lamjung-based school teacher Mukti Nath Adhikari
never lost their hope that they would eventually get justice. The
desperate hope for justice was only boosted when the top leadership of
various political parties assured them that proposed Truth and
Reconciliation Commission (TRC) as agreed upon among parties as part of
the broader peace agreements in 2006 would address their concerns.
Slain Adhikari, the headmaster of local Panini Sanskrit Secondary School
in Duradanda, Lamjung, was abducted by a group of Maoist cadres from
the classroom he was teaching in and brutally murdered him after walking
him for about 20 minutes from the school on January 16, 2002.
Both his hands tied behind the back, the kidnappers
first tied him against an alder tree with his muffler and shot him
several times before making indiscriminate attacks with knife on his
chest to leave him to die.
Almost seven years after the historic peace process began in the
country, an ordinance relating to the formation of TRC was passed on
March 14 and the much-awaited TRC is in the process of formation now.
But this development has hardly brought any cheers to the Adhikari
family. Instead, this has only faded their hopes for justice. "We had
pinned great hope in the TRC. But as the ordinance has been introduced
with provisions to grant general amnesty even to those involved in
serious cases of human rights violations, this has only aggravated our
pain," said Suman Adhikari, the eldest son of the slain Mukti Nath.
Adhikari also expressed strong disenchantment over the attempt by the
government to give false impression that conclusion of the army
integration process had marked the end of the peace process. "The most
important element of the peace process is to provide justice to the
civilian victims of the conflict. Political parties appear to have
ignored this critical aspect of the peace process," complained Adhikari,
who is also the chairman of Conflict Victims Orphans Society-Nepal
(CVOS-N).
Adhikari family is just a case in point. Thousands of civilian victims
and their family members, who were subjected to torture and killings
either at the hands of state security personnel or at the hands of the
rebel Maoists are disappointed with the proposed TRC. Various
controversial provisions that seek to grant amnesty even to those
involved in serious crimes during the conflict have not only
disappointed the conflict victims.
Though there is no exact data, it is estimated that nearly 10,000
civilians were killed, over 1,400 people disappeared and nearly 5,000
were subjected to inhumane treatment. Likewise, properties of over 6,000
families were unjustly seized and some 80,000 people were displaced
from their villages in the course of the decade-long conflict. Failure
on the part of the political parties and the government to do anything
specific to address these scars of the violent conflict has made the
conflict victims greatly disappointed.
Not only has this ordinance left conflict victims unhappy, civil
society, human rights community both within and outside Nepal and the
international community that has been extending support to Nepal are
equally skeptic whether the proposed TRC ordinance would be able to
deliver justice to the conflict victims. "While respecting genuine
concerns of the conflict victims, we have decided not to support this
perpetrator-friendly TRC," said Chairman of Accountability Watch
Committee (AWC) Sushil Pyakurel.
Formed with an objective to make collective initiatives to ensure
accountability, the AWC consists of prominent civil society leaders,
human rights activists, lawyers and conflict victims. Organizing a press
conference last month, the AWC has expressed strong reservation for
failing to ensure participation of conflict victims and concerned
stakeholders while making agreement on the TRC ordinances.
While concluding that the proposed TRC not only flouts the spirit of the
Comprehensive Peace Accord and the Interim Constitution but also the
various verdicts made by the Supreme Court, the AWC has demanded that
the provisions in the TRC be amended in line with the international
standards and selection process of the commissioners in the TRC be made
transparent. The body has also expressed reservations over the
controversial provision in the TRC to make forceful reconciliation and
that TRC is mandated to give general amnesty even to those involved in
cases of serious human rights violations.
Likewise, the failure of the TRC to clearly spell out the issues
concerning reparation as well as restitution and 35-day statute of
limitation have equally become the matters of contention. What has made
the rights group and victims additionally worried, is whether the
proposed TRC would be able to function independently since all the
commissioners are supposed to be appointed through ´unanimous´ decisions
of the political parties that are represented in the High Level
Political Committee (HLPC). "We have serious doubt if the commissioners
appointed thus can work independently and provide justice to the
victims," says transitional justice lawyer Gobinda Bandi.
Though the ordinance provides a list of nine kinds of serious human
rights violations, there is no section in the ordinance that makes the
perpetrators of crimes listed under Section 2 of the ordinance culpable.
Likewise, the TRC has been asked to work under the Ministry of Peace
and Reconstruction, instead of making it directly answerable to the
government or the president -- something which makes it difficult for
the conflict victims to get justice. The provisions set in the Section
22 to 29, according to rights workers and victims, clearly expose the
mala-fide intention to eventually grant general amnesty to even those
involved in serious cases of human rights violations during the
conflict.
The enraged victims and human rights lawyers even went on to knock at
the doors of the Supreme Court against the TRC ordinance. While the apex
court has already issued interim order against the ordinance and the
next hearing is scheduled for May 2, diplomatic community, especially
the European Union, has expressed strong reservations over the
controversial provisions in the TRC. The EU envoys in their meeting with
newly-appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs Madhav Ghimire last month
clearly put across their concerns.
And echoing the concerns similar to the EU envoys, the UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights Navy Pillay has also expressed similar
concerns through a press statement. While cautioning that the provision
of general amnesty in the TRC will not only deny justice to the conflict
victims, but also vitiate the environment for moving toward peace, she
said, "Such amnesties would not only violate core principles under
international law but would also weaken the foundation for a genuine and
lasting peace in Nepal."
But political leaders, who were directly involved in the process of
formulating TRC ordinance, dismiss all the allegations made by the
rights workers and conflict victims. They argue that there had been
wide-ranging consultations with different stakeholders before making
agreement on the TRC provisions. "We are forming TRC as the existing
justice system in the country failed to provide justice for the victims.
The TRC should not be compared with regular justice system," said UCPN
(Maoist) leader and advocate Khim Lal Devkota, who was closely involved
in the negotiations on TRC ordinance. "This is fully in line with the
international standards."
As parties quietly plan to make preparations to form the TRC and
Disappearance Commission while convincing the disgruntled conflict
victims, civil society members and the international community, the
coming days will be crucial to watch for as to what verdict the Supreme
Court will issue and how the parties will then move ahead with the
formation of these Commissions as per the 11-point political agreement
reached last month. But what everyone including the political
leaderships must acknowledge is these Commissions would bear no meaning
if they failed to address the genuine concerns of civilian victims, who
bore the brunt of the conflict even as they apparently had nothing to do
with it.
-----
“I pity those who think TRC is a punishment mechanism” Khim Lal Devkota Advocate Khim Lal Devkota, who was
UCPN (Maoist) lawmaker in the erstwhile CA, was involved the inter-party
negotiations in the drafting process of TRC ordinance.
There are allegations that the proposed
TRC grants general amnesty even to those involved in serious human
rights violations. What do you say on this?
This is a baseless allegation. There is nothing such in the TRC draft.
Those who have been making this kind of allegations have either not gone
through the TRC ordinance or they harbor some kind of prejudices
against this. And if they are really putting such allegation, they have
not understood the very spirit of transitional justice. Transitional
justice is not regular justice system. It is wrong to compare
transitional justice with the regular justice system. It would have been
fair enough had they said that TRC fails to address the root cause of
the conflict. So the allegations made against TRC are superficial and
prejudiced.
Some people are even saying that the TRC does not meet international standards?
Nearly three dozen countries in the world have adopted TRC in the post
conflict situation. They were formed in different names such as Truth
Commission, Fact Finding Commission and similar other names. Each of
these countries had different forms of Commissions to address
transitional justice. Since it is related to the root causes of
conflict, TRC as such cannot be similar in all countries. The root cause
of conflict is different in each country and so is the type of TRC.
Civilian victims of conflicts have complained that TRC ignores their concerns.
I don’t buy this allegation either. The TRC has absolutely taken care of
the concerns of civilian victims. We have done our best to address
their concerns. The TRC we are working to form is probably one of the
best in the world. The TRC ordinance is probably the most widely
consulted ordinance in Nepal. The bills relating to the TRC and
Disappearance Commission were initially presented at the parliament
following wide-ranging consultations. The content of the TRC ordinance
is the same in the newly-introduced TRC ordinance.
But there are concerns that TRC gives amnesty even to those involved in serious crimes?
There are certain core elements of transitional justice. I pity those
who think TRC is a punishment mechanism. They have either not understood
the essence of transitional justice or are pretending to have known
about it. I have nothing to say to those who have willingly chosen to
not understand the core values of transitional justice.
Of course, some rights workers have made baseless allegations that the
TRC has a provision to grant blanket amnesty. The ordinance aims at
reconciliation and includes reparation, prosecution and amnesty. If they
think that there should not be the provision of amnesty at all, I think
they have not understood the spirit of transitional justice.
----
“This is rather an Amnesty Ordinance” Advocate Govinda Bandi is working on issues related to impunity and transitional justice in Nepal.
Human rights community was very much
optimistic that TRC would address past human rights violations. But you
all seem to have been miffed at it now?
We were heavily involved in the preparations of the bills relating to
the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Disappearance Commission.
Human rights community and victims across the country were consulted in
the course of preparing the bills in the erstwhile parliament. The TRC
and Disappearance Commission formed on the basis of those bills would
have guaranteed non-occurrence of these types of crimes and prepared
record of the conflict-era crimes. Now both the bills have been put into
a single ordinance with so much modification so the essence is missing.
Next important thing is that this ordinance does not criminalize
torture, disappearances and crimes against humanity. Even if competent
persons with good moral integrity are sent to the TRC, victims won’t be
able to get justice due to lack of necessary legislations to deal with
such crimes. This ordinance is not in line with the verdicts made by the
Supreme Court on various occasions in the past, let alone conforming to
different human rights instruments.
What do you think are the weaknesses of this TRC ordinance?
The TRC ordinance introduced as a part of the opaque political deal has
several shortcomings. Firstly, this ordinance gives TRC amnesty powers
--something TRC should not be given. Secondly, this ordinance gives
mandate to grant amnesty even to the individuals involved in serious
cases human rights violations. As per international practice in the TRC
there cannot be amnesty for serious crimes. Another serious thing it has
is it sets only 35 days for statute of limitation. This is virtually
impossible for victims, who live in far flung areas of the country, to
file cases against their perpetrators within the given time period.
Moreover, the TRC does not mention specifically about reparation and
restitution. It has a concept of forced reconciliations. Above all, we
have a serious doubt whether the TRC formed through a ´political
consensus´ in the High Level Political Committee would function
independently and provide justice to the victims concerned. It would be
good to rename the ordinance as Amnesty Ordinance rather than TRC
ordinance.
Since you are also an active member of
Accountability Watch Committee that has been protesting against the
proposed TRC, what do you plan to stop this?
We cannot support the TRC to be formed under this controversial
ordinance. We cannot cooperate to this either. This process cannot move
ahead without the cooperation of victims, human rights community and
civil society members. The success of TRC depends on the cooperation
from all stakeholders concerned. This cannot be regarded as a credible
process until TRC receives support from the human rights community,
victims and other concerned parties. And such a TRC won´t get
recognition from the international community as well. UN Office of the
High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN-OHCHR) has already said it cannot
accept the proposed TRC. Since international support is a must to
implement the decisions of the TRC, the proposed TRC will fail. We have
already moved the Supreme Court against the ordinance and it has already
issued stay order against it.
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Diplomatic code to regulate meetings with foreigners
KOSH RAJ KOIRALA
KATHMANDU, March 5: The
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) is all set to introduce an amended
Diplomatic Code of Conduct with an objective of bringing it in line with
international standards.
The Diplomatic Code of Conduct 2013, once endorsed by a cabinet meeting
scheduled later this week, will bring under its jurisdiction the prime
minister, ministers and other top leaders including officer-bearers of
political parties and incumbent as well as former government official
above the rank of gazetted first class.
The code will not only make it mandatory for them to receive prior
permission from MoFA but also require them to be briefed by MoFA
officials on the tentative agenda the foreign dignitaries want to
discuss with them.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha said
MoFA finalized the draft code of conduct submitted by a technical
committee for cabinet approval.
The committee formed under Deputy Prime Minister Shrestha included Home
Secretary Nabin Kumar Ghimire, Foreign Secretary Durga Prasad Bhattarai
and Law Secretary Bhesh Raj Sharma. A meeting held at MoFA on Sunday
finalized the new code for cabinet approval after a series of
discussions and necessary revisions.
MoFA in August 2011 had first introduced the Diplomatic Code of Conduct
2011 in the wake of controversy over the meetings of the prime minister,
ministers and other senior government officials with foreigners.
The new code also makes it mandatory for political parties to form a
separate protocol section and keep records of matters that transpire at
meetings with foreign dignitaries. The parties will be required to
provide details of the things that transpire at meetings with foreign
dignitaries, as and when demanded by the government bodies concerned.
This code will be applicable to meetings with INGO officials also.
Party leaders and former and incumbent government officials will now be
required to take into consideration the protocol requirements of persons
they are holding meetings with.
Officials involved in the preparation of the code said the government is
mulling a specific venue meant for former government officials to hold
such meetings.
However, the protocol issue won´t be applicable for courtesy calls and farewell calls.
The new Diplomatic Code of Conduct likewise aims at restricting the
movement of foreign diplomats based in Kathmandu. “Once the new Code of
Conduct is brought into implementation, their movements would be
regulated,” said a MoFA official involved in the preparation of the new
code.
“I pity those who think TRC is a punishment mechanism”
“This is rather an Amnesty Ordinance”