Efter flere års forsøg på forsoning i konflikten mellem maoister og andre politiske kræfter ser det nu ud til, at en sandheds- og forsoningskommission ser dagens lys. Politisk uenighed om amnesti kan dog afspore processen.
KATHMANDU, 17 February 2014 (IRIN): Victims of Nepal’s armed conflict from 1996 to 2006 have expressed the hope that a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) could finally become a reality under the country’s new Constituent Assembly (CA) and prime minister.
“There is finally a good opportunity for the TRC after all these years. Let us hope that our parliamentarians do a better job of making it happen,” said Suman Adhikari, 34, president of the Conflict Victims Orphan Society, a network of victims and families.
His father, Muktinath, was 45 years old when he was tied to a tree and shot in the head by Maoist rebels in Duradanda village in Lamjung District, about 300 km southwest of the capital, an execution that shocked the nation.
Nepal had been under a caretaker government led by former Maoist rebels since May 2012. In the assembly elected in 2008 after the monarchy was abolished, the former Maoist rebels had held a majority of seats, but after years of political stalemate, the NC, the country’s oldest party, gained a majority in the election on 19 November 2013, winning 196 of the 601 seats in the CA.
Despite opposition by the Unified Communist Party of Nepal, the pro-monarchist Rastriya Prajatantra Party, and a number of smaller parties, the newly established assembly elected Sushil Koirala (75), president of the Nepali Congress (NC) party, as prime minister on 10 February.
Et spørgsmål om amnesti
One of the most contentious (omstridte) issues in the 2006 Comprehensive Peace Accord, brokered by the UN, was the matter of setting up a TRC, which has not been established due to political infighting over the question of impunity.
The process of drafting a bill to establish a TRC began in 2007, but from the outset it has been fraught with problems and controversies, often focused on granting a blanket amnesty and giving the Attorney General, a political appointee, too much power over decisions to prosecute or not.
Then, in a major victory for victims and their families, the Nepal Supreme Court decreed on 2 January that a blanket amnesty in serious cases of human rights violations would be unacceptable.
“This verdict is a good sign, but now it is again up to the parliamentarians and their parties in power, who should take up their responsibilities and be more accountable,” said Mandira Sharma, a prominent lawyer in the Advocacy Forum, a national NGO. Sharma is one of the leading advocates of the TRC and has played significant role in fighting political impunity.
According to the Nepal National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), more than 17.000 people were killed in the conflict, while thousands more were tortured.
Over 3.000 cases of severe human rights abuse have been registered with the NHRC, and around 850 cases of enforced disappearance have also been registered and are under investigation.
“The peace process will remain incomplete if the severe crimes committed during the armed conflict are not addressed, and justice is not provided to the victims,” said Bed Prasad Adhikari, NHRC’s top official.
Læs hele artiklen her:
http://www.irinnews.org/report/99662/nepal-s-renewed-hope-for-truth-and-reconciliation
Læs mere om Nepal her:
http://www.u-landsnyt.dk/nyhed/21-02-14/nepal-det-glemte-land
http://www.u-landsnyt.dk/nyhed/10-02-14/nepal-b-redygtig-energi-skaber-udvikling-i-landdis
