TADA
For Peace
WHEN the Terrorist and
Disruptive Act (TADA) (Control and Punishment) bill was passed by the State Affairs
Committee of the parliament on Wednesday after an extensive three-day debate, it was a
foregone conclusion that the bill would turn into an Act Thursday. That happened when the
House of Representatives, with a majority of votes, endorsed the bill that replaces the
ordinance issued in November. The now-passed bill is an improved version on the original
proposal, and now includes legitimate concerns of members of parliament from across the
political lines. Several important changes were incorporated on advice from many members
of parliament before it was put to the table for vote. With the TADA now in place, it is
the duty of all the political parties to allow the government to implement the Act in
letter and spirit. Not only that, the political parties have to rally around the
government to make sure that TADA is implemented well with the singular objective of
restoring law and order in the country which has seen destructive and murderous activities
of the Maoists continuing with no let-up.
The fact that TADA has
a life-span of only two years is a reflection of the attitude of the government that it
does not favour keeping in place a tool for fighting terrorism for a longer time than is
necessary. Similarly, many provisions of TADA ensure that it is basically targeted only at
terrorists and not to anyone else. As Minister for Physical Planning, Construction and
Works Chiranjibi Wagle said before the vote, the bill would cause no harm whatsoever to
the people’s representatives, political parties and people respecting the
Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal. The Act was necessary to, as he put it, tame the
Maoists and to save the lives and property of the people. The Act also allows compensation
for victims of either security forces or Maoists. The fact that the Act provides for the
formation of a committee headed by a former justice of the Supreme Court to hear the
grievances of the victims signals the government’s desire to ensure that human rights
of the common people do not come under the crossfire of the battle against terrorism. As
to the debate on whether it was necessary or not, what all Nepalese should understand is
that TADA is born of the circumstances we are all living in now. For the government, which
is pressing into service a huge amount of manpower and other resources to fight the
terror, TADA gives it a tool to conduct the task more effectively and restore law and
order. In other words, TADA is weapon for peace.
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