COMMENT

Talking with the Maoists

The Nepal Communist Party (Maoists), just observed the fifth anniversary of the violent People’s War which they started back in February 1996. There were rising fear all around that the anniversary would be a violent affair with the insurgents showing off their strength. This did prove true in some parts of the country, specially in those districts where the Maoists have been most active in the past few years. According to reports, some bombs were exploded, posters and pamphlets distributed and the Maoist flags hoisted at different places, including some areas in Kathmandu. However amidst much fear of the insurgents and beefed up security measures, there are some positive indications that government-Maoist talks may be held after all. Though at the same time, many observers express the opinion that such talks will not come with the initiative of the high level committee formed by the present government to resolve the insurgency problem. Such intellectuals and even some leaders considered to having sympathy for the Maoists, express the view that the Maoists would talk with government representatives only through the mediation of respected human rights activists.

This speculation of the government and the insurgents holding talks, came after General Secretary of the NCP (Maoists), Prachanda in his statement on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the People’s War; said that it was no problem to hold talks with the government if it created a “minimum environment” for such dialogue to take place. However it is still unclear as to what the Maoists mean by “minimum environment”. Yet, this overture from the rebels must be taken positively by the government. They must use their resources and contacts to find out what the Maoists leaders want, hold talks and end the senseless violence that has taken so many lives. This is no time to sit on the fence and feel that brute force will be enough to quell the insurgency movement. The nation cannot afford to have such a violent political activity taking place, when the government should have been focusing all its attention on development activities for the welfare of the people. It can be hoped that the present overture of the Maoists is really the light at the end of the tunnel, which will guide the nation away from the carnage it has seen in the last couple of years.

Attention to human rights

The announcement by the government to implement the report submitted by the task force delegated for recommending organisational structure and draft regulation concerning National Human Rights Commission could not have come earlier. Abuse of human rights in Nepal has been a matter of rising concern for a long time now. The issue has come to light once again in the wake of resurgent activities by the Maoists.

Human lives have been put at stake with total disregard. Many innocent lives have been lost caught in the cross fire between the police and the insurgents. Hundreds of killings have taken place and many incidents shrugged off as just another attack by the outlaws. Terror has driven its roots among the common people. Before demoralisation sets in deep and violence becomes a way of life in this land which once was an epitome of peace and harmony; the government and the people must act to stop this macabre drama.

The regulators of law, the police need to be sensitised on the importance of human rights. Brutality does not encourage law and order, in fact it instigates further recrimination. The hand of law should have a human eye and a heart as well. The law makers and the law keepers need to learn to have respect for human life. It is no use turning away from the problem and pretend it does not exist.

 Human rights is a burning issue in Nepal today and it needs to be addressed now - before it gets out of hand. There has been a warning from Amnesty International that Nepal is courting a human rights disaster in the midst of the infighting between the government and the Maoists. The recent vow made by the PM is hopefully a sign of better things to come. Perhaps with the promises that are kept in time, the image of our country as the land of Buddha will soon be restored.

Curtail on freedom of movement

Freedom of movement was curtailed in Pakistan even when the elected civilian government of Nawaz Sharif was in power. Incidents have been recorded by human rights groups. Now it can be expected that the situation is even worse under military rule. Below are given some examples of how movement of individuals was retricted by the government in the last couple of years.

Restraints were placed on the movement of a number of persons by administrative orders. In many cases the restriction applied to travelling out of Pakistan. But there were also constraints on some on movement within the country. Normally no explanations were offered except when a complaint was taken to the courts. The purpose often seemed to be political, but that was almost never the reason given.

Travel abroad
The movement most curbed was travel out of the country. The official instrument created for this came down from the time of Gen Ziaul Haq’s military rule. In a judgement in 1996 the Lahore High Court had held the Exit from Pakistan (Control) Ordinance as violative of several of the fundamental rights guaranteed by the constitution. The law however not only stayed on in the field it was one of the most frequently used provisions.

Close to two housand names remained on the Exit Control List (ECL) during the year. They were mostly politicians of the opposition People’s Party and later of the MQM, bureaucrats who were in senior positions during the PPP rule, and businessmen believed to have been associated with and benefited from that rule. The majority of them were said to have been barred from travel abroad on the directive of the ehtisab bureau (earlier called ehtisab cell) operating from the prime minister’s secretariat under a businessman-cum-senator belonging to the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (MPL).

The justification for these people’s being bound within the country was apparently the ongoing investigations into suspected malpractices by the former prime minister Benizir Bhutto and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari. They might be needed for help in that investigation. The restraint was seen by opposition leaders as one of the ways of harassment used to collect ‘evidence’ against them.

Early in the year, the interior minister told parliament that ECL would be shortened to the minimum number. There were other official assurances of a review  of the list. But it turned out that the ministry’s letters to the ehtisab bureau and the provincial governments to reconsider justification for continuance of their recommendees on the list mostly remained unanswered. In the event therefore nothing much in that area happened through the year. It was believed that between the interior minister and the ehtisab bureau chief, the latter always prevailed. At one time, in March it was even reported that the decision to have some 250 businessmen and industrialists removed from the list had to be promptly withdrawn soon after it was taken.

PPP chairperson was off-loaded in Karachi on Dec 28 when she was boarding for Dubai to spend Eid with her children. The chief of the ehtisab bureau later said that this was done at this direction since Ms Bhutto’s absence would have delayed the court cases against her. Two days later on a petition from her lawyers LHC ruled that there could be no ban on her travel.

Some other instances:
* The passport of PPP Senator Gulzar Ahmad’s wife was impounded. She petitioned the court that she was not in politics nor was there any criminal case against her; and that she was ill and had to go abroad for treatment. The court ordered return of her passport.

* Early  in January, Bhutto’s press secretary, Farhatullah Babar, learnt from the press that he had been put on ECL. He petitioned the court that there was no case against him. His name was then removed from ECL but again brought back. He was still on ECL at the end of the year.

* Former petroleum minister Anwar Saifullah obtained one-month permission from the court to go on umra, but later Peshwar High Court rejected his plea for removal of his name from ECL. He appealed to the supreme court and his name was finally removed six months later, in June.

* Early in March all the 14 MNAs of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) were put on ECL.

* Benazir and Asif Zardari’s counsel and former deputy attorney-general Farooq H. Nack was off-loaded when boarding for Dubai to consult his client Benazir. He then moved the court for removal of his name from ECL. A month later he was again prevented from travelling by the federal investigating agency, FIA.

* LHC suspended government’s order early in April inscribing PPP’s Tariq Rahim’s name on ECL, but later airport immigration off-loaded him on the plea that the court order was not certified by the registrar. Also, meanwhile, the interior ministry issued a new order barring Rahim’s travel. He filed a complaint for contempt of court. Three months later, in July, the government reported that his name was now being dropped.

* PPP secretary general Ahmad Mukhtar was off-loaded despite court’s permission. The court issued notice to the secretary of the interior ministry.

* The wife and daughter of former prime minister’s adviser Shahid Hassan Khan petitioned LHC against inclusion of their name in ECL. The government replied that they were equally liable with Khan because they were beneficiaries of the acts of corruption he was accused of. LHC ruled the bar as illegal but later, on appeal by the government, the supreme court restored the prohibition.

Humaire Butt case
ECL was also handy for influential people’s restraining from travel anyone for other than political reason. One notable case was that of Humaira Butt who had married against her father’s wish. Her farther, ruling party MPA Abbas Khokhar, had her put on ECL.

Movement within the country
There were several complaints by opposition politicians of their being shadowed.

The leader of the opposition in the Sindh Assembly, Nisar Khuhro, complained in the house early in January that his movement was being subjected to continuous surveillance. Another opposition leader and former food minister Maqbool Sheikh showed the Sindh Assembly pictures of his being tailed and his family being harassed.

Religious terrorism or sectarian provocation was cited for another category of curb on movement.

Early in January Punjab administration required all religious leaders and all Iranians in Punjab to report their movement to the district authorities.

It was customary during Moharram for district authorities to ban entry into their precincts of religious figures they thought were liable to incite sectarian sentiment. Some 250 such figures were variously banned entry into six of Punjab’s districts. There were similar numbers in other parts of this and other provinces.

Unfriendly Grindlays Bank

As I have read in the newspaper, the Grindlays bank staff are not happy with the management. As a retired soldier from the British army, I would also like to express my views through your newspaper.

When the Grindlays Bank was established in Kathmandu, Nepal, the staff there made a visit to Hong Kong, UK, Brunei, and made their presentations and under the supervision of the commanding officers, and the Gurkha Major’s and the company 2IC’s we were told to open the bank accounts there, even though the soldiers were not happy with the commanders dicisions.

This is the policy of the Brigade of Gurkhas. A soldier’s pensions is hardly NCR 2,500, whereas  now the Grindlays bank makes a policy that the balance should be NCR 25,000 or the bank will minus the money from the individuals accounts. May we know what is going on with the Grindlays bank and is it true this bank is run under the co-operation of British bank of UK.?

Yam Bahadur Gurung
Lalitpur, Jawlakhel