NATIONAL 3 -(Spotlight Weekly)

Death Without Cause

The police action at Banke shows how complicated it is to manage prisons

By KESHAB POUDEL

The report of the Human Rights and Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives on the killing of two prisoners at Central Banke Prison in Nepalgunj revealed the pathetic situation of the country's prison system.

Although the dispute started over the inmates' demand for cotton rugs instead of the ordinary blankets they were getting, it ended in the deaths of two prisoners.

During a field visit by a team of the Human Rights and Foreign Affairs Committee, it emerged that the dispute started when a group of prisoners on January 6 rejected the ordinary rugs they were being given.

Central jail industry : Threadbare facilities

The following day, the prisoners came out with a list of 15 demands in order to make the prison habitable for human beings.

Among the 15 demands were arrangements for immediate supply of rugs and bed covers, construction of better sanitation, toilet and sewerage facilities, marketing of the inmates' hand-made products, regular supply of electricity, health check-up facilities, candles and lanterns, special treatment for patient with psychiatric disorders, regular supply of national newspapers, and renovation of the roof of the prison, which houses 187 inmates, including 14 women.

"The demands put forth by the prisoners were so basic that the local administration alone could have met them," said Som Prasad Pandey, chairman of the Human Rights and Foreign Affairs Committee. "This tragedy was the result of the inefficiency and negligence on the part of the district administration."

Police and administration insisted that they opened fire only after the prisoners turned violent and attempted to escape. "In a situation when prisoners took the prison under their control for a week, blocking officials from entering the facility, the administration had no option other than to use force," said Chief District Officer Shyam Prasad Mainali. "Police opened fired following hours of violent resistance by the prisoners."

Several prisoners were injured in the police action. "This is a gross violation of the rights of the prisoners, who were killed under an irrational order of the chief district officer," Pandey said. "We urged the government to suspend the CDO and other officials responsible for the incident."

Nepal's prisons are so neglected and so poorly managed that they hardly are fit for human settlement.

Although many human rights organizations have studied the physical facilities of the prison centers and come out with recommendations, few policy- and decision-makers have had the time to read them.

A large number of today's members of the House of the Representatives and the National Assembly have lived in prison for different periods of time. However, no one has ever stalled parliamentary proceedings or introduced a resolution to press the government to improve prison conditions.