National 3 (Spotlight Weekly)

Grim Recollection

A dozen people are getting killed everyday – states 2004 yearbook of human rights situation in Nepal

By SANJAYA DHAKAL

The 2004 Human Rights Yearbook released by the Informal Sector Service Center (INSEC) has exposed the dismal situation of human rights in the country in the year 2003.

Almost 12 people, on average, were killed – by both the Maoists and security forces – everyday since the breakdown of ceasefire on August 27, 2003.

The report states that between January 1 and January 30 (2003) when ceasefire was declared, everyday 2.19 persons were being killed by the Maoists and 2.85 persons by the security forces, on average. After the declaration of ceasefire and before it was broken down on August 27, the killing average dipped to 0.39 by the Maoists and 0.60 by the state everyday.

However, after the breakdown of ceasefire and till the end of the year 2003, the killing average shot up to 4.14 by the Maoists and 8.33 by the state everyday.

During the year 2003, Maoists killed 646 people and the state killed 1217 people – a total of 1863 people. Of the total, 159 were women. The report adds that overwhelming majority of those killed belonged to the lower middle class.

Among those killed by the Maoists, majority (212) were policemen followed by farmers (139) and military personnel (109). Likewise, they killed 67 political activists, 21 students and so on.

On the other hand, of those killed by the state, majority (854) were political workers followed by farmers (153) and students (43).

The report states that in the last eight years of insurgency, 5674 people lost their lives at the hands of state forces while 2876 lost their lives at the hands of the Maoists – a total of 8550.

The INSEC report has also shown that trend of killing people after arresting them on charges of being Maoists has increased in the year 2003. It states that during the period 166 people were killed after being arrested including 26 women. Around 366 were disappeared by the state and 1251 persons were abducted by the Maoists. Despite the constitutional provisions to the contrary, the government forces were killing people including civilians after taking them into custody, the report added.

During the period, 2616 persons were victimized by being arrested and, at times, even tortured. Over 11, 638 people were internally displaced due to the conflict in the same period.

The report accuses both the Maoists and government of extensive rights abuses. “Internal displacement, rising cases of disappearances, fake encounter killings, prevailing impunity, rise in criminal activities are some of the aspects of growing abuses this year,” the report states.

“Although there are signs of progress, challenges are immense,” said Nayan Bahadur Khatri, chairman of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), releasing the report on April 9.

Meanwhile, although the government had announced its commitment to protect human rights, two weeks after the government expressed the same, many rights organizations have began to say that the situation is less than encouraging.

Three days after Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa announced the 25-point human rights commitment paper, the Home Ministry wrote a letter to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) asking it to include a representative of security forces in its team that probes incidents of rights abuses, provoking sharp reaction from the human rights community. Although the government subsequently expressed regret over the letter and assured the commission that such mistakes would not be repeated in future, the damage had been done.

“Coming so soon after the government’s commitment, the incident exposed the real intention of the government,” said Dr. Gopal Krishna Shiwakoti, executive director of the International Institute for Human Rights, Environment and Development (INHURED) – a Kathmandu-based rights organization.

One of the major focuses of the government’s human rights protection was on the issue of controlling the incidents of ‘disappearances’ and ‘illegal detention’. However, the reported incidents in the subsequent days indicated that the commitment has not been fully translated into practice.

On April 5, Pushpa Raj Bhurtyal, who worked as a scientist at the Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC) was reportedly taken away by security personnel in mufti to unknown location. Bhurtyal’s family members and colleagues have submitted an application to the Amnesty International urging all rights organization to take initiatives to release him.

Likewise, rights organizations charged that on April 2, security forces killed three Maoists in Thalaha village of eastern district of Morang after taking them under its control. While the security forces contended that they were killed in encounter, local representatives of rights bodies Informal Sector Service Center (INSEC) and Center for Victims of Torture (CVICT) claimed they were killed in fake encounters. This incident occurred despite clear commitment by the government that it will not harm anyone who is unarmed or who has laid down arms and that it would act in accordance with the Geneva Convention Common Article 3.

“There has been no improvement in the situation of human rights even after the expression of commitment by the government to implement human rights and international humanitarian laws,” said Dr. Bipin Adhikari, a lawyer at the NHRC. “Following the expression of commitment, there was an understanding that the government and the NHRC would work out further practical details to enforce them, but it has not materialized as yet,” he added.