Nepal has been in transition since 2006. Following the failure of the first Constituent Assembly to promulgate a new constitution, the country has been in a state of limbo and to make matters worse, there is no clear indication of when this transition will come to an end.
The indefinite hunger strike of Dr. Govinda KC has proved that the Nepal government is not running its institutions; they are being led by a mafia. That a person who has dedicated his life for the benefit of the poor and for victims of state negligence is forced to continuously subject himself to a life threatening hunger strike is proof that the government is not ready to listen to dissenting voices, or that it will do so only when forced to.
Civil society and doctors from across the nation have supported Dr. KC’s strike. The Nepal Medical Association (NMA) has decided to close down hospitals across the country, bringing the Tribhuwan University (TU) officials and the government to their knees. It may be recalled these individuals include those that gathered spontaneously in the April 2006 people’s uprising, which brought the monarchy to its knees.
Government apathy is also manifest in the indefinite hunger strike by the parents of the slain Krishna Prasad Adhikari, who was falsely charged of spying on the Maoists and killed mercilessly in 2004 during the insurgency period. This strike has spanned 140 days and is continuing. The Adhikari couple seeks justice from the hospital beds, where they are detained. The government has been trying to save face by not allowing them to leave the hospital. The government fears a public protest and being exposed if either one or both of the Adhikari couple dies during their hunger strike. Such an event will bring national and international shame on the government.
The so-called peoples’ party that claims it is the voice of commoners in Nepal has already shown its true colors. It has promoted cadres and leaders implicated in police investigations and court judgments, in murders during the insurgency period. Rather than assisting investigations and bringing the culprits to book under law, top leaders of the Maoists party have openly challenged the government to catch the implicated leaders and put them behind bars.
Recently, the police caught three students with guns late at night in Kathmandu. The following day, other students closed down the universities and blocked roads, bringing the whole city to a standstill. Their only demand was release of their leaders. Even a Constituent Assembly member joined them in the streets and demanded the release of the student leaders. Sadly all of them are from the Nepali Congress, the ruling party and the question begs to be asked: what can the general public expect from the ruling government when its own cadres are hitting the streets and messing up daily lives? There is direct enjoyment of impunity in the country.
There is also the case that whenever certain people are arrested, there is tremendous political pressure to obtain their release. They are connected to this or that political party. Such people gain their immunity from the dirt they have on other political leaders. The police have mentioned time and again that their investigations suffer due to this immense political pressure and that if they act independently they risk being transferred.
Such incidents are proof that laws are not effective in society. Institutions are not functioning well but rather have been corrupted. The government and its officers turn a deaf to these issues which is proof positive that their fingers are in the till. They are equal partners in the corrupt mafia-led moneymaking nexus.
The improper use of force and violence is so ingrained from top to bottom that touching one will bring all others into question. That is why no one wants to conduct investigations into these issues.
Nepal endorsed the Torture Compensation Act in 1996, but torture has not been criminalized yet. The establishment of the Commission on Disappearance and the Truth & Reconciliation Commission (TRC) has been stalled; as political parties are hesitant to allow them to operate for fear that their leaders will be implicated. For instance, the political parties want to pass the TRC only with a provision of mass amnesty for past crimes. What is the point of establishing such commissions if they are merely taken as a passage to go scot-free, a white-washing of involvement and withdrawal of charges?
Political authorities change every six months to a year and none of them are willing to establish institutions that may back-fire on them by punishing them for their past misdeeds.
There is a question of law in our society. The rule of law is undermined. If new institutions to support the rule of law are not created and a drastic reform of older ones that are rotting away is not carried out, there will be social collapse. Also, people will begin to shy away from institutions of the state.
On top of all this, incidents of youths protesting openly against corruption, civil society standing together against injustice, delay, and negligence will further increase.
It is time for the Nepali government to revise and reform its institutions, plugging the loopholes, so that law can be enforced without fear or favour. There is an urgent necessity for the government of Nepal to reform its decaying institutions. There should be rule of law, not rule by law and the practice of impunity. It is the only way to boost the confidence of Nepali citizens that have never been able to enjoy their citizenship. The second Constituent Assembly is also a historical opportunity to materialize this into action. So it is better to act now rather than later.
