<figure><img width="1000" height="720" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101124/637209a29c7e80680e0b5553jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Devi Sunar and her adopted daughter Maina in front of the picture of Devi’s late daughter Maina who was only 14 when she was tortured and killed by the Royal Nepal Army. Photo: GULIGO JIA.</figcaption></figure>These days, every other day seems like an anniversary of one of the more famous crimes committed during the insurgency years. Today marks 18 years since 14-year-old Maina Sunar was <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2015/02/17/remembering-maina/">detained and murdered by the Royal Nepal Army</a> in Panchkhal of Kavre District.At the peak of the Maoist War, Maina’s case became a symbol of the human rights violations perpetrated by both sides in the decade-long conflict. Nearly two decades later, her mother Devi is <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2013/02/16/still-waiting/">still fighting for justice</a> for the extrajudicial killing of her daughter.Unable to access official channels, Devi has written an open letter asking Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba to uphold rule of law and respect the Court’s decision.'My daughter would have been 33 this year. I had many dreams for her, as I am sure you do too about your son. Everything was robbed from me and my family. Although I won’t be able to bring my daughter back, and nothing could repair that loss, I want to see those responsible brought to justice,' the letter reads.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepals-unpunished-war-crimes/">Nepal's unpunished war crimes</a>, Sabita AdhikariShe continues: 'This will give a sense of security and hope, not only to me and my family, but also to hundreds of victims who suffered from similar losses during the armed conflict.'On 17 February 2004, an army patrol looking for Devi detained Maina and her brother for interrogation as a suspected Maoist. Soon after, she disappeared, never to return. Her brother was however sent back. For three years, Sunar’s family kept looking for Maina, having known that she was taken by the soldiers. <img width="400" height="406" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101124/637209a49c7e80680e0b5554jpeg.jpg" alt="">It was later revealed that Maina was <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/issue/313/FromtheNepaliPress/12418#.Yg5Dse5Bz0s">electrocuted to death</a> on the same night as retribution for her mother Devi’s vocal criticism of the Army’s involvement in the murder of her niece, Reena Rasaili, accused of being a Maoist supporter.Under pressure from international rights groups, the Army set up a <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=9966#.Yg5DxO5Bz0s">court of inquiry</a> to investigate the incident and the accused Colonel Bobby Khatri, Captain Sunil Prasad Adhikari and Amit Pun were sentenced to six months imprisonment, fined Rs50,000 and faced a ban on future promotions.But Devi did not think the punishment was commensurate with the crime and filed a case in the civil court. During this time, with help from the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNOHCHR), Maina’s body was exhumed from Panchkhal barracks.On 16 April 2017, after a thirteen-year-long legal battle, the District Court Kavre found three army officers guilty of murdering Maina but they have not been arrested or punished.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/still-missing-but-not-forgotten/">Still looking for dad missing in Nepa</a>l, Anita BhetwalIn her letter, Devi has questioned the existence of two commissions set up to investigate war crimes, the Disappearance Commission and the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/conflict-victims-fear-TRC-only-serves-interests-of-state,2042">Truth and Reconciliation Commission</a> that have little to show in the way of delivering transitional justice.In fact, successive governments made up of former enemies the state has used the commissions to do their bidding and cover up their war crimes. Moreover, the Supreme Court’s order to amend the Transitional Justice Act mechanism is yet to be implemented.'Dear Prime Minister, I have promised my daughter that unless I bring those perpetrators to justice, I won’t rest. The remains of my daughter are still in the Teaching Hospital, and I am not able to perform her last rituals pending the implementation of the court’s decision,' concludes the letter. 'I am waiting to see your commitment to protecting victims instead of perpetrators and respecting court orders to ensure the rule of law in the country.'Read more: <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=16781#.Yg5HPu5Bz0s">Open Wounds</a>, Mallika Aryal

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'She would have been 33 this year'

<figure><img width="1000" height="716" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410114/6372049d9c7e80680e0b286fjpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Image from a series by Chinese photographer Guligo Jia’s exhibition of ‘reunions’ of people with family members they lost in the war projected in the wall behind them. Here, Suman Adhikari is photographed with an old photograph of his father Muktinath Adhikari, himself and his brother. Photo: GULIGO JIA </figcaption></figure>My father Muktinath Adhikari was a science and math teacher at the Panini Sanskrit Secondary School in Duradanda in Lamjung district. I had just got into Grade 8 when my mother became ill.We had to take her to hospital in Kathmandu, carrying her in a doko. My father was so dedicated to his school that he did not come with us. It was not because he did not love her.<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=12522#.YeVp1S8RqLc" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D12522%23.YeVp1S8RqLc&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1642512806496000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0lOkM1Nl9In27odcK2tW9V">Both my brothers</a> were studying with me in Kathmandu at the time. One was in college and the other was preparing for his SLC exam. I had gone home to Lamjung for winter holidays with one of them.  <figure><img width="200" height="207" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410114/6372049f9c7e80680e0b2870jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>My mother had to go through two operations, and I pushed back my return to Kathmandu till 18 January 2002. My sister had also come home for the Maghe Sankranti festival. We were all home on 17 January when my grandfather and his brother came hurriedly to tell us that our father had been taken away by the Maoists.They said he was being taken for “interrogation”.He had been teaching his Grade 10 science class when a gun-wielding militia entered the room, tied a rope around his leg and led him off.We did not know what to do. On the one hand, we reasoned, our father had not done anything wrong, had not harmed anyone, so they would let him go. But we had also heard about Maoist executions and feared the worst.He had told his colleagues as was led away: “You see the situation. Whatever happens to me, manage the school well, do not damage the future of the students.” <figure><img width="1400" height="701" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410114/637204a19c7e80680e0b2871jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img width="2070" height="1576" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410114/637204a49c7e80680e0b2872jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>We had no news till evening. I followed my brother to look for our Dad. When we reached near the school, someone told us the news was not good, and there was no point looking for him. I had an inkling that something terrible had happened and that no one was telling us, and I returned home. My brother came back at 7PM, and told us that <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=17894#.YeVpZS8RqLc" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D17894%23.YeVpZS8RqLc&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1642512806496000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2N-_RLEZnLbI0cI4QoiUS2">our father had been killed</a>. They had taken him from the school, past our house, tied his neck to a tree with his muffler, and killed him. My family tried to shield my other brother from the news because he was preparing for his school exam. They did not allow him to even listen to the radio, but he found out anyway from my uncle who had gone to Kathmandu to fetch him. When he got home, the whole family went to the site of the crime. My mother, sister and I could not bear to look. I tried to force myself to at least catch a glimpse, but I could not. The photograph of my father’s <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=16781#.YeVpYi8RqLc" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D16781%23.YeVpYi8RqLc&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1642512806496000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0aH2JvgxXsXBuNl3GQVhXh">lifeless body still tied to a tree</a> was on the cover of Himal magazine (pictured right) that week. The editor took a big risk by printing that photograph in the midst of war. Later, the picture was picked up by many other newspapers and spread through social media.Even after 20 years, I get the chills if I see that cover photograph. I cannot describe what my family went through. Our father was the sole source of support for the family. Despite his meagre earnings as a school teacher, he used to help others in the village who were in need. But when it was his family that needed support, no one stepped forward to help.In fact, they tormented us by their silence. No one spoke out. They were too afraid that they would also be killed by the Maoists. Before the murder, my aunt had told my father that many other teachers had fled the village because of threats from the Maoists and he should not put himself in danger. My father had replied: “I have never stolen one paisa from anyone, I have never wished anyone any harm, if I leave the school what will become of the future of my students?” <figure><img width="640" height="867" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410114/637204a79c7e80680e0b2873jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>It later emerged that the Maoists had asked all teachers to donate 25% of their salary to the revolution. My father stood by his principle that donations should be voluntary, and besides he had to also take care of his family with his salary. He had told the Maoists he would consult the others and give his response, but they did not wait for his answer.We could not even remove the body, or observe funeral rites because of the fear of Maoists. My brothers conducted some rituals at home and returned to Kathmandu.I could not leave my mother alone during such a tragic period, and besides she was not well. I had to discontinue my education, but that was nothing compared to the trauma our family had to go through. We mustered the courage to lodge an FIR at the Lamjung District Police Office. <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Commissions-of-convenience,1530" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Commissions-of-convenience,1530&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1642512806496000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2a5uINM9W70AtKb3zZ1Rk0">There are two Commissions</a> to provide justice to the families of the victims of conflict like us, we even went to the National Human Rights Commission.But even after two decades, there has been no justice. The perpetrators were never caught. If this is the condition of such a high profile war crime, imagine what it is like for others who are not as well known. How will the conflict victims in remote parts of the country ever hope for truth and justice?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPK1y8MSMHc&amp;feature=emb_logoThe Commission on Enforced Disappearances and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission are more interested in letting war criminals off the hook than in providing justice. The commissioners are selected on the basis of party wheeling-dealing, and it looks like their sole intention is to protect the perpetrators. And we hear that they want a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-runs-out-of-excuses-to-address-war-crimes/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-runs-out-of-excuses-to-address-war-crimes/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1642512806497000&amp;usg=AOvVaw12XhhNJcMJn9L4BGusBJzm">blanket amnesty for all war crimes</a> by both sides in the conflict. International norms say that whether a perpetrator of a crime is to be pardoned or not is solely at the discretion of the victim. Still, they address political rallies and blatantly boast that they killed 5,000 people and those who were responsible for conflict-era crimes are walking openly in broad daylight. My father, who had no connection at all to the Maoist insurgency, was killed by them. We lost our father. Nothing will bring him back. If his murderers are not caught there is a danger <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/history-on-replay/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/history-on-replay/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1642512806497000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1SnZqMPw1s7CMEwi7T7g2L">there will be another conflict</a> like this, and there will be other orphans like us. That is why we are still fighting for justice. I just hope no one in Nepal in future has to bear the kind of physical and mental torture that we did as a family. Twenty years later, my father appears to me in my dreams sometimes. I am so happy to see him alive. But then I wake up, and weep. I wish my dream would never end. Translated from the <a href="https://www.himalkhabar.com/news/127861?fbclid=IwAR32w5E-Totbc63ZAnwgR13Lre3VnPxI8_Vt-uf4e8RFqC6ZncnVTwb6KXQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.himalkhabar.com/news/127861?fbclid%3DIwAR32w5E-Totbc63ZAnwgR13Lre3VnPxI8_Vt-uf4e8RFqC6ZncnVTwb6KXQ&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1642512806497000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2e4nzefESDuc7Xr6JVIQUS">Nepali original</a> in <a href="http://himalkhabar.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://himalkhabar.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1642512806497000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0eWk9SdO610RJSKCHi_R-5">himalkhabar.com</a>

Nepal’s unpunished war crimes

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161144/636d1c5d9c7e80680e0af355jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1985" height="900"/><figcaption>Photo: RUBY KHAN/FACEBOOK</figcaption></figure>Nepal’s Constitution envisions a society where women are liberated from the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/history-of-female-immobility-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">bounds of tradition and patriarchy</a>. A society where all women are free to live dignified lives on their own terms, a society where violence and discrimination have no place.The Constitution envisioned a dream of a new Nepal, and laws have been enacted, policies formulated, commissions formed, to make this dream a reality and ensure security and justice for women.But <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/everyday-as-if-it-is-womens-day/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">women’s rights</a> have been reduced to mere words, and the journey to justice for women who have been wronged stops at the threshold of their homes, never to reach the police or courts.Indeed, girls continue to be barred from attending school, wives are beaten to within an inch of their lives by husbands who are never punished, young women are burned alive because their families did not provide enough dowry. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/justice-eludes-many-rape-survivors/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Rapists go free to rape again</a>.That is why we marched for three weeks all the way from Nepalganj to Nepal’s capital. We are back here this week, at a sit-in to demand justice for the death of two women in Banke district which the local administration is refusing to prosecute.Why did we have to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/non-government-of-nepal/">walk all the way to Kathmandu</a>? Because we were given the runaround in Nepalganj, officials in Kathmandu assured us last month that they would look into the cases, and we returned. But nothing happened. So we are back.It is as if in Nepal justice is a luxury, a showpiece for those who can afford it.We women are <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/perpetuating-patriarchy-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">still treated like sub-citizens</a>, limited to taking care of the home, hearth and children. Patriarchy dictates that women have no place in society, and have to silently suffer abuse and mistreatment even within their homes. Or be silenced when we speak out for justice.Not a day goes by without a news item of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/republic-of-rape/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">a woman somewhere in Nepal being raped</a>, yet there are many more cases which never make it to the media. And even fewer where the perpetrators are caught, tried and punished.Physical, mental, or emotional violence against women is so commonplace in Nepali society that the public is desensitised. Nepali women themselves have been conditioned into believing that they must tolerate abuse, and accept it as their lot in life.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/corrosive-conduct/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Corrosive Conduct</a>, EditorialAnd even if women do seek justice, they are faced with countless <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/republic-of-rape/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">societal and bureaucratic challenges</a> along the way. The process is familiar by now. It begins with blaming the victim, with accusations of lies and provocation. After that, if they manage to get through, police ask women to recount their traumatic experience again and again, they poke holes in their story while male policemen look on in amusement.Victims are “strongly advised” to stop trying to get justice because the men they are going against are “powerful” members of society. Indeed, the police and judges get phones from these high-up men to dismiss the cases.The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/rape-rulings-in-nepal-follow-letter-not-spirit-of-the-law/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepali justice mechanism</a>, with its complicated channels, has made it all but impossible for women victims to report abuse. They are now directed from the local government to provincial government, then to Kathmandu. If, by a stroke of luck, they do manage to get into Singha Darbar, they are referred right back to the local government.The chain of command is a vicious cycle which ensures that victims are so tangled in red tape that it becomes impossible to move the case on. The entire process is designed to hammer at a victim’s self-esteem and dignity until they finally give up.<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/justice-delayed-justice-denied/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Impunity in Nepal</a> is now so entrenched that if a victim’s family does reach the police station to complain about an abuser, perpetrator have got there first to deflect it. The politics of justice is such that power and money prevail over the rule of law. The gap between the oppressor and oppressed has never been wider.All the while, women must think of their <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/saving-one-nepali-mother-at-a-time/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">children, household responsibilities</a>, and families they have left behind in their journey for justice. Even while they are denied justice, women are judged by the media in the court of public opinion.This is why we are sitting on a street near Singha Darbar. We will speak up for oppressed Nepali women, armed with nothing but hope that one day there will be justice.Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/using-numbers-to-fight-gender-based-violence/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> Using numbers to fight gender-based violence</a>, Lisa Honan<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/Interesting-Times/Ruby-in-the-rough,205">Ruby Khan</a> was married at 14, and witnessed gender discrimination and violence from a young age. Now 34, she is a gender rights activist and was general secretary of the Banke chapter of the National Womens’ Rights Forum.

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Vow against VAW

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151156/636d11939c7e80680e0a9892jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="978" height="648"/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>In recent years, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/four-fold-increase-in-reported-rape-in-10-years/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">rape survivors and victims of sexual abuse in Nepal</a> have increasingly gone public with their experience and many are choosing to pursue legal action. But even when they file a complaint, it is rarely that they get justice because of loopholes in the system.Dipendra Chaudhary, 29, of Kailari was accused of raping an 11-year-old girl last year. After the girl’s family lodged a complaint against Chaudhary five days later, the police arrested him the next day.During interrogation, Chaudhary confessed to raping the minor, and based on this the court ordered him into judicial custody for further investigation. But a month later, the bench headed by Jayananda Paneru, the senior-most judge at the district court, acquitted him citing that there was not enough evidence in the charge sheet.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/rape-rulings-in-nepal-follow-letter-not-spirit-of-the-law/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Rape rulings in Nepal follow letter, not spirit of the law</a>, Sewa BhattaraiSix months later, Paneru heard another rape related case against Dharma Rokaya, in which he was  alleged to have raped a girl in Dhangadi. The bench again ruled in favour of the defendant citing insufficient evidence.On the same day, another bench headed by Khemraj Bhatta heard six Dhangadi rape cases. Of those that received a final verdict that day, the judges ruled that one of the cases did not have sufficient claim, acquitting Akash Chaudhary and his friend who were accused of raping a girl.Another judge Baburam Baniya’s courtroom also heard four rape-related cases on the very day. In one of the two cases that received the final verdict, the judge Baniya ruled insufficient evidence.Figures from the Kailali District Court show that more than half the rape cases that were closed between 16 July-5 September 2021 had verdicts in favour of the accused. All in all, 198 <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/republic-of-rape/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">rape cases</a> were registered at the Kailali District Court last year alone, of which 120 were closed, and 60% (72 cases) acquitted the alleged perpetrators.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/theytoo/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">#TheyToo</a>, Sewa BhattaraiCases related to rape are initiated and prosecuted by the government. Based on a police investigation, the public prosecutor’s office files a case in the district court on behalf of the victim. If the decision is not satisfactory, the prosecutor can appeal to the high court. According to Jagdish Shah, IT Officer at the High Court in Dipayal, the government has appealed the 72 cases from Kailali District Court.Bishwa Adhikari, Superintendent of Police in Kailali says there could be many reasons why the decisions are often given in favour of the defendant: “The delay in filing the cases makes it difficult to gather evidence, it also gives the other party more time to gather evidence in their favour.”Survivors of rape, already traumatised, are often forced by family members to keep quiet for fear of shame or reprisal. Even when they do press charges, there have been cases where the victim’s families have been pressured to step down. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/the-roots-of-rape/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">A misogynistic society</a> that often blames the victims and questions the choice of clothes and lifestyle adds to the victims hesitating to report the crime on time or at all.But when complaints are lodged late, it becomes harder to trace the physical evidence, witnesses can change their statement and even the victims may be coerced to take back their case, making it difficult to ensure a fair trial.Lawyers and activists say that the police and public prosecutors should change how they handle rape cases. Most victims choose not to pursue cases because they do not know how to work the system, and often do not have the resources to fight the case. The perpetrators often come from <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/justice-for-sale/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">politically, economically and socially stronger backgrounds</a>.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/justice-delayed-and-denied/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Justice delayed and denied</a>, Sewa BhattaraiIn some cases the police mediate and get the perpetrator and the victim’s family to come to a compensation agreement. The line of questioning by male officers is also often offensive, implying that victims were somehow responsible for the crime.“In many cases, the police refuse to register the cases which delays the process and in the meantime the evidence disappear or are destroyed,” says Chief Attorney for Far Western region Kulananda Upadhyay. “There are also lapses in the investigation and prosecution from the public prosecutor’s side. When the victim’s statement is recorded, the officials don’t do it verbatim and use their own language leading to discrepancies and in turn a weaker case at court.”Absence of proper medical examination, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/how-does-the-nepali-media-cover-rape/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">gender insensitivity</a> while handling the cases and treating rape complains as any other case also results in accused walking free.Says advocate Renu Pradhan Shrestha, “No one wants to be raped but when people in the judiciary handle and discuss it as something normal, turn hostile towards the victims, the accused walk free.”Translated by Sahina Shrestha from <a href="https://www.himalkhabar.com/news/126345">the Nepali original</a> published on himalkhabar.com

Justice eludes many rape survivors

<figure><img width="1815" height="1017" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111128/636cd2849c7e80680e08f914jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: KANAK MANI DIXIT/TWITTER</figcaption></figure>A mother who is on the 25th day of a hunger strike in Kathmandu <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/editorial/Maoist-hungry-ghosts,3261">demanding justice</a> against the murderers of her son during the Maoist conflict is in critical condition, doctors and human rights activists say.
<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/hunger-for-justice/">Ganga Maya Adhikari</a> started her latest hunger strike on 21 December 2020 on the 7th floor ward of the Trauma Centre, and has not taken any food or water since. She is receiving intravenous fluids, and her condition has deteriorated.
Her son, Krishna Adhikari was kidnapped, tortured and killed in June 2004 by the Maoists in Chitwan who accused him of being a spy. Those allegedly behind the murder have been set free by the courts.
“Ganga Maya is on strike because she has abandoned any hope for justice from this government, which has insulted her struggle,” said human rights activist Charan Prasai, who was among artists, lawyers, and rights activists at a sit-in outside the hospital on Thursday.
Doctors at the Trauma Centre said Ganga Maya’s health was deteriorating fast, and she needed intensive care because it was now a question of life-or-death.    
After the Comprehensive Peace Accord, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/ganga-mayas-endless-road-to-justice/">repeated attempts by Ganga Maya and her husband</a> Nanda Prasad to get justice failed, and <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/The-deadline/sad-saga-of-adhikari-family,367">the couple came to Kathmandu</a> to protest when former Maoist ideologue <a href="http://nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/The-deadline/sad-saga-of-adhikari-family,367">Baburam Bhattarai</a> was prime minister in 2012.
<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/ganga-mayas-endless-road-to-justice/">Nanda Prasad died seven years ago</a> in Bir Hospital after a year-long fast, and his <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/dead-and-dying,3955">body is still in the morgue</a> at the Teaching Hospital since Ganga Maya has refused to cremate him until the guilty are punished.
Krishna Adhikari had just finished his SLC exam when a group of Maoists put him in a sack and dragged him behind a motorcycle in Chitwan. After the conflict, the couple lodged a complaint with Chitwan police, naming 13 people who they said were involved.
The 13 were charged, but the Chitwan District Court ordered their release on bail. A year later, the appellate court in Hetauda upheld the bail decision. The Supreme Court then ruled on an appeal by Ganga Maya in 2015 to put Chhabilal Poudel, the main accused, in judicial custody, but when he did not surrender the couple went on another hunger strike until he was re-arrested. 
But in 2019, the Chitwan District Court acquitted all the accused except one. Ganga Maya appealed again, but no further hearings have been held.
Doctors attending to Ganga Maya said she had told them that she had no reason to live anymore because she had no hope left for justice, her husband was dead, and her elder son had been jailed on trumped up charges.

Mother on 25th day of hunger strike

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191120/636befa54b0ad905ca02efbfjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1760" height="1054"/><figcaption>Representatives of the civil society staging demonstration at Maitighar Mandala, Kathmandu. Photo: NEPALI TIMES/ARCHIVE</figcaption></figure>Amidst growing concerns over a shrinking civic space, Nepal’s civil society, especially rights-based organisations continue to play an integral role by complementing, consulting, or challenging the government vis-à-vis international law.Sustained efforts by non-government organizations (NGOs) over a decade, led to the ratification of the UN Protocol against Human Trafficking, to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children in June 2020.Their relentless work which generated local level evidence and data was as significant as political will in making this critical shift possible. The existing laws on human trafficking will be amended to punish trafficking to Nepal.Developments in international criminal law reveal a new pivot, where NGOs are increasingly becoming prominent on the international plane. International criminal trials warrant domestic support, especially from NGOs to create a conducive environment for investigations and institutionalisation of justice.A precedence was established by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in the early nineties, when it worked with the broader civil society for local information, testimonies, and evidence. Its successor, the UN Court for International Residual Mechanisms for Criminal Tribunals, continues to engage with NGOs to forge lasting peace in the Balkans.The International Criminal Court (ICC) has institutionalised its relationship with NGOs with due acknowledgement of their capacity to assist or obstruct trials. NGOs can prompt investigations by submitting situation reports to ICC’s prosecutors. The ongoing investigations on crimes against humanity, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, and Myanmar stand as evidence of this.Investigators and prosecutors from foreign countries rely on NGOs for local knowledge, expertise, and access to key sources, to further such trials. State entities such as the police may face constrains to cooperate, given the politically-sensitive nature of such investigations.NGOs therefore become <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/GUEST-COLUMN/Transboundary-jurisdiction,27" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">critical in documenting, collecting, and verifying</a> information and evidence. In the ICC system, Coalition for the ICC, a group of NGOs from 150 States, have observer status in the annual Assembly of State Parties, the Court’s governing and oversight body.Nepali NGOs have the potential to emerge as salient actors in national and international criminal justice system. The closed case of <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/The-gadfly/truth-and-reconciliation-with-justice,440" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Colonel Kumar Lama</a> who was indicted for torture before a court in the UK and eventually released on mistrial, provides important insights.The government refused to cooperate, which led to the legal teams in the UK to seek unofficial Nepali sources for evidence. Lawyers involved in the case questioned the integrity of evidence gathered by a local NGO which lacked expertise to document, catalogue, and preserve evidence according to UK’s standards. Similar outcomes could happen again, given the sluggishness of Nepal’s <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/12-years-later-justice-is-a-mirage/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">transitional justice mechanisms</a>.Investments in NGOs should be recalibrated to empower them to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/geneva-or-the-hague/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">bring the perpetrators to justice</a> while ensuring innocents are not wrongfully convicted on foreign territory. Trainings in domestic evidence law will be foundational while orienting NGOs in certified, user-friendly digital tools for documenting, collecting, and preserving evidence.Additionally, while international criminal tribunals do not have homogenous standards to provide evidence, making NGOs familiar with ICC’s distinct framework may prove effective in the long run. It is also imperative to fortify the institutional memory of NGOs to sustain this exercise. This can be attained by prioritising wholesome institutional learning over isolated, individual expertise.Nonetheless, NGOs should function well within their mandate and not strive to emulate or replace State functions. The primary objective of acquiring these competencies is to complement, and not challenge state functions of maintaining peace and rule of law.For instance, resource-strained police will benefit from timely and reliable access to information gathered according to domestic law. Should there be an international probe on past or future irregularities, a competent civil society will share the State’s burden in providing answers, while truth and reconciliation can endure through the work of NGOs at the community-level.Only when the State is unable or unwilling to discharge its duties, will NGOs exclusively serve as focal contacts for the international community in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/tortures-go-unprosecuted-in-nepal-despite-laws/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">holding the state accountable</a>.Access of the international community to local NGOs and vice-versa, has opened a new vista for both parties. This symbiotic relationship should be explored by Nepali NGOs to galvanize efforts in upholding law and justice.<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/the-rome-statute-and-the-hague/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nischala Arjal</a> is a lawyer with specialisation in public international law.

Nepal’s rights groups must step up

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181148/636be8b39c7e80680e087876jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1760" height="1054"/><figcaption>Representatives of the civil society staging demonstration at Maitighar Mandala, Kathmandu. Photo: NEPALI TIMES/ARCHIVE</figcaption></figure>Amidst growing concerns over a shrinking civic space, Nepal’s civil society, especially rights-based organisations continue to play an integral role by complementing, consulting, or challenging the government vis-à-vis international law.Sustained efforts by non-government organizations (NGOs) over a decade, led to the ratification of the UN Protocol against Human Trafficking, to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children in June 2020.Their relentless work which generated local level evidence and data was as significant as political will in making this critical shift possible. The existing laws on human trafficking will be amended to punish trafficking to Nepal.Developments in international criminal law reveal a new pivot, where NGOs are increasingly becoming prominent on the international plane. International criminal trials warrant domestic support, especially from NGOs to create a conducive environment for investigations and institutionalisation of justice.A precedence was established by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in the early nineties, when it worked with the broader civil society for local information, testimonies, and evidence. Its successor, the UN Court for International Residual Mechanisms for Criminal Tribunals, continues to engage with NGOs to forge lasting peace in the Balkans.The International Criminal Court (ICC) has institutionalised its relationship with NGOs with due acknowledgement of their capacity to assist or obstruct trials. NGOs can prompt investigations by submitting situation reports to ICC’s prosecutors. The ongoing investigations on crimes against humanity, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, and Myanmar stand as evidence of this.Investigators and prosecutors from foreign countries rely on NGOs for local knowledge, expertise, and access to key sources, to further such trials. State entities such as the police may face constrains to cooperate, given the politically-sensitive nature of such investigations.NGOs therefore become <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/GUEST-COLUMN/Transboundary-jurisdiction,27" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">critical in documenting, collecting, and verifying</a> information and evidence. In the ICC system, Coalition for the ICC, a group of NGOs from 150 States, have observer status in the annual Assembly of State Parties, the Court’s governing and oversight body.Nepali NGOs have the potential to emerge as salient actors in national and international criminal justice system. The closed case of <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/The-gadfly/truth-and-reconciliation-with-justice,440" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Colonel Kumar Lama</a> who was indicted for torture before a court in the UK and eventually released on mistrial, provides important insights.The government refused to cooperate, which led to the legal teams in the UK to seek unofficial Nepali sources for evidence. Lawyers involved in the case questioned the integrity of evidence gathered by a local NGO which lacked expertise to document, catalogue, and preserve evidence according to UK’s standards. Similar outcomes could happen again, given the sluggishness of Nepal’s <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/12-years-later-justice-is-a-mirage/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">transitional justice mechanisms</a>.Investments in NGOs should be recalibrated to empower them to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/geneva-or-the-hague/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">bring the perpetrators to justice</a> while ensuring innocents are not wrongfully convicted on foreign territory. Trainings in domestic evidence law will be foundational while orienting NGOs in certified, user-friendly digital tools for documenting, collecting, and preserving evidence.Additionally, while international criminal tribunals do not have homogenous standards to provide evidence, making NGOs familiar with ICC’s distinct framework may prove effective in the long run. It is also imperative to fortify the institutional memory of NGOs to sustain this exercise. This can be attained by prioritising wholesome institutional learning over isolated, individual expertise.Nonetheless, NGOs should function well within their mandate and not strive to emulate or replace State functions. The primary objective of acquiring these competencies is to complement, and not challenge state functions of maintaining peace and rule of law.For instance, resource-strained police will benefit from timely and reliable access to information gathered according to domestic law. Should there be an international probe on past or future irregularities, a competent civil society will share the State’s burden in providing answers, while truth and reconciliation can endure through the work of NGOs at the community-level.Only when the State is unable or unwilling to discharge its duties, will NGOs exclusively serve as focal contacts for the international community in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/tortures-go-unprosecuted-in-nepal-despite-laws/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">holding the state accountable</a>.Access of the international community to local NGOs and vice-versa, has opened a new vista for both parties. This symbiotic relationship should be explored by Nepali NGOs to galvanize efforts in upholding law and justice.<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/the-rome-statute-and-the-hague/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nischala Arjal</a> is a lawyer with specialisation in public international law.

Nepal stalls on war crime probes

<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171148/636bda899c7e80680e080274jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1438" height="1362"/>Nepal has been elected to a second term on the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/does-nepal-deserve-2nd-term-at-unhrc/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/does-nepal-deserve-2nd-term-at-unhrc/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1602730211285000&amp;usg=AFQjCNG7iQJFhPO894iZt7803_apN_Kg2A">despite opposition from activists</a> who have accused the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) of dragging its feet on is out transitional justice, failure to address violence against women and Dalits and efforts to curtain freedom of expression.This time, Nepal was one of the candidates for four seats in the HRC together with Pakistan, China, Uzbekistan and Saudi Arabia from the Asia-Pacific region. But Saudi Arabia was not elected.The election with 150 out of 193 votes at the UN headquarters in New York gave Nepal a new term from 2021-23. Nepal’s Permanent Mission at the United Nations tweeted: ‘It is yet another opportunity for Nepal to contribute to the protection &amp; promotion of HR globally.’Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali also tweeted: ‘We are grateful to the friendly nations for their support. Thanks to the Nepali Missions in New York and Geneva for hard work.’<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171148/636bda8d9c7e80680e080275jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1222" height="420">However, many human rights group said Nepal <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/does-nepal-deserve-2nd-term-at-unhrc/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/does-nepal-deserve-2nd-term-at-unhrc/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1602730211285000&amp;usg=AFQjCNG7iQJFhPO894iZt7803_apN_Kg2A">did not deserve to be re-elected</a> because it had not fulfilled pledges it made in 2017, including implementation of the transitional justice process, make the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) more effective, and promoting rights to free expression.Not only are these promises unfulfilled, they say, but there has been a worrying rise in deaths in detention while not been enough effort has gone into investigating and prosecuting those responsible for violence against Dalits and women in Nepal.In April, Nepal’s <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-runs-out-of-excuses-to-address-war-crimes/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-runs-out-of-excuses-to-address-war-crimes/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1602730211285000&amp;usg=AFQjCNET7gWIvKE-wTBN9H6Allms8cr6rg">Supreme Court </a>rejected a government appeal of the court’s 2015 decision that ordered amendments to the Transitional Justice Act because it allowed pardon for heinous crimes during the 1996-2006 Maoist conflict.The Commission on Truth and Reconciliation and the Commission on Enforced Disappearances have languished because of the lack of political will by both former adversaries who now make up the Nepali state to address them.Although Nepal has been praised for improvements in laws, including the Supreme Court decision this year on transitional justice, critics say it has lagged behind in implementation, allowing impunity to flourish.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171148/636bda8f9c7e80680e080276jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1220" height="518">“Nepal suffers from a chronic problem of non-implementation of human rights protections. Laws get passed but go unenforced. Transitional justice processes and institutions continue to be subordinated to short-term political interests. Government after government, including the current one, fail to respect judicial decisions and even actively seek to compromise judicial independence,” Frederick Rawski, Asia-Pacific Regional Director at the <a href="https://www.icj.org/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.icj.org/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1602730211285000&amp;usg=AFQjCNE2WYg-avFZqSeUR1mDqZx8VmLl7g">International Commission of Jurists</a> told this paper in September.Last month, Nepal had <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-again-pledges-progress-on-human-rights-if-elected-to-un-council/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-again-pledges-progress-on-human-rights-if-elected-to-un-council/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1602730211285000&amp;usg=AFQjCNH-j334FCDBdxCwgog1MyzyxSq7gw">renewed its pledge</a> to address human rights concerns and progress in transitional justice during a teleconference organised by Amnesty International and the International Society for Human Rights (ISHR).Nepal’s Permanent Representative to the UN in New York Amrit Bahadur Rai had said: “I would like to assure all that there will be no blanket amnesty in cases of severe human rights violations committed during the conflict period,” he said.Nepal had been elected for the first term in 2017 to the 47-member Commission, which has 13 members from the Asia-Pacific. At that time, Nepal had secured 166 votes, which has now come down to 150. In Tuesday’s election Pakistan secured the most votes (169), Uzbekistan got 164 to become a UNHRC member for the first time, and China 139. Saudi Arabia won only 90 votes.Fifteen countries were elected, with Russia from Eastern Europe, France and Uk from Western Europe, and Cuba from Latin America and the Caribbean region.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/does-nepal-deserve-2nd-term-at-unhrc/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/does-nepal-deserve-2nd-term-at-unhrc/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1602730211285000&amp;usg=AFQjCNG7iQJFhPO894iZt7803_apN_Kg2A">Does Nepal deserve a 2nd term at the UNHRC?</a>

Nepal elected to 2nd term at UNHRC

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022112911110/6385d8509c7e80680e0cc75cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1604" height="1128"/><figcaption>Illustration: DIWAKAR CHETTRI</figcaption></figure>A country of 30 million is not small. A country that cannot spend 70% of its development budget is not cash poor.Nepal is big enough to need systems in place and use them to manage the country. It cannot muddle through on ad hocism, and especially during a crisis like the one we are going through now.As we begin to emerge hopefully soon from the impact of the lockdown, we must shed the practices and habits that have characterised governance in Nepal: the attitudes of ke garne, afno manche, bholi, chali halchha.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/ke-garne-attitude-kills-people/">Ke garne attitude kills people</a>, Laxmi BasnetMeritocracy will have to replace nepotism, goal-orientation has to replace fatalism, and we have to do yesterday what could have been done tomorrow if anything is going to change for the better in Nepal. If Nepal does not get remittances from those employed abroad in the post-COVID-19 era, how will we pay for the country’s fossil fuel imports? We need to think systems.No matter who comes to power, there is an underlying belief that being in power means the freedom to make ad hoc decisions. The god kings and oligarchs ruled made decisions on a whim, and those bad habits seem to have been inherited by our federal, republican democratic strongmen.Once in power, they do not like to put in systems because that will mean decisions have to be consultative, accountable and transparent. The problem with making ad hoc decisions is that they may offer short term benefits, but you do get into trouble at some point or other in future. How many times can you use the excuse that you did not know what was going on?In a country with seven provincial and 753 locally elected governments, systems have to be in place if people are to feel the impact of Nepal’s political evolution over the last seven decades – after all what were those changes for if not to improve governance, service delivery and spur development?<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/thinking-out-of-the-box-to-rescue-nepal/">Thinking out of the box to rescue Nepal</a>, Prem Jung ThapaThe COVID-19 crisis is a watershed moment. It offers Nepal a unique chance to digitise government services that will do away with ad hocism and corruption that comes from human to human contact. You cannot grease a palm if it is virtual, and wrongdoers leave digital footprints.Making transactions cashless and physical distancing could be the best ways to fight corruption in Nepal. If we can introduce contact tracing and ensure it is meticulously enforced, we could make fighting crime and corruption very useful by-products of this pandemic.The global pandemic has offered Nepal and the whole world a chance to re-imagine and re-build the health sector. The lockdown was meant to be a strategy to buy time for the government, health professionals and related businesses to ramp up capacity and ability to respond. These include everything from the manufacture and distribution of masks and PPE to developing tests and vaccines.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/nepals-accidental-leaders/">Nepal's accidental leaders</a>, Anil ChitrakarIn Nepal, the pandemic has felt more like a paid holiday for many. There was no attempt by the government, development partners or professionals to convince and bring the sectors together to use this opportunity for the future. Health for all, insurance, research and development, supply chain management, trainings, up gradation of hospitals and health facilities, formalising pharmacies ... so much could have been done. But it is still not too late.We have a whole generation of people who have grown up watching Hollywood movies where Superman and Wonder Woman track down the bad guys making lethal viruses, killing them and destroying their labs in the nick of time. What we have not seen is a movie which picks up after the virus has been contained, and society has to chart a new path of revival, learning from the mistakes of the past.Watching a movie passively knowing that there will be a happy ending is one thing, but today we are individually all players in the unfolding plot and ‘I’ could very well be the next victim, or hero. This reality show is as real as it gets. Lives and livelihoods are being lost, and the virus is quick to pounce when it detects weak leadership, denial, or a lack of systems.We in Nepal must use this opportunity to address inequality and discrimination. It is a chance to clean up Mt Everest, dredge Phewa Lake, prevent sewage from flowing into the Bagmati, repair trails and trail bridges, upgrade the seven major monument zones in the Kathmandu Valley, Janakpur and Lumbini.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepals-chance-to-green-its-budget/">Nepal's chance to green its budget</a>, Kaustubh DhitalCities across Nepal need to create dedicated sidewalks for <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=18714#.Xs8-4i8w0Wp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D18714%23.Xs8-4i8w0Wp&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1590728839126000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHxlOT3jvY5ynKVoUN1rJGyvWJZKw">pedestrians and bicycle lanes</a>, make sure that Nepal’s <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/kathmandus-road-ahead-post-covid-19/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/kathmandus-road-ahead-post-covid-19/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1590728839126000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFYtjsavcqI8-QRcuslUQKmLbdzqA">transport system moves to clean hydroelectricity</a>. Nepal has no oil and we need to plan for energy security by reminding ourselves how many times <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/editorial/autopsy-of-a-blockade%20,2863" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/editorial/autopsy-of-a-blockade%2520,2863&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1590728839126000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGT0WYt8o-kUKJrkmksf9ccwh1uNQ">India has cut off our petroleum supply</a> in recent history.Once again, the government may not take the lead here because it does not have the systems in place. We have to collectively step up as a people. Time calls on us to move away from sound bites and photo ops. After all, the first fatality in Nepal attributed to COVID-19 required <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/bhaktapurs-covid-19-heroes/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/bhaktapurs-covid-19-heroes/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1590728839126000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFSx32lHPgjO5bbfDf_VkJwwITp_w">young volunteers from Bhaktapur</a> to quietly step up and enable the cremation.Anil Chitrakar is President of <a href="http://www.siddharthinc.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.siddharthinc.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1590728839126000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFDqReoEgvFMX6gIWVxJPTwSpVSOg">Siddharthinc.</a>

Anil Chitrakar

Nepal is too big for ad hocism

One smoggy winter morning in February 2019, Ekta regretted coming to her sculpture class. It was the first day of her period, and the 19-year-old wished she was home, curled up in bed with a hot water bag to soothe her cramps.
Her class was at Kalapremi Ceramic Studio, a dark room on the ground floor of a house in Maharajganj, and Ekta’s teacher was the artist Gopal Das Shrestha ‘Kalapremi’, a noted sculptor.
Two other students were already there, using all their muscle strength to knead the sculpting clay. Ekta, now 24, recalls how Kalapremi asked her if she was feeling all right. She avoided him, as she did not want everyone to know she was menstruating.
Kalapremi repeatedly asked Ekta what was wrong. She finally muttered that she was having her period, after which he grabbed her hand and led her to a partitioned corner of the studio and sat her on a chair. Before she could stop him, he slid his hand under her dress, and started massaging her abdomen.
“I was horrified,” Ekta recalls. “I told him to stop, but he didn’t listen, asking me not to be shy, saying he knew how to relieve my pain. He stopped only after I protested furiously.”&nbsp;
The art tutor then said, “You’re like my daughter. I’m doing it out of love to make you feel better, but you’re so stubborn.”&nbsp;
“Instead of saying sorry he acted like I was the one having crazy thoughts,” remembers Ekta, adding that from April 2016 to August 2020 beginning the time she was 16, the artist sexually abused and harassed her on several occasions. &nbsp;
Now, Ekta and the artist’s other former students are finally sharing their experiences and some are pressing legal charges against him, hoping that others do not have to endure what they did.&nbsp;
Award-winning artist and teacher Gopal Das Shrestha ‘Kalapremi’ (the name means ‘Art Lover’) is known for his ceramic art, sculpture, and contemporary pottery. He was <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/the-house-of-kalapremi">profiled in Nepali Times after a collaborative exhibition</a>, ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ at the Siddhartha Art Gallery three years ago.&nbsp;
His pieces, titled Gaalis, featured sculpted female figures with the heads of dogs, sheep, and donkeys (pictured) to depict derogatory terms for women. Some critics said the collection was a satire on feminists.
Kalapremi started his artistic and teaching career in 1983 and over the years taught at Bhanubhakta School, Kathmandu University School of Arts, Lalitkala Campus and at his private Kalapremi Ceramic Studio. He has also lectured at Jeonju University in South Korea and recently at Tabor Academy in the United States.
Seven of Kalapremi’s former students were interviewed for this story. Five female students said he touched them inappropriately in his studio or at Kathmandu University. Two male students said they witnessed him abuse and harass the women. In all cases, the students struggled to recognise the abuse when it occurred, and the lack of reporting systems left them to cope on their own for years.&nbsp;
Earlier this year, students shared a social media post hinting at Kalapremi’s history of abusive behaviour following which more students of the artist reached out sharing similar experiences. Some students spoke of abuse that happened as long as 20 years ago.
Kalapremi, 60, has denied the allegations. He told Nepali Times: “Some years ago, there was a movement encouraging people to hug and kiss. I used to do it purely out of friendship and love. But after seeing posts on social media last year calling out my behaviour, I realised my actions may have hurt some people. I understand now that I should have been more mindful.”
He added: “I am also an auxiliary health worker, so I know the exact points to massage to relieve menstrual pain. It’s not just menstruation, I take anyone who is ill to the hospital.”
Sexual abuse is much more rampant than reported given how difficult it is to prove it in court. The law defines sexual abuse as occuring when someone touches another’s private parts, coerces them into touching theirs, uses vulgar language, shows degrading images, or behaves indecently towards them without consent.&nbsp;
Ekta and her fellow students are consulting lawyer Suneeta Regmi Pokhrel, who says they know that even if the court decides in their favour, it is difficult to survive after speaking up, and influential men defend themselves saying they are being framed.&nbsp;
“They are in a lot of pain and weep when recalling how he abused them,” Regmi Pokhrel told us. “They are angry and have filed a case against him, but they are also terrified. They know he is a powerful man and they have seen how our society treats women who speak up against abusers. Unless people speak up, perpetrators will be emboldened.”
Art and academia in Nepal simply reflect the power imbalances in society where people with intersecting identities experience worse forms of abuse. Theatre actors Raj Kumar Pudasaini, Rajan Khatiwada, and Sunil Pokhrel were called out during the #MeToo movement in the Nepali theatre scene in 2019. Even after the allegations Pokhrel went on to receive national awards, while others continued to work without repercussions.
“If you speak up against abusers, you gradually get sidelined from projects,” explained a theatre artist who wished anonymity fearing professional setbacks. “The theatre scene in Nepal is quite small, you just have to make peace with the perpetrators and work with them if you want to sustain yourself.”&nbsp;
In academia there is a history of faculty members sexually harassing students and getting away with it. After Tribhuvan University (TU) lecturer Krishna Bhattachan was accused of harassing women students, the university said it would follow Nepal’s sexual harassment law and set up a reporting mechanism. But nothing happened to the professor, who had already retired. Instead, he counter-accused the students of 'attacking the indigenous people’s movement with baseless allegations' as <a href="https://kathmandupost.com/letters/2019/01/29/bhattachan-responds">he told the Kathmandu Post in 2019</a>. He continues to be featured as a prominent speaker including at TU.
Other faculty members previously accused of sexual harassment include Jagadish Murti Koirala from TU, Bishnu Prasad Acharya from Ratna Rajya Campus, and Bodha Raj Tripathee from Lalitpur Madhyamik Vidhyalaya. A woman staff member from TU also filed a sexual abuse complaint against Dambar Chemjong from TU.
Prominent figures like <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-rise-and-fall-of-nims-purja">mountaineer Nims Purja</a> have been <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/31/sports/mountaineering-sexual-harassment-abuse-nims-purja.html">accused of sexual assault</a>, and cricketer Sandeep Lamichhane, actor <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/celebrity-rape-case-spotlights-nepal-laws">Paul Shah</a>, and former speaker of Parliament <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/mahara-arrested">Krishna Bahadur Mahara</a> have been accused of rape, but society-at-large has let off the alleged perpetrators amdist a larger debate about justice for survivors and punishment of perpetrators.&nbsp;
‘Gaushala-26’ is the court name given to the 18-year-old who accused Sandeep Lamichhane, former captain of Nepal’s national cricket team and skipper of Biratnagar Kings in the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/here-comes-the-nepal-premier-league">ongoing Nepal Premier League</a>, of rape. She left the country citing society questioning her character affecting her mental health while Lamichhane got an outpouring of support. In May, the Patan High Court overturned a prior verdict that found Lamichhane guilty of rape and had sentenced him to eight years in prison. During the 23-month legal battle to pursue justice, Gaushala-26 faced threats of gang rape and acid attacks.&nbsp;
Exhausted by the struggle, Gaushala-26 sought to “move to a new world” where she could live free without hiding her identity.
Actress Samragyee Rajya Laxmi Shah in an Instagram video now deleted detailed the harassment she faced from a filmmaker during a movie shoot. She did not name any name but veteran actor Bhuwan KC filed a defamation case against Rana, but the court ruled that the charge lacked sufficient evidence.&nbsp;
Former Kathmandu mayor <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/theytoo">Keshav Sthapit also mocked the #MeToo movement</a>, calling accusations against him by journalists Rashmila Prajapati and Ujjwala Maharjan “a rape of men’s rights”.
Serial Abuse
Back at the Kalapremi Ceramics studio, another former student, 24-year-old Rajiv, says he felt the need to speak out after seeing his female classmates being abused.&nbsp;
“He frequently kissed them on their cheeks,” he told Nepali Times. “Whenever they walked into the studio he flailed his arms like a child asking for a hug. They awkwardly hugged him from the side, but he pulled them closer, held their chin, and kissed their cheeks.”&nbsp;
Rajiv says he also saw Kalapremi pull the women’s bra straps, touch their breasts, and slap their buttocks. The young students would freeze, not knowing how to react, and if they protested, he would say it was “normal in art”. Rajiv, 19 at the time like his classmates, remembers thinking perhaps the well-respected artist was right after all.
Another student, Luna, who took lessons at Kalapremi’s studio from 2020 to 2022 did try to confront the tutor after he made an obscene proposal to her. She recalls: “One day when the other students had left the studio and it was just the two of us, he told me that God had given him special artistic talent and he could transfer those powers to me. But to do that both of us will have to be naked, inside a dark room, and have sex.”
Luna, who was 18 then, was livid and told him she did not want any of his powers, but she says he laughed at her as if he was joking. She did not tell her family about the incident because she thought no one would believe her.&nbsp;
“They were all in awe of this famous artist and felt I should be grateful that to be learning sculpting from him,” she says. “I was scared to be alone with him in case he talked about sex again. My coping mechanism was to be rude so he wouldn’t try to come close to me.”
Seeing how some classmates were standing up to Kalapremi, Ekta too tried to push back against his advances, but she said he found ways to coerce her. Since Ekta, Rajiv, and Luna could not afford Kalapremi’s Rs30,000 monthly fee for lessons, he had offered them all a stipend to assist him in the studio.
“He had spondylosis and took me to his therapy sessions to learn massage techniques, then he often made me and other students massage him,” says Ekta. Whenever she refused, he would feign pain to make her feel sorry for him. “He would insist that I put my hands under his shirt so that I could massage him better,” she adds.
The art tutor often tried to “seduce sympathy” from Ekta by sharing how he had never been loved as a child and was “sexually frustrated” as an adult.&nbsp;
“At 7PM, he would pour himself Signature whiskey and immediately go off again about how he was sex-starved. I didn’t know how to respond. It took me time to realise alcohol was just an excuse to talk about sex,” Ekta says.
If convicted, Kalapremi could face financial penalty and/or a prison sentence of up to three years according to Section 224 of National Penal (Code) Act 2017.&nbsp;
Data suggests that victims of child sexual abuse on average take nearly 24 years to tell someone about their trauma, and some may never disclose it at all.&nbsp;
“In our culture, children are rarely taught about boundaries. They often react, show anger when adults pinch their cheeks. But adults insist they did it out of love, and force the children to accept it,” says Sita Lama, a psychotherapist at Manka Kura. “And even when someone touches them inappropriately they struggle to identify and verbalise it.”
When perpetrators claim to be “acting out of love”, Lama says survivors are likely to perceive it as something safe, rather than recognising it as abuse.&nbsp;
“It may take years for them to realise they were abused,” she explains. "And even when they become aware, the power imbalance with the abuser and the associated shame often prevents survivors from speaking up."
Other former students from the School of Art at Kathmandu University have also come forward years later, saying Kalapremi sexually abused them. As young adults, they felt his behaviour was off but were uncertain if it was inappropriate, illegal, or they did not know how to respond. After having understood that it was indeed abuse, they say they are speaking out now to protect others.&nbsp;
Amina Singh, a visiting faculty member at Kathmandu University, says there is no clause against sexual abuse in contracts of teachers, and there is no formal grievance handling mechanism for the students.&nbsp;
“So the only way students can to deal with sexual abuse is approach someone they trust,” she says.
Eight other former art students of Lalit Kala Campus and Srijana College of Fine Arts of Tribhuvan University and other private art studios in Kathmandu say they were also sexually abused by their art teachers. Three faculty members interviewed from these institutions said they saw the abuse, but felt it was futile to report it given how powerful the teachers were.
In the absence of a formal system, some longtime women artists warned each other about “problematic” artists. They shared &nbsp;a “heads-up” to be more cautious when collaborating with them, and avoided responding to their calls and texts after work hours.
To ensure art institutions are safe for all, galleries, museums, artist studios, and smaller art spaces need to develop policies on sexual harassment. This would include a code of conduct or studio policies that hold the leadership accountable and outline the principles of professional ethics.&nbsp;
Students and employees should inquire about accountability mechanisms for raising concerns, both formally and informally, advocates say.
Three years after Ekta left the ceramics studio, she learnt that Kalapremi had harassed many other women. Still trying to get a footing in the art industry, she attended a workshop in Kathmandu where women artists discussed ways to stay safe in the art sector.&nbsp;
Since it was a close-knit group Ekta opened up about how she felt violated and realised she was not alone, he had been abusing underprivileged students for years, and this was common knowledge among artists in Nepal.
Ekta says that even after she quit, Kalapremi continued sending her text messages like ‘I am thinking of you’, ‘Why have you stopped speaking with me’, or ‘I am waiting for your call’.&nbsp;
But what really forced her to act was when Ekta found out that he was sending similar texts to her younger sister.&nbsp;
“I’ve had enough,” she told us. “He abused me all these years but I won’t let him abuse my sister.” &nbsp;
Ekta, Rajiv and Luna are not the real names of the students.&nbsp;

‘Art Lover’ accused of sexual abuse

It was 8:15 in the evening of 25 March 1968 when everyone in the village of Batulechaur near Pokhara heard a deafening sound like thunder as a bright flashing object hurtled down to land in a field.&nbsp; That field belonged to Kul Timilsina, and the next morning he retrieved a sheet of metal about 2m by 1m and carried it home with the help of a few others, thinking it would be useful for his buffalo shed.&nbsp; Before he died at age 83 three years ago, Timilsina had told photo archivist Sunil Ulak that the black metal sheet was not rectangular and had rounded corners. There are a few witnesses still alive who have a clear recollection of the object that fell from the sky that night.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024120707128_75cc85aac56b9cc4a77366471f058d7b3eb6868776811b0923845c2d0a61f014.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2024120707128_75cc85aac56b9cc4a77366471f058d7b3eb6868776811b0923845c2d0a61f014" data-rendition-name="original" width="1170" height="601" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> <figcaption>The field in Batulechaur belonging to Kul Timilsina where fragments of a flying object fell from the sky in 1968.</figcaption> </figure>  One of them is Timilsina’s wife Gyanu, who was 22 at the time. She had been at home, and remembers hearing the big bang and the sky becoming very bright. “We saw the thing in the field in the morning,” she told us. “It looked like a lid, a covering of some sort. The way it was stuck in the ground, it must have fallen from the sky. We thought we could use it to dry clothes on, and took it home.”&nbsp; Another witness is Kul Narayan Paudel. “I was only eight then. We ran to the field to see what had fallen. It was a four-sided metal sheet. The elders took it away, and I don't know what happened to it.” &nbsp; Ram Bahadur Baniya, a teacher at the local school, says he had heard the sheet had been brought to the school, and later handed over to the Zonal Commissioner at the time, Nanda Prasad Malla. “But that is all hearsay,” he says.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024120707128_0bf207a12063fb8155b3c8d9a00a94887b126380c9e0627527c84cf5e1101f54.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2024120707128_0bf207a12063fb8155b3c8d9a00a94887b126380c9e0627527c84cf5e1101f54" data-rendition-name="original" width="1170" height="610" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> <figcaption>Gyanu Timilsina, wife of Kul Timilsina.</figcaption> </figure>  There are two versions of what happened to Kul Timilsina’s metal sheet. One is that an American Peace Corp Volunteer teaching at the nearby Bindyabasini School took it, and another is that it was handed over to the government. Recently declassified Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and US State Department documents from the time say that the US Embassy in Kathmandu tracked down the object two years later and had it shipped back to the US. A telegram from the Department of State and Department of Defense tagged as ‘MOON DUST / Space Fragments’ dated 1 March 1972 stated: ‘1. Restored space fragment will be on board Embassy support flight 115 arriving Kathmandu on or about March 10. Fragment is packed in shipping crate (cargo no. 72-33365) marked in care of DAO.&nbsp; 2. State and Defense representatives examined fragments prior to shipment finding restoration acceptable.’  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241207071212_929d903ee06d41baa4f6040e981cd7c7d7bd75cc9c37c9b617d307fc8538d2df.png" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20241207071212_929d903ee06d41baa4f6040e981cd7c7d7bd75cc9c37c9b617d307fc8538d2df" data-rendition-name="original" width="856" height="568" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> <figcaption>Declassified CIA documents about the investigation into the object sighted in Pokhara. </figcaption> </figure>  The documents show that the US government, military and intelligence agencies investigated this incident thoroughly when it occurred, and have continued to revisit it ever since, as recently as five years ago. What is even more intriguing is that the object that fell in Pokhara was not the only unidentified space object that fell to earth that year. There were similar sightings of objects falling from the sky in Ladakh, Sikkim and Bhutan between 19 February and 25 March 1968.&nbsp; These mysteries were the subject of a CIA investigation in 1968 titled ‘<a href="https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP81R00560R000100070007-8.pdf">Sighting of Unidentified Flying Objects in Ladakh, Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan</a>’, and the report is part of the recent online declassification of 800,000 top-secret documents from the period.&nbsp; &nbsp;Although unidentified flying objects (UFOs) have a connotation now of being alien craft, it could be pieces of satellite, missile, rocket or even aircraft. The CIA report documents six sightings in 1968 and quotes local sources as describing all of them having similar characteristics: bright blue or red streaks in the sky accompanied by loud sounds like lightning and thunder and objects falling to the ground. Aside from the metallic object that was found in Batlechaur, there were other items also found nearby in Tallakot, Tureypasal, Armalakot and Maidan. Whatever the object was, it seems to have disintegrated even before it hit the ground.&nbsp; The CIA report records the first sighting on 19 February 1968 in various parts of Sikkim and Olangchung Gola and Ghunsa in eastern Nepal. The light was said to be ‘long and thin’ and giving out ‘green and red light’. &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241207071212_c3c825027d966a2aedc846970390eebe063957503c7eacc8e01e0517843f9bbb.png" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20241207071212_c3c825027d966a2aedc846970390eebe063957503c7eacc8e01e0517843f9bbb" data-rendition-name="original" width="892" height="596" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara "> </figure>  Two days later on 21 February, a soundless blue object was seen traveling fast across the sky above Thimphu in Bhutan. Then on 4 March there were multiple daytime sightings or white streaks in the sky at Chang La Pass, Fukche and Koyul in Ladakh. There were more sightings in Ladakh on the very day fragments fell near Pokhara on 25 March 1968.&nbsp; After the sightings in Pokhara, rumours started flying in Kathmandu that these were aliens trying to land on Earth, it could be Russian or Chinese spy planes or satellites, and some even say it as a sign from heaven that the end of the world was near. This was at the height of the Cold War. The Russians and Americans were testing their thermonuclear devices as well as intercontinental ballistic missile delivery systems. The Washington-Beijing rapprochement had not yet happened, and China was making quick progress testing atomic bombs. Within two years after its first atomic test, in 1966 China exploded its first hydrogen bomb at the Lop Nur site in Xinjiang, 3,000km to the north from Nepal. After neary six decades, what is still intriguing is that all the sightings within a few months of each other in 1968 were along the Himalayan arc bordering Tibet: from Bhutan, Sikkim Nepal, to Ladakh. The US military intelligence seems to have concluded that this was not a coincidence and there were frequent research trips to the site in Pokhara by American officials in the months after the incident. With the help of the Royal Nepal Army, the region north of Pokhara was thoroughly searched.&nbsp; A confidential memo dated 25 June 1968 by Jerry C Trippy to a ‘Mr Farley’ mentions that the US Air Force’s Foreign Technology Division had decided that the debris could be important because it may be related to a Chinese missile test or a Soviet ‘Vehicle Venik’ rocket.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241207071216_feb5425692dc36b20187de4e4fcc2ce9fd12b6d9e1b8724398e50bcdbf9032fe.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20241207071216_feb5425692dc36b20187de4e4fcc2ce9fd12b6d9e1b8724398e50bcdbf9032fe" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> </figure>  On 28 August 1968 the US Embassy in Kathmandu sent a letter to Washington DC saying that the object could be of Soviet origin, possibly from when the rocket carrying the ‘Kosmos 208’ satellite re-entered the atmosphere. But why were the fragments falling to earth several weeks apart, and in the same region? No one knows where the metal sheet that Kul Timilsina recovered is now. It was definitely packed in a crate and taken to the US, and although it is rumoured that it was returned that is not very likely. Archivist Sunil Ulak heard from the Timilsina family that CIA officials had returned to the site five years ago. &nbsp; Interest in UFOs peaked in the US in the 1950s, with the Cold War space race and tests of atomic weapons and delivery rockets. CIA and scientists were being sent to investigate sightings, both publicly and privately. Could the Pokhara fragments as well as the sightings in Ladakh and Bhutan actually be alien craft falling to earth? The renewal in interest in space travel in large part due to Elon Musk’s SpaceX, UFOs and sightings are again subjects of public interest.&nbsp; Even 57 years later, even if there was definitive proof about whether the Batlechaur fragment was from a Chinese missile or a soviet rocket, it has not been made public in documents declassified so far. We may never know.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241207071216_b6938795f40731e7657fd6dcbb3cf460a326186a15eb11d4f832f602201ff598.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20241207071216_b6938795f40731e7657fd6dcbb3cf460a326186a15eb11d4f832f602201ff598" data-rendition-name="original" width="642" height="320" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> </figure>  Sunil Ulak speculates if the debris actually came from an American aircraft, perhaps on an intel mission upon China. “Which could explain why they were so thorough in collecting the fragments in Pokhara,” he says. But that still does not explain the multiple sightings weeks apart in 1968.&nbsp; Indeed, US military aircraft were at that time flying frequent night-time missions from air force bases in India to supply weapons to Khampa guerrilla camps in Nepal located north of Pokhara in Mustang. It could very well be that the Chinese shot down one such aircraft. The other sightings could have been contrails of US spy planes, or Chinese anti-aircraft missiles.&nbsp; There were quite a few developments regarding UFOs in 2024. In a US congressional hearing in July, former intelligence officer David Grusch claimed that the government had long been involved in a program to investigate and retrieve non-human craft crashes, and then try to reverse engineer them. However Grusch did not show any evidence.&nbsp; The UAP Disclosure Act of 2024 was signed into law by Joe Biden in December 2023. It plans to oversee the public disclosure of UFO information. However, there is a clause in it that prevents disclosure if it would cause threats to military defense, intelligence operations or foreign relations.&nbsp; It is unlikely that the declassified documents about sightings in the Himalayan will cause any real surprise about definite evidence of alien life even if it was found. It seems humanity will continue, at least for now, to wonder about curious lights in the sky and whether there is anybody out there.&nbsp;

UFO over Pokhara

When Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) president Rabi Lamichhane was arrested in October on charges of defrauding depositors of cooperatives, the party’s vice president Swarnim Wagle gifted him Fareed Zakaria’s book, Age of Revolutions.
Since then, Lamichhane has been shunted around from Kathmandu to Pokhara to Chitwan and back to Pokhara to attend police investigations and court proceedings. He was being flown to Birganj via Kathmandu on Buddha Air on Monday. There is another pending case in Janakpur.
Human rights groups and civil society have criticised the government for hounding Lamichhane with inhumane treatment that borders on physical torture. The two parties in the coalition, Nepali Congress (NC) and the UML, see Lamichhane’s RSP as a potentially formidable challenge to their power.
Even if the fraud charges against Lamichhane are true, the Nepali public is increasingly looking at the government’s actions through the police and courts as political vendetta.
Despite all the travelling, sometimes by plane and often by road at night, Lamichhane appears to be in high spirits, waving to supporters who often gather if they know he is going to be driven around. A social media video shows him giving high fives to fellow passengers on a recent flight to Pokhara.&nbsp;
In the past weeks, streets in Pokhara have erupted with parallel protests by Lamichhane’s supporters as well as depositors of cooperatives who lost their savings to the scam.&nbsp;
Although family visits are allowed, prison officials in Pokhara told Nepali Times that not many people visit Lamichhane these days. He added, “When he does get visitors, he asks them to bring him books.”
Lamichhane is currently Nepal’s most high-profile public figure in custody, and highlights the stark difference between how influential prisoners are treated compared to ordinary inmates.
There are six prison cells at Kaski District Police Office’s two-story detention centre, three on each floor. And while authorities pack prisoners into already overcrowded cells, Lamichhane has an entire room on the second floor to himself.&nbsp;
He has also been allowed to call his family every few days. Other prisoners are not permitted phone calls except for emergencies.
Meanwhile, Lamichhane’s former business partner Chhabilal Joshi, an ex-Deputy Inspector General of Police with whom he established his Gorkha Media Network, is in custody under the same charges in the prison cell next to him.
Lamichhane is accused of siphoning off depositors' money to the tv network in which he was part-owner and anchor. &nbsp;
Both Lamichhane and Joshi are able to buy food from the police canteen instead of being served the regular meal like other prisoners. Joshi has also given his statement to authorities in Rupandehi and Kathmandu for his alleged role in the scam. Lamichhane is yet to be presented in Kathmandu for questioning.
While he was in custody at the Kathmandu District Police Complex, Joshi expressed his desire to sleep in a police officer’s office, reportedly assuring authorities that he would not run away and he was entitled to certain facilities as a former officer of the law.
“He seemed to be under the impression that he is still a police officer,” says a source at the Kathmandu District Police. “We made it clear to him that as someone accused of a crime, he was not entitled to special treatment.”
Former ministers Balkrishna Khand and Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, and ex-home secretary Tek Narayan Pandey, who were arrested in connection with the fake refugee scam last year, were similarly housed in the offices of law enforcement officials instead of prison cells. Khand has since been released after six months in jail.
While there is no legal provision to keep high-ranking officials in separate detention centres when they are arrested, authorities granting them special facilities is not uncommon. Law enforcement officials say VIP detainees expect preferential treatment while in police custody.
Among those is former Kosi Province minister Lila Ballav Adhikari, who was arrested from Biratnagar on 10 November over his alleged involvement in human trafficking and brought to Kathmandu. Adhikari had flown to Japan without government approval with three individuals on 29 October to attend a cultural conference, but had been sent back to Nepal from Narita.&nbsp;
His three companions were arrested at Kathmandu airport upon their arrival, but Adhikari was able to exit unscathed from the VIP lounge. Adhikari had resigned as the Kosi Province Minister for Internal Affairs and Law when it became public that his companions had been taken into custody, and was himself arrested shortly after. He has since been cleared by the courts.
Throughout his detention, Adhikari was kept separately from other inmates. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Basant Rajouri, head of the Bhadrakali complex, says that while there is no separate detention area for VIPs, some detainees are kept separately depending on the nature of their crime.
However, sources say that arrangements were made for retired judges and others to visit Adhikari frequently worked at the office of a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) during his time in custody.&nbsp;
“He used to constantly pester the authorities to let him sit outside in the sun, and to be able to use the police officer’s shower area,” added an officer.
Adhikari was released on 25 November after the government prosecutor’s office decided not to charge him in a move that was seen to expose the government’s double standards.
Over at Kathmandu’s Dilli Bazar Prison, former Kist Bank CEO Kamal Gyawali emerges from his prison cell into the courtyard of the prison’s ‘Ka (क)’ block every morning with a thick book in his hands, ready to give his daily sermon.
With his long beard, Gyawali, who is serving a prison sentence for banking fraud, looks the part of a religious guru as he implores his rapt listeners to “walk the right path, abandon bad thoughts and turn to scripture and spirituality”.&nbsp;
Afterward, the attendees gather to discuss politics and current affairs. Inmates at his daily sermons at the prison include other high-profile detainees, including former MP Ichchha Raj Tamang, who is in jail for money laundering and cooperatives fraud, former joint secretary Chudamani Sharma, who was convicted of corruption, as well as NC leader Chandra Bahadur Lama and Krishna Bahadur Upreti of the UML both of whom are on trial for embezzling billions of rupees.
Victims of the cooperatives scam that former lawmaker Tamang was involved in have made trips to the prison and requested visits, but he has refused to meet with any of them.
“Tamang often complains that the state has prevented him from returning the money to the victims by locking him up,” says a police officer at the Dili Bazar jail.
“All you hear every day from the VIP prisoners is that they have been framed,” adds the officer. “No one admits that they were involved in misdeeds.”
But while most high-profile prisoners complain about prison conditions, one exception is former provincial lawmaker Deepak Manange, who is serving a sentence at Dilli Bazar Jail for attempted murder.
“He is the happiest prisoner here,” says a warden. “Unlike the others, he doesn’t claim to have been framed, in fact he doesn’t seem to care that he is in prison.”
Manange is detained in the ‘Kha (ख)’ block of the prison complex, which he renovated at his own expense. The block previously housed female prisoners, but Manange used his influence to transfer them elsewhere. He faces no shortage of visitors, who range from political leaders to people from the underworld.
Along with Manange, other well-known prisoners in this block include Nepal Telecom Managing Director Sunil Poudel, and former executive director of the Surakshan Printing Centre Bikal Poudel, who are serving time for corruption.
Former prisoners at Dilli Bazar prison include ex-ministers Khum Bahadur Khadka and Shyam Sundar Gupta, NC leader Ganesh Lama, Maoist MP Balkrishna Dhungel, Nagarik Unmukti Party leader Resham Chaudhary, as well as former IGs Ramesh Chand Thakuri, Om Bikram Rana, and Hem Bahadur Gurung.
Section 54 of Nepal’s Prison Act assigns each prison’s internal administration the
responsibility of governing its prisoners, which means the more favourable the jail management is, the more comfortable it is for prisoners.
Dilli Bazar prison has been the prison of choice for many high-ranking prisoners, especially those convicted of white collar crimes, due to its more accommodating administrators. The prison, which has the capacity to house 700 inmates, is also less crowded than other jails.
Anuj Bhattarai, spokesperson of the Department of Prison Management, says that there is no legal classification in Nepal for felons to be assigned prisons based on the nature of their crimes.
“That Dilli Bazar Jail has a higher number of prisoners convicted of crimes like corruption is most likely a coincidence,” says Bhattarai. “There is no provision for influential people to be able to choose where they will be incarcerated.”&nbsp;
Translated by Shristi Karki from the Nepali original published in himalkhabar.com

What Nepal’s VIP prisoners do in jail

If you were raised in Nepal, you must have picked up its unique set of vocabulary: आन्दोलन, चक्का जाम, बन्द, राँके जुलुस, आफ्नो मान्छे, हाम्रो दल, कर्फु and many more words connoting political protest.
We became familiar with the acrid smell of burning tyres, and eyes smarting from tear gas. And yet, everyone speaks of another revolution in the making. Not by desire, but by suffocation.
We heard speeches about नयाँ नेपाल, but the New Nepal never arrived. The governance system changed, but it did not reflect on people’s lives — except for those close to centres of power. The state is still unreachable and is not bothered about <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/matter-of-life-and-debt">victims of loan sharks</a>, cooperative scams and other injustices.
Politicians continue to speak in sound bites, but fail to deliver. They have mastered the game of pointing fingers towards an external enemy and convincing people that they are never at fault. The political narrative is so disconnected from the actual analysis of the problem that suffocation doesn’t go away after every revolution.
No genuine effort has been made to deliver at all, which is why there is a palpable sense of disillusionment in the air forcing us to seek another revolution, even if Nepal may not be able to afford it.
How has the current system successfully held power, even if the public is deeply frustrated? How is it that for three decades we continue to be led by the same faces, who have time and again, proved to us that they may be great politicians but not national leaders?
<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/improving-internet-governance-in-nepal">My experience at the epicentre of politics</a> has led me to identify three cultures that have enabled political parties to keep a tight hold on power: acceptance, silence and dependency.
We accept things the way they are. We use fatalistic phrases like “नेपालमा यस्तै हो” or “नेपालको कानुन दैब जानुन”. While this resilience enables us to rise back up from devastating calamities, it is also a reason for our compliance with the status quo.
Despite so many ‘revolutions’ that have led to significant reforms, these phrases keep getting reinforced, to the point that the upcoming generations have made it their lingo.&nbsp;
This acceptance is not a symbol of law-abiding citizens, but citizens living in fear of those in power, unable to ask the whys and why-nots.
Innovation suffocates in this culture of acceptance of the status quo. This is manifested in remarks like “but we don’t have any laws for this,” or “we don’t have the capacity to implement this”. An innovator or entrepreneur therefore has to spend that energy to become a political lobbyist, often educating and convincing the bureaucracy.&nbsp;
Remember when locally assembled <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/designed-and-made-in-nepal">Yatri motorbikes</a>, despite having willing customers, had to suffer to secure license numbers because of a lack of regulations? Instead of creating new laws, the government kept chanting the “We will promote Nepal-made goods” mantra, leaving entrepreneurs in a labyrinth of bureaucracy. The weight of acceptance of the law lies heavily on innovators. Fatalism is a tactic used by those in power to generate mass fear in society.
When we accept, we become silent. This is a pervasive phenomenon. We are trained to keep quiet, lest we ruffle feathers, burn bridges, or not get the help we need in future. We know, yet we don’t speak.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/bureaucratic-hurdles-in-researching-nepals-bureaucracy">Bureaucratic hurdles in researching Nepal's bureaucracy</a>, Daniel W Edwards
Here is one example: the 2021 census shows that the number of baby boys born for every 100 baby girls is 112. This is a clear indication of female foeticide because of boy preference in society.
Despite such horrifying realities, there is finger-pointing within the government between the Ministry of Health and Population with the Ministry of Home Affairs. At the citizen level, we know those who are involved in killing girls. Yet, we don’t speak up. The Nepal Medical Council reports state that despite this gender imbalance at birth, there is no indication of any action.
But why would anyone speak against one's own fraternity, no matter how vile the act is?
When we accept and keep quiet, we become dependent on those who yield power. From getting our government procedure completed on time to getting transfers, to accessing any of our legally protected rights as well, we are forced to depend on our networks of चिनेको मान्छे people we know by blood, village, relations, political affiliation.
The culture of dependency has been the established way in Nepal. If you drive a two-wheeler or four-wheeler, and you get into a small accident, you will be asked to sort it yourself, dialing up the most powerful person you know. It becomes a competition of who knows who.
Recently I was told that there were calls from the Ministry of Health and Population and another from the Prime Minister's Office for just one medical position in a private hospital. Each was pushing its own candidate. Guess which candidate got the position.&nbsp;
The dependency of people is not on the laws or the state, it is with people in power, a reliance on the network of somebody who knows somebody, including those not officially in power.
These cultures are deeply ingrained in our heads, and in society. Collectively they form a vicious circle that helps those in power to retain power. This is not the society we want to live in.
Then, what do we do as a collective to break away from this? How do we break away from the cultures of acceptance and silence that have created this dependency? What can we do to ensure that our children do not have to learn the jargon of आन्दोलन before they learn about the state?
These are the cultures political parties need to shed rather than use them to perpetuate their power. This is what <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/an-alternative-to-alternative-politics-in-nepal">alternative politics</a> needs to be about.
Sumana Shrestha is a member of Parliament’s Education, Health and Information Technology parliamentary committee and represents the Rastriya Swatantara Party.

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