<figure><img width="1500" height="1000" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141132/636cfdd89c7e80680e0a0c08jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Scars of injuries sustained by Shyam in his scalp when his Nepali employer in a restaurant in Luxembourg allegedly beat him with a tandoor skewer, ladles and other objects.</figcaption></figure>The Nepali restaurant is located in the richest country of the European Union, and its Facebook page is full of recommendations from guests lavishing effusive praise on its cuisine and service. The page also contains a post from its owner saying that the restaurant's chefs and staff prepare all meals with great care so that guests leave with satisfaction and good memories. What the Facebook page does not say is that the chef and staff had been made to work more than 18 hours a day as virtual slaves with their bank accounts, and in some cases passports, in the hands of an abusive owner. Luxembourg is Europe’s smallest country, and has the world’s highest GDP per capita. It is one of the founding members of the European Union, is one of its four capitals, and is also the seat of the Court of Justice of the European Union. Some of the restaurant’s regular customers could have been rich Europeans and those who worked on human rights. However, they were oblivious to the mistreatment and abuse of the restaurant’s Nepali staff by its Nepali owner. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/two-decades-of-debate-on-female-migration/">Two decades of debate on female migration</a>, Upasana Khadka “I arrived in Luxembourg in October 2015 with a work permit sent to me by the owner of the restaurant,” says Shyam from Baglung, who paid for his own air ticket. “I wanted to live a decent life and save enough to provide for my family. But what a disappointment it has been.” In a series of phone calls from Luxembourg, Shyam spoke of chronic beatings, abuse, withholding of salary, and substandard living conditions. Unable to bear it any longer he and some other co-workers lodged a complaint with the Luxembourg police in July.  The case will now be further investigated by the Police Judiciaire, and based on its verdict the prosecutor's office will decide whether there is enough evidence of human trafficking to file charges. After several attempts to contact the restaurant owner, he finally responded via an email from his lawyer denying all accusations. He says he had neither mentally nor physically abused his staff, or forced them to work for free for 16 months or work extra hours.  ‘All the claims made by my ex-employees are false. They might have received a better offer from competing business and hence they fled from the restaurant housing overnight leaving a resignation letter in my mailbox,’ he states in the email. ‘This is nothing but a stunt to defame my image and damage the reputation of my very well-established business.’  Luxembourg law does not permit naming of the restaurant and the owner, unless convicted, but Shyam’s story has been corroborated by two of his colleagues as well with depositions he made with the local Nepali community and the police.   When he arrived Shyam was given space above the restaurant to share with two other co-workers. The toilets were rudimentary, and they were allowed to take a bath only once a week and that too, very grudgingly.  The restaurant’s cook, Binod, left soon after Shyam arrived because he could not tolerate the injustice of the owner, who happened to be his relative. Nepali Times tracked down Binod in Chitwan this week, and he confirmed that the owner was physically abusive and exploited his employees from Nepal. Binod is an experienced chef, having worked for 12 years in India and seven years in Qatar before spending €3,000 of his own savings to go to Luxembourg to work for his relative, who sent him a work permit.   <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/caught-in-the-middle/migration-agency-exploitation,4003">Caught in the middle by middlemen</a>, Upasana Khadka He also agreed to work for 12 months without pay in lieu of his work permit. He was hired as a chef, but was asked to also do all the shopping, carrying heavy goods into the store, cleaning and other chores. He had been promised a four-hour working day, but ended up doing 18-hours a day.  Binod’s passport was taken away from him, and his phone calls were monitored. After he found the abuse intolerable, Binod asked his relative for his passport and money, but he lost his temper and beat him with anything he could lay his hands on. His employer opened a bank account in Binod’s name and would deposit about €2,000 every month. But the restaurant owner kept all the passwords himself and Binod could not have access to his account. The owner then withdrew most of the salary he had deposited, and gave only €500 to him. At first, Binod says he did not complain because he thought that was the way things were done in Luxembourg. Binod’s unwritten agreement with his relative was that he would work for free for one year to repay him for the work permit. But he ended up working at the restaurant for no salary, no leave and no weekends for most of the 3.5 years. “When I did not do as asked, he hit me with a metal tandoor skewer or a ladle,” Binod recalls. “There were many nights when I could not sleep because of the pain from the beatings, and the pillow would be soaked with blood from wounds in my ears.”  Binod would plead with the employer to take him to hospital to get stitches, but was not allowed. After nearly four years of this, Binod’s father died and he asked his employer for leave. When the owner refused, Binod got relatives back home to buy a one-way ticket back to Nepal and never went back to Luxembourg.  Both Binod and Shyam thought the prospect of a job in Europe would change their lives, and trusted a fellow-Nepali employer. But while Binod returned to Nepal because he could not bear the mistreatment, and did not want to turn against his relative, Shyam lodged the complaint with the authorities.   <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-and-malaysia-rewrite-rules-for-migrant-labour/">Nepal and Malaysia rewrite rules for migrant labour</a>, Kunda Dixit Binod and Shyam talked to us separately, and one did not know the other was in touch with Nepali Times. But the pattern of abuse and the method of exploitation they described unprompted were identical in both cases.  In July, three of the Nepali workers complained to the Non-resident Nepalese Association (NRN) Luxembourg, and a section of the interaction was recorded by someone there. Shyam also said he had to work 16 hours a day without holidays, not allowed breaks or to meet with other Nepalis “I was imprisoned for seven years,” he said in the audio clip. Like Binod, Shyam’s verbal deal with the employer was that he would work without pay for the first 16 months to compensate him for arranging the work permit. But because that is not allowed under Luxembourg law, the employer would deposit €1,600 every month in his account, and he would withdraw the amount every month and hand it to the owner. He was sometimes allowed to keep €150 for himself as an allowance. For the first six months he was treated well by his employers, and he did not complain about the bad accommodation and poor food as the other employees were in the same predicament. But after that he started facing physical violence – being hit by skewers and boxed in the ears, like Binod. After 16 months, the owner made him sign an official contract as required by law. But even after that, he kept most of Shyam’s salary himself. In addition, the owner only gave the workers left-overs, vegetables and a thin gruel to eat.  “Sometimes we used scrap bones to make soup, and he would beat us up calling us thieves,” Shyam said on the phone. “At other times he would summon us in the middle of the night to massage his legs.”  Shyam says he tolerated the beatings and abuse because he did not want to lose face back home, and wanted to protect his mother from social stigma. He sold his land in Nepal, and brought his wife and two children over to Europe as well, and for this he needed his employer’s help. When he visited Nepal for the first time since leaving for Luxembourg, family members asked him about the scars on his face. He told them it was work related. Finally, unable to bear the abuse any longer, Shyam and three other staff – one of them another relative of the owner – decided to tell their story to the NRN. In the audio recording of their deposition, the relative of the owner is heard saying that although he and his wife were also mistreated, he could not come out openly to lodge a complaint because of his family ties to him.  Another staff member is overheard in the clip saying he was forbidden even to drink water or take a toilet break while in the kitchen. Shyam explained that after meeting the Nepali community, the three of them got the courage to file a complaint with the Commissariat Luxembourg on 25 July 2021. The NRN Chair in Luxembourg Hari Khatri and his family own a restaurant and grocery. He was shocked by the revelations of the four Nepali restaurant workers.  <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/women-migrant-workers-are-doubly-vulnerable">Women workers are doubly vulnerable</a>, Rojita Adhikari “In my 23 years living here, this has never happened before in the Luxembourg Nepali community. We all lived together as one family,” Khatri said on the phone. “The case is now with the police, they will investigate and we will soon know the facts. I will try to help the staff as much as I can.” There are about 450 Nepali residents in Luxembourg and some 120 households. Many of them have come as cooks to work in Nepali restaurants, and earn enough in about six months to bring their families over. Luxembourg law allows restaurant owners to import cooks if a citizen who qualifies for the job cannot be found.  That is how Khatri himself brought his brother over in 2006, who is now well settled with his family in his own house. “But I had never heard of any Nepali not paying 16 months salary to a fellow Nepali,” he added. Like other countries in Europe, Nepalis also try to come to Luxembourg on student visas by paying agents in Kathmandu up to Rs1.6 million. He warned Nepali youngsters not to get duped, since the cost of living is very high, and it is difficult to pay living costs and school fees by working. With the pandemic, there are also fewer jobs in the service industry. Most are now working on home delivery and take away.   After the interaction with the NRN, the restaurant owner’s mother and father pleaded with Shyam and his colleagues not to press charges against their son. In an audio recording of a telephone conversation that Nepali Times was provided, they can be heard apologising to Shyam about the way their son treated him.  Shyam then asks them why they did not speak up even though they knew that their son was abusing employees. The restaurant has remained closed since the four employees left and filed the complaint. Many Nepalis in Europe have said in interviews that they are not surprised by this story from Luxembourg. The practice of friends and relatives misusing the work permit in restaurants to engage in human trafficking is said to be rife.  But such is the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/half-of-nepalis-lost-jobs-in-past-month/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">desperation of young Nepalis for jobs</a> that they are willing to risk all for a decent income to support families back home. Many of them tolerate the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepali-guard-beaten-in-malaysia-goes-viral/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">abuse and exploitation</a>, and are also not aware of their rights in European countries.  Service Info Traite, which supports victims of human trafficking in Luxembourg says that the investigation and judicial process could take up to three years. It says the restaurant owner using a bank account to get around labour laws to exploit his employees is not new.  Says Frank Wies, who is a lawyer with Luxembourg’s Human Rights Commission: “The police, the courts and the prosecution often lack the necessary sensitivity to recognise and treat human trafficking. I have often seen cases where victims are given a settlement and deported back to their countries.” That is not likely to happen with Shyam and his two colleagues who have work permits. But they have gone to the police in one of the world’s richest countries in the hope that justice will be served, and maybe set an example to other Nepali employers in Europe.   Some names have been changed. Luc Caregari of Reporter in Luxembourg collaborated in this investigation. This report is published simultaneously in English in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1629986195528000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHtSVNSRWqbuFfj0xvYbhurabXE-A">Nepali Times</a>, in German in <a href="http://reporter.lu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://reporter.lu&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1629986195528000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHmoJ1q5lxrWAGKSIqhvoLQ1ds7Yw">reporter.lu</a> and in Nepali by <a href="http://onlinekhabar.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://onlinekhabar.com&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1629986195528000&amp;usg=AFQjCNExFo0zvEqQtb7MfZDSAfMpQv1MvQ">onlinekhabar.com</a>._________________  <h2>Dark shadow of the European dream</h2> During my reporting trip to Europe in 2019, I visited many Nepali restaurants, interviewed their Nepali owners, and met with employees. I also met government officials and visited police departments. In Luxembourg, it was not easy to get information. After the initial chit chat restaurant workers suddenly went quiet when asked about their working conditions and seemed intimidated. Owners liked to highlight how they were helping fellow Nepalis attain their European dream. I soon found out that the reason was that many of them are victims of physical and mental torture, not aware of their labour rights in Europe because of lack of education or being unable to speak the local language. They trusted the employer who was often a relative or friend from back home.  It was in Luxembourg, the country where the Court of Justice of the European Union is situated, that migrant workers were facing some of the worst violations of their human rights at the hands of fellow Nepalis. Outwardly, the restaurants looked spic and span, the guests were all well-groomed, and seemed to be from the higher echelons of society. The Nepalis all said they were happy. But behind this veneer, I had a nagging feeling that it was all too good to be true.  Sure enough, after some digging, I found a similar story to what I had uncovered in Helsinki earlier. Together with <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/finnish-paper-expose-on-nepali-restaurants/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/finnish-paper-expose-on-nepali-restaurants/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1629986195528000&amp;usg=AFQjCNE_Bi1ton1z4xOyqLRgwTTz1UfqsQ">Helsingin Sanomat</a>, we at Nepali Times had covered the story on human trafficking of Nepali workers by a Nepali restaurant owner in 2019, after which the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepali-restaurateurs-fined-in-finland/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepali-restaurateurs-fined-in-finland/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1629986195529000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEsSkybqU-hj0KgZBpma0xalqzAAg">Finnish government took action</a> on the perpetrator.  Like in Finland, some migrants who had entered Luxembourg legally were being abused and denied basic human rights, including the right to decent working hours and salary as per the labour laws of the country, right to safe housing and good food and the right to live with dignity.  The stories of Binod, Shyam, and their colleagues prove that there are Nepalis who themselves rose up the ranks to be restaurant owners who are now preying on vulnerable and desperate people from the home country.  There is no other label for this but human trafficking — anyone who is made to work in a different place than their home country without a fair salary, housing, food and health services are victims of human trafficking, even if they are not subject to physical, verbal, mental and sexual violence.  Shyam and Binod’s Nepali employer has all the legal paperwork for their contract and bank accounts. Still, they were exploited. It is now up to the authorities there to find out how such violations  could occur in a country which has such strict safeguards. <img width="97" height="103" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141132/636cfddb9c7e80680e0a0c09jpeg.jpg" alt="">Namrata Sharma is former chair of the Centre for Investigative Journalism Nepal. This article has been developed with the support of the <a style="font-family: georgia, serif;" href="http://www.money-trail.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.money-trail.org&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1629986195529000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHi58yJp7lYGXJm-u7RxXB37cRrBw">Money Trail Project</a>, <a style="font-family: georgia, serif;" href="https://www.journalismfund.eu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.journalismfund.eu&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1629986195529000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFgo-S83vRTW2_zljHaM5pvCj-uzg">Journalism Fund EU</a>, and <a style="font-family: georgia, serif;" href="http://www.financeuncovered.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.financeuncovered.org/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1629986195529000&amp;usg=AFQjCNG5Rn24XIEKJ2NEdArVvblHbVcR1A">Finance Uncovered</a>.Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/in-the-minds-of-nepals-migrant-workers/">In the minds of Nepal’s migrant workers</a>, Upasana Khadka<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/south-asias-migrants-shared-problems-share-solutions/">South Asia’s migrants share problems, share solutions</a>, Upasana Khadka

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Nepalis abused by Nepalis in Luxembourg

<figure><img width="1100" height="560" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914110/636ba45b9c7e80680e073662jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Stills from the video of the Nepali guard being beaten mercilessly by someone identified as a Malaysian Tamil supervisor of the firm, Allied Security.</figcaption></figure>After <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepali-guard-beaten-in-malaysia-goes-viral/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepali-guard-beaten-in-malaysia-goes-viral/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1596546412704000&amp;usg=AFQjCNER9zR06N84h6qUBcjMDYvhtVuFzA">a video of a Nepali security guard being mercilessly</a> beaten by his Malaysian supervisor went viral on 2 August, police there have tried to cover up the abuse by saying that the supervisor is actually a Nepali.However, the video itself as well as a testimony by another Nepali who was  assaulted last year by the same supervisor, confirm that he is actually a Tamil Malaysian who is among three that serially abused migrant workers.Although the Malaysian police has not made any public statement, the Nepal Embassy in Kuala Lumpur has issued a press brief (below) which, despite strong evidence to the contrary, backs up a report by the umbrella organisation of the security agencies (PIKM), implicating a Nepali in the crime.Read also: <a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepali-guard-beaten-in-malaysia-goes-viral/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepali guard beaten in Malaysia goes viral</a> <figure><img width="630" height="891" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914110/636ba45d9c7e80680e073663jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>The statement by the Nepal Embassy in Kuala Lumpur dated 3 August in which it backs a claim by a security agency association as saying that it was a Nepali who beat up a Nepali.</figcaption></figure>The video that has gone viral on social media shows the Nepali guard being repeatedly bludgeoned with a club, and slapped in the face in the parking lot of an apartment block in Kuala Lumpur. The Nepali does not retaliate or say anything, while trying to evade the blows.The supervisor is overheard in the video as saying in Bahasa Melayu: “Are you flaking off? You are here to work, and you are creating trouble? Who do you think you are?”The Embassy statement names the victim as Islam Husain from Nawalparasi district, and the 'supervisor' as Ram Gopal Murau. The report that the Embassy quoted said that both Nepalis were undocumented, and it added that Murau had given himself up to police. However, reports from Malaysia say there is no Nepali involved in the incident who is in custody. The Embassy's version of the events is also contradicted by the supervisor’s facial features, language and accent, as well as his identification by several security guards, now back in Nepal, whom he had similarly abused in the past.One of them is Santosh Sapkota, who was beaten last year by the same person he identifies as a Malaysian Tamil supervisor after he failed to report for work because he was not feeling well. He was badly injured, but forced himself to go to work fearing more beatings.“I can tell you with certainty that it is the same man who beat me and he is definitely not a Nepali,” Sapkota told Nepali Times at his home in Kavre district. “The Nepal Embassy seems to be under pressure to go along with the story that it was just a Nepali beating a Nepali.” <figure><img width="1050" height="683" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914110/636ba4609c7e80680e073664jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>The complaint filed by Santosh Sapkota at the Nepal Embassy in Malaysia last year after he was beaten by the same supervisor, ‘Mannu’.</figcaption></figure>For Sapkota, this is not the first time he had to be disappointed with the Nepal Embassy. After he was beaten, he took the bold and rare step of lodging a complaint against his supervisor and his Allied Security Sdn Bhd at the Nepal Embassy in Kuala Lumpur last August.But instead of helping him, Sapkota says the embassy notified the company about his complaint. When he reported to work the next day, three Malaysian Tamils knifed him, causing a spinal injury.“The three were named Mannu, Ganeshan and Gunasekeran. Since then I have been both physically disabled as well as suffering post-traumatic stress,” says Sapkota, who had to pay for his own treatment in hospital, using RM2,600 ($400) of his own savings. Allied Security then laid him off on 3 September 2019, and cut the air fare from his own salary to send him home.He has needed more hospitalisation for his back injury, and has already spent Rs200,000, and he still needs more treatment. (See hospital report, right). This means he cannot work and cannot provide for his wife and two children. Besides his physical disability, Sapkota suffers psychological trauma from the violence. <figure><img width="700" height="945" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914110/636ba4629c7e80680e073665jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Santosh Sapkota’s medical treatment sheet for a spinal injury he received after a knife attack by three supervisors at Allied Security in Kuala Lumpur last year.</figcaption></figure>Another Nepali security guard working in Allied Security, Sajan Shrestha, was also beaten up and threatened by the supervisor at Allied Security. He was then reportedly disappeared by the company, Sapkota said.In his complaint to the Nepal Embassy last year, Sapkota has also alleged that the supervisor named 'Gunasekeran' was also the one in the video. Earlier, he had identified the supervisor as 'Mannu'. Sapkota says beating employees for minor infractions is standard operating procedure among Malaysian security companies, and urges the authorities in Nepal and Malaysia to take action.Sapkota went to Malaysia to work five years ago under a contract with Himarav Overseas recruitment agency and was assigned a job at Allied Security Sdn Bhd. They had promised him a salary of RM2,100. But after he started working, he only got RM1,600 a month for being on duty up to 14 hours a day and no weekends. That is when he became ill from exhaustion, and was beaten for not reporting to work.“The Nepal Embassy has backed the official version of the incident and let the Malaysian off the hook, and this is getting wide play in the media. But that is not true, the supervisor is a Malaysian Tamil, and he also beat me so badly that I am disabled,” says Sapkota.He adds that Allied Security is notorious for abusing its employees, and it hired musclemen to keep workers in line so they do not complain about not getting promised salaries or about being made to work extra hours.<iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fandy.hall.3110%2Fvideos%2F10157468010285677%2F&amp;show_text=0&amp;width=261" width="261" height="900" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe>On Monday, Santosh Sapkota filed complaints at the Consular Section of at Narayanhiti, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Foreign Employment. Sapkota says there are many workers like him in Malaysia who are mistreated like slaves, and many are tortured. But few go to the police because instead of catching the culprit, they often victimise the victim.In another video testimony sent to Nepali Times this week by another Nepali guard working at Kajang Expom Security, the person says he was beaten up after asking to go home for a family crisis. His passport was confiscated, two months of salary was withheld, and he was thrown out of the company dorm.In the video he says he went to the Nepal Embassy to complain, and again, instead of helping him, the Embassy informed the company and never followed up. He is now staying with a friend, and he says in the video: “I need to get back home, but I have neither the money nor passport. I have run out of my savings.”Migrant rights campaigner Andy Hall says the Malaysian government and employers have not adequately addressed the exploitation and abuse of Nepali workers there. “Nepali are working there as virtual slaves, and are being tortured,” he says.People’s Forum, and organisation that provides free legal advice to Nepali overseas workers says the mistreatment of Nepalis must be addressed through the Malaysian justice system, and the Nepal government should be putting pressure on the Malaysian authorities.“The abuse of Nepali workers is against international and Malaysian law,” says Som Luitel of People’s Forum. “It is the responsibility of the Nepal Foreign Minister and the Nepal Embassy in Kuala Lumpur to raise this issue with the Malaysian government.”

Malaysian police says Nepali beat Nepali

One Friday night last month, we were swapping stories about Vipassana, a rigorous <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/practicing-mindfulness-in-schools?fbclid=IwAR2X1T9SNG1tWe61UPqMUgHjOWNZ4U1foJyURLJMrjYAsUdr4u_mz1rmC1U">meditation</a> technique of silent observation, over dinner. We spoke of its ten days of noble silence, of respiration, observation, and sensation.&nbsp; I told them about my first retreat in Lumbini last year when my mind kept getting distracted: ‘What is happening in the outside world? Is <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/those-were-the-days-knea0341">K P Oli still prime minister</a>? When I emerged ten days later, he was still PM. During my second Vipassana in February this year, I reassured my mind that nothing dramatic could unfold in ten days. Still, my gut knew this country was always one headline away from <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/trial-by-fire">revolution</a>. By my third retreat, I was confident, even cocky.&nbsp; At that dinner, I joked: “What could possibly change? If Oli survived my first two meditation retreats, the world can hold steady for a third.” I should’ve known better. On 1 September, I was back at Shivapuri for the second time, my third retreat, with no expectations — only hope that ten days of noble silence would peel yet another layer from my mind.&nbsp; Vipassana is a paradox: brutally difficult, yet infinitely generous. It is the tool needed to tame and know your unconscious mind, and to know yourself even a little through it is a profound achievement. My room at Z House had the best view of the Kathmandu Valley. I developed a ritual: press my hands against my cheeks and stare down at the city. The city below looks chaotic, but somehow beautiful in its stubbornness, where pollution and pride coexist. From up there, it looked like no one was free, trapped in their egos, pettiness and misery.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250913090920_9e77930ed911289c05a731605157f402c06249347e33964dc59c58d32dc2a6d6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20250913090920_9e77930ed911289c05a731605157f402c06249347e33964dc59c58d32dc2a6d6" data-rendition-name="original" width="3000" height="1300" loading="lazy" alt="Vipassana during Nepal revolution"> <figcaption>Those undergoing Vipassana in Sundarijal had no idea of the chaos and mayhem the country was undergoing. Photos: AARSALA ADHIKARI(Photo: Sonia Awale)</figcaption> </figure>  Then, softer thoughts of Metta and compassion would emerge. If only every single person could sit in silence and know their breath, just once. Blessed with ten days of Dhamma teachings on universal law, I imagined our 334 patriarchal parliamentarians and the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/house-of-cards?%2F">Oli, Deuba, Prachanda trinity</a>. UNSEEN CHAOS On the seventh and the eighth days of Vipassana (8–9 September) there was <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/kathmandu-burns-despite-pm-resignation">black smoke rising from the Valley </a>below. Why were people burning all that garbage? There was no traffic on the straight road down from Budanilkantha. There were gunshots, and I assumed locals were shooting at marauding monkeys. I mistook the sound of helicopters at night for flights circling after takeoff.&nbsp; On the ninth day and in the morning of the tenth, it rained heavily. I tried to spot Dharara like I did every day, but the city was shrouded in a blanket of thick black smog. Even after two days of heavy rain, the smoke had not been washed down. This did not make sense, but my mind had returned to the safe harbour of my meditation. Nothing to see here. On the morning of 9/11, the tenth day, as we emerged from silence, the hall outside filled with chatter. Many people left, weeping, overwhelmed by the experience of the past ten days. We joked about our hardships and dreamt of delicious food, feeling a wave of accomplishment after a documentary about how Vipassana had transformed Tihar Jail in New Delhi.&nbsp; The hall radiated with inspiration and hope. Then, as the film ended an assistant teacher made an announcement: “There are serious protests going on in the Valley. K P Oli has resigned as prime minister. There are no cabinet ministers. The military has taken over, and a curfew has been imposed.”&nbsp; The news hit like a lightning bolt. Mental tranquility gave way to gasps of “What the f**k?” In the main Dhamma Hall, some women erupted in applause. We had spent ten days cultivating Metta, only to step out and realise the world had erupted into chaos. We huddled, trying to piece together fragments of what was happening. The Valley was <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-turmoil-will-hit-tourism">still covered in black smoke</a>, the main road was still quiet. A neighbour turned up the radio, reporting deaths, destruction and curfew.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250913050944_ce09e04207ef5eb72ea55800b76df0c16a9d46a3eea957a4ecb0d67e978c2595.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20250913050944_ce09e04207ef5eb72ea55800b76df0c16a9d46a3eea957a4ecb0d67e978c2595" data-rendition-name="original" width="1440" height="1200" loading="lazy" alt="Meme doing the rounds on social media"> <figcaption>Meme doing the rounds on social media. </figcaption> </figure>  A first-time meditator, Shivani Karn, overheard a neighbour from wall cross telling his son that people had been shot and that he should not go to school any more. She had wanted to flee the Centre, but stayed on. Stranded foreigners from Argentina to China were bewildered and terrified. Volunteers debriefed us, recounting the shocking details: buildings burning, ministers’ houses ransacked, Oli fleeing, Deuba and his wife beaten up. The leaders were all in the Shivapuri barracks up the mountain. Over 15,000 inmates had broken out of prison. It was a catastrophe unfolding in real time. The city felt ripped out from a nightmare. In the common space, people complained about <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-s-gen-z-protest-turns-deadly">corruption and the ban on social media</a>. But an understanding emerged: both those in power and those who grant it are bound by the law of cause and effect. Driving down from Shivapuri on the morning of 12 September, my heart sank. The smog I had seen was smoke from still smouldering buildings. It was not garbage burning, but the rage of the people. Those were not people scaring away monkeys, but guns that killed innocent lives. The sound of aircraft were actually helicopters rescuing politicians.&nbsp; We drove past Singha Darbar, a charred ruin. Another Vipassana meditator, Anjali Baidya, shared a chilling memory. She recalled being 12 years old in 1973, watching from her home in Makhan Tole as Singha Durbar first caught fire. History had repeated itself 52 years later.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250910140912_e6bf05bfe95f519e05ab8d9016587211b241340fd23a0f9ae728e74747fc5f29.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20250910140912_e6bf05bfe95f519e05ab8d9016587211b241340fd23a0f9ae728e74747fc5f29" data-rendition-name="original" width="8064" height="6048" loading="lazy" alt="Nepal in ashes"> <figcaption>Singha Darba, the seat of the government, set ablaze on 9th September. Photo: KAMAL PRASAI</figcaption> </figure>  One Bhatbhateni supermarket after another were scorched, police stations, government offices, once symbols of everyday life. There were soldiers everywhere, not police. &nbsp;Amidst the devastation, a deeper truth settled in. This, too, was Anicca — impermanence. Anicca teaches us that all things are constantly changing, including our thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations. Political systems, power structures, national crises are all transitory. This understanding is crucial for healing. When we cling to the idea that a leader, political system or ourselves are permanent, we set ourselves up for disappointment and anger when it inevitably changes. The Dhamma teaches that responsibility is shared. The anger and fear on the streets are similar to feelings many carry inside. We Nepalis have intergenerational trauma. What I saw was not an abstraction: the gunshots and chaos echoed the terrifying nights of 1 February 2005 in Panauti, a grim replay of the fear I knew as a child at Malpi school, huddling with friends for safety.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/what-next-nepal">What next, Nepal?</a>, Shristi Karki Our national history is a series of ruptures that become personal landmarks. I was nine years old at my aunt’s birthday party on 1 June 2001, when the celebration was abruptly called off and we were sent home into the silent shock of a royal massacre.&nbsp; This pattern must be broken, and it starts now. The path to national healing must begin with individual healing. We can learn from the story of Angulimala, a violent figure who was transformed by the Buddha’s compassion. The Buddha walked steadily toward him and said, “I have stopped, Angulimala. You must stop too.” Angulimala realised the truth, renounced violence, and was enlightened. Cycles of anger and conflict can be softened and transformed. Nepal’s long-term well-being depends on our ability to approach the Dhamma as a pragmatic tool. Inner calm can help us process collective trauma. By cultivating forgiveness and compassion, we can create a stability that begins within. True healing begins when we stop externalising our pain or intellectualising our emotions, and start nurturing our own inner peace. As the dust settles, the true noise begins: the roar within. We are left with a stark choice: remain trapped in this endless loop of rage, or we can deliberately choose to stop. The Dhamma is not some philosophy for a meditation centre; it is the raw truth of our applied wisdom. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/madam-prime-minister-of-nepal">Sushila Karki, Nepal’s first female prime minister</a>, may have emerged as a new ‘messiah’ but we must begin to take responsibility and accountability. Change cannot come from chaos, it is a conscious effort we must make precisely when it feels most impossible.&nbsp; The path forward is not through the streets, but inward — into the ruins of our own self-righteousness. The disparity and deep-seated grudges are the quiet kindling that have brought this new revolution. The rage on the streets is about suppressed dignity, and a burning hunger for justice.&nbsp; It is time to check the recesses of our minds and hearts, sit down, breathe, and to ask: “When do we stop running, and when do we start healing?”&nbsp; Alisha Sijapati is a writer specialising in cultural heritage, and a former Nepali Times correspondent.

Vipassana during a revolution

After prolonged negotiations over the weekend, Nepal’s new <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/madam-prime-minister-of-nepal">Prime Minister Sushila Karki</a> on Monday appointed three members to her Council of Ministers, but the youth group that put her in power does not like her choice. The GenZ group that initiated the movement that toppled Nepal’s government accused Karki of not being consulted about the choice of Om Prakash Aryal, a lawyer who was helping with negotiating with the Army, as the Home and Law Minister.&nbsp; GenZ’s purported leader <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/who-or-what-is-hami-nepal">Sudan Gurung</a> led a group of his supporters and families of youth killed in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/raising-nepal-from-the-ashes">last week’s demonstration</a> at a midnight protest outside the prime minister’s residence, demanding Karki’s resignation unless she listened to them. Aryal is also a legal adviser to Kathmandu Mayor Balen Shah, who has supported the GenZ movement but refused their offer to lead the interim government.&nbsp; The other two ministers include former Finance Secretary Rameshore Khanal as Finance Minister, and the popular former chief of the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) Kulman Ghising as the Energy Minister, Urban Development Minister, and Minister of Physical Infrastructure and Transport. They were sworn in on Monday. While Prime Minister Karki has said she wants competent and honest technocrats in the Council of Ministers, GenZ has been pushing for candidates that do not seem to meet her criteria — including a military officer and Mayor Balen Shah’s candidate.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025091511090_f7db633bbf56c5e2a43b6cd248e522365f56cd34578d65cdeca243c65d807f6d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="2025091511090_f7db633bbf56c5e2a43b6cd248e522365f56cd34578d65cdeca243c65d807f6d" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="new ministers being sworn in"> </figure>  Karki’s list is said to include retired Lt Gen Balananda Sharma, &nbsp;Magsaysay Award winner Mahabir Pun of the National Innovation Centre, former Education Minister Sumana Shrestha who quit RSP on Sunday and Dharan Mayor Harka Sampang. Karki met the government machinery on Sunday at her Singha Darbar office. Speaking without a prepared text, she admitted that there had been a “huge loss” not just to government buildings but also to official and court records during the 9 September arson attacks. “I am ashamed to say that there has been a systematic targeting of sensitive and essential government institutions, we will track down the perpetrators and investigate them,” she said. Karki also assured officials that she had no intention of staying on as prime minister beyond 5 March, the date she has set for early elections. She added: “The destruction by criminal elements has added to our challenges, but we have to choose but to unite and rebuild. This movement was about ending corruption, improving governance and equality. Help me achieve those goals.” <h2>KNOW YOUR MINISTERS</h2> Om Prakash Aryal Home Minister, Minister of Law  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250915110916_6bbaa39c523979ea1a3e85bd496232fa0dcb6152718ede106078bb5f3d069c3c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20250915110916_6bbaa39c523979ea1a3e85bd496232fa0dcb6152718ede106078bb5f3d069c3c" data-rendition-name="original" width="960" height="955" loading="lazy" alt="Om Prakash Aryal"> <figcaption>Om Prakash Aryal</figcaption> </figure>  Back in 2016, <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/do-gooders-to-watch-out-for,3435">Om Prakash Aryal</a> filed a writ petition against the appointment of all powerful Lokman Singh Karki to the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), paving way for the impeachment of the head of the anti-graft body together with Prime Minister Sushila Karki, who was then Chief Justice. An advocate at the Supreme Court, Aryal gained widespread fame for his work in Public Interest Litigation. Most recently, earlier this year he filed a petition against then Prime Minister K P Oli and Minister for Land Management Bala Ram Adhikari, among others, for their alleged role in the non-implementation of Supreme Court order in the Giribandhu tea estate land scam in eastern Nepal. Aryal came from Gulmi to Kathmandu to be a singer, but ended up pursuing a career in law instead. Aryal also served four years in the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), and was based in Geneva with the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ). Rameshore Khanal Finance Minister  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250915110916_1655aeec3a17a048663b95c0dec3ab302300c51d61f6aed682b17fe5c1532c58.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250915110916_1655aeec3a17a048663b95c0dec3ab302300c51d61f6aed682b17fe5c1532c58" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="666" loading="lazy" alt="Finance Minister"> <figcaption>Rameshore Khanal</figcaption> </figure>  Former Finance Secretary Rameshore Khanal has over 30 years of experience in the civil service, and led reforms in government accounting and reporting, public procurements, tax policy and administration. He also served as Chair of the Board in Agricultural Development Bank and was Board Director in Nepal Rastra Bank, Rastriya Banijya Bank, Nepal Telecom Company, and Nepal Airlines. He also served as an economic adviser to Baburam Bhattarai when he was prime minister in 2013. In October last year, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-in-the-red">he led the government formed</a> the High Level Economic Reforms Recommendation Commission. The 440-page recommendation released last month included review of the fixed exchange rate with India and the provision for national political parties to receive grants so candidates did not have to depend on business donors at election time. He has announced that he is not going to take a salary, official residence, body guard or official car for himself. Kulman Ghising Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Minister, Urban Development Minister, and Minister of Physical Infrastructure and Transport  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250915110920_7704ba4dd27f06d423852bc9792610cc89acdbee6ff0b380904479c095d328ab.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20250915110920_7704ba4dd27f06d423852bc9792610cc89acdbee6ff0b380904479c095d328ab" data-rendition-name="original" width="1057" height="769" loading="lazy" alt="Kulman Ghising"> <figcaption>Kulman Ghising</figcaption> </figure>  The man credited for ending 18-hour-a-day loadshedding in Nepal was also considered for the post of Prime Minister before Sushila Karki was chosen by the GenZ movement on Friday. Ghising is a two-time CEO of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) before <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/sacking-of-nea-chief-exposes-cronyism">his tenure was cut short</a> by the Oli-led governing coalition earlier this year and replaced by Hitendra Dev Shakya. Ghising’s removal was seen as being politically motivated, and outraged the public and commentators. Many expected Ghising to open his own party ahead of the 2027 elections two years later, but is seen to be close to the Maoist-Centre party. After being appointed NEA chief in 2016, Ghising cut off the dedicated electricity feeds to industries, and redistributed the saved power to the public — ending long power cuts. But he also imported electricity from India to ensure 24-hour supply during the winter dry season to meet demand. Several new hydropower plants came into operation during his tenure, and today Nepal had an electricity surplus.&nbsp; OTHER APPOINTMENTS Elsewhere, Sabita Bhandari Baral has been appointed Nepal’s first female Attorney General.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250915110920_4d60704a1e69309fdfb49a195f538c32159f27748fd2be88693c609ddb98d380.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20250915110920_4d60704a1e69309fdfb49a195f538c32159f27748fd2be88693c609ddb98d380" data-rendition-name="original" width="730" height="506" loading="lazy" alt="Female attorney general"> <figcaption>Sabita Bhandari Baral</figcaption> </figure>  By Sunday, total casualties of the nationwide GenZ protests has reached 72. Prime Minister Karki has declared that bereaved families of those killed in the protests will be compensated while hundreds of those still receiving treatment in hospitals will be treated for free. &nbsp;

Nepal interim government faces first hiccups

While protesters were torching the Special Government Attorney Office at Mandala on Tuesday, they shouted slogans <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-s-gen-z-protest-turns-deadly">denouncing government corruption</a>. They did not seem to know that in reality the Government Attorney’s office was carrying out active investigations and prosecuting multiple cases of government corruption. Their case files have now been reduced to ashes. While attackers ransacked the building room by room and and burnt it down, they said they were protesting the government’s inability to catch the person who raped and murdered of 13-year-old <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/justice-delayed-and-denied">Nirmala Panta </a>in Kanchanpur seven years ago.&nbsp; In reality, the District Government Attorney’s Office has been carrying out and directing<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/justice-eludes-many-rape-survivors"> investigations against rapists and abusers</a> whose victims were even younger than Nirmala. As an ordinary Nepali citizen before joining the Government Attorney’s Office, I had read about &nbsp;Nirmala’s story in the media. It was a major case that shook the nation, and the biggest rape case I had heard about.&nbsp; But once I was behind my desk as a Government Attorney myself, not a day went by when there was at least one new rape investigation file. This was a serial horror on a nationwide scale. The <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/incest-sex-abuse,2547">rapists were not faceless strangers</a>: many were fathers, brothers, stepfathers, teachers, drivers who knew the survivors. I found all age groups from all parts of Nepal on those charge sheets. And every file I carried to the courtroom was in the hope of at least someone who wanted the crime against them recognised and the perpetrator punished. Now, all those files are gone. The news from Singha Darbar that the government’s data centre was saved from arsonists this week was a relief. But we lost all our records. The evidence was never digitised, there were no backup files. They lived only on paper, in ink, in fragile white file folders with green strings.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250914120920_353c6e03fa2f4cea8992c5c02ede101b4ad9ccc102f5af8407f333f518ef7200.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20250914120920_353c6e03fa2f4cea8992c5c02ede101b4ad9ccc102f5af8407f333f518ef7200" data-rendition-name="original" width="5000" height="3333" loading="lazy" alt="The day justice died"> <figcaption>Photo: HEMANTA SHRESTHA</figcaption> </figure>  When the building burned, so did the only record of those crimes and the identity of the criminals.&nbsp; Imagine entire basements filled with such files: each representing a victim, a face, a life. More than 10,000 such cases are now smouldering heaps of ash. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/kathmandu-burns-despite-pm-resignation">Kathmandu burns despite PM resignation</a> Singha Durbar can be rebuilt brick by brick, just as it was after the earthquake. Who is going to rebuild these case files?&nbsp; The social media is cruel: it shows homes of politicians stashed with cash and charred dollar bills. But the media did not show an entire building full of criminal case files going up in flames. The smoke that filled Kathmandu’s sky on Tuesday carried away with it the hopes of<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-s-chance-on-transitional-justice"> justice of thousands of victims</a>, mostly young women. Our duty as Government Attorneys is to direct criminal investigations, prosecute criminal cases, plead in courtrooms, make appeals. On a normal busy day we prosecute at least five criminal cases involving survivors and perpetrators. THAT DAY On <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-s-8-september-massacre">8 September</a>, when the GenZ protesters were gathering at the Mandala outside, we were at the Police Club, attending the first ever Women Government Attorneys’ Conference. We wore our brightest blue sari uniforms and pressed blouses. Our heads held high, we celebrated our success as government attorneys who had led the prosecution of the highest number of cases involving <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/not-just-16-days-against-gender-based-violence">violence against women</a>. But the day had other plans for us. By 4 pm the program was halted after protesters were shot outside Parliament. The Attorney General directed us to go home immediately. As the hall emptied, a small group of us young women officers and one senior female advocate walked together through Bhadrakali towards our office. There was an angry mob approaching us. The moment they saw us in our official dress, they turned on us with verbal abuses — words so horrendous that it would have been enough to prosecute a slander suit.&nbsp; Heads and eyes lowered we walked on. They started spitting on us. Obviously, they were pouring out their <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/genz-and-aragalaya?amp=1">anger against the government</a> on us civil servants. But they had no idea that the senior female advocate on whose coat they spat had pioneered the law granting Nepali women equal property rights. To us, she was not just a lawyer, she was a hero and a figure we had worshipped in our law books. Her name appears across Supreme Court documents for setting a precedent.&nbsp; We ran to save ourselves from their wrath and reached our Special Government Attorney Office. The mob stayed outside. We waited two hours in silence, praying fervently until the street was calm enough for us to slip away and find our way home. The next day, 9 September, was much worse. The protesters had already torched Parliament, Singha Durbar and the nearby Supreme Court. Then they came to set the Government Attorney Office alight. As a Nepali, I can understand the anger. But as a Government Attorney, I carry a deep scar. There is an immense void and sorrow. This is not about the loss of a building, or being spat at. It is about the silent victims whose stories were stored in all those thousands of files. Many of the survivors do not even know that their <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/hunger-for-justice">struggle for justice</a> has ended.&nbsp; We are government employees never affiliated with any political party, doing our work honestly and independently. In the name of demanding justice, they destroyed the very place that delivered it. Mamata Shrestha is an Assistant District Government Attorney.

The day justice died

Nepal is gradually returning to normal after curfews were officially lifted on Saturday following Prime Minister Sushila Karki’s appointment as temporary executive head following this week’s violent unrest that toppled the government.&nbsp;
Karki dissolved Parliament on Friday night immediately after she was sworn-in as per the demand of youth activists who staged the nation-wide anti-corruption demonstrations this week. The date of the election has been set for 5 March 2026.
Karki made the rounds of Kathmandu’s hospitals to meet with demonstrators who were injured during the protests on 8 and 9 September in which 52 people were killed. Karki is also drawing up a list of candidates to join the Council of Ministers to be announced on Sunday.&nbsp;
Meanwhile, the four main political parties in Parliament and their leaders have been self-reflecting, admitting their mistakes and expressing the need for reform and internal democracy.&nbsp;
But they have also issued near-unanimous denouncements of the decision by the interim government to dissolve Parliament, calling for the Lower House to be restored immediately.
‘The government formed from the streets in an undemocratic and unconstitutional manner bypassing Parliament is contrary to the spirit of the movement that has demanded good governance in accordance with Nepal’s Constitution prevailing laws,’ read a joint press statement issued by eight political parties on Saturday.
The leaders of the UML, including Prime Minister K P Oli who resigned on Tuesday, the Maoists and the Nepali Congress are still in the Shivapuri National Park military base, and appear to be incommunicado.
The parties continued: ‘We strongly demand the immediate convening of Parliament to create an environment where the demands of the people and agitating groups can be addressed through an elected institution.’
The Nepal Bar Council, the country’s legal body, joined the political parties in calling the dissolution of Parliament unconstitutional. Legal experts had expressed concern about the constitutional processes to ensure PM Karki’s appointment as executive head in the lead-up to her taking office.
‘Nepal’s Constitution is the result of a broad national consensus and reflects the aspirations of its citizens,’ the Bar’s press statement read. ‘Such acts erode public trust in democratic institutions and threaten the very foundation of our constitutional system.’
The President’s move to dissolve the House of Representatives is also contrary to the Supreme Court’s previous decision on the restoration of parliament, the Bar’s stated, referring to the top court’s verdict after former PM Oli dismissed Parliament in 2021.&nbsp;
The Federation of Nepalese Journalists echoed similar sentiments in its own statement on Saturday which read, ‘The Federation believes that the unconstitutional appointment of the Prime Minister against the Constitution and the dissolution of the House of Representatives, which is contrary to the previous precedent set by the Supreme Court, show ill will towards democracy.’&nbsp;
Meanwhile, the GenZ youth who had voted in favour of Karki to lead the transitional government welcomed the dissolution of Parliament, and continue to demand that the interim government investigate the shooting of demonstrators this week. They also want mechanisms to ensure accountability and zero-tolerance against corruption.
‘We call for an open, sustained, and participatory national dialogue with the Interim Government and all political actors, one that ensures the meaningful presence of indigenous youth and structurally marginalised communities whose voices are not only heard, respected, and embedded but are also actively consulted in the shaping of the policies, institutions, and decisions that will define Nepal’s democratic future envisioned by us,’ read a statement issued by the Indigenous GenZ collective on Saturday.&nbsp;
Across the country, authorities have also begun to launch investigations into the vandalism and looting during the protests, urging citizens to return stolen goods. A former lawmaker from the Nepali Congress, which was a part of the coalition with the UML has filed a complaint against Oli alleging that he personally issued the order to security forces to fire at protestors on 8 September.

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Vipassana during a revolution

Nepal interim government faces first hiccups

The day justice died

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