Two Janajati activists pose with placards that read 'I am also Ang Kaji, arrest me, too' in Dharan on Tuesday. Photo: Bijay LimbuJanajati activists held a protest rally in the eastern town of Dharan on Tuesday, wearing placards on their chests that read ‘I am also Ang Kaji Shrepa, arrest me, too’.
Ang Kaji Sherpa is the former General Secretary of the Janajati pressure group NEFIN and is now a central committee member of the Upendra Yadav-led Federal Socialist Forum Nepal (FSPN).
Sherpa, who has frequently courted controversy with his speeches viewed by many as inflammatory, is now in police custody. The Metropolitan Police Crime Division arrested him on 2 September from Boudha and charged with 'disturbing social harmony through hate speeches' under the Electronic Transaction Act-2008.
After five Madhesi protesters were killed in Birganj last week, Sherpa went on Facebook to label Home Minister Bam Dev Gautam a 'murderer' and demanded his dismissal. In another Facebook status, he had vowed to take revenge for deaths of Madhesi protesters.
Ever since violent protests erupted in the Tarai, Sherpa had been posting gruesome photos accompanied by what some saw as inflammatory comments on Facebook. Acting on an online complaint registered by Baburam Aryal, President of Internet Society Nepal, Facebook even marked his photos with warnings that they may 'shock, offend or upset' people.
But police have not made it clear whether Sherpa was arrested for his comments or photos or both.
Aryal says: "His posts can be termed as hate speech, and he also manipulates facts."
Sherpa's arrest has enraged Janajati activists, who were already on the warpath against the way federal provinces are being carved out in Nepal. They have termed his arrest 'illegal' and demanded his immediate release.
"So what if he labeled Gautam a murderer? Gautam is not an individual but an institution responsible for deaths of all protesters," said Kamal Tigela, a Janajati activist. "Gautam misused his power to take personal revenge. If Sherpa is arrested, we should all be arrested."
Sherpa has apparently offended many Bahuns and Chhetris, and some have posted offensive comments against him, too on Facebook. Janajati activists say police should arrest everyone who offended Sherpa before arresting him. "Someone morphed his photo into another photo of a dead man and wrote that 'Ang Kaji died', that Facebook post went viral," said Tigela. “Should police not arrest those who posted that against him?"
According to Electronic Transactions Act-2008, a person found guilty of disturbing social harmony through social networking sites can be slapped with a fine of up to Rs 1,000 or up to five years in jail or both. It is yet to see how serious charges will be framed against Sherpa.
However, by arresting Sherpa at the cost of irking a large ethnic community, the government has hinted that it will no longer tolerate inflammatory comments being posted on social networking sites. Particularly in the aftermath of the Kailali killings, the government seems to have grown more cautious about hate speeches.
This week, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has instructed all civil servants from abstaining from posting, sharing, commenting or liking any posts that would hurt some community's sentiments and lead to communal violence.
But there are also fears that the government might use Electronic Transactions Act-2008 to silence its political dissenters or some powerful ministers take personal revenge by using it. Last year, Home Minister Gautam had ordered police to arrest a government official who commented on Facebook that 'leaders like Gautam should be shot dead'. Raju Sah, administrative officer at Lahan of Siraha, had posted this comment on a photo of Gautam violating traffic rules by crossing a divider in Ratna Park. Sah was later released on bail.