No use

The government led by the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoists (CPN-M) has withdrawn criminal cases against 349 people including the Maoist leaders. All this was done at a time when the country was busy celebrating Dashain and Tihar, little bothered about what the officialdom was doing. No doubt, some of the cases lodged by the previous regimes led by various Prime Ministers and the King between 1996 and 2006, may have had an element of vendetta. But the haste shown in the withdrawal was far more conspiratorial in intent. It makes the proposed Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) largely, if not totally, in fructuous.  It was for the proposed commission to have all cases of violation of human rights investigated, and follow up action recommended. Most of the cases withdrawn involved violation of human rights by the Maoists during the years of conflict. Although, the Comprehensive Peace Process has one unequal and unacceptable provision that gives the government power to recommend withdrawal of cases of political nature, such an action now was unwarranted. To say the least, it was done with a malafide intention by the Maoist regime. On the basis of the nature of the case and severity of the human rights violation, the proposed TRC should have been given the responsibility of recommending final actions - whether to withdraw cases, go for reparation, or trial against those who perpetrated human rights violation. With the Maoist leaders already absolved, the government is clearly making a case to implicate those who acted on behalf of the state during the years of conflict. In fact, it will be worth watching how UNMIN and the OHCHR, the two special offices of the UN system in Nepal would respond to the situation. The two bodies have sometimes been accused of having adopted soft attitude towards human rights violation by the Maoists. If there is any truth in that, that will be unfortunate and will be a sign of the two bodies abdicating their basic responsibilities and commitment. Besides, the government also needs to explain why it chose to withdraw the cases now. After all, everybody from Prachanda to Baburam Bhattarai and even those who caused Madi massacre, have been the beneficiaries of impunity. There was a feeble hope that the TRC would be formed soon after the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was signed way back in November 2006. But GP Koirala’s greed for power and his calculated move not to annoy Maoists earlier was the only reason why the commission was not formed in the previous regime. The Maoists, once they formed the government, went a step forward. They have already given a death blow to the CPA and the commission even before it was born. For the commission, even if it is ever born, the Maoist leaders will be above its jurisdiction to question or investigate. The Maoists are doing all this systematically. They are undermining the judiciary by suggesting that those who were conducting the kangaroo courts should be integrated with the higher judiciary in the country in the same manner it has been seeking integration of its combatant s in the Nepal army. Now it simply wants to put those belonging to the security agencies of the state under the jurisdiction of TRC. It is a matter of shame and vendetta.