DIPENDRA JHA, 2010-02-24

In Tarai, Nepal police considers it more convenient to immediately shoot individuals suspected of being members of armed groups instead of letting the law take its course.

A credible human rights report reveals that more than 30 fake encounters took place in Tarai during 2008 and 2009. The ratio and nature of such encounters is alarmingly higher than the time of the armed insurgency. Particularly, since Bhim Rawal took up the post of Home Minister, fake encounters have increased dramatically. Rumors exist about an informal home ministry circular directing local security agencies to kill suspects rather than arresting them as bringing them to court could be difficult to justify due to lack of evidence for a formal court decision in favor of the government’s actions. This tactic also came to practice because local security authorities are pressurized to release suspected cadres of armed groups by political parties. Leaders and supporters of all major parties have been found to be involved in obstruction of justice. Cooking up evidence to falsely justify ‘cross fire action’ has been taken as a thesis to sweep away armed groups that are perceived as a threat to the present government and its political allies.

Many of the fake encounters have been a result of the unholy nexus between Nepali police and Indian police as evidenced by the latter handing over a dozen individuals to the former for extrajudicial purposes. Nepal Police on its part acts as per the rumored home ministry circulation considering it more convenient to shoot arrested individuals immediately instead of letting the law take its course. Surprisingly, fake encounters have not yet become a human rights issue. Neither Nepal Human Rights Commission (NHRC) nor any human rights organizations have raised concern about the cold-blooded killings. Despite being aware about glaring fake encounters, these organizations prefer to keep mum for fear of being targeted by the government. Or it could simply be that they are not interested. Most of them have been co-opted of their purposes by political parties and the government. Their deteriorating credibility reeks of persistent racial biases. Maybe, they too believe that extrajudicial killing of ‘criminals’ is an effective way to tackle crime in the southern belt.

International organizations do not want to step on the government’s feet by raising the issue of fake encounters lest they have to face its ire. The other reason for their hesitation could be that if the national and international communities raise their voice then criminals and their protectors could cash in on the leeway created. As for India, it is only interested in maintaining law and order in the Tarai, which borders it, at any cost.

Minister Rawal, who is well-versed with the dynamics of human rights movement in Nepal, must surely be aware of how best to deal with the issues. The trend has been escalating to almost look like a mini-massacre of sorts. Furthermore, as the victims are from a similar community, the practice of shooting them down could be established as a case of genocide, if it continues. Law and order should be strictly implemented but counter measures should be tactfully and faithfully upheld in practice to save the lives of innocent people and let the accused face the court procedures. This is an internationally established principle.

In the afternoon of July 19, 2009, Ram Narayan alias Manager Mahato was arrested by Jaynagar police in Bihar and handed over to Siraha police in Nepal. Later on, late in the night, he was killed in police custody but the Nepal Police claimed that Mahato was killed in a cross fire incident. In the same week, Siraha police also killed Parshuram Yadav who was then the district in-charge of Madhesi Mukti Tigers. On July 21, Avinash Mukti of the Rajan Mukti group faced similar death in mysterious circumstances. On July 22, Aakash Tyagi was arrested near Janakpur by Nepal Police while returning from Mukti’s funeral and was shot dead by the police immediately thereafter. Bechan Yadav of Madhesi Mukti Tigers and Lalan Yadav of Janatantrik Tarai Mukti Morcha (Goit’s faction) were killed in police action in Saptari this year. The routine occurrence of fake encounters reveals that Tarai has become a dangerous place to live.

The Special Security Policy, though it has a number of positive implications, has sadly become a good tool for violating human rights and killing people without conducting fair trial. Boosting morale of police is necessary but the method applied is totally wrong. It can endanger the lives of people and give the police a bad image. How can Nepal Police gain public support if it goes on killing individuals crudely and unjustly? Unfortunately, the new Operation Romeo was initiated and promoted at a time when more than 50 percent of the ministers are from Madhes. It seems the ministers and their political parties are tolerating the atrocities to gain public support by pretending to help maintain law and order. On the other hand, violence by police personnel has been such a common affair that people fear to raise their voice against them.

Now, the situation has reached its apex. Fake encounters need to be investigated by a high-level commission. If it goes on like this, people will develop sympathy for criminals as it happened with the Maoists in 1995 due to Operation Romeo. Khum Bahadur Khadka-type measures ultimately increase violence and state terror. On the one hand, the government has called six armed groups for the so-called talks, and, on the other hand, it has been killing and arresting their leaders by joining hands with Indian security forces. This is the primary reason why the armed group Joint Tarai Mukti Morcha that had been engaging in dialogue with the government for the past one year targeted the assistant CDO of Parsa on Jan 11 accusing him for not taking the “talks” seriously.

The human rights community and political parties have to intervene immediately and take corrective measures before things get worse. The focus should be: How to make the government more accountable? Fair trial and punishment of the guilty should be ensured at all costs. If the government, as the supreme law enforcement agency, continues to violate legal procedures, what kind of culture are we intending to institutionalize in a ‘loktantra’? Case by case investigation of all extrajudicial killings in the form of fake encounters should be undertaken by a high-level investigation commission represented by diverse sectors, including NHRC and the human rights community. However, such probes should not conducted just to hoodwink the public.

dipjha@gmail.com

Source: http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=15540