[However, only two section officers Ram Prasad Koirala and Tika Pokharel, along with Khanal, were found to be directly involved in swindling Rai. The ministry suspended its three officials, while constable Basnet has been remanded to police custody for further investigations. “This is the height of crime, where government officials rob and ultimately rape a service seeker,” said UML leader Urmila Aryal. “We have government and non-governmental institutions to speak for women. Why don’t they speak for her?” asked Aryal, calling on the National Women’s Commission (NWC) to take the lead in the absence of a parliament. NWC member Mohana Ansari says that she only came to know about the case when the victim lodged a complaint with the commission on Monday. “She is in a precarious situation. We are taking this case very seriously,” she said. Bishal Khanal of the National Human Rights Commission echoed Ansari. “We came to know about the case late. We have already taken up the issue as a complaint has already been registered,” he said.]
A Post Report
KATHMANDU, DEC 25 - Just as the country was wrapping up its ‘16
Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence’, the case of Sita Rai (name
changed) hit the newsstands. Rai, a 21-year old migrant worker, was robbed by
immigration officials upon her arrival from Saudi Arabia at the Tribhuvan
International Airport and subsequently “raped” by a police constable.
Despite the fact that her plight came to light on the heels of a national campaign against gender-based violence, human rights organisations and much of civil society have remained silent on the issue. Rai has been fighting the case on her own.
“I am disappointed that nobody stood by her. It is time for activists and rights organisations to ask themselves whether they only want to run donor driven programmes or respond to the needs of society,” said women’s rights activist Dr Arzu Rana Deuba.
She was quick to admit her own inaction and blamed it on the existing state of impunity in the country, referring to the government’s blanket amnesty to perpetrators of human rights violations and wartime crimes.
“When such perpetrators are walking scot-free in society, people tend to be sceptical and ignore what is going on around them,” she said.
Rai lodged a complaint with the Ministry of Home Affairs on December 16, many days after the incident had occurred. She named police constable Parshuram Basnet and senior non-gazetted officer at the Department of Immigration (DoI) Somnath Khanal as the culprits. A Home Ministry probe committee led by joint-secretary Bhola Shiwakoti uncovered the involvement of high-ranking officials.
However, only two section officers Ram Prasad Koirala and Tika Pokharel, along with Khanal, were found to be directly involved in swindling Rai. The ministry suspended its three officials, while constable Basnet has been remanded to police custody for further investigations. “This is the height of crime, where government officials rob and ultimately rape a service seeker,” said UML leader Urmila Aryal. “We have government and non-governmental institutions to speak for women. Why don’t they speak for her?” asked Aryal, calling on the National Women’s Commission (NWC) to take the lead in the absence of a parliament. NWC member Mohana Ansari says that she only came to know about the case when the victim lodged a complaint with the commission on Monday. “She is in a precarious situation. We are taking this case very seriously,” she said. Bishal Khanal of the National Human Rights Commission echoed Ansari. “We came to know about the case late. We have already taken up the issue as a complaint has already been registered,” he said.
Lawyer and rights activist Mandira Sharma said she has been closely monitoring the case. Referring to the suspended officials, she argued that simple departmental action is not enough. “This is a criminal case that requires a thorough investigation,” she said. Given that it is state employees who robbed and raped an illiterate migrant worker, Sharma said that it is the state’s crime against an individual.
Meanwhile, neighbouring India is currently aflame with protests over the brutal gang-rape of medical student in Delhi. In Nepal, the silence is deafening. Rights organisations that are so quick to take up media-friendly cases have yet to comment, barely issuing a statement. “When have we really ever spoken out in such a case?” asked activist Dr Renu Rajbhandari. “We seldom stand up for such causes.”
Activists argued that the government has taken up the case now and they are waiting a verdict. “They [the perpetrators] should be doubly penalised,” Deuba demanded. Aryal pushed for life imprisonment, while Sharma asked for punishment under criminal law.
The activists are concerned for Rai and her physical and mental state.
“I found her in a precarious situation. Can you imagine her state of mind?” asked Ansari.
Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai had launched the national campaign with a televised address directing heads of security agencies and government bodies to take stern action against those found turning a deaf ear to complaints of gender-based violence. “PM Bhattarai has made a mockery of his own promises of zero tolerance on violence against women,” said Rajbhandari.
[A week
later, Deputy PM Narayankaji Shrestha, also in charge of foreign affairs, went
public about President Ram Baran Yadav and Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai’s
“secret meetings” with the Indian ambassador. Shrestha, a vice chairman of the
Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-M), is a favourite of party
chairman Prachanda. He has of late been urging that diplomats not transgress
their limits. His ministry called a US embassy official and warned that
visiting high-level US officials should stop the practice of meeting Nepal’s
army chief without concurrence from the government. He also turned down an EU
request for a meeting with the president to lobby for an independent Truth and
Reconciliation Commission with powers at par with similar international bodies.]
By Yuba Raj Ghimire
Chinese
Ambassador Yang Houlan said recently that China was taking the initiative for
peace and stability in Nepal, and that he was in constant dialogue with his
Indian counterpart Jayant Prasad. It was generally taken as a neighbour’s natural
concern. The silent message was louder: gone are the days of India’s lead
role, which the international community either accepted or not. And that, China is no longer a smaller player in Nepal, often called a buffer state
between Indian and China.
Sometime ago, Deputy PM Narayankaji Shrestha, also in charge of
foreign affairs, went public about President Ram Baran Yadav and Prime Minister
Baburam Bhattarai’s “secret meetings” with the Indian ambassador. Shrestha, a
vice chairman of the Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-M), is a
favourite of party chairman Prachanda. He has of late been urging that
diplomats not transgress their limits. His ministry called a US embassy
official and warned that visiting high-level US officials should stop the
practice of meeting Nepal’s army chief without concurrence from the government.
He also turned down an EU request for a meeting with the president to lobby for
an independent Truth and Reconciliation Commission with powers at par with
similar international bodies.
“Will you apply the same standard or restriction should Indian
diplomats be wanting to visit the president?” was a Western diplomat’s query.
Shrestha’s outburst and his protest followed shortly. The movements and
visibility of diplomats increased in proportion to the failure of Nepal’s
political actors. On December 7, President Yadav extended the deadline by
another six days for a consensus PM. While Bhattarai continues as caretaker PM
without being able to hold elections, others have failed to strike a deal on
his successor. The UCPN-M insists Bhattarai will not go until there is
“unanimity” on the fundamental components of the future constitution which
others say should be left to the new legislature-cum-constituent assembly.
It’s not only a lame-duck executive, but even the judiciary is
truncated with just six judges left, with no parliamentary committee to confirm
judges’ appointments and those of other constitutional bodies.
For the international community, the prevailing situation matters
in different ways. While freedom of religion becomes an important agenda when
EU and Scandinavian envoys hold high-level meetings, China seems more keen on
emerging as an influential player. For India, the challenge lies in dispelling
the impression that Delhi is behind the current state of affairs and therefore
linked to the current mess. Interestingly, Nepal’s four main parties and its
president are still trudging a path not knowing where it leads to. For now,
blaming others is the easy way out.
