by Binod Ghimire in The Kathmandu Post, Mar 6, 2023
Nine political parties said on Sunday that they were deeply concerned about the issues that have recently been raised over the transitional justice process.
Their concerns come two days after the Supreme Court’s order to allow writ petitions seeking criminal investigation against Prime Minister and CPN (Maoist Centre) chair Pushpa Kamal for his statement that he would take responsibility for killings of 5,000 of the 17,000 people who lost lives during the Maoist insurgency.
“Our serious attention has been drawn over the issues raised in the transitional justice process recently,” reads a statement from the parties without referring to the court order. “We are committed to concluding the transitional justice process as per the spirit of the constitution and the Comprehensive Peace Accord. Remaining tasks related to the revision of the law related to it will be completed soon.”
A bill to this end, and in line with previous Supreme Court orders, will be tabled at the ongoing session of the federal parliament, reads the statement.
The parties’ meeting that was initially called to discuss the presidential election was dominated by the court’s order. The parties in the newly formed alliance are the Nepali Congress, the CPN (Maoist Centre), the Janata Samajbadi Party, the CPN (Unified Socialist), the Loktantrik Samajbadi Party, the Nagarik Unmukti Party, the Janamat Party, the Rastriya Janamorcha and the Nepal Samajbadi Party.
“Today’s meeting mostly focused on the Supreme Court’s ruling and discussed how to move ahead,” Janamat Party leader Abdul Khan, who also is a minister for water supply in the Dahal Cabinet, told the Post.
The alliance’s meeting was held hours after Dahal’s party, and current as well as ex-Maoist leaders, strongly criticised the Supreme Court for its Friday’s decision.
Correcting an earlier decision of the court’s administration to reject the petition against Dahal, a division bench of Justices Ishwor Prasad Khatiwada and Hari Phuyal had ordered its registration. Advocate Gyanendra Aran, who also is a victim of the Maoist insurgency, and Kalyan Budhathoki, had on behalf of over a dozen victims challenged the decision to reject the petition.
Talking to the Post, Aran said the writ petitions against Dahal couldn’t be registered on Sunday due to a delay in receiving Friday’s decision. The court administration handed over the decision only on Sunday evening.
“We will register the petition on Tuesday [Monday is a public holiday],” Aran told the Post. The Maoist Centre has already voiced its fierce criticism of the court and the petitioners even before the petition had been registered.
Issuing a statement on Sunday, the party said the court’s order to allow the registration of the petition against Dahal was of serious concern.
“The party rejects and strongly condemns any activities that go against the constitution and the progressive achievements attained through various political movements,” read a statement from the party general secretary Dev Gurung. “As the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons are working on transitional judicial proceedings, we would like to remind that no action can be taken by breaching the jurisdiction of the commissions.”
Aran and Budhathoki had on November 10 last year moved a petition demanding a ruling to start investigation against Dahal as he had openly taken responsibility for the killings of 5,000 persons during the insurgency that started in 1996 and lasted a decade. The court’s registrar had at the time refused to register it. Aran and Budhathoki
then challenged the registrar’s decision against which the court passed an order on Friday.
In its ruling the court has said the victims’ quest for justice, truth and reparation cannot be prolonged indefinitely on different excuses.
Rejection of the petition at a time when the transitional justice process has stalled cannot be justifiable and logical, says the order. “Looking at the severity of the issue it would be wrong to reject the petition’s registration, barring the seeking of justice through judicial process,” reads the order.
Addressing a Maghi festival celebration function on January 15, 2020, in Kathmandu, Dahal had said that he, as the leader of the Maoist party that led the decade-long insurgency, would take the responsibility for the deaths of 5,000 people and that the state should own up the remaining deaths. As many as 17,000 people lost their lives during the insurgency.
On November 14 last year, the Supreme Court had asked its administration to give clarifications for its refusal to register the petition against Dahal. A single bench of Acting Chief Justice Hari Krishna Karki had decided to seek a report from its administration on why the Supreme Court registrar had refused to register the petition.
Hours after his party issued the statement, Dahal, addressing a function in the Capital, said national and international reactionary forces have always tried to attack him and his party and he has long been fighting them. “Being a prime minister I cannot say many things openly now, but you have seen how we are being attacked,” he said without mentioning the court order. “We [all breakaway Maoist factions] must unite for a fight back.”
Against the claim of the Maoist Centre that the insurgency-era cases of atrocities must be handled by the transitional justice mechanisms, Friday’s ruling says, “criminal justice process cannot be kept on hold, made ineffective and passive on any pretext.”
According to sources, Dahal had spoken of the seriousness of the issue at the meeting of the nine ruling parties on Sunday evening, claiming it was a conspiracy against his party. He termed the court’s step ‘unnecessary’ as there were transitional justice mechanisms to look into conflict-era cases.
Former Maoist leaders also have taken the court’s order as a conspiracy against them. Nepal Samajbadi Party chair and former prime minister Baburam Bhattarai, addressing the same function, said registration of petition against Dahal was a provocation for confrontation. “Attempts are being made to criminalise people’s war [Maoist insurgency]. [Are you] registering a case against a sitting prime minister? Isn’t this a provocation?” said Bhattarai, who is also a former vice-chair of the party. “How can a complaint be lodged for making a minor statement?”
The petitioners say they are under pressure not to lodge the case. “You cannot imagine the pressure we are facing to refrain from registering the petition. However, no power can stop us,” Aran said.
Human rights defenders say the Maoist Centre, by issuing the statement, is trying to intimidate the court and the petitioners.
Kapil Shrestha, a former member of the National Human Rights Commission, said the apex court has made a commendable decision to hold Dahal, who led the insurgency, accountable. “It takes courage to challenge a sitting prime minister. I expect the Supreme Court to make a historic decision to end the impunity in the country,” Shrestha told the Post. “The court must intervene as the transitional justice process has become a farce.”
The petitioners say the court ruling shows it will come up with a “much-needed” final verdict. “Friday’s ruling has given us hope that there will be some order that forces the government and parties to do justice to the victims,” said Aran.
https://kathmandupost.com/politics/2023/03/06/nine-parties-speak-up-as-court-opens-way-for-dahal-s-criminal-trial
