CJ-led Government-12

Siddhi B Ranjitkar

The government of Nepal has been forcing the people to violate the constitution and laws, as the government does not listen to the grievances of the people until they go to the extreme of shutting down the businesses of other people. The government tries to repress the voices of the people sending the riot police and applying the forces on the peacefully rallying people. When the people find that they could not force the government to listen to their grievances through the peaceful means and following the constitution and laws, then they go for blocking the traffic on the streets and the highway violating the constitution and the laws. Then, the government could seriously face the people’s agitation for justice; other people suffer from the stranded traffic and shutdown of businesses. The government then tries to pacify the protestors offering to talk. By that time, considerable damage to the people would have been done by the closure of businesses and shutdown of traffic. Thus, the government could be held accountable for shutdown of businesses and traffic.

Former Kamalaris have been peacefully demanding the government to meet the promise made by the government to rehabilitate them after they got freedom from the bonded labor, and demanding the government to bring the murderer of Kamalari in Lalitpur to justice. They have been rallying in their home districts in western Nepal for weeks and weeks but the government failed to listen to their grievances. Then, they came to Kathmandu, and they have been rallying peacefully demanding the government listen to their voices. The government failed to listen to the freed Kamalaris. So, on Sunday, June 2, 3012, they tried to reach the western gate of the State secretariat in Kathmandu to shout at Chairman of the Interim Election Council of Ministers Khil Raj Regmi to ensure their voices reached the ears of the chairman. Instead of listening to the Kamalaris, his home minister sent the riot police to force the Kamalaris out of the area.

Stating the area former Kamalaris tried to reach was restricted for rallying and protesting, the home minister sent the riot police to repress the Kamalaris. He ordered the riot police to forcibly remove the Kamalaris trying to reach the area. The riot police got the excuse for baton charging on the Kamalaris. The police used the heavy batons to strike on the heads of the young Kamalaris. More than ten young Tharu ladies recently freed from Kamalari: bonded labor got struck indiscriminately. They fell unconscious but the riot police did not stop beating them.

Use of force against the peacefully rallying Kamalaris was the last straw on them anticipating the government would listen to their grievances following the peaceful demonstration. Then, they understood that they would not be able to force the government to listen to their grievances without resorting to the shutdown of the businesses of other people and the traffic on the roads. They declared the indefinite shutdown of the 22 districts of terai starting on Monday, June 3, 2013. Since then, the 22 districts of terai have been under the control of Kamalaris.

After the people in the 22 districts have already suffered from the closure of their businesses and traffic on the roads for two days, the government of Chairman Regmi held talks with the Kamalari System Elimination Agitation Committee on Wednesday, June 5, 2013. By that time, millions of Nepalis in the 22 districts have already suffered from the shutdown of their businesses. Thousands of daily wage earners must have been going hungry. Thousands of passengers have been stranded on the roads, as their buses could not move to their destinations. However, the government has been taking it easy, as the concerned minister and the chairman of the council of ministers were not serious about the sufferings of the people in the 22 districts. These ministers know that Nepalis have been losing millions if not billions of rupees worth of businesses due to the shutdown enforced by the Kamalaris. However, the government has not been in a hurry to resolve the problem created by not listening to the legitimate demands of Kamalaris.

The talks held between the government and the representatives of the Kamalari System Elimination Agitation Committee (KSEAC) on Wednesday, June 5, 2013, and then on Thursday, June 6, 2013 have ended without any conclusion. The government agreed on setting up a three-member team on investigation into the death of Srijana Chaudhary. However, the representatives of the KSEAC have been insisting on the government to arrest the murders and then only they would hold talks on other subject matters. One of the representatives of KSEAC Phakala Tharu said that the talks with the government would be possible only after the government arrested the alleged murders such as Yuvraj Poudel and Shanker Adhikari. (Source: ‘gorkhapatra,’ June 6, 2013)

On March 27, 2013 (Chaitra 14, 2069) Srijana Chaudhary was found dead in the house of Parvati Giri and Lalmani Sharma in Lalitpur. (Source: ‘gorkhapatra’, June 6, 2013). Kamalaris have been demanding to bring the murders to justice, and to pay one million rupees to the family of the victims as the compensation for the loss of the loved one. Parents of 12-year old Srijana Chaudhary had sent her to work at the house in Lalitpur on condition that she would be sent to school.

Human rights organizations, women organizations, and other civil society organizations have demanded the government listen to the voices of the so far under privileged freed Kamalaris and meet their demands, and resolve the problem of shutting down the 22 districts in terai.

In a statement, chairman of Rastriya Prajatantra Party Surya Bahadur Thapa demanded the government resolve the problem of Kamalaris, as they have been deprived of their fundamental human rights. (Source: ‘gorkhapatra’, June 6, 2013.

Chief justice of the Supreme Court of Nepal currently holding the office of Chairman of the Interim Election Council of Ministers Khil Raj Regmi has not listened to anybody, and letting millions of Nepalis in the 22 districts held by Kamalaris as hostage for the ransom of meeting their demands suffer. Whether Mr Regmi when returned to his office of the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Nepal would be able to deliver the justice to the people, as he has been unable to resolve the case of the death of the 12-year old Srijana Chaudhary despite the pressure put by the KSEAC.

Another example of the government’s indifference to the plight of the people has been the senior citizens’ rally held at the Department of Transport in Kathmandu demanding to enforce the law that has made the provision for reserving the seats for the senior citizens on the public transport vehicles, demanding to scrape the methodology prepared by the local development ministry going against the Senior Citizen Act, and demanding to increase the senior citizen allowance from Rs 500 per month to Rs 3,000.

Senior citizens have been holding a fast in relays at the Department of Transport in Kathmandu demanding to enforce the provision made in the law for reserving seats for senior citizens on the public transport vehicles. Shame on the government that could not reserve the seats for the senior citizens, and shame on the transport owners that did not reserve seats for the senior citizens, and shame on the commuters that did not leave their seats for the senior citizens.

Senior citizens have been complaining that the local development ministry has prepared a methodology for providing monthly allowances to the senior citizens going against the provision made in the Senior Citizen Act. The local development ministry has defined senior citizens only when people reached 70 years of age but the Senior Citizen Act has made the provision making the people reaching 60 years of age eligible for the monthly allowance. However, the local development ministry has been insisting on the methodology it has prepared, and the ministry has denied millions of senior citizens from receiving the monthly allowance.

The irony is that chief justice turned into the chairman of council of ministers Regmi has not taken up the issue. He needs to take a telephone and call his minister for local development and say, ‘hi, the methodology made for defining the senior citizens goes against the Senior Citizen Act, and so, it is not applicable.” However, Chairman Regmi has been unable to do so for unknown reasons letting millions of senior citizens deprived of the monthly allowances, and making them to come to Kathmandu for asking the government to enforce the law.

The third demand of senior citizens has been for increasing the monthly allowance from Rs 500 to Rs 3,000. They say that Rs 500 is not enough for even having a tea for a month. They need at least Rs 3,000 per month to have two square meals a day. The allowance to senior citizens should be adjusted to the cost of living or should made increment as done to the pensions to the retired state employees.

The senior citizens have been limiting their rally at the Department of Transport. The Regmi government has been ignoring the demands of the senior citizens. Probably, the government has been waiting for the senior citizens resort to violence for forcing the government to meet their demands. The violence would be shutdown of businesses and traffic on the roads. Thus, the government forces most of the shutdowns enforced by the people upon them.

The third example of the government forcing the people to enforce shutdown of the traffic on the highway has been the case of the death of former legislature Haque in Siraha. On the night of Monday, May 20, 2013, former legislature 52-year old Sadrul Miya Haque found to be murdered in a room of the building adjoining his petrol pump. Supporters of Haque immediately took to streets demanding immediate actions against the perpetrators of the crime but the government kept quiet.

When the government did not listen to their demand, the supporters of Haque blocked the traffic on the highway causing immense troubles to the passengers traveling on the highway. They have been stranded for an indefinite period until the government would meet the demand of the supporters of Haque for bringing the perpetrators of the murder to justice.

Later on, supporters of Haque demanded the home minister come to the murder site and investigate personally, and pay one million rupees to the family of Haque for compensating the loss of the loved one. The government took three days to react to the demands of the supporters of Haque. By the time, thousands of passengers had already slept three nights on the buses under the May heat in terai. Thousands of them have lost their businesses. Hundreds of buses stranded on the highway also lost their businesses but the government was indifferent to what happened to the common folks.

Ultimately, on May 23, 2013, the Interim Council of Ministers held a meeting to set up a Judicial Probe Commission under the former Justice of the Supreme Court of Nepal Tahir Ali Ansari to hold investigation into the murder of former legislature Sadrul Miyan Haque in the Saptari district. Home Minister flew on a helicopter to the Saptari district, and met with the family members of the slain legislator to console them. The minister also committed to bring the perpetrators of the murder to justice. By that time, huge damage has been already done to the common folks. The nation has lost millions of worth of businesses.

Had the minister immediately flown to the murder site, and done what he did after three nights, thousand of passengers would not need to sleep on buses, and millions of rupees worth of business would not be lost. Nobody would have questioned the competence of the home minister in particular and the government in general in resolving the problems of such unexpected events. However, chairman Regmi and his home minister have clearly demonstrated that they are not of the type of guys. They need not be smart and move fast in such cases rather they go slow as the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Nepal, and as the top bureaucrats of Nepal. It is not wonder the Nepalese courts take years to give justice to the litigants, and the bureaucrats never provide justice to the common folks. They act according to the dictation of their bosses: ministers. Consequently, rampant corruption has been prevailing in Nepal.

June 6, 2013

Addendum:

Women's rights activists continued with their protests aimed at pressing the government to end violence against women (VAW) by staging a sit-in at Hanumansthan, Anamnagar in Kathmandu. Campaign coordinator Sumita Pradhan said the sit-in staged every Monday for the past six weeks is meant to pile pressure on policy makers to provide security to women and end VAW of all kinds. “This is part of an ongoing struggle to end violence against women,” said Pradhan. She accused the government of not taking VAW as a serious social issue. The campaigners have been demanding the establishment of a Fast Track Court for speedy judgment of VAW cases and immediate amendment to the rape law, said Pradhan. Representatives of the civil society, human rights defenders and women's rights activists among others have been taking part in the sit-in. The participants have urged the public to join the anti-VAW protest and press the government for positive actions. Protesters shouted slogans such as ‘End Violence against Women', 'Implement Rule of Law', 'Set up Fast Track Court' and 'Deliver Justice to victims of VAW'. (Source: HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE, June 3, 2013)