Controversy Over Arms Import

Siddhi B Ranjitkar

The Maoist cadres have demanded that the armed police escorting the three trucks show the contents of the trucks to them or journalists and representatives of UN Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) and human rights organizations following the rights of the people to information. However, disregarding the people’s rights to information, the armed police obviously with the instructions from the Home Minister have refused to disclose anything they have brought in the three trucks.  Thus, the government of the person defeated in two constituencies has not respected the people’s rights to information and has demonstrated that Prime Minister Madhav Nepal is not accountable to the people.

The Maoist cadres have been following the three trucks the armed police have brought in from India through the Sunauli entry to Nepal since early morning of Friday, February 19, 2010 according to the Nepalese media reports. The Maoist cadres have said that they have been following the three trucks loaded with arms from the Sunauli and have been talking to the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) commanding the convoy of the three trucks for disclosing the contents of the three trucks. The DSP has said that the police will show the contents of the three trucks to them at Naubise of the Dhading district. So, they have been following the three trucks the armed police have been driving.

At Naubise, when the Maoist cadres have asked the police to disclose the contents of the trucks the DSP is willing to do so but the police inspector has not agreed on it according to the ABC TV reporter. It has clearly indicated that the Home Minister or somebody from the higher rank has instructed the Inspector not to make public the contents of the three trucks to anybody.

The Maoist cadres have insisted on making known the contents of the three trucks to them. When the police repeatedly refused to disclose the contents of the three trucks then the Maoist cadres asked the police to make the contents of the three trucks public in presence of reporters, representatives of human rights organizations and UNMIN following the rights of the people to information.

However, the police refused to disclose the contents of the three trucks to anybody disregarding the people’s rights to the information despite the police have been trained in the human rights. So, the police have not respected the human rights obviously taking the order from the Home Minister or somebody of the high-ranking person for that matter.

Then, the Maoist cadres have blocked the highway causing the traffic jam on both sides of Naubise. The situation has become serious and the police have been ready to fire on anybody in the way. The Maoist cadres have called on Former Peace Minister Janardan Sharma to Naubise obviously for controlling the serious situation and to avoid any bloodshed.

Later on Saturday, February 20, 2010, in an interview to the Nepalese ABC TV, Former Peace Minister Janardan Sharma has said to the anchor that obviously the police have the order from somebody of the high-ranking persons to fire at anybody in the way; so, his presence in Naubise has stopped the possible bloodshed.

Instead of respecting the rights of the people to information on what the police have been carrying in the three trucks, the police have bullied the reporters, TV crews, representatives of human rights organizations and the Maoist cadres at the gunpoint into making the way for those three trucks to leave Naubise.

At the entry called Nagdhunga to the Kathmandu Valley, some Maoist legislators and cadres have stopped the three trucks again, and have demanded the police to reveal what are in the trucks. Rather than respecting the citizens’ rights to information, the police have resorted to a baton charge and injured five Maoist legislators and several Maoist cadres. Then, the police forcibly have driven those three trucks to the headquarters of the Armed Police Force (APF) at Halchok, Kathmandu.

On Saturday, February 20, 2010, speaking to the reporters in Kathmandu, Spokesman for the Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-Maoist) Dinanath Sharma has charged the Madhav government with letting the APF bring in the arms and ammunition for the Nepali Army breaching the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) the government has reached with the Maoists in 2006. He has also said that the government has been trying to derail the peace process provoking the Maoists with the intention of disrupting the writing of a new constitution process.

At the same time, speaking to the reporters, Prime Minister Madhav Nepal has said that the APF have brought the weapons from India for a regular training of their cadets. He has also said that the APF have brought those weapons following the government’s decision on it for improving the capacity of the APF; so, they are not against the people. In addition, he has explained to the reporters that the government is not supposed to bring in arms and ammunition for the Nepal Army only, not for the APF following the CPA. He has also said to the reporters that in fact he has negotiated with the government of India during his visit to India, these materials are supposed to arrive Nepal quite some time ago but delayed. Mr. Nepal has not said anything about the breach of the people’s rights to information because following the instructions from his government, the APF have denied the people to know what the APF have brought to Nepal.

On Saturday, February 20, 2010, in a press conference held on the premises of his Ministry in Kathmandu, Home Minister Bhim Rawal has said that the APF have brought explosive gunpowder and detonators required for the regular training of the security forces. Home Minister Rawal has also said that the APF have simply shifted the explosive gunpowder from their Bardaghat camp in the Nawalparasi district to their headquarters in Kathmandu. Mr. Rawal has said that the APF could freely import and shift from one place to another all required explosive and gunpowder and other equipment at any time as and when required for keeping the security agencies well equipped; in addition, the APF have brought the ammunition following the laws, rules and regulations. However he has failed in saying that the APF have violated the basic human rights not following the people’s rights to information on what the APF have been bringing in the covered three trucks. Mr. Rawal has even boasted that he has given a green signal to the Nepal Police, APF and National Investigation Department (NID) to purchase the arms and explosive regularly as required by them.

Not satisfied with the explanations of the Prime Minister and the Home Minister, the Maoist cadres have demanded an independent inquiry into the APF forcibly bringing various arms and ammunitions in three trucks taken to the headquarters without disclosing it to anybody.

Every morning before 7:00 A.M. news, the state-run Radio Nepal informs the listeners that ‘the people are the masters in the democracy so they have the rights to know anything from the government’ as a part of the advertisement of the Commission on Rights To Information. However, the irony is that the Madhav government does not feel the need for following the advertisement rather demonstrate its muscle power to the people that have demanded to know what are in the three trucks brought by the APF. The Madhav administration is not accountable to the people as he is not an elected Prime Minister. In fact, voters have rejected him in two constituencies. The Madhav government has been repressive and regressive.

The Madhav government is a government of a simple majority in the legislature, so his government cannot do anything concerning the writing of a new constitution and promulgating it because it requires two-third majority. So, Madhav Nepal just wants to prolong his stay in government as long as possible. He might have been even thinking to impose a presidential rule as he has a president ready to do anything just to prolong the coalition of the NC and CPN-UML. So, the Maoists have been charging him with doing everything possible to impose a presidential rule in conjunction with the faction of the NC with the support of the Nepal Army.

So, Madhav Nepal has been regressive and has ignored the people’s rights to information. His Home Minister has been patting the killer APF men. His Defense Minister has been deadly against integration of the members of the People’s Liberation Army into the Nepal Army and wants to go head-on collision with the Maoists. So, Madhav Nepal has a very fertile brain for destructive purposes. It will not be a surprise if Madhav Nepal becomes the main instrument for causing a conflict again.

The Madhav government can bring the arms and ammunition deadly for the people but has not been unable to import sugar so much required by every Nepalis in his/her daily life. Nepalis have been paying Rs 30 per kilogram more than Indians for sugar because of the incompetent government and Madhav Nepal making money from the shortage and high price of sugar increasing the price of sugar to a sky high at the sugar-milling season for benefiting the sugar mill owners. Madhav Nepal has not been concerned with the power outage for 12 hours out of 24 hours a day and twice a week two-hour water supply to the people.

The Legislative Committee on State Affairs has summoned Prime Minister Madhav Nepal to report on the state affairs because his government has been unable to do many things including the filling up of the vacant positions in the constitutional bodies according to the Nepali media. The Madhav government has been unable to coordinate various ministries causing contradictory decisions of the Council of Ministers, has been incompetent to run the state administration, has not been able to break the political deadlock, and has been in the perpetual fear of losing the Prime Ministerial chair. His Deputy Sujata Koirala has been charging him with abusing the Prime Ministerial authority and appointing the CPN-UML cadres in the vacant positions in the state administration.

Nepalis want peace and political stability in the country. They have enough of the conflict and have suffered very much in the past. Nepalis don’t want the recurrence of the past sufferings. However, Madhav Nepal and his kitchen cabinet have been intriguing into a new conflict to stay on in power. The APF have made a first step toward the conflict bringing the arms and ammunition to Kathmandu for killing Nepalis fighting for the rule of law and for survival in the world of so many scarcities.

February 27, 2010