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Government Holding On Displaying Film Badhshala
By KTM Metro Reporter
March 7, 2013: the government of Nepal has delayed in making decision on permitting the public display of film Badhshala that depicts torture and enforced disappearance of rebels perpetrated by the Nepal Army during the decade-long people’s war from 1996 to 2006, according to the news posted on theaustralian.com.au today.
Badhshala means a slaughterhouse in Nepalese. It shows how the Kathmandu-based battalion of the Nepal Army carried out the torture and enforced disappearances during the people’s war.
Director Manoj Pandit said that he had given up the hope of getting the necessary permits to display the film, and he called the affair "an attack on artistic freedom" in Nepal. "The government has ignored its own deadlines for a decision," said Pandit, who delivered a DVD to Prime Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai in a last-ditch effort to win the right to release the film on Friday. "I wanted to portray the incidents of torture so they will serve as history for our future generations," he said.
Spokesman for the ministry of communications Yadunath Panthi said, "The government hasn't yet made a decision, so we can't call this censorship."
Human rights groups have recorded abuses including torture by both sides but the government has done little so far to bring the perpetrators of human rights abuse to justice. "It's embarrassing to live in a country that sends its troops all over the world on peacekeeping missions but can't respect the basic right to free speech at home," said the film's producer Mohan Dotel.
