INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Kathmandu, October 2
The Government of Nepal should make public, as pledged, the report of the commission that investigated deadly violence
involving police and protesters in 2015, Human Rights Watch said today.
Donors, including the United Kingdom and United States, which
provide training and other security assistance to Nepal, and the United Nations which uses Nepal police on field missions, need to ensure
that the government upholds the report recommendations on transparency and accountability in law enforcement, the New York-based rights body
said in a press release.
The report covered several weeks of violence in the southern part of the country during the final stage of drafting
The report contained crucial information to provide justice to the victims and could help prevent incidents of violencein the future
When he presented the report to the government in December 2017, the commission Chair, Girish Chandra Lal, a retired Supreme Court justice
had said that it included the cases of 66 people killed during the violence, including 10 policemen.
&Selective leaks in the media are
causing confusion about the findings
The government should instead release the full report and explain how it will respond to the recommendations,& said Meenakshi Ganguly, South
&Victims and their families placed their faith on the government commitments to an independent investigation, and there can be no
possiblejustification for keeping the findings under wraps.&
The commission investigated incidents across the Tarai, including the actions
of the protesters and responses of the security force
Trials have been conducted for the killings of police officials, although witnesses told the commissioners that the real culprits were yet
Security force did not fully cooperate with the commission
Based on media reports describing leaked material, the commission found that the police ‘did not fulfill their duty& to protect members of
the indigenous Tharu community from mob attacks
It also concluded that the use of lethal force against protesters in the eastern Tarai region could not have occurred ‘without the
direction of the local administration.& The commission said the killing of bystanders and protesters involved excessive use of force by the
police.
HRW investigated 25 of the killings documented in the commission report, with similar findings
HRW found that during protests in Tikapur of Kailali district, eight police officers were beaten and burnt to death on 24 August 2015
Another police officer was dragged from an ambulance and killed in Mahottari district on 11 September 2015
HRW also documented numerous instances in which police opened fire indiscriminately or without justification, killing protesters and
bystanders.
In Kalaiya of Bara district, witnesses described watching a senior police officer shoot dead an injured protester, Hifajat Miya,
The incident was also recorded on video, obtained by Human Rights Watch
In the nearby city of Birgunj, on the same day, police opened fire into a hospital
Witnesses said police in Janakpur also opened fire, using live ammunition on protesters
Police dragged Nitu Yadav, 14, who was hiding in the bushes and shot him dead while the neighbours watched from nearby buildings.
The post
Govt told to release report on 2015 Tarai violence appeared first on The Himalayan Times.
