Transitional Justice

 

The budget has been passed by the House of Representatives. Now, when the existing bill should be passed and the work should be carried forward, the House of Representatives is being blocked by one after another. When the case of fake Bhutanese refugees came up, the House was blocked, and Lalita Niwas was again disturbed. Meanwhile, the House was blocked even on the day of passing the ordinance brought to deal with the metering business. It is clear that those blocking the House are against these steps taken by the government and are in favor of fake Bhutan, the Lalita Niwas scandal, and meter trading. In this context, there is a danger that the Bill on Transitional Justice will be strengthened. It is also a request that this matter should not be dismissed under any pretext.

 

Nepal is a country that has gone through an armed conflict. The twelve-point agreement concluded between the then seven parties and the Maoists on how to deal with the events that happened during the Maoist People's War was to 'search for the truth and create an atmosphere of reconciliation in the society'. To embody this recognition, the government has now submitted a bill to the Parliament to amend the Investigation Truth and Reconciliation Commission Act 2071. Parliament is proceeding with its work on the bill. This article has been prepared to discuss this pending bill.

 

Because the current laws could not work immediately during the conflict, it is not possible to inform the concerned families about the events that happened during that time, and because no one is held responsible for the events that happened during the conflict because impunity is allowed, it is also impossible to provide compensation for those who suffered during the conflict. Since the state has to manage to prevent that kind of conflict from happening again, necessary legal arrangements have been made with the main purpose of investigating the truth of the events that happened during the conflict in the name of transitional justice. This type of law basically has four pillars. The first is to seek the truth, the second is to compensate the victims, the third is to ensure justice and the fourth is to ensure that it does not happen again.

 

Based on this concept of transitional justice, an attempt was made to establish a commission through an executive order during the peace agreement in Nepal. Unfortunately, the court ordered that Parliament should only legislate. The government's first attempt broke right here. The first government formed after the election of the Constituent Assembly tried to start work by issuing an ordinance. Another misfortune occurred, and the government changed. The new government did not submit the ordinance to the parliament. The second attempt also failed. As a third attempt, after the court terminated the term of the Constituent Assembly when handing over the power to the then Chief Justice, the then Prime Minister made a condition that, "he will leave power only after issuing the Transitional Justice Ordinance." Thus, in the third attempt, the law was finally made.

 

While the commissions were working, another misfortune occurred. The court annulled some important provisions of the ordinance which had been approved by the parliament. According to the order of the court, the transitional justice mechanism is no longer able to reconcile any case. So much so that cases like robbery, arson, and displacement had to be prosecuted. A petition was filed on behalf of the government to review this order of the court. The court held it. At the same time, due to the efforts of some transitional justice players, the petition was also dismissed. The fourth attempt also failed. As the fifth attempt, the bill was submitted to the parliament, which was repeatedly defeated by dissolution. At the last moment of its passage, it was also destroyed. Currently, this bill is under consideration in the parliament as the sixth attempt.

 

This is the bill, which has been discussed many times in all seven provinces. It has been continuously discussed for the past seventeen years. All the natives and foreigners are involved in the discussion. But still, the comment that "the discussion has not reached" is there. The international community also gave written comments on this bill. In which the decision of the special court cannot be assumed to be final, the 'right of appeal' must be kept, and 'it must be clarified that the matter is classified between the violation of human rights and violation of serious human rights', the provision of appeal has been addressed. This bill is under consideration in the context of trying to be clear about the classification of murder and gruesome murder and the relevant parties are clarifying it.

 

There is only one issue that is said to be disputed or unresolved. That too murder and brutal murder. Even though the subject is only this, there is a need to amend the bill. Some of the amendments have been registered due to a lack of understanding of transitional justice. Some have been deliberately registered to emphasize the issue. Some are concerned that the case has not been resolved, and arguments have been made to help resolve it. Some are worried about whether this case will be solved and have registered as an attempt to force it. The Parliament will not get bogged down in the forced amendment but will retreat from it. It is necessary to adopt a strategy that focuses on the purpose of passing the bill by accepting the settlement amendment.

 

After all, it is necessary to think about why the bill that is close to resolution is repeated again and again. Peace and war are opposites of each other. Those who want peace cannot enjoy war. One who delights in war cannot live in peace. Therefore, supporters and opponents of peace remain active in society. It is not enough for those who want peace to just preach peace. "To identify peace-breakers and war-mongers and before the people who have used to says that he should be able to sing. War broke out in almost 40 countries of the world. Peace was established through peace accords. None of them sang the song of Ekchhatra Shanti. Even after the peace process, those who have made a profit from the war are left behind. "They try to force the process by entering in the name of peace and justice," Nobel laureate President Santosh repeatedly repeats. He emphasizes that if you who want peace do not sing the song of peace with force, you will understand the song of war in that emptiness. War-hungry people don't often talk about war, they talk about justice. If you choose between peace and justice, you should choose peace. I am convinced that only peace brings justice. He did not hesitate to say that this is my suggestion to the Nepali peace process and the Nepali delegation.

 

The originality of Nepal lies in the success of the Nepali peace process. Mainstream political parties are not divided on the issue of peace and constitution. Even the international community is in one voice with some exceptions. Despite this, some unwittingly speak of justice and some deliberately set out to subvert this process. So this process is prolonged.

 

At the moment, people are commenting on murder and brutal murder. The enemies of peace are trying to play with the hope that the rest can be played from this point. While in Colombia, which was awarded the Nobel Prize, a law was made to pardon the murders committed by the warring parties as political crimes. The case investigated by the International Criminal Court is classified as an international crime. 60 years of imprisonment in ordinary criminal cases, because of transitional cases, kept six to eight years in prison. He arranged to determine that based on dialogue and dialogue with the victim. The national and international community supported the classification of other collective crimes, which are only addressed by transitional justice, while the rest are 'forget and forgive'. No one raised the issue of international standards there. The peace agreement signed by the government and the rebels was rejected by the referendum. But the supportive interpretation of the Constitutional Court there suggested that it be passed by the Parliament. He gave a message that the court is also responsible and committed to peace. Like here, the Parliament has never done the work of preaching by repealing the laws made by using the legislative powers. Those who don't want peace are in a campaign to intensify this matter by putting it as a pillow. In this case, sometimes the international community is also confused. Regardless, the government is trying to formulate laws that address the court order, the concerns of the international community, and the voice of the victims.

 

Why is this happening? The question is serious. The foundation for declaring a federal democratic republic inclusive and secular country goes to the People's War and the People's Movement that was completed on that foundation. Some people did not like the new constitution which institutionalized the important achievements it had achieved. Those same people repeatedly dare to attack the constitution, parliament, and the achievements of the movement. To fulfill their ambition, they intend to criminalize the foundation of this achievement. These ulterior motives sometimes manifest themselves in the government, in the parliament, sometimes in the courts, and sometimes in various areas of law-making. Therefore, the desire for peace can only be fulfilled if the guardians of peace are not deceived by someone or become a victim of someone's stupidity. It is important to understand wholeheartedly that this is the only way to protect the achievements of the movement.