International Day of Peace: Serious crimes will be prosecuted, says PM
Reiterates commitment to conclude remaining tasks of peace process
Nepal’s peace process started in a unique manner. We concluded the tasks of army integration and arms management. We should not delay in concluding the remaining tasks of the peace processPrime Minister Dahal
Sep 22, 2016- Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal said on Wednesday that those found guilty of committing serious crimes during the decade-long conflict would be prosecuted.
Speaking at a programme organised to mark the International Day of Peace in the Capital, PM Dahal vowed to bring the perpetrators of serious crimes to book.
Dahal’s remarks to prosecute those guilty of committing serious nature of crimes follow his earlier commitment to complete the remaining tasks of peace process.
Even a decade after the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which ended the decade-long insurgency, conflict victims are still awaiting justice and fear that there could be blanket amnesty, which would allow the perpetrators of serious crimes walk free.
In an interview days before he was elected the prime minister, Dahal had told the Post that the spirit of national reconciliation that marked the early stage of the peace process would be the cornerstone of the political process once he took up the government leadership, in an indication that transitional justice would be his government’s top priority. Dahal on Wednesday said that the ongoing transitional justice process would put an end to impunity.
Two transitional justice bodies—Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons—were set up in February last year, almost nine years after the peace agreement was signed. They started collecting complaints only in March this year and they have around five months to investigate into thousands of complaints they have received.
The delay in establishing the transitional bodies and amending the bill on the Enforced Disappearances Enquiry, Truth and Reconciliation Commission Act in line with the Supreme Court orders as well as international laws and transitional justice process has stoked fears among conflict victims and rights activists that they would be deprived of justice.
Dahal on Wednesday tried to reinforce his commitment to conclude the peace process by taking the transitional justice process to a logical conclusion.
“Nepal’s peace process started in a unique manner,” said Dahal. “We concluded the tasks of army integration and arms management. We should not delay in concluding the remaining tasks of the peace process,” he said.
Although Dahal has pledged government support and legal reforms as sought by the transitional justice bodies, there has been little progress when it comes to delivering on his promises. The understaffed transitional justice bodies have just finished first screening of over 57,000 complaints.
At Wednesday’s programme, TRC Chairman Surya Kiran Gurung and CIEDP Chairman Lokendra Mallick reminded the government of its promises and the urgency to provide resources and legal framework so that they could proceed with their work.
Published: 22-09-2016 08:44
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