WACC Statement on International Migrants Day

WACC: 18 December 2009

 

On the International Migrants Day, 18 December, WACC is calling on communication organizations and networks to take action to ensure that migrants, refugees and displaced people’s voices are heard. It urges media professionals to ensure that migrants and their needs are represented and reported in a fair and balanced manner consistent with their right to speak and be heard.

 

In 2009 International Migrants Day falls at the end of the UN Climate Change Conference taking place in Copenhagen, Denmark. This coincidence reminds us that an estimated 25 million people around the world have suffered from forced displacement from their homelands and communities due to the devastating effects of climate change.

 

This is one of the lesser known causes of migration. People migrate and are displaced for a number of reasons: to escape the effects of war or repressive regimes and persecution, to search for better economic opportunities for their families or to improve their life chances. It is estimated that nearly one billion people are on the move both within their own countries and overseas. Of these some 200 million are international migrants (UNDP Human Development Report 2009).

 

When people migrate across or within borders, they embark on a journey of hope and uncertainty. And on that journey their human rights may be violated many times over. Migrants are human beings whose rights must be fully respected.

 

WACC’ supports the communication rights of migrants, displaced persons and refugees through project partnerships with migrants’ organizations. One partner is the Asia Pacific Migrants Mission, a Hong Kong based regional association working for the rights of migrants.

 

Its director Ramon Bultron says, “Migrants – especially the undocumented – are deprived of their communication rights. In many countries, they are treated like criminals and their basic rights are not recognized. Worse, they are under threat of arrest, detention and deportation as in different countries of the European Union due to the recently approved EU Return Directive Policy, as well as the continuing crackdowns in South Korea, Malaysia and Japan.”

 

In 2008 the founding assembly of the International Migrants Alliance (IMA) took the theme “For a long time, others spoke on our behalf. Now we speak for ourselves.” Listening to the voices of people directly affected by migration instead of intermediary organizations speaking on their behalf goes some way towards restoring their dignity. Another important issue is the discourse on migration and development among those who see migration as an economic strategy for development in the midst of the global economic crisis.

 

WACC calls on communication organizations and networks to take action to ensure that migrants, refugees and displaced people’s voices are heard. It urges media professionals to ensure that migrants and their needs are represented and reported in a fair and balanced manner consistent with their right to speak and be heard.

 

Communication Rights Programme Manager, WACC

Nepal wants to resume recruitment rallies for Nepalese Gorkhas in the Indian Army

By Pinaki Bhattacharya, The India Today

Nepalese Army chief Lt-Gen. Chhatra Man Singh Gurung is said to have asked his Indian counterpart General Deepak Kapoor to restart in Nepal recruitment rallies for Nepalese Gorkhas in the Indian Army.

The recruitment of Nepalese Gorkhas into the Indian Army was stopped in late 2006 after Maoist rebels came 'overground'in Nepal and objected to the practice.

Recruitment was resumed in the middle of this year, but the rallies took place in India at places such as Gorakhpur. It has reported that travelling to India posed a problem for financially weak Gorkhas.

Lt-Gen. Gurung has also asked the defence ministry to increase the quota of the Nepalese Army officers who train in India.

Lt-Gen. Gurung met defence minister A. K. Antony and defence secretary Pradeep Kumar on Tuesday. He also had meetings scheduled at the ministry of external affairs and with national security adviser M. K. Narayanan.

Lt-Gen. Gurung is also reportedly shopping for small arms in India, besides some used battle tanks such as Vijayanta, which are being phased out by the country. He is also expected to have discussed 'integration'of Maoist rebel fighters of the Peoples'Liberation Guerrilla Army with the Nepalese Army.

While India has not opposed the move, New Delhi holds that the Nepalese Army should be apolitical and professional.

 

Nepal's political parties reluctant to draft the constitution on time

L and G, Dec. 15, 2009

With the political scenario getting hazier and the ticking of the CA countdown getting lauder, senior leaders of the political parties are now telling it with full confidence that it is impossible to draft the new constitution within the given timeline, May 2010.

 

With that in mind, the leaders are now thinking of a new modus operandi to govern the country after the six months’ timeline expires. While the ruling coalition seems to be okay with either of the two alternatives at disposal -- imposing emergency or extending CA’s term -- the main opposition is for term extension, for obvious reasons.

 

A non-governmental proposal for term-extension has already made its way to the CA secretariat, which is likely to be passed as the Maoists have taken it positively. The other option, imposing emergency, has been intimidating the Maoists, who are warning it publicly that the ruling parties are plotting a “constitutional coup” though a presidential rule and state of emergency. Analysts say the Maoists, who are on their phase-wise protests for “civilian supremacy”, could make environment conducive for imposing emergency if they get violent in course of their protests.

 

There are some strong arguments forwarded in support of this speculation that the constitution won’t come on time. Based on what the leaders have been speaking so far, it is all clear that neither the ruling parties want to have the new constitution before completing army integration, nor the Maoists want to separate their armies with arms before they are assured about the future of their armies.

 

This has been a Catch 22 situation for all the political parties, as far as the constitution-making process is concerned.

 

The Maoists, who still command around 20,000 armed guerillas, are reluctant to ‘surrender’ unless there is a common understanding on the basic characteristics of the new federation. They have their own and equally serious reasons.

 

“It is a very complex situation for us,” says a senior Maoist leader. “Given the looming uncertainty about the new constitution, we cannot convince our combatants for a complete disarmament at least until there is a wider political understanding about their future,” said a Maoist leader.

 

NC Parliamentary Party leader Ram Chandra Poudel believes that given the complexities surrounding the army integration issue, chances of drafting the new constitution are almost nonexistent. On Friday, Poudel said it publicly in Syngja that it had been almost certain that the new constitution would not be drafted by May, 2010.

 

In the same line, NC General Secretary Bimelendra Nidhi maintains that given Maoist ‘rawaiwaa’ the new constitution would not be drafted on time. “We are yet to finalize the very basic things that set grounds for drafting of the new constitution,” says Nidhi.

 

“No party, except the Maoists, will agree to draft the constitution without sorting out the army integration issue, and nobody is going to waive a magic wand anytime soon to help us meet the six-month timeline,” said a senior NC leader. “It is only the fear of the people that is keeping the leaders from disclosing the bitter truth. It’s time we thought what’s next after six months.”

 

The ‘troubled’ Maoists, on the other hand, argue that it is the ruling parties, who find themselves at ease in Kathmandu, don’t want to draft the constitution on time and face the elections.

 

“The ruling parties have been deliberately delaying the statute-drafting process,” says UCPN (Maoist) Spokesman Dinanath Sharma. “They are just using the army integration issue as a pretext to delay the constitution-making process. It is not the Maoists, but the ruling parties who want to deliberately delay the army integration posting different bakheda.”

 

The Maoists reading is that the parties who have not been to villages for the last 20 years have lost their contact with the people … and their support base.

 

“Equally important factor behind the delay is that the NC and UML don’t want to draft the constitution with the Maoists in the lead. Keeping us off the center is the only thing they want,” says Sharma.  

 

While the Maoists are advocating for another high-level political agreement to settle the army integration issue, some NC leaders say it is redundant. “There is no need of any other agreement, the Maoist combatants can be managed through the special committee that we have,” says NC General Secretary Bimelendra Nidhi.

 

The only solution is to take both the processes -- constitution-making and army integration -- simultaneously, says Maoist PLA Commander Barsa Man Pun Ananta. “And that requires a new political agreement, which could declare the basic and core features of the new constitution and the fate of the combatants.”

 

Though the Maoists and some factions in the NC, esp close to President Girija Prasad Koirala, believe that the only way out is a high-level political mechanism, it has drawn flacks from within the ruling partners, which the Maoists interpret as the reaction of the forces that do not want the constitution in time.

 

For the time being, the parties at least seem to come to an agreement on term-extension. “There could be a political understanding on extending the term,” says Dinanath Sharma.

 

Term extension, says Nidhi, is one possibility.  

 

 

 

 

----

The Maoist sentiment that there should be a guarantee of new constitution is absurd, say NC leaders. The CA itself is a guarantee that could have been a good excuse, had there been no institutional vacuity, the Maoist sentimente would have been justifialble. The CA is active and it is doing its job.

 

 

 

There is no need of a new agreement, the CPA is enough

Hand Over Murder Suspect to Police: Human Rights Watch, USA

Hand Over Murder Suspect to Police: Human Rights Watch

Army Officer Accused of Murder Removed as UN Peacekeeper

(New York, December 15, 2009) - The government of Nepal should ensure that the Nepal Army immediately hands over an army major implicated in the murder of a 15-year-old girl in 2004 to police custody, so civilian criminal proceedings against him can proceed, Human Rights Watch said today. Donors supporting justice and the peace process in Nepal should insist that the government of Nepal act promptly in this case, Human Rights Watch said.

Major Niranjan Basnet, who had been serving as a peacekeeper in Chad, was returned to Nepal on December 13, 2009, after the UN discovered that he had been charged in 2007 with the illegal detention, killing, and torture of the girl, Maina Sunuwar. He has never appeared before a civilian court to face these charges, and was allowed to join the peacekeeping mission by Nepal’s government in September despite the pending charges. Upon his return, the army, which has previously defied court orders and shielded Major Basnet from prosecution, placed him in military custody.

“The Nepal Army, which has consistently protected Basnet, promoted him, and even recommended him as a UN peacekeeper, cannot be trusted,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia researcher for Human Rights Watch. “After five years of evading justice, Basnet should be handed over to appear before a civilian judge so that he can be duly prosecuted.”

Sunuwar’s killing took place during the decade-long conflict ending in 2006 between Maoists and government forces, in which over 13,000 people died. Despite a peace agreement, followed by elections, not a single person has been prosecuted in civilian courts for serious human rights abuses during the armed conflict.

The army claims to have disciplined several soldiers for human rights violations following investigations in military courts. However, three others accused in Sunuwar’s death were given only six-month sentences for minor offenses. This raises serious concerns about whether military trials of members of the armed forces and other state officials accused of serious human rights violations such as murder and torture can be trusted to meet international human rights standards, Human Rights Watch said.

“A fair, speedy, and public prosecution of Major Basnet will allow Nepal to show that it is determined to end impunity and deliver justice,” Ganguly said. “There cannot be lasting peace as long as it appears that neither Maoists nor government forces will ever face justice for murder and other serious crimes committed during the conflict.”

The Sunuwar killing has become a test case for justice in Nepal. Human Rights Watch urged donors supporting the peace process and security reform, such as the European Union, US, and the United Nations, to let the Nepal government know they are closely monitoring the government’s and army’s handling of this case. Human Rights Watch said donors should ensure that an effective system of vetting is in place for any Nepali security force promotions, overseas UN peacekeeping duties, or specialized training abroad.

“The failure of rule of law is already threatening the peace process,” Ganguly said. “The international community should be seriously concerned that in the Basnet case, the army has not only defied the rule of law, but violated international trust by sending someone charged with serious crimes to be a member of a peacekeeping mission.”

Background Information

Soldiers took Sunuwar from her home in Kharelthok VDC-6 in Kavre District on the morning of February 17, 2004. They were looking for her mother, Devi Sunuwar, who was not at home. When her friends and relatives went to the Lamidanda barracks the following day and demanded her release, the army denied having arrested her. After weeks of intensive campaigning for word of her fate, the army told Devi Sunuwar in April that her daughter had been killed. Under pressure from local and international human rights groups, the UN Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights, the European Union, and US, the army prosecuted three men accused of involvement in the killing in a military court.

According to the report of an army court of inquiry board, Basnet, then a captain, was in charge of the army patrol that arrested Maina Sunuwar and he was present during the early part of her questioning, including, according to the board, when her head was put under water. However, he was not brought before the court martial.

According to army records, the three men accused, Bobi Khatri, Sunil Prasad Adhikari, and Amit Pun, were only charged with minor offenses of using improper interrogation techniques and not following procedures during the disposal of the girl’s body. Although convicted of both offenses, they were sentenced to only six months in prison, and were then freed because they had spent that amount of time confined to barracks during the investigation.

As a result of police investigations, Sunuwar’s body, which had been illegally buried at the Panchkal army camp, was exhumed in March 2007. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court, in response to petitions by her family, ordered the public prosecutor in Kavre to complete investigations and file charges. Under pressure from the Supreme Court, charges of illegal detention, torture, and murder were filed in the Kavre District Court against the three army officers named earlier and Basnet. The court issued arrest warrants and summonses. But none of them were arrested or appeared at a hearing in the case, nor has the Nepal Army responded to repeated requests for cooperation from the Kavre police.

On September 13, 2009 the District Court ordered Nepal Army Headquarters to proceed immediately with the automatic suspension of Basnet, who had since been promoted to major despite the serious allegations against him. He was instead included in the UN peacekeeping team that was sent to Chad. The UN peacekeeping team expelled him on December 9, when they became aware of the charges he was facing in Nepal.

To read the September 2009, Human Rights Watch report, “Waiting for Justice: Unpunished Crimes from Nepal’s Armed Conflict,” please visit:

 

Maina Sunuwar Updates and Facts by Advocacy Forum, Nepal Army (NA) did not hand over Major Basnet

Maina Sunuwar Updates and Facts by Advocacy Forum

December 13 2009

Nepal Army (NA) did not hand over army Major Niranjan Basnet, one of the accused in the murder of Maina Sunuwar, to Kavre Distric Police/ Court today as promised. This has raised suspicion on the intention of the NA and Nepal government as Major Basnet was not arrested for long time despite court's order. Instead, he was protected by NA. Advocacy Forum, therefore, urges government to immediately handover army Major Niranjan Basnet, one of the accused in the murder of Maina Sunuwar, to Kavre District Police/ Court. 

 

As existing Nepalese law grants power of criminal investigation to Nepal Police,   Nepal army has no legal authority to hold any accused into its custody. Adherence to law and court order demands and obliges Nepal army to suspend and hand over the accused to police authority so that the accused can be produced to the court issuing warrant of arrest.

 

Deployed by the Nepal Army with the UN Peace Keeping Mission in one of the African Countries 'Chad', Major Niranjan Basnet was repatriated by the UN due to the revelation of his alleged involvement in the Maina case. Major Basnet was taken under Nepal Army's control from the Tribhuwan Airport Kathmandu upon his arrival on 12 December, 2009 and is being detained by Nepal army.

 

The District Court of Kavre has already issued arrest warrant against the four accused including Major Niranjan Basnet on 31 January 2008. District Court of Kavre on 13 September 2009 ordered the Nepal Army to suspend Major Niranjan Basnet in accordance with Section 66 (3) of Army Act 2063.

Despite the arrest and suspension order of Kavre District Court, the accused continued in his service with full protection from Nepal Army. Instead of giving effect to court's orders, he was deployed to UN Mission in Chad.

 

Now, upon his repatriation from the mission, Nepal army's implied denial to hand over the accused to Nepal Police draws suspicion.  It is an opportunity for Nepal army to prove its loyalty to rule of law and human rights by strict observance of Nepalese Criminal Law.

 

The chronology of the Maina Sunuwar case is included in annex 1 below.

 

Annex I: Chronology

 

17 February 2004: About 15 Royal Nepal Army personnel, including Captain Niranjan Basnet, visit Devi Sunuwar’s house. Not being able to find Devi, they arrest her 15-year-old daughter Maina and tell Devi’s husband that she would find her daughter at the Panchkhal Military Barracks (Kavrepalanchowk district).

18 February 2004: Devi Sunuwar, her husband and other villagers go to the Panchkhal Military Barracks. They are told that Maina has never been arrested.

20 February 2004: Devi Sunuwar goes to the District Police Office in Kavrepalanchowk district. Police officers deny Maina’s arrest and detention.

During the following months, Maina’s family inquires about her condition and whereabouts, visiting the District Administration Office, the District Police Office, the Panchhkal Military Barracks and other army camps, the Army headquarters and the then Chief of Army Staff. They obtain contradicting information.

Concerns raised by diplomatic representatives and various international and national organizations compel the Chief of Army Staff of the Nepal Army to constitute a Board of Inquiry to probe the incident.

14 March 2005: The Board of Inquiry submits its opinion.

As per the recommendation of the Board of Inquiry, the Nepal Army set up a General Military Court (court martial) under the chairmanship of Kiran Shamsher Thapa, Major General in 2005.

8 September 2005: The Court Martial finds that Niranjan Basnet and Sunil Prasad Adhikari prepared 'Operation Plan' and went to Maina's village in the morning at 4 0'clock and arrested Maina. The Court Martial also finds Army officers (Colonel Bobby Khatri, Captain Sunil Prasad Adhikari and Captain Amit Pun) guilty of using wrong interrogation techniques and of not following decent ways in the disposal of a dead body. The defendants are sentenced to six months imprisonment. However, as they have already spent six months confined to barracks during investigations, they are set free. The defendants are also ordered to pay money to Maina’s family as compensation.

13 November 2005: Not satisfied with the outcome of the army’s internal inquiry and trial, Maina’s family files a formal complaint (a First Information Report) with the Kavrepalanchowk police, against Colonel Bobby Khatri, Captain Sunil Prasad Adhikari, Captain Amit Pun and Captain Niranjan Basnet.

6 November 2006: The resignation of Sunil Prasad Adhikari from the Army is approved. At some point after this date, he leaves Nepal.

23 March 2007: With the help of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the police exhume Maina’s body from the premises of the Panchkhal Military Barracks.

20 September 2007: The Supreme Court issues mandamus to the District Police Office and the District Government Attorney to investigate Maina’s case within 3 months.

31 January 2008: The Kavre Public Prosecutor files murder charges before the Kavre District Court against army officers Bobi Khatri, Sunil Prasad Adhikari, Amit Pun, and Niranjan Basnet. The same day, the Kavre District Court issues arrest warrants against the accused.

13 September 2009: the District Court of Kavre orders:

(1) the Nepal Army to suspend the then Captain Niranjan Basnet (who has now been promoted to the post of Major) in accordance with Section 66 (3) of Army Act 2063.

(2) the Office of the District Government Attorney to produce the complainant and other people who were consulted during the investigation, so that the evidence can be examined according to law.

(3) the Nepal Army to produce the statements of the defendants and other Army staff (named in the judgment of the General Military Court).