Dinesh Tripathi

Talk programs was organized on “ human rights situation in Nepal and role of international community” in Baltimore, USA By International Student Association. Advocate Dinesh Tripathi was invited as a guest speaker to speak on occasion. He delivered his talk on well-attended meeting. He spoke on occasion—There is growing human rights and humanitarian crisis in Nepal. Human rights situation is getting bad to worse. Rule of law is totally non-existent in Nepal. There is total non-compliances of rule International human rights law and international humanitarian law in Nepal. In our brief exercise of parliamentary history of we ratified all the major international human rights instruments but now those norms are fully disrespected and disregarded by state institution. King has left no stone unturned to perpetuate his direct, personal and military backed rule. King made a systematic attack on constitution. He nakedly violated the very spirit and letter of constitution and fully acted against the vision and command of constitution. He declared himself a chairman of the council of minister and assumes or grabs executive power. It is an attack on the very heart and soul of constitution. Systamatic attack is also going on against media. Right to protest and dissent is fully denied which is the hallmark of any democratic society. There was a mid-night attack in FM radios. In Nepal FM radios are the cheapest and quickest source of information in illiterate and rural society. Large number of journalist is facing harassments and detention from state institution and security force. Recently black ordinance was introduced to curb media freedom, ordinance which supercede the constitution. Although constitution was not formally withdrawn but series of executive order and ordinance were issued to undermine and supercede the constitution. Freedom of assembly is prohibited. Political parties are not allowing to carryout their legitimate activities guaranteed under constriction and international human rights law. Security forces are working with full impunity. They are allowing to arrest and kill people. Nepal is the country of largest number of disappeareance. Death, disappearance and torture have become routine life of the country. State agencies are exercising enormous power virtually with no accountability. There is total breakdown of ruke of law in Nepal. Although Maoist is also not worked as a responsible political force and they have also committed a lot of atrocities and crime against people and violating the international humanitarian law. But they had shown some flexibility and declared ceasefire. It was a positive step from their side and started to recognize changing needs of time. But king and his army did not reciprocate the declaration. The behavior and attitude of the king shows that king want to empower the army rather than people and he does not want negotiated settlement and now it has also become clear that peace is not his real agenda. His real and hidden agenda is only to perpetuate and consolidate his autocratic power base. King is the biggest roadblock for peace and democracy. Now it has become crystal clear that king and democracy cannot go together. There is no meeting ground between king’s military roadmap and democratic aspiration of Nepali people.
There is strong need to intensify peoples movement in Nepal. There is no alternative of mass movement. But strong international support is also the need of hour. This is the era of global wave of human rights and democracy. Human rights and democracy is no longer the matter of domestic issue. Under the present and changing notion of international law human rights has no border and it is trans- border and trans- national issue. It is the universal aspiration of people not only privileged or rich and industrialized countries but each country and each people. Nepal’s human rights crisis is in urgent label. International community must address it urgently and effectively. Only soft and cosmetic approach is not going to solve the problem. Nepal needs effective international action. Democratic world should cut off all kind of engagement with royal military regime of Nepal. Aid should not be given to the military regime because it has no legitimacy and accountability. So democratic world should work with people and community rather than government. So all the aid should channel through NGO rather than government in Nepal. People are themselves able in Nepal to take care of things. Likewise targeted sanction should be done against Royal military government and it’s officials. International criminal court must be allowed to take jurisdiction in Nepal. Since war crime and crime against humanity is taking place in Nepal and national judicial system is fail to address growing culture of impunity in Nepal. In addition to that authority of national judicial institutions is seriously undermined in Nepal because government in Nepal largely violates order of the court. There must be a zero tolerance for crime against humanity and torture. Torture, killing and rape should not be tolerated and allowed in any circumstances. So in order to end impunity and make the perpetrator accountable for their action international criminal court must be allowed to conduct trial. International civil society should also come forward and also play a positive role to restore human rights, peace and democracy in Nepal. In this era of global civil society reach and influence of civil society is enourmous. International media can also play a positive role. But there is very little media attention is shown toward Nepal. As an individual everybody in this room can also make a difference you can write a letter to your senator and congressman and urge them to speak strongly about Nepal. Since US is one of the oldest democracy in the world so I hope your representative would be bound to listen you and they respond and respect your feeling. Likewise you can also write a letter to the editor in the local media and you can draw the attention.
President of International Student Association Mary Poulin introduce the guest speaker and express full support and solidarity for democratic and human rights struggle of Nepal. Vice president of organization Olena Vashchenko presented a slide show about Nepal on the occasion.