The umbilical of impunity

The meaning of the meeting between the Maoists and Kathmandu-based
diplomatic community

ANALYSIS by KANAK MANI DIXIT

Leaders of the UCPN-Maoist met with the Kathmandu-based diplomatic
community on Friday, with Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Baburam Bhattarai
officiating. European as well as South Asian ambassadors were present.
India was not represented by the ambassador. The British seem to have pointedly sent the deputy ambassador.

The Western ambassadors spoke forcefully for democractic values, and
showed concern re the absence of parliament, rule of law, and against
corruption. They asked why general and local elections could not be held. Dahal and Bhattarai were silent. When challenged on transitional justice, Dahal suggested that the Western embassies help in formation of a truth and reconciliation commission.

Bhattarai suggested that his great achievement was to end the peace
process, but there seemed to be scepticism among the diplomats about his ‘ownership’ of the process. Similarly, he sought to put all blame on the opposition, but there was scepticism on that as well.

The prime minister rejected all suggestions in relation to his attitude on
the cases of Col Lama and Dekendra Thapa, and the meeting ended abruptly after it was suggested that the Col Lama case followed on the UK’s international obligations on human rights.

The Maoist leaders are worried that their entire edifice of state capture, total impunity, collossal corruption, exploitation of cadre and the
country’s future will collapse if the Maoist perpetrators and stateside
Army perpetrators were to be investigated. That is why they want both the army colonel and the murderers of Dekendra Thapa be set free, under the forced application of ‘transitional injustice’.