Kathmandu, March 19:

The National Human Rights Commission has reservations concerning a provision in the government’s recent Surrender and Rehabilitation Policy 2062, that allows the Maoists to surrender on the NHRC premises.

The commission today forwarded a letter expressing its concern on the matter to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and the Council of Ministers.

“The government’s decision of allowing the rebels to surrender and lay down their arms on our premises, as per the recently announced policy is not acceptable to us,” said NHRC chairman Nain Bahadur Khatri.

According to him, the commission does not have a mandate to take in the surrendering Maoists on its premises. “Our job is to investigate, monitor human rights situation and cases and ultimately forward our recommendations to the government,” said Khatri.

The Policy’s seventh point has listed the NHRC as one of the places for the rebels to surrender. However, Diwakar Pant, secretary of the PMO said there could have been some misunderstanding concerning the issue. “The commission is not authorised to take in the arms laid down by the Maoists. The government is only urging the commission to be a facilitator. They can inform the authorities concerned once the rebels surrender in the commission premises,” he said.

According to him, the Maoists wishing to surrender to the government have access to NHRC but they cannot enter army barracks because a question of their right to confidentiality also arises. The rebels could be afraid to surrender to the security forces.