KATHMANDU, MAY 2
Advocacy Forum-Nepal has expressed solidarity with Purnimaya Lama and her family in their relentless struggle for truth and justice for Arjun Bahadur Lama. She has been waiting for impartial investigation and prosecution of the perpetrators for the past 16 years.
Arjun was abducted by cadres of the then Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) on 29 April 2005.
Although the Maoist party initially denied it had any role in the abduction, it reported that he died in an aerial attack of the Nepali Army while he was held captive by the Maoists. However, there is evidence to show that he was tortured to death by Maoist cadres.
"Maoist cadres Agni Prasad Sapkota, Suryaman Dong, Yadav Poudel, Bhola Aryal, Karnakhar Gautam, and Norbu Moktan were allegedly involved in Arjun's killing," said Advocacy Forum-Nepal in a press release today.
Despite the Supreme Court order requiring impartial and prompt investigation, no investigation has been carried out in the case. On the contrary, despite the pending police arrest warrant, Sapkota was promoted. Now he serves as the speaker of the House of Representatives. Despite an outstanding warrant for his arrest in relation to the abduction and murder, Constitutional Assembly Member Dong was appointed as the Minister of Energy in 2011.
"The government states that conflict-era cases will be investigated by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and filed in the Special Court. However, neither has the TRC launched any investigation leading to prosecution, nor has the Special Court been established to bring those perpetrators to book. The TRC has been effectively used to prevent justice for victims. The promotion of alleged perpetrators to public posts and defiance of court orders undermine the rule of law and further entrench impunity," read the release.
In the light of persistent impunity, Advocacy Forum-Nepal has called upon the government to Implement the Supreme Court's order to investigate and prosecute the perpetrators, enact laws that prevent those alleged perpetrators of human rights violations from serving in public posts, immediately amend the TRC Act and make it functional and establish the special court.
A version of this article appears in the print on May 3, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.
