Kathmandu, October 7

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli said there will be no amnesty in cases of serious violation of human rights at a book launching ceremony today.

The PM attended the launch of Abataran, a book written by Shubha Shankar Kandel in the capital today. Speaking at the ceremony, PM Oli said some tasks of the peace process were yet to be completed. “If someone had committed crime in the name of Maoist War, then they will be punished: there will be no amnesty for serious crimes,” he said.

The two transitional justice mechanisms — the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Person, are investigating war era cases.

PM Oli said the government would follow international conventions in war era cases. “We are going to follow the international conventions we have signed. Only American presidents have the privilege of choosing not to follow such conventions. Being a small nation, we don’t have such privileges,” Oli said.

Oli also slammed his critics by saying that his government was doing its job properly as the country had just begun on its new journey of federalism.

Former prime minister and Co-chair of ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) Pushpa Kamal Dahal lamented that his major mistake after joining the peace process was not agreeing to allow Nepali Congress President Girija Prasad Koirala to become the president. “That was my mistake. Had I agreed to make him the president, the situation of the country would have been different,” he admitted.

Kandel’s book Abataran is based on mainly two communist parties – former CPN-Maoist Centre and the erstwhile CPN-UML and their eventual merger.