Kathmandu, February 21

A member of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Madhabi Bhatta, alleged today that she had been facing security threat for the past few days.

Bhatta, who was TRC spokesperson before she was removed from the post recently, had a heated exchange with TRC Chair Surya Kiran Gurung today, following which she posted an angry status on her Facebook wall.

Talking to THT, Bhatta said she told TRC Secretary to manage security for her but he told her that he would have to take permission from the TRC chair.

She added that security is such an issue that TRC secretary should not have to seek permission from the chair.

Bhatta said when she recently visited Lamjung district, she heard that some angry victims were trying to chase her from the district and she believed that one of the TRC members had played a role in that.

“In today’s meeting of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, I demanded that as the process and decision of last TRC meeting were erroneous, we should discuss the meeting process and move forward only after discussing how we can make the commission transparent and effective,” she said.

The last meeting of the TRC had removed Bhatta from the post of TRC spokesperson.

Bhatta told THT that in today’s meeting Chairperson Gurung and told her that he would not give any role to her in future.

Bhatta wondered if the TRC would provide justice to the victims and if it would recommend action against the perpetrators of human rights violations.

She alleged that TRC chair and members were influenced by power centres.

She, however, said she would continue her job as a member of the TRC. “I would not agree to any decision that would let the perpetrators of crime against humanity go unpunished,” she added.

When contacted for comments, TRC Chair Gurung said TRC had not assigned any responsibility to any members yet. “No comment,” he said when asked about TRC member Bhatta’s allegations against him.

When asked to comment on Bhatta’s charge that TRC was not being transparent, Gurung said TRC had been putting everything on its website.

Bhatta told THT that the members might have different views on issues, as they came from different backgrounds, but chairperson of the TRC needed to be neutral.

According to a TRC source, Bhatta was at loggerheads with the chairperson over the information that the chair believed she gave to this newspaper a few days ago, particularly about the differences between members on the visiting the sites where serious violations of human rights had occurred during the conflict.

“Bhatta comes from journalism background and wants to tell the press of everything that happens in TRC meetings, but the TRC chair and other members believe that all the things should not be revealed to the press given the sensitive nature of the TRC’s work,” the source added.

Bhatta countered the argument, saying information that could violate privacy and endanger somebody’s life should not be revealed to the press but that does not mean that the differences among the TRC members about visiting Bandarmudhe should not be revealed to the press.