By Rahul Thapa

Since the mid-twentieth century, the Royal Nepalese Army has been supporting government policy and national interests. The RNA has been serving the nation and its people and the international community under the call of the United Nations by contributing for the cause of peace and humanity. Its exposure to international peacekeeping has ensured that it remains one of the few organizations in Nepal where the teaching and practice of Human Rights has been long institutionalized. However, the army leadership needs to be more conscious and aware of rights violations being committed by servicemen as a result of error in individual judgment and action.

Nepal has friendly relations with its northern and southern neighbors China and India, and there appears to be no threat of incursions for the Nepalese. However, Nepal has been facing the worst war in its history from its own countrymen in the form of the Maoist rebellion over the past decade. According to estimates, more than 13,000 people have died in the country’s internal conflict after the Maoists declared what they call the “people’s war” demanding the removal of monarchy a decade ago. The losers in this conflict and those who have been most affected are the civilians who have been caught in the cross fire between the security forces and the Maoists.

The security forces under the joint initiative of the Royal Nepalese Army, the Armed Police Force and the Nepal Police have been fighting the war launched by Maoist rebels since 1996. It is these security personnel who are trying to address the Maoist insurrection which is being waged through torture, killings, bombings, extortion and intimidation against civilians, political and economic actors. The nation is at war with the rebellion forces that are bent on destroying the democratic structure by fragmenting the constitutional and democratic class. And unfortunate, but successful they have been in bringing about political divide and unwarranted polarization of power.

Human rights principle arguably cannot be universal, but there are certain basic human values that are universal like torture, killing of innocent civilians, freedom of expressions and speech, the right to worship and to follow certain belief systems without violence. With reference to these basic principles, the state has presented itself poorly and worse by the Maoists and its leadership. There are numerous allegations of rights abuses being made by rights activists against the RNA including the killing of innocent people. And there are strong arguments that there are a select group of activists who do not necessarily owe their allegiance towards the people but continue to act as influential brokers. Incidents of alleged violations have been given widespread coverage by the media as part of the free press’s religious duties. It is true that the state should be more responsible and accountable towards its people than non-state actors. But it is also equally important that the media well informs the people of the organized and systematic atrocities committed by the Maoists against the Nepalese people in the same war footing as it does against the errors in judgment by the soldiers.

Analyzing the forces in direct conflict in the country, we as citizens who aspire to live in a free and democratic society have failed to respect and give credit to the servicemen who are duty bound to protect us and our children. We fail to see the hardship and the sacrifices the country’s servicemen in the armed forces make for us, our families and the future generation of this nation. We, as self respecting citizens, often choose to forget the circumstances our forces are fighting the rebels. We need to be critical of their attitude, their performance and presentation but the question before all of us is are we being respectful of the services they provide.

A story regarding an alleged attempt to shoot a politician in Biratnagar made the headlines; it drew condemnation from politicians and human rights activists earlier this week. But when a soldier on home leave after serving in war for more than a year was brutally shot in front of his family, rights activists, politicians and we as ordinary citizens did not see much value in his death. We deliberately failed to respect that lone soldier’s contribution to society and the nation. Are rights based activists instilling on us that the life of a district politician, a journalist or a businessman is of more value than one unknown soldier. Three professionals serving with a high profile company are abducted by the Maoists; the unfortunate incident makes the headlines with uproars from rights activists. A group of Maoists forcibly enter a civilian’s house in a distant village; intimidate them with grenade pins pulled off and in the process, by accident, an explosion kills the Maoists, a mother and father and severely injures a two year old infant. Did we ever hear these stories making the headlines in our media; are rights activists aware that there is an orphan girl whose parents were killed when the Maoists were intimidating her Ama and Bua with a live bomb?

Let us be critical and appreciative of our armed forces, but we also need to be aware and well informed of the gross violations against human values being systematically abused by the Maoists and its leadership. The United Nations in Nepal and rights based activists should not exhibit double standards by condemning the state while “requesting” the Maoists to respect human rights. The media must be critical of the state and the people in uniform, but we must also express our appreciation and be a source of encouragement for the people who protect our nation state and its people.

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