Wilder Taylor is in town. He is secretary general of the ICJ(International Commission of Jurists)and thus an interesting guy to listen to. Buzy guy to, so it is appreciated that he came to assess the state of human rights and transitional justice in Nepal. Not an easy task. Especially since there seem to be a section in society that seem to believe that procecuting crimes of the past may derail the peace process. The past is the past and we have to move on sort of thing.
Taylor explored this by saying that in his experience this fear is common in sectors that have faced national strife and that Nepal is one of many wartorn countries where this fear has been expressed. However, experience shows that if truths are not brought to light, proper transition is never achieved. And this I find important:
Reconciliation requires forgiveness, but you also cannot forgive in an adhoc manner. The truth has to emerge and those responsible for the worst violence need to be brought to justice.
He continues;
In this country 3,000 people 'disappeared' and thousands lost there lives. People who want democracy, stability and justice cannot, in principle, be against the exercise of justice. Look at places like Bosnia, Rwanda and Cambodia, in countries they thought they could get away with impunity. Which politician can go to their people and say 'Nothing happend. Lets's move on'. It doesn't work.
And he is right. It doesn't work. Mothers, wifes, brothers, friends all want to find out what happend to relatives and close ones. At present Nepal has proposed two bills; one of disappearance and one of truth and reconciliation. None of them propose procecution of crimes committed in the past. And this is of grave concern.
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