ERIK B WILSON |
Devisara Oli's husband, Suresh, was last seen in the district police office in Bardiya nine years ago after being taken in for questioning. Nearly a decade on, Devisara still keeps her husband's clothes in the hope that he may one day return, she hurriedly picks up the phone every time there is a call from an unknown number.
At about the same time, in a nearby village, Laxmi Khadka was home eating dinner with her husband, Dil Bahadur. Maoists came into the house and dragged Dil Bahadur away into the darkness outside. She never saw him again. Laxmi still runs out of the house when the dogs bark at night, thinking her husband has come back.
Dil Bahadur and Suresh are among at least 180 people listed as disappeared by both sides during the conflict in Bardiya alone, the district with the highest number of disappeareds. Nationwide, the number of reported forced disappearances is more than 1,350 but the actual total is probably closer to 2,000.
This week, families of over 40 of those missing in the war gathered in Kathmandu, and another 200 in Bardiya. They used the occasion of the International Day of the Disappeared on 30 August to draw the new coalition's attention to the inattention paid by successive governments to their plight since the war ended in 2006. Devisara (pictured) was among those who lit lamps of remembrance at Basantapur on Tuesday night.
Nepal's post-conflict scenario is unique because unlike most other wars, neither side lost and neither side won. Since most of the dead were non-combatants, though, the Nepali people lost. As far as the Maoist militia and state security forces are concerned, it's over. They want to sweep the past under the carpet and get on with sharing the spoils. On the question of atoning for wartime atrocities, leaders from both the Maoists and the other parties have an identical response: "Digging up the past now will endanger the peace process." In fact, the peace process is endangered precisely because there is no closure for the relatives of those who were summarily executed, or were disappeared during the war--even in cases when the perpetrators are known by name.
All the families of the disappeared are asking for is truth and justice: information on whether their loved ones are dead or alive, the circumstances of their deaths and for the guilty to answer for their crimes. The two former warring sides have stone-walled on information, there is a common conspiracy of silence about war crimes, and elected rulers have tried their best to water down the terms of reference for a future commission on disappearances.
To add insult to injury, the second clause in the four-point agreement between the Maoists and the Madhesi Alliance that propelled Baburam Bhattarai to prime ministerhood this week actually allows a general amnesty for wartime atrocities. The exact wording (our translation) reads: 'In government, we will immediately dissolve all court cases against Maoist leaders and cadre and declare a general amnesty in cases where the courts have passed sentences.'
In the general relief over the formation of a new government, and the euphoria over a prime minister who rides Mustangs, this and other conditions in the agreement have gone almost unnoticed by human rights activities, other political leaders and some Kathmandu-based members of the international community.
But for the relatives of the disappeared, this is a slap in the face. On Wednesday, Devisara Oli wept as she told us: "The killers of our husbands are walking freely and threatening to kill us if we raise this issue. It's not up to the government to pardon anyone. Only we the victims can pardon those who tore our hearts out."
To shame the government and to show what pardoning and healing really mean, Devisara, whose husband was disappeared by the police, and Laxmi, whose husband was disappeared by the Maoists, are working side-by-side for a victims support group in Bardiya called the Committee for Conflict Affected People.
Shame on a state that doesn't have the heart to follow the example set by Devisara and Laxmi.
Read also:
Make or break
Peace or ceasefire?, ANURAG ACHARYA
Time to move beyond symbolism to real progress on integration and rehabilitation of ex-guerrillas
From JNU to Kathmandu, JYOTI MALHOTRA
Baburam Bhattarai: "We were too ambitious �while India underestimated our strength."
Getting down to business, DEWAN RAI
Prime Minister Bhattarai may soon have a lot less to smile about
See also:
Same road, SRIJANA ACHARYA IN BARDIYA
Their husbands were taken away from them by opposing sides during the conflict, but they journey in pain together