Nepal Army Chief Ducks Inquiry Commission

By John Child in Kathmandu

Nepal's security forces violently suppressed pro-democracy demonstrators in April, but there are doubts about whether the army will be held accountable.

The Rayamajhi Commission, established by Nepal's parliament shortly after its restoration following King Gyanendra's stand-down from 15 months of direct rule, is nearing the end of its work. The commission is charged with investigating and charging public officials responsible for suppressing protests against the royal regime, in particular the use of deadly force against unarmed demonstrators. The commission has interviewed hundreds of victims, witnesses, and officials: Only senior military officers and, perhaps, the king are left.

Nepal's Chief of Army Staff Pyar Jung Thapa had been summoned to testify on Sunday, and his deputy and a retired major general had been called for Monday. Instead, the army chief sent the commission a letter Sunday morning informing them that he would be unable to attend the commission due to pressing work in Pokhara, Nepal's "second city."

CoAS Thapa may simply want to stay out of the public eye this week. A furor has erupted in Nepal's media over allegations that army officers abducted and tortured three policemen after police took an army officer into custody Friday night. Media reports said that police officers were ticketing an illegally parked car when its owner, an army captain, became verbally abusive. The captain and a civilian were taken to a police station next to the palace.

A large body of soldiers allegedly raided the police station in the wee hours of Saturday morning and took an inspector, a sub-inspector, and a constable to an army post where they were beaten, given electric shocks, and dunked in water in which soldiers had urinated. The policemen were released a few hours later, reports say, after intervention from higher officers. All three were hospitalized after their release.

Nepal's police chief met CoAS Thapa Sunday morning, according to reports on Kantipur TV. Following that meeting the government established an investigative team with members from the home ministry, judiciary, army, and police to probe the event. While the bad publicity may have been Thapa's only reason to find pressing business elsewhere Sunday, he probably hopes to avoid the inquiry entirely.

The probe has dragged on much longer than expected, and there is pressure on the panel to finish quickly. MPs have recently questioned the transparency of the commission's work and complained that the testimony has all been private. The lawmakers' unstated concern is that the army chief may have made a deal with the prime minister for army support of the government in return for immunity for senior officers and himself. [[ Nepal and the Army Deal, Newsblaze 30 May 2006 ]] The security forces that beat demonstrators and fired on them during the April protests were under a "unified command," responsible to Thapa and the chief of police. The police chief and other senior police officers have already been dismissed and investigated. Senior army officers have not.

Presumably the army would like to keep it that way, and if there was indeed a deal, powerful forces in the government will want the same. There was no word from the commission Sunday whether they would call Thapa again. If the Rayamajhi Commission winds up its investigation without seeing Thapa in person or finds the army not culpable, public confidence in the report will be limited, and the Maoists will see conspiracy. But charging Thapa could cause the army to turn against the government and peace process. Not even the army's most vocal critics want the military coup and probable return of the king that would result.

alan@newsblaze.com

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