Decades down, conflict victims lament over delayed justice

BY RAJANI YOGI,Surkhet, Aug. 31: It has been 22 years since Dipa Wali of Birendranagar Municipality-10 went missing. According to her relatives, on August 8, 2003, while returning home from Itram School in Birendranagar, she was abducted by the Nepali Army and taken to Chhinchu. Since then, during the armed conflict, there has been no trace of her whereabouts. At the time, Dipa was still a minor, studying in Grade 8.

Her family has never stopped searching for her. However, both her father and mother passed away while desperately pursuing their daughter. Today, her younger brother, Rishi Wali, continues to pursue justice through the courts.

Rishi said that because of the government’s neglect, no real information about his sister had ever come to light. Speaking at a programme in Birendranagar marking the 15th anniversary of the struggle against enforced disappearances and discussing the current state of transitional justice, he expressed frustration that his sister’s situation remained unknown even after two decades. “For 22 years, the government has offered nothing but condolences and assurances. We don’t want sympathy, we want justice,” he said, urging the state to provide answers without further delay.

Similarly, Nilkantha Bhattarai of Birendranagar Municipality-5 was disappeared by the then-rebel forces in 2003. His family says they still do not know whether he is alive or dead. His wife, Harimaya Bhattarai, said the family continues to suffer, as her husband was taken before her very eyes but his fate had never been disclosed. She added that they had not received any government services or relief. “We don’t even know what kind of support the government provides or where to seek it,” she said. Even after 22 years, her family still lives with the hope that her husband might return.

During the armed conflict, many people were forcibly disappeared by both the state and the rebels, and their fates remain unknown. Conflict victims’ families have been appealing to the government for years in search of justice. Despite the formation of several commissions on transitional justice, most victims are still waiting for truth and accountability.

Ramesh Kumar Thapa, chief of the National Human Rights Commission for Karnali Province, said the commission has been investigating cases, making recommendations, and drawing the government’s attention. Of the 1,407 incidents investigated so far, recommendations have been made in 1,073 cases, he added.

According to Narayan Subedi, Karnali Province coordinator of INSEC, records show 3,236 citizens went missing in the region, including 432 who suffered amputations. 

Shital Singh Rathaur, president of the National Network of Conflict-Affected Women in Karnali, said that although the government had drafted policies, effective implementation had not taken place. “For years, the government has kept us only on promises,” she said, adding that her own husband was the first person to be disappeared in Karnali.

Pushparaj Shahi, Secretary at the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Law, stated that the ministry was working to address the problems of conflict victims. He said that the government had been providing a monthly relief allowance of Rs. 2,000 per person  to victims’ families