Punish The Guilty

The interim government led by Prime Minister Sushila Karki is firm in holding general elections on March 5 next year to restore democratic order and steer the nation on its constitutional course. However, the new administration formed on the foundation of the Gen Z movement faces an uphill task to hold those responsible for the killing of 75 people – of them, over 60 were Gen Zers – accountable. It has been under mounting pressure to bring the alleged perpetrators to justice so that impunity is checked and people’s confidence in the interim government is kept intact.  In addition to huge human casualties, the country suffered vandalism, looting and arson on an unprecedented scale, incurring loss of infrastructure worth hundreds of billions. 

The government has already constituted a high-level commission under the former chair of the Special Court, Gauri Bahadur Karki, to investigate the human and physical loss during the Gen Z uprising on September 8 and 9. On the first day, at least 19 youths in their school and college uniforms were shot to death when they joined a peaceful protest against the ban imposed on social networking sites and endemic corruption. Irked by the killing, the youths and others torched key buildings of parliament, government offices, police offices and courts. In a security vacuum, thousands of inmates also escaped from the jails, further threatening law and order in the society. Although the country has returned to normalcy, it stares at a new round of instability as the political leaders responsible for the brutal suppression of protesters have started challenging the youths who launched the uprising.

On September 25, the Ministry of Home Affairs said that it would take action against those involved in arson and vandalism only after the high-level probe body submits its report to the government. It directed the police to release individuals arrested in connection with destructive activities. However, frustrated by the delay in taking action against the alleged culprits, some zoomers started a social media hashtag campaign, demanding the arrest of former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and former Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak for their involvement in the killing of youths. The other day, Gen Z leader Sudan Gurung and his friends filed a complaint against Oli and Lekhak at the Kathmandu District Police but it was forwarded to the high-level inquiry commission for investigation. The Gen Z youths have accused the two leaders of committing crimes against humanity and state offenses. 

However, the Karki-led probe commission on Tuesday clarified that the government should not wait for its final report to investigate or proceed with legal action against anyone involved in criminal offences. In response to the ministry's September 25 statement, Commission member Bigyan Raj Sharma stated that the government mechanisms were authorised to conduct investigations and pursue legal action against those involved in the incident, according to a news report published in this daily the other day. The commission has been mandated to collect and analyse information about the physical and human losses and recommend to the government accordingly. The commission's clarification enables the regular legal mechanisms to deal with the criminal incidents that took place during the uprising. The government has a challenge to maintain order and ensure judicial accountability. But given the growing call for justice to the families of Gen Z martyrs and the injured, the government should not drag its feet to bring the wrongdoers to book.