When the whole country is hoping for a sustainable peace and stability by a political reform expected to be brought about through the Constituent Assembly election, we happened to witness the indescribable callousness in the recent massacre in Gaur, when at least 29 unarmed Maoist cadres of Madhesi Mukti Morcha (MMM) were allegedly killed by the cadres of Madhesi People’s Rights Forum (MPRF).
It had created a glitzy furor of condemnation when a Maoist MP carried a gun to the parliament. Obviously, it was an immoral or, even to say, a foolish act to be expected from a responsible governmental authority. But, may be we deserve a rethinking as whether the amount of media outcry against the incident was relevant considering a mere misbehavior of a parliamentarian. If the incident warranted that extent of outcry, then what about the recent massacre in Gaur, which is beyond any description of inhumanity, perpetuated by the so called human beings? Are we having our enough say on demanding a possible harsh punishment to the culprits? Or, are we just lingering with our reactions by causing the incident to be a mere law and order problem?
Besides the grim figure of the number of casualties, the nature of the carnage yet illustrates the extent of brutality perpetrated by the killers. The allegation that the Maoist girls were gang-raped in public, their breasts were mutilated, and their faces were burnt out of recognition before the victims succumbed to death, express the amount of barbarity that cannot be explained by words.
Let’s turn our attention back to the past, when we witnessed a gruesome death of about 40 innocents in Madi bus explosion. The irresponsibility of the Maoist leadership resulted to such a humanitarian catastrophe. Nevertheless, though the incident was extremely unfortunate and Maoists shared a significant blame for the carnage, we could still draw out that the event was not deliberately carried out.
But look at the brutality in Gaur. The victims, in this case the Maoists, who were unarmed, were chased, caught and murdered after horrible inhumane treatment, though they had fled the scene of the scuffle to save themselves. The killing was extensively deliberate, as the culprits left no stone unturned to show their brutality. Considering the barbarity of the incident according to the witnesses’ accounts , its hard to ascertain whether the alleged party (MPRF) involved in the killing, could, in any term, deserve to be called a “political” faction. Even more fearful aspect is it seems that violence has ruled the mindset of the perpetrators and that it might invite backlash.
MPRF is considered to be a breakaway faction of the Maoists, who in the past had assisted the rebels in the insurgency. But, to add to the suspicion of many, the group has recently stood sternly against the Maoists and also against aspects of the interim constitution. The group claims that the interim constitution has no good privilege for Madhesis or the people of Terai, whom the group claims to have represented.
On the flip side, its highly believed that the group has been clandestinely playing its role to “deteriorate” the proposed political reform, kicking off their resistance programs by following the initial protests in the region organized by an established political party from Terai, Nepal Sadvawana Party, demanding the rights of the Madhesis.
This suspicion has been drawn out from the action of the group in the recent past, when it organized aggressive protest programs throughout Terai, abolished the statues of the past prominent political and other historical figures, and showed rigidity to sort out a negotiated outcome to their demands with the government. Owing to such instances, many also have suspected that, under the curtain, may be some “Right-wing hardliners” trying to deteriorate the peace process.
Amid a consistent struggle to attain a fundamental political reform, Nepal is still passing through a hard-time on fighting inconsistencies between the different political factions (including the SPA government and the Maoists), instability of law and order, and frequent havoc caused by the transitional phase, the period that is eagerly expected by all to be heading towards constituent assembly election.
Nepali people had breathed a sigh of respite following the historic agreement reached between the Maoists and the seven party alliance to form interim government including the former rebels. But, though the monarch succumbed his dictatorial power to the massive popular uprising in April last year, it’s still hard for the commoners to cherish the political transformation made so far in the country.
This intermediary phase, along with some probable conspiratorial forces suspected to be playing dirty politics to sabotage the peace process, is certainly costing a lot for the Nepali people who are desperate to see a genuine dawn of peace on the other side of the current political turmoil. It’s clear that the government has been struggling to maintain law and order and to act as per the every wish of the people at the current juncture. But, not acting sensitively to prevent the probable incidents like that occurred in Gaur, would invite uncertainty and further havoc to the vulnerable civilian lives, which would eventually shackle the path towards the Constituent Assembly election.
Though there is no point on letting the tragedies of the past to create a barrier for a better, stable, and peaceful future, what has to be acknowledged is that increasing impunity would only nourish the hatred and sense of revenge in the victims and their near ones, who, unlike others, obviously suffers the most as they are at the receiving end. If impunity is let to thrive, not only considering the respective incident, it would invite a continuous cycle of violence and disturbance in this vulnerable stage of Nepali politics.
Meanwhile, its praiseworthy that the government has declared its “determination” to find-out and punish the culprits of the massacre. However, the expressed commitment would only get its meaning if there is any pragmatic result. To avoid any future clash of trust, or probable hostility arose by it, its indispensable that the government find the truth about the carnage and punish the culprits. As, it may or may not be a “conspiracy,” or it may be that the violence has become the mantra of this so called political faction, that may cause attacks and counterattacks, both could be dangerous.
As it’s already been well acknowledged that the free and fair Constituent Assembly elections is milestone to achieve ultimate peace and stability in the country, its high time that all the country’s stakeholders get united to attain this goal. As the needed preparation for the CA polls still seems lackadaisical, including the prospect for inculcating the Maoists into the mainstream politics and making the general people aware about the polls, further dillydallying on this would only pose additional obstacles on the path to definitive peace.
It’s already late, though it's still crucial that all the progressive forces including prominent political players, civil society, human rights activists, intellectuals, media, and true foreign allies lend their amicable hands for peace building and political reformation for good in the country. Besides the power holding stakeholders, we all ordinary Nepalis needs to get united on defeating any distrusts or any conspiratorial moves from anyone who don’t want the country to win peace, stability, and democracy for all.
