Major armed groups of the Tarai — Janatantrik Tarai Mukti Morcha — separately led by Jwala Singh and Jaya Krishna Goit — have not yet made their way to Singha Durbar for dialogue. They have continued with killing, abduction, extortion and intimidation in the Tarai.
Instead of working out strategies to initiate dialogue with the major armed groups, the government is planning to hold a second round of negotiation with those l 11 groups.
If things move as planned, Minister for Peace Janardan Sharma will sit for a second round of dialogue with the 11 groups including six little known armed outfits from April 27.
Now, the government is scrambling hard to sort out the demands put by those little known and almost unheard armed groups, which participated in negotiation in the past.
“We will soon sort out their demands and call those groups for next round of dialogue within the next two weeks,” says Sharma, who heads the government’s dialogue team.
Various rights groups criticize the government’s failure in identifying political and criminal groups in the Tarai.
“The government held dialogues with criminal groups in the name of bringing armed groups of Tarai to negotiating table,” says former commissioner of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Sushil Pyakurel.
He said the government was not sincere to initiate dialogue with political groups, who have taken up arms to meet their purpose.
Pyakurel claims that the criminal groups participated in dialogue to set their men free from prisons. “They will never turn up once they become successful in setting their men free from jails,” says Pyakurel.
As claimed by Pyakurel, Sharma said his ministry has urged the Home Ministry to find out the nature of the cases filed against the members of negotiating groups.
“We will soon set out their men free from prisons only after analyzing the nature of the case,” said Sharma, adding, “The government must address the demands of the negotiating groups to prepare environment for the next round of dialogue.”
Asked why the government failed to include major armed groups for dialogue, Sharma says some of the negotiating groups are closely connected with the major armed groups including those led by Jwala Singh and Goit.
“I am sure the government’s initiative to hold dialogue with smaller groups has created environment for the major groups to come to negotiating table,” Sharma claims. He, however, can’t say when the armed groups will come for talks.
“The door for negotiation is open. I am sure they will also come one day,” he says, adding, “I never accept the accusation that the government has failed to identify between political and criminal groups.”
The groups which are in dialogue with the government:
1. National Haliya Liberation Society Federation
2. Madhesi Virus Killers Party
3. Samyukta Janatantrik Tarai Mukti Morcha
4. Tarai Samyukta Janakranti Party
5. Janatantrik Tarai Mukti Morcha (Rajan Group)
6. Kiran Janawadi Workers’ Party
7. Liberation Tigers of Tarai Elam
8. Indigenous Tharu Community and Nepal Indigenous Peoples’ Federation
9. Samyukta Muslim Rastriya Sangharsa Samiti
10. Madhes Mukti Tigers
11. Nepal Backward Community
ghanashyam@myrepublica.com
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