A cabinet meeting Thursday had promoted Colonel Basnet to the rank of brigadier general despite protest from rights groups and activists. "It is really disappointing that the government of Nepal still fail to show motivation to establish accountability for human rights violations committed during the civil war," the HRA said in a press statement. [break]
According to investigations carried out by the Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) , Basnet had played a leading role in the then Royal Nepal Army’s operations that led to the disappearance of at least 49 detainees from the barracks when Basnet was a commander of Bhairabnath Battalion in 2003, the rights group said.
It further said the government cannot withdraw and promote cases concerning serious rights abuses in the past if it believes in democratic norms and urged the government to bring to book those responsible for human rights violations no matter if they are officials of a past or current government, or they are politicians or unofficial groups.
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