KATHMANDU, Sept 8: The Nepal Governance Watch Group, a civil society group, has demanded the immediate release of investigation reports related to last year’s Gen Z movement including the report prepared by the commission led by former Supreme Court Justice Gauri Bahadur Karki.
Issuing a statement on the first anniversary of the movement, the group called for the truth about the deaths, violence, arson and destruction during the September 8 and 9 protests to be made public and those responsible to be held accountable.
The group alleged that the state used excessive force and lethal weapons against protesters on September 8, resulting in 19 deaths, and called for legal action against officials responsible. It also demanded that those involved in looting, arson and other violent activities during the following day’s unrest be brought to justice.
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According to the group, 76 Nepali citizens were killed during the two days of unrest, while government figures show that physical property worth around Rs 85 billion was damaged. It said around Rs 36 billion would be required to rebuild and repair state property.
The group also urged the government to implement the 10-point agreement reached between Gen Z groups and the then government led by former Chief Justice Sushila Karki, including provisions related to the treatment of those injured.
The Karki Commission, formed on September 22 last year to investigate the events, submitted a report of around 900 pages to the government on February 7 this year, but the government has yet to make it public, the group said.
It also demanded the publication of a report prepared by a task force led by former Justice Prem Raj Karki on action against government employees and security personnel involved in the movement.
Similarly, the group called for the full report of the National Human Rights Commission’s investigation into alleged human rights violations during the protests to be made public.
The group criticized the government for keeping reports on matters of public interest confidential and urged it to publish reports of previous commissions, including the Mallik, Rayamajhi and Lal commissions.
It called on the government to end the culture of impunity and initiate reforms in the judicial, administrative and security sectors to strengthen democracy, human rights and the rule of law.
