Issuing a statement, Anthony Cardon, OIC of OHCHR-N said, “The extension in tenure of Colonel Raju Basnet together with the absence of any concrete step to initiate a proper investigation into the alleged human rights violations committed at Maharajgunj Barracks is a backward step in ensuring justice for the victims of conflict related human rights violations.”[break]
Basnet was implicated in the alleged arbitrary detention, torture and disappearance of 49 persons at Maharajgunj Barracks under the Bhairabnath Battalion between 2003 and 2004. The battalion was then commanded by Basnet who was a lieutenant colonel.
The human rights community, including the OHCHR-N and National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), has repeatedly called for a credible, competent, impartial and fully independent investigation into the alleged human rights violations committed in the Maharajgunj Barracks and other similar incidents which occurred during the conflict period, read the statement.
Urging the government to reconsider its decision to extend Basnet´s tenure, OHCHR-N said, “Lack of accountability for those army officials implicated in alleged past human rights violations not only damages the institutional credibility of the Nepal Army but also sends a message to the public that there are no consequences for the perpetrators of human rights violations.”
Earlier, despite calls from human rights organizations and international bodies to not promote then Major General Toran Jung Bahadur Singh, who was also implicated in disappearances, the government lifted him to the post of Chief of Staff, the second-in-command of the NA, in December 2009.
Likewise, Accountability Watch Committee (AWC) also expressed its serious concern over the two-year term extension of Basnet. Issuing a statement, AWC President Sushil Pyakurel said the government´s decision serves as a testimony that it is not sensitive to the matter of ending impunity. AWC is a loose national network of individuals and organizations working in the field of human rights, rule of law, accountability, and transitional justice in Nepal.
INSEC concerned
Central Regional Office of INSEC has expressed serious concern over the killing of CPN (UML) Dhading District Committee member Shiva Thapa Magar. Issuing a statement on Friday, INSEC Coordinator Krishna Gautam condemned the killing and demanded that the government immediately bring those involved in the murder to book. The statement added that the government had also failed to bring those involved in the murder of Krishna Bhandari, Nirmal Pant and Puskar Dangol to justice.
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