The abduction, torture and subsequent murder of a businessman, Ram Hari Shrestha, a resident of Koteswor, Kathmandu, in an UNMIN-guarded cantonment in Shaktikhor, Chitwan, left Nepalis gasping in shock. The shock turned into anger, even rage, when the cruelty with which Shrestha was killed was matched by UNMIN’s irresponsibility. In the face of public outcry, UNMIN tried to defend itself by saying that its responsibility was to monitor the management of the arms and armies and not to force discipline in the cantonment. Maybe that was a technically correct answer but the public never imagined such a horrendous crime was possible inside the cantonment guarded by UNMIN.
UNMIN hasn’t publicly reacted to the video footage revelations. In private, UNMIN officials say that the verification number was accepted by the Joint Monitoring Coordination Committee (JMCC), a monitoring, reporting and coordinating body chaired by UNMIN, with membership of both the Nepal Army (NA) and the PLA.
But UNMIN cannot brush off accountability on the issue. Verification was primarily its job and the NA or the political leaders had no say in it. Moreover, when the agreement was signed to invite UNMIN to verify the number of PLA combatants, Nepali people had banked on UN’s expertise, competence and sincerity and hoped that it would identify and weed out all the fake combatants. However, it turns out that about 11,000 of the verified PLA combatants should have never passed the verification process.
It’s unclear what exactly transpired between Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Representative Karin Landgren when the latter called on the premier twice on Friday. If UNMIN wants to revive its trust among the Nepali people, it should either ask Dahal to review the verification or come out with a valid explanation on how it bungled on the issue.
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