Durbar Marg episode: Nepali Army comes under scanner
Three days after armed soldiers – led by a Nepali Army (NA) captain—surrounded a police post at the heart of Nepali capital, abducted three policemen, and tortured for nearly two hours, the role of army in the changed context continues to be debated.
Parliamentarians, media, human rights activists and military experts said it was an unfortunate incident indicating that the Nepali Army was yet to accept to democratic principles and political changes in the country.
Speaking in the House of Representatives on Sunday, vice president of Jana Morcha Nepal and a firebrand lawmaker, Lilamani Pokhrel, demanded that the Bhairavnath battalion of the NA—that has earned notoriety for torture and disappearances of dozens of detainees in the past—be dismantled. The police officers were also taken to this battalion and tortured, according to reports.
Speaking at the Reporters Club on Sunday, chairman of Nepal Bar Association Shambhu Thapa said off-duty Captain’s act of cordoning off a police post was an act of ‘sedition’.
Retired General of the Royal Nepalese Army (now known as Nepali Army), Chitra Bahadur Gurung, however defended the Army saying that it would be still early to judge the intention of NA in the changed political context.
Experts agree that time has come for the Nepali Army to transform itself as an army accountable to the people, not other power centers. “There is a need of overall change in the culture of the army, especially in its way of dealing with the civilians,” said military analyst Dr Indrajit Rai.
Human rights activist Krishna Pahadi warned that elections to the constituent assembly might not be possible if the behavior of the army officers did not improve over time.
All private broadsheet dailies in their Monday editions expressed concerns over growing incidences of lack of discipline among NA personnel. Said Nepal Samacharpatra daily in its editorial, “The conduct of an officer has defamed the overall image of the NA.” The Annapurna Post concluded that “the incident was the result of lack of transparency about the actions and decisions taken by the military courts set up in the past.”
In its editorial, Kantipur daily said, “While imparting training, soldiers should be taught about discipline, besides courses on battle and use of arms. If the army, carrying modern weapons, lacks discipline, it turns into a ‘criminal group’.”
Rajdhani, The Himalayan Times and the Kathmandu Post also expressed their anger over the incident and demanded action against the guilty.
Response from general public was also overwhelming. Kantipur daily on Monday published eight letters by its readers — all expressing their concerns regarding behavior of the Nepali Army officers.
One of them, Arjun Adhikari from Khotang, said, “Captain Robin Bikram Rana was encouraged by the inability of the government to dismiss army chief Pyar Jung Thapa who played the key role in suppressing the people’s movement.” Similarly, Bindu Pandeya opined, “Activities of the high level army officers who have backings from the prestigious Rana and Shah family, have defamed the NA at large.”
The daily also published cartoon where a mother tells her son to salute the Bhairavnath, a Hindu god known for killing demons, while he is dancing.
Sensing the public mood and round-the-clock coverage of the incident by private media, the government was quick to take action. Captain Rana was suspended immediately as per the order from the prime minister, who also holds defense portfolio. At least ten soldiers including Rana have been placed under detention, according to the Army.
Nepali Army said it has constituted a five-member general military court headed by Major General Yadav Bahadur Raymajhi to probe into the incident. The Defense Ministry has also set up a five-member committee to probe into the same incident led by Joint Secretary at the Ministry Kashi Nath Sharma.
The incident may have occurred at the most inopportune moment for the Nepali Army. At a time when the Maoist rebels are insisting that they are not ready for ‘management of arms’ of their guerillas only, the incident that initiated at Thamel and moved all the way to Bhairavnath battalion, has raised serious questions about the system of arms management and ‘command and control’ within the Nepali Army.
Published in Nepalnews.com