Brief description of the Incident
|
Rally Against Killing |
Baspani Kalikasthan is situated in the border between National
Bardiya Wildlife Park and Hariharpur VDC of Surkhet district where three
Dalit women, including a 12 year girl were shot dead by a group of
soldiers of Nepal army and forest protectors of the park on Wednesday,
10 March 2010. The three victims had entered the wildlife park to cut
special herb called Kaulo precarious means of
livelihood for their survival. The three victims were identified as
Chandrakala Biswhokarma 12, Devisara Bishwokarma 39, and Amrita
Biswhokarma 28. This is a continued job they had to do for their
livelihood. The specific herb Kaulo is being collected from the National
Forest which is closed to Bardiya National Park (Wild life
Conservation). The people who are involved in picking up the Kaulo were
bound to stay in Bardiay National Park because of drinking water problem
in National Forest.
According to description of the incident, Baldev Giri 40 and his son
Bhakta Raj Giri 15, Ratna Bahadur B.K 30 and Tul Bahadur B.K. alias
Krishna had entered into National forest to cut special herb called Kaulo at Baspani, Kalikasthan on 7th March 2010. After cutting the herb, these were left there to dry them.
On 10th March, a group of women and girls that included
Bhumisara Giri 12, a daughter of Baldev Giri, Amrita B.K. 28, wife of
Ratna Bahadur B.K., Devisara B.K. 39, and Chandra B.K. 12, wife and
daughter of Tul Bahadur B.K. respectively again went to receive the
herbs at the same place. It was about 9 PM where an army patrol team of
17 soldiers were patrolling and among them 4 reached the place where
there had temporary arrangement of shelter for the Kaulo collection
group. The patrolling team was in the command of army group and they
shouted and threatened the group saying that if they try to escape then
they will fire. Firstly, the army charged air firing. At that time male
members of the group were able to run way and three Dalit women were
unable to escape. The armies and forest protectors took them into the
custody when they were hiding themselves into the cave and killed
mysteriously.
Description of Incident Spot
According to the fact finding report of INSEC, the
clothes of deceased women and girl including their private clothes were
found scattered in the spot where incident took place.
One cave with 10 persons staying capacity is located in the incident
spot. Kaulo herbs were found in the large bag with soaking of the blood,
in the cave. The fact finding team also observed that in the 50 meter
distance of east-west part from the spot, around two quintal of the
herbs were kept for drying. It was also found that there beds and other
arrangements were destroyed by fire in the north-west part from the
spot.
Tul Bahadur B.K. who was hiding himself into the bush nearby from
the spot for around half an hour and returned back to the incident spot
after hearing of his daughter’s crying. He had immediately been arrested
by the army patrolling group when he returned back.
The two women, who were killed, were his wife and sister-in-law while the 12 year-old girl was his daughter.
The army could have been easily arrested those two women and one girl like Tul Bahadur B.K. as they were hiding into the cave and weaponless and also not in the condition to encounter with the army.
The three women had been killed by the army misusing of power and excessive force.
(Sources of Information: Fact finding report of INSEC and Advocacy Forum)
|
Rally Against Killing |
Statement of eyewitness and victims of the incident, locals and concerned stakeholders
The eyewitness who were also the victims of the incident has
expressed that they did not have any kind of gun and major weapons to
hunt animal of the park. Simply they had only domestic knife and axe to
cut the herb. Women and girls even did not know to use these domestic
weapons. They only had arrived there to collect dried herb to support
their male counterparts.
The locals said that the army has made the incident propaganda as
three women being poachers and they were killed when the army patrol
fired in retaliation as they were first fired by the poachers inside the
park.
The army has claimed three women being poachers and the patrol
recovered three guns and ammunition from the spot. These weapons still
have not been publicly disclosed by the army that has made incident more
mysterious.
One local lawyer has expressed that the army had not right to shoot
dead any person who even is identified as poacher. They must follow some
procedure to take poacher into the custody as per concerned act but the
rules of the act have found to be misused in the incident. In this
incident the three Dalit women had been shoot dead not following the act
even after taking them into the custody which was very condemnable act
and worst violation of the army.
The locals have claimed that the army patrol shoot dead these women
to hide their heinous crime as they had been involved in gang rape.
The government official (Warden of Bardiya National wildlife Park)
tried to cover up the killings, claiming the deaths occurred while an
army patrol encountered a group of poachers inside the national park.
The army chief of the camp of the bardiya national wildlife park has
claimed that the army patrol fired in retaliation as they were fired
upon by poachers,
(Sources of Information: Fact finding report of INSEC and Advocacy Forum)
General facts received during the fact finding
- The incident spot is inside the Bardiya Park but locals of Harihar
VDC especially wards no. 1, 2 and 3 are using the spot as the place of
cattle’s graze place, collecting herbs and grass and wood.
- The citizens of Harhira VDC-2, Kapseri named Baldev Giri and his
son Bhakta Raj Giri, Ratna Bahadur B.K., Tul Bahadur B.K. had found to
be stayed in the area of forest of Baspani, Kalikasthan from 7 March
2010 to cut special herb (Kaulo).
- They did not have any major weapon as claimed by the army except
sickle (Hasiya), axe and sword to cut the special herb to be NRs. 23 per
kg.
- Devisara B.K., Amrita B.K., Bhumisara Giri, Chandrakala B.K. reached the same place at evening around 6 pm on 10th
March 2010 to collect those dried herbs cut by their family members.
The army patrol had also reached same place at 9 pm where male and
female members of the group were trying to sleep.
- The army patrol team made aware the group throwing a piece of big
wood and lighting the torch. The army patrol also threatened the group
saying that if they will move the place they will open fire.
- After charging air firing, the male members of the group were able
to escape and female members had hidden into the cave for saving their
life.
- Those women who were taken into the custody from the Cave by the army patrol were killed mysteriously using excessive force.
- Dead bodies of those women were captured by coming additional army force following day from the spot.
- There were no any mechanical weapons with escaped persons and
deceased women as claimed by the army for the purpose of hunting the
animal of the park.
- Before this incident, there was no any patrolling from the army in
the spot where locals still use to cut grass and wood and mobilize their
cattle for feeding.
- The locals of Hariharpur VDC-2 and 3 have brought water from Basaha
place which is two kilometer far away from Baspani with consent of the
army. When the fact finding team along with locals had reached the spot
the team found that the cattle of Hariharpur VDC 2 and 3 were moving
round the spot for feeding at Baspani. It proves that there was easy
access for mobility in the spot.
(Sources of Information: Fact finding report of INSEC and Advocacy Forum)
Some mysterious of the incident
The clothes including private set of clothes (Bra and panty) of
deceased women were scattered either and thither in the spot, there bed
arrangements were destroyed by fire nearby the spot, escaped persons did
not listen anything about shooting dead except air firing.
As per the incident, three women should be shot dead at three places
and blood spot also should be found at the same three places but there
was very small amount of blood found at one place in the incident spot.
Locals also heard the sound of firing at around 1 pm on 11th
March 2010. Those escaped persons of the incident claimed that the girl
was crying at the time when they were able to escape. Ratna Bahadur
B.K., victim and eyewitness, who was able to escape from the spot, has
identified the clothes of three women found scattered either and thither
separately.
Those male who escaped, did not suffer from firing but three women
who entered into the cave for saving life were the victims of shooting
dead with excessive physical force. They could have been easily taken
into the custody by the army in that condition. There shouldn’t be any
reason to kill them rather than taking them in the army custody for
further investigation.
Male who was taken into the custody found to be normal. Locals said
that saying of army in receiving 3 guns with bullets from spot was wrong
and fantasy to accuse these innocent women as poachers.
The army banned family members to see dead bodies of women before
postmortem. The army stopped media persons and local people to see and
take photos of deceased women. The report of postmortem has not still
publicized. Numbers of bullets found into the bodies of deceased women
have yet to be publicized.
The army still has not publicized the guns and bullet found in the
spot and the different sayings from the army has made the incident more
mysterious.
(Sources of Information: Fact finding report of INSEC and Advocacy Forum)
|
Local pressure |
Local pressures and civil society interventions against the incident
When the news of the incident came to the notice of
the victims’ family members, locals, civil society organizations,
journalist, political parties, and human rights activists, civil society
organizations and rights activist had immediately started to further
investigate the incident from their own. The incident being brutal crime
of the army has been condemned by every corner of the society.
Those organizations involved in the fact finding of the incident were
INSEC and Advocacy Forum. DNF along with its member organizations, OREC
and other civil society organizations with the support of
representatives of political parties have further created pressures to
authority to bring facts of the incident.
Series of activities by the locals and rights based organizations
have organized the press conference, lobbying with the authorities of
the park and the army camp, memorandum submission to the prime minister
for providing justice and compensation to the victims’ families.
The National Human Rights Commission, National Dalit Commission,
National Women Commission, OHCHR and other international organizations
and diplomatic agencies had also been involved to find out the human
rights violation in the incident for further action.
Locals and Civil Society Organizations had organized huge mass rally
and other pressure related activities to create strong pressure to the
concerned authorities for providing justice and compensation to the
family members of the victims and deceased women, take stern action
against perpetrators, formation of fair probe committee from the
government, making re-postmortem of deceased women by the specialist
doctor in close consultation with their family members, to release Mr.
Krishna Bahadur B.K. without any term and condition.
At the district level a joint struggle committee comprising of Dalit
NGOs, Human Right based organizations, political parties and their
sister organizations, social activists has been formed to protest the
incident and providing justice and compensation to the deceased women.
DNF Mid-Western Regional Chapter-Nepalgung, District Chapter Surkhet
and District Chapter Bardiya have major coordination roles in effective
mobilization of its member organizations and civil society organizations
to create stern pressures to the concerned authorities for justice and
compensation.
Due to collective effort of the joint struggle committee, Krishna
Bahadur B.K. have been discharged without any terms and conditions in
the witness among the authorities of the park and representatives of the
civil society and political parties and victims’ family members and
other rights activists. They have established certain demands in favor
of the victims and are continuing their struggles to achieve those
demands.
At national level, there are few coordination meetings held between
concerned organizations both Dalit and non Daltis to pursue pressures
related activities but none of interventions has been made by these
organizations to draw the authorities of the government. Dalit Civil
Society has jointly published press release against the gang rape and
killing of three Dalit women including one 12 years girl child.
(Sources of information: reports from Dalit NGO Federation- Midwestern Regional Chapter)
Statement of Defense Minister and report of the army’s investigation and government initiation.
Defense minister Ms. Bidhya Bhandari has given
cruel statement on the incident that the three women being poachers
involved in illegal act against law and they were killed in retaliation
as they were fired upon by poachers.
Her statement claimed that the patrol recovered three guns and
ammunition from the spot. She gave these statements in response of the
questions raised by parliamentary hearing committee of women, children
and social welfare.
Her statement came to public notice on the following day after
publicizing the fact-finding report of INSEC and Advocacy Forum that has
claimed that incident had been the extreme form of worst human rights
violation by the army. (Source of information from Naya Patrika National daily newspaper on 18 March 2010
The Nepal army has claimed that those deceased women involved in the
Bardiya incident were poachers and they have reiterated same version of
the defense minister that they were killed in retaliation as they were
fired upon by poachers.
The army public relation directorate had formed five members
investigation committee to find out the truth of the incident. According
to press statement of the army, the army patrol had received the
information of entering 17 poachers with guns and ammunition into the
forest for illegal hunting. Based on the information, the army patrol
had moved to the spot for stopping the illegal action. The army took the
action based on the authority given by the act of National Wildlife
Act-2029 and Army Act-2063. The army had also condemned the news of
killings of three women after their rape.
(Source from Kanitpur National daily newspaper on 23 March 2010)
The government has formed the three members probe committee for
investigation of the incident. The committee has representation from
Defense ministry, office of Attorney General and Department of National
Park and Wildlife Conservation. The committee has now headed towards to
the spot for investigation and it is believed that the report of the
committee will be publicized as soon as possible.
Conclusion
The fact-finding report of INSEC and Advocacy forum, various news
published in the national daily news and local newspapers, television,
and various information of media sources have concluded that the three
deceased women not being poachers and the local people had been there
only for to collect the herbs, as usual.
The three women have been killed after taking them into the custody.
It is suspected that those two women and one girl have been killed by
the army after gang rape. The army has fired into their vagina (female
private organ) to destroy proof.
The army who could have easily arrested the three women by taking
them into the custody as they were hiding into the cave for rescuing
their life but the Army misused of power and also used excessive force
by killing of three women mysteriously.
The cloths of deceased women found in the scattered from out of their
bodies have created further suspicion about the case that there should
be also the atrocity of gang rape over three women by the army.
Locals have claimed that three women were as locals from Dalit
community and belong to very poor family. Thus it is not believable and
no any proof found at the time of collecting fact finding about three
women being poachers as claimed by the army.
The probe committee formed by the government is also biased as there
are no any members from independent body such as National Human Rights
Commission, National Women Commission, and National Dalit Commission as
all the three members of the committee represent those government bodies
which had involvement in the incident.
The involvement of army in the previous incidents of human rights
violations such as rape and killing of Maina Sunar and other,
disappearances during the decade-long insurgency depicts that this
incident can also be concluded the continuation of the army atrocities.
The trend of the army in such worst human rights violation must be
condemned and government authority must accountable to the people and
investigate the incident for fairly manner to make the army responsible
in the days to come.
The armies who must accuse and take stern action to the real hunters
are escaping and doing illegal act freely but weaker section of the
society, specifically Dalit communities are suppressed and killed
blaming as poachers which is very serious.
Report by
Suman Poudel (B.K)
Programme Coordinator
Dalit NGO Federation (DNF)
No comments:
Post a Comment