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“How can we argue that those victims whose loved ones disappeared should simply forget?”

<img width="640" height="452" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230208140212/63e3a01f9c7e80680e0d7021jpeg.jpg" alt=""/>On 18 May 2022, Sundar Harijan, a 20-year-old Dalit inmate at Rolpa jail died under suspicious circumstances in prison where he was serving a sentence for organised crime in place of another prisoner. A subsequent investigation into Harijan’s apparent suicide pointed towards police corruption, but the probe yielded no report or punishment for those involved.  18-year-old Nabina Tharu was killed in June last year when police opened fire on protesters demanding protection of locals from wildlife in the nearby Bardia National Park. A committee formed to investigate Tharu’s death did not come to any conclusion. These are notable instances of human rights abuses in Nepal highlighted in Human Rights Watch’s (HRW) <a href="https://u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=4tNED-2FM8iDZJQyQ53jATUe-2FO0BHbx91Fr-2F8Tc6kNFx-2BLmmw9taIIdgqGGV8fWHMTzosX_Fw9I6ls453wh9AcW9OcnAOdGLtHJQWmb6iisfhwxtIrVHXOCd4VBT7bZGP2s-2FHbG9JxVKulQIyCjRDu9XnUWBhuOJZ-2BTIAC4GbOzVj7LjC7I-2FQPY6l4UxHr0M4TEpDQRyV7sdmeRkaxRO0O6cXs1XCizp6ZrQabFt21EOzmSauVzKWfBTvbsV-2BA1v1-2FAYwrhreOPZb1-2Fe6LMwACRuO7aizYK-2BEsXho-2BVVorRoTCnmYdL9CWfEZ6cHImOaWQ-2FKcX-2FtpK3C7kgN-2FTTGF0J-2FvjoVqzejAP5U00hHxwMjwV8zX0WPBNBexnLnjGDuJe28vnvE872mQDEs73JgLWqyyFh6gnPD4jEYBe3u54rGXdXSAQ-3D" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">World Report 2023</a>, —which reviewed human rights practices in close to 100 countries— published this week. The report emphasised the Nepal government’s failure to pursue due process and justice for conflict-era rights abuses including cases of torture, enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and abuse by law enforcement. “Lack of justice for conflict-era violations has contributed to a general state of impunity in post-conflict Nepal, undermining respect for human rights and governance across the board,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director of Human Rights Watch.  In August, an amendment to the 2014 Act on the Commission on Investigation of Disappeared Persons, Truth and Reconciliation was presented before Parliament. However, the amendment threatened to narrow the scope of criminal accountability for injustices committed during the decade-long armed struggle.  The amendment classified torture as humane and inhumane, categorised murders in a way that would make it possible for perpetrators to bypass criminal accountability for war crimes, made it so that verdicts from a new special court would not be subject to judicial appeal, and included provisions that would exempt or provide immunity to perpetrators. The bill was ultimately not brought to vote, and Nepal’s parliament was subsequently dissolved to make way for the November general election. “The newly elected government should amend the transitional justice bill to address its shortcomings, bring it back to parliament, and finally move forward with delivering truth, reparations, justice, and guarantees that the abuse will not recur,” added Ganguly. But given that the new government is led by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal who waged the decade-long Maoist insurgency and with families of 1,400 disappeared still waiting for truth, rights activists are not very hopeful.  The HRW report also brought to attention the discourse surrounding citizenship in Nepal.  In July, both of Nepal’s upper and lower Houses endorsed the amendment to the 2006 Citizenship Act. The new bill cleared the way for the thousands of children of parents who got citizenship by birth to become citizens by descent and allowed Non-Resident Nepalis to acquire citizenship. But activists and experts had expressed concerns that the bill’s restrictions on citizenship for children born to single mothers, and the process of obtaining naturalised citizenship were discriminatory towards women. Issues with the amendment notwithstanding, President Bidya Bhandari refused to authenticate the bill, rendering it null and void— effectively barring hundreds of thousands of Nepalis from obtaining their citizenship papers. Additionally, the report also cast a spotlight on the government’s negligence towards addressing sexual violence across the country, its failure to extend child protection programmes to curb child labour that has increased post-Covid, and noted Nepal’s inconsistent record when it comes to upholding the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community.  The report emphasised that members of Nepal’s Dalit and indigenous communities, women, and sexual minorities are often disproportionately the victims of human rights abuses, while also being less likely to get justice. HRW Executive Director Tirana Hassan also noted that individual countries must take the responsibility to apply a human rights framework to their policies and work together to protect and promote human rights. ‘Governments that fail to live up to their legal obligations to protect human rights at home sow the seeds of discontent, instability, and ultimately crisis,” wrote Hassan in the report. “Left unchecked, the egregious actions of abusive governments escalate, cementing the belief that corruption, censorship, impunity, and violence are the most effective tools to achieve their aims.’

Government inaction leads to impunity

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230112100136/63bfd4bc9c7e80680e0d30b9jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3745" height="2303"/><figcaption>Wazir Khan Mosque in Lahore, Pakistan. Photo: HOMOCOSMICOS</figcaption></figure>Saba Karim Khan’s debut novel Skyfall begins like the book of Genesis: with a god. Like the Biblical All-father, Sherji too has put his words and intent to action – or, at least he thinks so – and out steps Rania. He is determined in his plot, inflated and Machiavellian. Yet, for the first six months, he is disappointed. Rania is a ‘misfortune’, his ‘grand trial’. Has her mother, Jahaan-e-Rumi, anything to do with it?Jahaan-e-Rumi too has her own scheme. In a kind of balancing act, she picks up a pen and paper in the hospital, and writes for Rania: ‘She will be no stubborn, malevolent lunatic, but the fiercest girl in all the galaxies – a tempest, but never unkind.’The scene shifts and we are whisked from Lahore to the Metropolitan Correctional Facility in Manhattan, where we find Rania is an inmate. The reason for this could be anything, but Khan does not dwell on them yet. All will be revealed in good time. For now, in the cold, solitary, and sleepy pace of the prison, Rania thinks back to her past, growing up in Lahore’s famous Heera Mandi, the shadows of Kashmir, and falling in love. Thus begins Skyfall.There is an uncanny mix of hope and dread from the very first page, which goes on to characterise much of Khan’s novel. Here, Henry David Thoreau’s quote 'The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation' from Walden, and its famously misquoted addendum 'and go to the grave with the song still in them' is central.Set in two seemingly disparate worlds, the novel moves fluidly across the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/review/the-women-left-behind/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">walled city of Lahore</a>, through the streets that switch identities every 12 hours, and later in starkly different New York. The times are desperate and dangerous, and the book raises questions on freedom and autonomy, while, under the lights, music and memories become the bridge between the past and the present, East and West.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230112100136/63bfd4c09c7e80680e0d30bajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="233" height="300"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Rania herself grows up in two different worlds. Sherji, her father, a resolute fundamentalist, sends out her mother and sister every night to dance and sing for, and sleep with, rich customers to make money for his madrasa. By day, she works as a tourist guide. The past is wonderful while the present cursed, and it is in music and a young Indian Hindu boy Asher that Rania finds refuge while she loathes her abusive father and her own incapacity to help her mother and sister.At the outset, the novel seems like a classic retelling of doomed romance. It checks all the boxes: violent families, star-crossed lovers, a historic and beautiful setting, mujra, India and Pakistan, Pakistan and America. But under the surface runs a searing fire. Skyfall is indeed a love story, with even higher stakes. The self struggles not just for its own independence but for an entire country’s, against injustice and violence.When Sherji finally sends Rania into the underworld because he is running out of money, it is strangely reminiscent of when God tells Abraham to sacrifice his prized son Isaac on Moriah. Things go well for Isaac, naturally, and Abraham is rewarded.But as Rania fights the men who throw her around the room, slapping her and trying to kiss her, no angel appears, no Ram. Between the two thousand years that separate Sherji from Abraham, faith is no longer a leap into the unknown but calculated and capitalist, sentenced by men, and women, in blindfolds, the innocents always under the yoke.Then later in detention, Khan pulls back the curtains on the delusions of the land of so-called freedom, as officers hurl questions at the racially profiled Rania that are leading to a conclusion drawn well before the interrogation. “Do you know the Quran by heart? Do you believe in jihad? Love jihad?” they ask. “Who forced you to fall in love with an Indian? Don’t you believe Hindus are non-Muslims?”For <a href="https://sabakarimkhan.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Khan</a>, who teaches at New York University in Abu Dhabi, Skyfall is the soul of a Sufi love song and an attempt to imagine a world where coexistence is the currency. In the pages, the victory of light over darkness is in fact be possible, and we can outdo our starting points."Literature becomes even more important in an increasingly polarising milieu," she says, "not least of all because it allows us to address uncomfortable issues without pedaling or peddling an agenda or reducing things to a headline ticker." In fact, it is rather an act of co-creation between reader and writer, an invitation to go for a walk or dance or recite a piece together.As such, Skyfall is an entirely enthralling book. It weaves the reality of brutal violence with love and hope: engaging and beautifully written, interspersed with Urdu verses, following the journey of a young singer from the mohalla half-way around the world. As one delves deeper, the reader reckons with injustices fuelled by cults and mobs, by governments and families. Adds Khan: "I didn't want to downsize the problems but also didn't want to craft a world without the glimmer of hope and possibility."Skyfallby Saba Karim KhanBloomsbury, 2021290 pagesPaperback: INR599<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230112100136/63bfd4c29c7e80680e0d30bbjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="666" height="1024">Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/look-back-deal-with-our-past-and-learn/">“Look back, deal with our past and learn”</a>, Ashish Dhakal<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Kathmandu-wont-let-go-of-me-samrat-upadhyay,3649">“Kathmandu won’t let go of me”</a><a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/novelist-returns-to-non-fiction/">Novelist returns to non-fiction</a>, Sewa Bhattarai

Let the sky fall

<img width="1501" height="1000" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111414110/63723cb99c7e80680e0c9633jpeg.jpg" alt=""/>With two-month to go for 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, human rights groups have urged FIFA’s sponsors to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/human-rights-referees-blow-whistle-on-world-cup-fouls/">compensate workers</a> involved in building stadiums and other infrastructure.From 20 November, football fans across the globe will be glued to their tv screens but few viewers will be aware of the human cost to migrant workers mainly from South Asia.The eight stadiums where the games will be held are <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/human-rights-referees-blow-whistle-on-world-cup-fouls/">built with the blood, sweat and tears of tens of thousands of migrant workers</a>, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/fifa-a-chance-to-improve-welfare-of-nepali-workers-in-qatar/">including from Nepal</a>. Many migrants have suffered injuries or lost lives to unexplained causes, and many more have been victims of wage theft and illegal recruitment fees.On 20 September, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/pay-qatars-world-cup-workers/">FairSquare called on all of FIFA’s corporate partners and sponsors of the World Cup</a> to press the football association and the <a href="https://www.hrw.org/middle-east/north-africa/qatar">Qatari</a> government to compensate migrant workers and their families who suffered while preparing for the tournament.This call, uniting players, fans, workers and activists, comes as a new global opinion poll shows that 66% of those surveyed, and 72% of those likely to watch at least one World Cup match, said that corporate partners and sponsors should publicly call on FIFA to compensate workers.Read Also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/fifa-a-chance-to-improve-welfare-of-nepali-workers-in-qatar/">FIFA a chance to improve welfare of Nepali workers in Qatar</a>, Upasana KhadkaThe poll was commissioned by Amnesty International, carried out by YouGov, and surveyed 17,477 adults in 15 countries including Argentina, Germany, Kenya, Mexico, Morocco, UK and the USA.Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and FairSquare wrote to FIFA's 14 corporate partners and World Cup Sponsors in July, urging them to call on the football body to compensate workers whose wages were stolen, who were injured, and to families of those who died building stadiums and hotels, roads and the metro rail necessary for the world’s largest sporting event.Read Also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/human-rights-referees-blow-whistle-on-world-cup-fouls/">Rights referees blow whistle on World Cup fouls</a>, Kunda DixitFour partners -- ABInBev/Budweiser, Adidas, Coca-Cola and McDonald’s -- have stated their support for financial compensation and to explore how best to build upon the progress being made in Qatar to further expand access to effective remedies for migrant workers.The other ten, including Visa, Hyundai-Kia and Qatar Airways, have offered no public support and have not responded to written requests to discuss tournament-related abuses, despite their policies to respect human rights and environmental, social, and governance standards in their operations and business relationships, says the statement.“Brands buy rights to sponsor the World Cup because they want to be associated with joy, fair competition and spectacular human achievement on the playing field — not rampant wage theft and the deaths of workers who made the World Cup possible,” says Minky Worden, director of global initiatives at Human Rights Watch (HRW).But with only two months until the tournament, she adds, sponsors should use their considerable leverage to press FIFA and Qatari authorities to fulfill their human rights responsibilities. FIFA has not yet committed to remedy abuses maintaining that it is still considering the proposal.“It is clear what the public and their customers want the corporate sponsors to do," says Stephen Cockburn, head of economic and social justice at Amnesty International: "Stand up for workers’ rights in Qatar and demand compensation for every worker that has suffered to make this tournament happen.”A <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/payupfifa-campaign-launched/">global campaign called #PayUpFIFA</a> has also been launched by HRW, calling on the international football governing body FIFA to provide adequate remedy and to avoid the legacy of what they call a ‘World Cup of Shame’.International Labour Organisation estimates 50 foreign labourers have died and more than 500 others seriously injured in Qatar in 2021. But many more thousands have also lost their lives during construction of other infrastructure for the World Cup. In fact, at Kathmandu airport the coffins of migrants arrive on flights from Doha, and the same planes take off with more workers.In recent years, Qatar has introduced a series of important <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/08/02/migrant-workers-and-qatar-world-cup">reforms</a> following a <a href="https://www.ilo.org/gb/GBSessions/previous-sessions/GB326/WCMS_459148/lang--en/index.htm">forced labour complaint</a> at the International Labour Organisation. These include lifting the abusive exit permit requirement for most workers, allowing migrant workers to change jobs before the end of their contracts without first obtaining their employer’s consent, and a new law establishing a non-discriminatory basic minimum wage for all workers.Read Also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/the-workers-football/">The worker's football.</a> Upasana KhadkaNonetheless, human rights experts note, serious labour exploitation persist and past abuses have not been adequately remedied. Significant implementation and enforcement gaps remain. For example, workers who have already left Qatar cannot access the <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde22/0793/2019/en/">labour committees</a> or a fund established to pay them when their employers fail to do so.In awarding the 2022 World Cup without imposing any conditions to avoid foreseeable labour rights abuses and subsequently failing to take timely and effective preventive measures, FIFA is accused of contributing to the widespread abuse of migrant workers on World Cup-related projects that followed.Compensation can have far-reaching benefits to migrant workers and their families. To this effect, rights groups are calling on FIFA and Qatar to reserve an amount at least equivalent to the US$440 million prize money provided to teams participating in the tournament that can be invested to compensate workers and to improve their protections.“There is nothing Qatar or FIFA could ever do to make up for the loss of a loved one,” says Nick McGeehan, a founding director of FairSquare, which investigates migrant labour abuses. “But financial compensation to struggling families for migrant worker deaths could provide some respite and potentially reduce lasting harm.”

“Pay Qatar's World Cup workers”

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111414110/63723c3e9c7e80680e0c960ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="746" height="560"/><figcaption>Photo: MIN RATNA BAJRACHARYA</figcaption></figure>The United Nations has singled out 42 countries (out of 193 member states) for condemnation– virtually blacklisting them– for retaliating against human rights activists and journalists.If you cooperate with the United Nations and complain about human rights abuses in your home country, chances are you will find yourself either jailed, persecuted, tortured or under government surveillance.The 42 countries include some of the world’s worst authoritarian regimes with a notoriety for extensive human rights abuses.Highlighting a number of “disturbing trends” over the past year, the annual report by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres details how people — mainly victims of human rights violations, human rights defenders and journalists – suffered reprisals and intimidation by States and non-State actors.This included people being detained, targeted by restrictive legislation and surveilled both online and offline. People who tried to cooperate with the UN, or were perceived as doing so, were also affected.In a third of the countries named in the report, individuals and groups, including civil society organisations (CSOs), either refrained from cooperating or only agreed to report their cases anonymously out of fear of reprisals.“Despite positive developments, including pledges and shared commitments by Member States against reprisals, this report shows the extent to which people are pursued and persecuted for raising human rights concerns with the UN,” says Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Ilze Brands Kehris. “And we know that, shocking though this number is, many cases of reprisals are not even reported.”The 42 States referred to in the report (which covers the period from 1 May 2021 to 30 April 2022) include Afghanistan, Andorra, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Brazil, Burundi, Cameroon, China, Cuba, Cyprus, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Israel, Kazakhstan, Laos People’s Democratic Republic, Libya, Maldives, Mali, Mexico, Morocco, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Philippines, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, State of Palestine, Thailand, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Viet Nam, and Yemen.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111414110/63723c419c7e80680e0c960bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640"><figcaption>Photos: NEPALI TIMES ARCHIVE</figcaption></figure>Simon Adams, President and CEO of the Center for Victims of Torture, the largest international organisation that treats survivors and advocates for an end to torture worldwide, saysthe UN is an impartial humanitarian organisation dedicated to the advancement of humanity.“When some states or armed groups perceive civil society activists or journalists speaking to the United Nations as constituting a threat to their interests, they are violating the ‘faith in fundamental human rights’ that the UN Charter proudly encapsulates,” he adds."We the people where ever we may be in the world, have a right to speak directly to UN representatives without some malevolent authority leaning over our shoulders, tapping our phone, or threatening us with detention or disappearance.”Human rights defenders in the countries mentioned in the UN Secretary-General’s report not only deserve our respect and solidarity, they need protection, declared Adams.When Secretary-General Antonio Guterres last week congratulated Ales Bialiatski and the organisations Memorial and the Centre for Civil Liberties on being awarded the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize, he said this year’s recognition shines a spotlight on the power of civil society in advance of peace.“Civil society groups (CSOs) are the oxygen of democracy, and catalysts for peace, social progress and economic growth. They help keep governments accountable and carry the voices of the vulnerable into the halls of power”.Yet today, civic space is narrowing across the world, the Secretary-General warns.“Human rights defenders, women’s rights advocates, environmental activists, journalists and others face arbitrary arrest, harsh prison sentences, smear campaigns, crippling fines and violent attacks,” he declared.“As we congratulate this year’s winners, let us pledge to defend the brave defenders of universal values of peace, hope and dignity,” Guterres said.Meanwhile, responding to a decision by the UN Human Rights Council’s (UNHRC), to establish an independent monitoring mechanism on the human rights situation in Russia, Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, said her organization welcomes the decision to finally bring Russia’s human rights record under scrutiny.Under Vladimir Putin’s leadership, she pointed out, “the country has seen its political opposition crushed, grassroots NGOs and activists outlawed, independent media shuttered, and civil society as a whole scorched to the ground”.“Russia’s unlawful aggression in Ukraine could not be a clearer demonstration of Vladimir Putin’s longstanding disregard for life and human rights.”Callamard said the establishment of this important mechanism will be a long overdue lifeline to civil society in Russia, independent media and many others standing up to repression.“We call on all states to support the swift establishment of this monitoring and reporting mandate, and to fully support victims of human rights and humanitarian law violations committed by the national authorities”.“We call on the Russian authorities to heed the clear message that the Human Rights Council sends with the establishment of this mechanism, and to fundamentally change course to cease its violations at home and abroad,” she declared.Providing an update on the military regime in Myanmar, UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters October 6, that according to UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation), at least 170 journalists have been arrested since the military takeover in Myanmar in February last year.Nearly 70 journalists, including 12 women, remain under detention. UNESCO has also recorded over 200 incidents of media repression, including killings, arrests, detention, criminal cases, imprisonments, and raids of editorial offices.Forty-four journalists, which include seven women, have been sentenced for criminal offences by local courts, he said. Also, media workers report that they experience digital surveillance of mobile phones and social media platforms. UNESCO remains committed to protecting and defending their press freedom.Meanwhile, the UN report said the surveillance of individuals and groups who cooperate with the UN continued to be reported in all regions with growing evidence of online surveillance and cyberattacks. The massive digital shift accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic also increased challenges relating to cyber-security, privacy, and access to online spaces.Another concerning global trend is the use and impact of restrictive legislation that prevents and punishes cooperation with the UN, resulting in some cases of people being sentenced to long prison terms or placed under house arrest. There were recurring and similar allegations of intimidation reported in a number of countries, which could indicate a pattern.Another global trend is self-censorship, choosing not to cooperate with the UN or doing so anonymously amid concerns for their safety. Increased surveillance and monitoring, as well as the fear of criminal liability, have created what the report terms a “chilling effect” of silence, stopping people from cooperating further with the UN and deterring others from doing so, according to the report.As in previous years, the report shows that intimidation and reprisals disproportionally affect certain populations and groups, including representatives of indigenous peoples, minorities or those who work on environment and climate change issues, as well as people who may suffer discrimination based on age, sexual orientation and gender.“The risks affecting women victims, as well as women human rights defenders and peace builders, who share testimony and cooperate with the UN remain daunting. We will continue to work to ensure that all can safely engage with the UN,” Brands Kehris stressed, as she presented the report to the Human Rights Council in Geneva.The report, entitled ‘Cooperation with the United Nations, its representatives and mechanisms in the field of human rights’ (A/HRC/51/47), including extensive annexes detailing cases country by country, can be accessed online.<a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/thematic-reports/ahrc5147-cooperation-united-nations-its-representatives-and-mechanisms" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/thematic-reports/ahrc5147-cooperation-united-nations-its-representatives-and-mechanisms</a>By arrangement with <a href="https://www.ipsnews.net/2022/10/un-censures-42-nations-retaliating-human-rights-activists-journalists/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Inter Press Service</a>.

UN censures censors

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131148/6372395f9c7e80680e0c73dajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4096" height="2731"/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>Out-going US Ambassador to Nepal <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/us-support-to-restore-stolen-nepal-gods/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Randy Berry</a> speaks to Nepali Times about his four-year tenure which was marked by the Covid-19 pandemic, the rancorous debate about the US-backed MCC project, and American support for human rights, press freedom and democracy. Excerpts:Nepali Times: What were your expectations about your second tour of duty in Nepal, and were they met?Ambassador Randy Berry: My hope in becoming US Ambassador to Nepal was simple: to deepen the friendship between the United States and Nepal. Although our countries might be far apart geographically, we share democratic values and aspirations for a better world, one that respects human rights, is well educated, healthy, combats corruption, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/a-biden-presidency-climate-and-the-himalaya/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">fights climate change</a>, and has inclusive economic growth.Each day that I’ve been here, I’ve worked on advancing these principles. We’ve partnered extensively with the Nepali government through USAID, which has promoted good governance, sustainable economic growth, health, nutrition, and education programs.We’ve supported civil society in advancing human rights – including the rights of women and girls and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-is-ahead-of-many-countries-in-lgbtqi-rights/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the LGBTQI+ community</a>. We’ve helped build resilience to climate change and both of our countries have furthered our commitments to abating the climate crisis and strengthening our democracies.The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/knowing-whats-good-for-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">MCC-Nepal grant</a> will mean more jobs, roads, and reliable electricity for Nepalis in the coming years. And we continue to strengthen people-to-people ties. We send over 100 Nepalis to the United States on exchange programs for leaders and professionals yearly, and Nepal ranks 12th worldwide for the number of undergraduate and graduate students studying in the United States each year.So, when I came as US Ambassador my hope was to deepen the US-Nepal relationship and I’m lucky to see that happening every day.The last four years were largely overshadowed by the Covid crisis. What would your analysis be of the way both our countries handled the pandemic?Nepal did remarkably well. The government took swift action against Covid-19 in the beginning. Almost immediately, the US government partnered with the Ministry of Health to support Nepal’s response to the pandemic. Through USAID and our Department of Defense, we provided <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/helping-nepalis-breathe-again/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">oxygen tanks, breathing devises</a>, PPE, testing kits, and other supplies that continue today. To date, we’ve spent over Rs16 billion on Covid assistance in Nepal, excluding vaccines.One of the things I’m most proud of, of course, is we were able to donate 13 million doses of the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/johnson-johnson-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Covid-19 vaccine to Nepal</a>, including 8,385,200 pediatric doses. Notably, Nepal has a much higher vaccination rate than my own country today.That must not have been easy -- to secure the doses for Nepal when there was so much demand from other countries under the COVAX arrangement.When President Biden announced that the United States intended to be a world supplier of Covid-19 vaccines, they had already been at work with experts to figure out how they were going to get the greatest number of vaccines to the countries with the greatest need. Through our partnership with <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/hope-hyperbole-and-hypocrisy-of-covax/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">COVAX alliance</a>, particularly UNICEF as the delivery partner, we’ve been able to do just that. COVAX helps us deliver the vaccines, so they get to the places that need them the most.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131148/637239639c7e80680e0c73dbjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1035" height="812"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>The other thorny issue during your time here was the MCC, which you mentioned earlier in this interview. Would there be anything you'd have done differently to make the ratification process smoother?I would have addressed <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/the-message-is-the-medium-2/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the disinformation</a> right away.  Our assumption was that the absurd claims against MCC would be seen for what they were – lies promulgated by someone with an interest in preventing a program based on accountability, democracy and transparency from moving forward.  This <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/post-truth-politics-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">disinformation delayed the program</a> for years, which just meant delays in providing jobs, reliable roads and sustainable energy to the people of Nepal.But in the complicated multi-polar geopolitics of the region, didn't the MCC force Nepal to take sides to the detriment of its relations with an immediate neighbour? Nepal should be making decisions for the good of Nepal -- not for the good of any other country. With <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/mcc-gets-green-light-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the ratification of MCC</a>, the Government of Nepal made a sovereign decision based on what it believed was good for the country. Initially, the government had wanted to participate in the program because it had seen it work so well in other countries. The Nepali government then helped design the program itself in a way that it thought would best serve its people.In an <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/we-all-yearn-to-breathe-free/">op-ed you wrote for Nepali Times</a> two years ago, you defended America's outspokenness about human rights and democracy in other countries, even when things are not that rosy back home. But wouldn't it be true to say that lecturing other countries rings a bit hollow these days?What I said then is what I’ll say now: Americans are outspoken on human rights, not because we think we are perfect but because we know we are not. We don’t sweep our problems under the rug. We actively talk about human rights in our own country, including <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/we-all-yearn-to-breathe-free/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">deep-seated racism</a> and gender discrimination that Americans experience every day. But our problems don’t disqualify us from talking about human rights; if anything, they give us greater opportunity to do so with humility and honesty. <figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131148/637239669c7e80680e0c73dcjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1858" height="1239"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>From what you have seen in Nepal this time around, how would you assess the chances for socio-economic progress for this country in the coming years? There is a window of opportunity for Nepal right now. Prime Minister Deuba has made ambitious commitments to combat the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/climate-smarter-himalayan-infrastructure/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">effects of climate change</a> and to further democracy in the country. Those things attract investors which will help grow the economy in a sustainable and inclusive way.For the US government’s part, I’m proud to say we’ve supported Nepal’s sustainable economic growth with an array of programs, from USAID’s long-running development assistance, to the MCC grant, to supporting private entities through investments from the US International Development Finance Corporation. We’ve also started the first American Chamber of Commerce here in Nepal for US businesses. All of this activity signals that Nepal has the chance to make lasting economic progress.And lastly, what would be some of the enduring memories of Nepal that you will take with you?Nepal is an incredible place with vast landscapes, tall mountains and incredible culture, but it is the people that I’ve met during my time here that have changed my life. Nepalis’ kindness, generosity and hospitality are unmatched, and for that I am grateful. I will take that with me everywhere I go.

“Nepal should make decisions for Nepal’s good”

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410110/637203c99c7e80680e0b2827jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="906" height="819"/><figcaption>Photo: UMA THAPA MAGAR</figcaption></figure>Nepal created a <a href="https://mocit.gov.np/application/resources/admin/uploads/source/EConsultation/EN%20Digital%20Nepal%20Framework%20V8.4%2015%20July%20%202019.pdf">Digital Nepal Framework</a> a few years ago, sparking conversations about the digitisation of services.Investments in digital businesses, such as fintech, by startups and <a href="https://www.nepalitelecom.com/2021/12/worldlink-invests-in-khalti-to-take-financial-services-to-rural-areas.html">established businesses</a> has accelerated inline with the <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IT.NET.USER.ZS?locations=NP">massive increase in connectivity and internet penetration</a> over the last decade. In the social sector, NGOs are also working to integrate digital technologies into their existing programs.This drive to digitise must, however, occur alongside concerted efforts to think about and shape digital transformation, this is the social consequences of digital technologies. This is the job of practitioners and thought-makers including journalists, policy makers, social actors, researchers, and civil society organisations.Researcher and futurist Roy Amara writes: ‘We tend to overestimate the effect of a technology in the short run and underestimate the effect in the long run.’ The is perhaps most visible when historians often organise the distant human past around dominant technological tools of the epoch -- the stone age, the iron age, the bronze age.Closer to our time, we forget that the widespread adoption of electricity <a href="https://www.washington.edu/news/2015/06/19/access-to-electricity-is-linked-to-reduced-sleep/">changed our sleep</a> and socialisation patterns. The availability of affordable household appliances impacted household power dynamics and brought <a href="https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/how-appliance-boom-moved-more-women-workforce">women into the workforce</a>.Even before Tinder, anthropologist Laura Ahern’s work on Nepal shows that adoption of the technology of literacy and letter writing <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=9675">shifted courtship and marriage patterns</a>.Yet, telling the story of technology and society in this way suggests that technology is always the driving force, overwhelming social institutions. Instead, there is <a href="https://blogs.uww.edu/kugleram18/2018/02/15/making-new-media-make-sense-summary/">ample evidence</a> that economics, politics, law, and cultural norms have a significant bearing on the development and adoption of technologies.Consider the case of electric vehicles in Nepal. There was a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-takes-3-steps-back-on-e-cars/">massive slowdown</a> in the rate of EV adoption a few years ago, but in the last year, the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-reduces-tax-on-electric-cars/">rate has accelerated dramatically</a>. Both slowdown and acceleration were direct consequences of tax laws rather than any technological factor.As with previous technologically powered disruptions, digital transformations are likely to leave some better off and leave some behind. The manner in which we implement digitisation (both how we set up the technology and how we design the laws, practises and cultures that govern them) will at least influence, if not determine, these consequences.How do we assess the possible consequences of our choices? What ethical and moral system do we use to guide our debates and decisions? These are questions philosophers will debate over lifetimes. Practitioners should take inspiration from the old saying that ‘perfect is the enemy of good’ and find a ‘good enough’ system.A human rights based approach is a good enough solution that will make a positive impact in the shortest possible time for three reasons. First, governments and other powerful institutions in the developing world are familiar with and notionally bought into the framework of human rights. Human Rights, while not always realised in practice, do carry both moral and legal weight in negotiations with the powers-that-be.Second, there are a large number of civil society organisations and activists who have long advocated for their causes through a human-rights based framework. Adding digital transformation as one element of their work will be quicker, cheaper and more effective than seeking new frameworks and new advocates.Third, the various international human rights treaties to which governments are parties can be used as both legal and moral leverage. These legal instruments provide a framework for multiple actions including public interest litigation, public advocacy and the production of model policies.A good enough approach to digital transformation would also prioritise securing existing rights in light of the digital rather than emphasising the creation of new rights. Seeking to respect, protect, and fulfil existing rights, such as that to a free and compulsory basic education, is sufficient to undertake critical debates about digital transformation.Take for example the ongoing debates, in public and in closed forums, between educators in response to extended school closures during the pandemic. Pointing to the GoN’s constitutional and international commitment to free basic education, some have argued that state-driven digital learning initiatives are  inherently problematic in a society where digital access is limited.Pointing to the same commitments, others, including me, specifically critique the poor design and inaccessibility of digital learning platforms that result in the exclusion of those at the digital margins - people with some internet access but limited digital literacy.This debate demonstrates that new rights, such as that to internet access, are already implicitly captured within the existing framework of an obligation to respect, protect and fulfil extant rights.The digital education debates triggered by the pandemic also illustrated a major gap in human-rights based approaches. In Nepal, most of the rights-based arguments emanate from organisations funded by bilateral and multilateral development agencies who push ideas representing the consensus reached by the global development industry.This industry primarily funds work on closing the equality gap within countries. This funding limits Nepali thought-makers and practitioners compelling them to tackle in-country issues such as the differences in internet access between Kathmandu and Kalikot. An exclusive focus in-country marginalisation obscures us from the increasing divergence in power, wealth and digital infrastructure between countries and societies.That digital infrastructure, such as technological platforms, are instruments of power is evident in that the Trump Administration chose to apply pressure on China specifically through Huawei to curtail its dominance of the platforms enabling a new generation of telecommunications technologies.Superior digital engineering abilities and facilitative investment policies have allowed the Global North and China to design digital platforms that capture disproportionate amounts of wealth and power from the global economy. Even in more mundane digital services, for example the ability to deploy cloud computing applications at scale, the average 'privileged' engineering student in Kathmandu faces a meaningful digital disadvantage in comparison to their peers in Oslo, Helsinki, or London. This divide has significant economic and social implications.Yet, these forms of divergence and inequity at the global scale get very little space in the national discourse in Nepal. Practitioners and thought-makers taking a right-based approach to influence digital transformation should be aware of this glaring gap in the worldview of their funding agencies. Undoubtedly, specific interventions and structural policy changes are needed to close the in-country differences in access to basic services.Undoubtedly, these matter immediately and in the long term. But without changes to Nepal’s position in the global economy, the best we can hope for is to bring people up to some ‘basic’ level. The experiences of South Korea, Taiwan, and China demonstrate that investing in closing the gap between nations can, and perhaps must, run in parallel with ensuring access to health, education and economic opportunities for all citizens.Sakar Pudasaini, Founder at Karkhana, explores innovation, technology, education, and their social consequences in Makeshift, a new monthly column in the Nepali Times.

Sakar Pudasaini

Addressing Nepal's digital divide

<figure><img width="4096" height="2184" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161148/636d1d689c7e80680e0af3b2jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>PHOTO: US Embassy Nepal</figcaption></figure>The US Embassy in Nepal hosted a Summit for Democracy on the eve of a Summit to be convened by President Joe Biden on Human Rights Day. Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba will represent Nepal at the Summit that will focus on fighting corruption, countering authoritarianism, and promoting human rights. “In many ways, Nepal serves as a model for the region and the world. Within the last 15 years, Nepal has progressed through a violent Maoist conflict, subsequent peace process, the return of democratic governance, and the ratification of a constitution that defined Nepal as a secular, democratic, and federal government,” said ambassador Randy Berry at the event.

US Embassy hosts Democracy Summit

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161148/636d1d4d9c7e80680e0af3a7jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1125"/><figcaption>Bhutanese pro-democracy leader Tek Nath Rizal.</figcaption></figure>It has been a long time since the government of Bhutan washed its hands off the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/japan-award-for-bhutan-minister-opposed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/japan-award-for-bhutan-minister-opposed/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1639192504593000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3lGADWqlZQgAuLZM0rY3sr">refugees it created,</a> and their future.Most refugees who spent nearly two decades in camps in Nepal have been <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2011/08/17/over-50000-butanese-refugees-resettled/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2011/08/17/over-50000-butanese-refugees-resettled/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1639192504593000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0Nn1OZXzYkrKINo3JeyXxm">resettled in western countries</a>, but there are still about <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/elderly-left-in-bhutan-refugee-camp/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/elderly-left-in-bhutan-refugee-camp/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1639192504593000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1k8YQSJ-ZmdcqbmD6cOM7M">7,000 of us left in Nepal</a> who are in limbo. The government of Nepal is renewing their refugee identity cards that are due to expire by mid-2022, and provide new IDs for 429 more refugees.This is a welcome decision, and a glimmer of hope in the camps in eastern Nepal. But many of these stateless people now lack a means of livelihood, and are in deep despair. It is not clear yet if Nepal will consider the plea of all Bhutan’s people here still awaiting recognition of their refugee status.Now that the governments of Bhutan and Nepal are in a more comfortable position to discuss bilateral issues, we in the refugee community expect Nepal to continue to engage the governments of Bhutan and India and the international community until the last <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/no-one-to-care-for-doctor-who-cared-for-everyone/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/no-one-to-care-for-doctor-who-cared-for-everyone/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1639192504593000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3jeJKQi5ZzXMI0uH5RmEX8">stateless Bhutanese</a> finds a home and livelihood.If Bhutan and Nepal have an agreement on resolving the refugee issue, they should implement it promptly. If not, the two governments must together approach India — after all, <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=18150#.YbHefy8RppT" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D18150%23.YbHefy8RppT&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1639192504593000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2eHvPp0hv2VPXbXJvIhT0F">the refugees were transported from Bhutan to the Nepal</a> border across Indian territory 30 years ago.It is an insult to the international justice system and insensitivity towards human suffering to keep people in the camp indefinitely. This delay in resolving the refugee problem is allowing the government in Thimphu to detain over 50 political prisoners indefinitely. Some of them have been incarcerated since 1990.I myself was tortured, physically and psychologically abused in Bhutan’s jails for over ten years. They employed mind-control mechanisms to ruin me mentally. They must be using the same techniques on the remaining prisoners, damaging their minds permanently.I have chronicled my experience in my autobiographies, especially the same methods of torture that were rampantly used by American and Soviet intelligence agencies during the cold war years. I know first hand of the pain and painful treatment of political prisoners in jails in Bhutan, locked up and isolated from the rest of the world, only taken out for menial work during harsh weather.Police arrested me during a visit here in 1989 and the Nepal government extradited me to Bhutan, labeled me a dangerous terrorist, framing me for many malicious crimes, some of which happened after my arrest and in which I had no involvement.They dragged me to court several times where they abused me physically and verbally, incarcerated me for a decade in wrongful and rigorous detention. Bhutan’s highest court finally declared me innocent. The king had announced that he would release me after the resolution of the refugee problem, in which I had no connection. This allowed them to delay my release.The Thimphu regime had labeled me a ringleader of the dissident movement. It was international outcry and continuous protests by human rights organisations that forced the Bhutan government to release me. Yet, the people who were arrested and jailed for being my followers are still behind the bars. There has been no similar international pressure to get them released.The political system of Bhutan has changed from an autocratic to democratic setup, three elections have taken place since the declaration of democracy in 2007, yet the people who asked for democratic changes in the old system are still in prison. They jailed dissidents for demanding democracy, yet absurdly, after the declaration of democracy those very people are still in detention.Representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Amnesty International visited a few prisons in Bhutan where political prisoners are detained. The visitors had assured the captives that they would facilitate a reunion with their families upon release. Those freed have found that their families in refugee camps in Nepal have all been resettled, and there is no word on their reunions. International human rights watchdogs have now stopped visiting the prisoners.Those released from Bhutan’s jails at different times, or those without proper documents to prove Bhutanese citizenship are still languishing in the refugee camps in Nepal. They have been appealing to the government of Nepal and the <a href="https://www.unhcr.org/news/stories/2020/10/5f757f054/hardships-multiply-older-refugees-amid-covid-19-pandemic.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.unhcr.org/news/stories/2020/10/5f757f054/hardships-multiply-older-refugees-amid-covid-19-pandemic.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1639192504594000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0V8G6xuwWIrXeBj_NySNny">UNHCR</a> to have them <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=19646#.YbHgNC8RppQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D19646%23.YbHgNC8RppQ&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1639192504594000&amp;usg=AOvVaw10DXTxm7g88uzWzqmM7WCr">reunited with their families</a> abroad, or be granted citizenship.The Nepal government announcement that it will issue IDs to 429 refugees has been a relief. But what is not sure is if it will also cover the Drukpa people of eastern and northern Bhutan. Besides the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/On-the-way-up/Nepal-lhotshampa-rohingya,1046" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/On-the-way-up/Nepal-lhotshampa-rohingya,1046&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1639192504594000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1u1WhqUUoyMHF37-9ZeWWR">Nepali-speaking Lhotsampa</a>, the Drukpa were evicted for being critical of the regime.The problem is that Nepal does not consider the Drukpa as refugees because of their ethnicity and their inability to speak Nepali. The Drukpa in the camps need special consideration to be recognised as Bhutan’s refugees too.There is also <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/family-separation-bhutan-style/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/family-separation-bhutan-style/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1639192504594000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2GQl4PKpa5jx_Nj7m6nZJx">the issue of separated families</a>, with some resettled in the US and other western countries, some still in refugee camps in Nepal and others back in Bhutan.  The Thimphu government still perceives family reunions as a political threat, and is not allowing them.Abandoned by Nepal and Bhutan, many of the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/home-away-from-home-for-bhutan-refugees/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/home-away-from-home-for-bhutan-refugees/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1639192504594000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1GfjYmr1d6smbN3pDWoP_5">families resettled abroad</a> are mentally traumatised by prolonged separation. Difficulty in adjusting to life in the West, ignorance about counseling, language issues and welfare have led many resettled Bhutanese to end their lives.The suicide rate among former refugees is tragically high, and is a neglected problem.Over 7,000 refugees in the refugee camps in Nepal <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/who-stands-with-bhutanese-refugees-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/who-stands-with-bhutanese-refugees-in-nepal/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1639192504594000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0gWUgtG8Ldp0c8MJUyTsRF">await a resolution</a>. Many are determined to go back to the homes they left behind in Bhutan 30 years ago. The refugee agencies supporting them in Nepal have stopped supplies, and there is pressure to assimilate into Nepali society.This strategy of dispersing and neglecting the refugees has buried the crisis, leaving the Thimphu regime the victor and allowing it to get away with this appalling act of ethnic cleansing of its own citizens.The governments of Bhutan and India have now barbed-wired their international border. While bilateral trade with Thimphu goes on, the border wall has stopped all travel by ordinary people on both sides of the border for their livelihood. In the name of security, the Bhutan government has confined its own people in an open prison with no access to the outside world.Abandoned by international watchdogs, by the Thimphu regime and by New Delhi, Bhutan’s refugees are nevertheless encouraged by the steps taken by the Nepal government on IDs. But we also expect it to find a holistic and just solution to facilitate family reunions with relatives, and a return to Bhutan to those who wish to do so.On Human Rights Day on 10 December, we urge international rights organisations to reopen their files and ask the Thimphu government to make public the list of all political prisoners and release them promptly. We demand that the governments of Bhutan and India lift physical restrictions and allow people freedom of movement.Tek Nath Rizal is a <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/issue/142/FromtheNepaliPress/2740#.YbHZ4S8RppQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/issue/142/FromtheNepaliPress/2740%23.YbHZ4S8RppQ&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1639192504594000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3KOpVnvLU-OFBlgi-MbRBO">Bhutanese pro-democracy leader</a>, and was <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/fr/documents/asa14/004/1999/fr/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.amnesty.org/fr/documents/asa14/004/1999/fr/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1639192504594000&amp;usg=AOvVaw17ls1nQOdh-F1B8bWMpMUI">Amnesty International’s Prisoner of Conscience</a>. He has been living in Nepal since his release from Chamgang Prison in Bhutan in 1999.

Bhutan’s refugees between hope and despair

<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111016118/636d142b9c7e80680e0a9965jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2002" height="1032"/>A network of 24 civil society groups have demanded that the <a href="https://www.ipu.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU)</a> withdraw its invitation to House Speaker Agni Sapkota to attend its <a href="https://www.ipu.org/event/143rd-assembly-and-related-meetings" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">143rd assembly</a> that begins Friday in Madrid.Sapkota of the Maoist Centre has been accused of summary execution during the conflict, and his case is pending in Nepal’s Supreme Court.The <a href="http://www.advocacyforum.org/what-we-do/transitional-justice-department/accountability-watch-committee.php">Accountability Watch Committee (AWC)</a>, a network of human rights groups and victims of the conflict of Nepal, have written an open letter to the President of IPU Duarte Pacheco, Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares Bueno and Ambassador to India and Nepal José María Ridao Domínguez asking that Sapkota not be invited to the conference.‘We ask the Government of Spain to direct its immigration authorities not only to refuse Mr. Sapkota entry into the country but also to open an investigation under the principles of Universal Jurisdiction, given the continuing investigation in Nepal in relation to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/14-years-after-conflict-no-closure-in-nepal/">international crimes</a> committed during Nepal’s conflict,’ wrote AWC coordinator <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/the-real-story-in-nepals-supreme-court-debacle/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Charan Prasai</a>.The news comes as Nepal this week marks the 15th anniversary of the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/by-the-way/justice-adjourned-for-nepal-conflict-victims,454">Comprehensive Peace Accord</a> between Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal (Prachanda), effectively ending the insurgency in which at least 17,000 people were killed, and more than 2,000 are<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-stalls-on-war-crime-probes/"> still missing</a>.Read also: <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/editorial/state-of-impunity,2976">State of impunity</a><a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/speechless/">Speechless</a>, Sewa Bhattarai<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111016118/636d142e9c7e80680e0a9966jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1611" height="1062"><figcaption>Agni Sapkota</figcaption></figure>But <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-runs-out-of-excuses-to-address-war-crimes/">one and a half decades and 14 prime ministers later</a>, and despite the formation of two commissions to investigate war time excesses, conflict-era survivors of torture, abuse, rape and families of those killed continue to <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/One-To-Many/victims-waiting-for-justice,698">wait for justice.</a>Nepal’s <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/04/13/nepal-reform-transitional-justice-law">delayed transitional justice</a> and multiple cases of the perpetrators being set free have added to the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/the-lingering-trauma-of-war/">injustice and anguish of the victims and their families</a>.Speaker Sapkota himself is alleged to have been involved in the April 2005 abduction, torture, disappearance, killing and illegal burial of <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/quest-for-justice-unites-two-women-whose-relatives-were-victims-in-the-hands-of-the-maoist-and-nepal,1295">Arjun Bahadur Lama,</a> a civic leader from Kavre district. During conflict years, Sapkota was a central committee member and leader of the underground Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-M) in Sindhupalchok district, neighbouring Kavre.Sapkota was elected as Speaker in January 2020 amidst protests against his candidacy. Before this, he served as a cabinet minister after his party entered mainstream politics in 2006 after the peace accord.‘Despite the order of the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/rights-groups-laud-nepal-supreme-court-ruling/">Supreme Court</a> requiring impartial and prompt investigation and an arrest warrant pending against him, investigations have not proceeded for more than a decade nor has he been arrested. Meanwhile, even as Mr. Sapkota’s political career has progressed, as far as the Nepal Police administration is concerned, he still cannot be located,’ the letter states.Due to the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2011/05/31/hearing-set-for-case-against-minister-agni-sapkota/">allegations pending</a> against him, Sapkota has had visa applications rejected by the United States and Australia in the past.The letter has been endorsed by prominent members of the civil society and rights organisations, including:<ol><li>Advocacy Forum-Nepal (AF)</li> <li>Amnesty International Nepal</li> <li>Bandurmudhe Ghatana Pidit Samiti</li> <li>Conflict Victim Women National Network (CVWN)</li> <li>Conflict Victims Common Platform (CVCP)</li> <li>Conflict Victims National Alliance (CVNA)</li> <li>Conflict Victims Orphans Society (CVOS)</li> <li>Conflict Victims Society for Justice (CVSJ)</li> <li>Conflict Victims’ Rights Forum, Myagdi</li> <li>Democratic Freedom and Human Rights Institute (DFHRI)</li> <li>Ganesh Ujjan Foundation</li> <li>Human Rights and Justice Centre (HRJC)</li> <li>Human Rights for Justice</li> <li>Human Rights Organizations Nepal (HURON)</li> <li>Informal Sector Service Centre (INSEC)</li> <li>Legal Aid and Consultancy Centre Nepal (LACC)</li> <li>Maina Bal Bikash Samiti</li> <li>Nagarik Aawaz (NA)</li> <li>National Alliance of Women Human Rights Defenders</li> <li>National Network of Disabled Conflict Victims (NNDCV)</li> <li>Nepal Forum for Restorative Justice</li> <li>Tarangini Foundation</li> <li>The Story Kitchen</li> <li>Voices of Women Media (VOW Media)</li></ol>Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director at <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/justice-delayed-justice-denied/">Human Rights Watch, said in a statement issued jointly with Amnesty International, the International Commission of Jurists and TRIAL International</a> on 21 November: ‘State officials’ reluctance to investigate and prosecute such serious crimes has exacerbated the suffering of victims, undermined the rule of law in post-conflict Nepal, and increased the risk of such violations in the future.’She went on to warn: ‘If justice is continually denied in Nepal, perpetrators of these international crimes committed during the conflict will be prosecuted abroad under international jurisdiction.’Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/toothless-commissions/">Toothless commissions</a><a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/rocky-transition-to-justice/">Rocky transition to justice</a><a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/its-a-crime-not-to-call-it-terrorism/">It’s a crime not to call it terrorism</a>, Kunda Dixit

Nepal Speaker’s IPU trip slammed

Born in Khandbari in eastern Nepal, Parashuram Pathak helped his family around the farm, sold what they grew in the market and lent a hand in the kitchen.&nbsp; After working as a chef in Dubai, San Francisco, Denmark, Australia, and on cruise ships, Pathak has now brought back what he has learnt to the Tusa Restaurant in Bhaktapur that opened on Nepali New Year on 13 April. Tusa uses fresh indigenous ingredients from various parts of Nepal, and fuses them with international methods to produce unique dishes. Pathak is a global Nepali, and is introducing global Nepali cuisine to his homeland. Pathak left an executive chef job to intern at three-Michelin-starred Noma in Denmark, named the best restaurant in the world five times. Noma runs on a philosophy of foraging to rediscover wild local ingredients, and Tusa’s mission is similarly noble: preparing dishes with Nepali ingredients using modern techniques and equipment. “We are taking Nepali food beyond dal-bhat and momo, we are taking it international,” Pathak said on the phone from Sydney. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepali-baker-rises-to-the-top-in-denmark">Denmark’s best baker is a Nepali</a>, Vishad Onta  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240419180424_1312bc016cbb2fe59c6d4a78d1f8b463af4a10b3f79559a2405fd54ea5b3197a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20240419180424_1312bc016cbb2fe59c6d4a78d1f8b463af4a10b3f79559a2405fd54ea5b3197a" data-rendition-name="original" width="801" height="802" loading="lazy" alt="The return of the natives Page 12 NT #1208"> <figcaption>Photo: PARASHURAM PATHAK/FACEBOOK</figcaption> </figure>  Pathak’s team in Nepal includes chefs Rupesh Bohara and Sagar Shrestha who have also worked extensively in Dubai and Australia, and share his vision. The three realised they shared the same dream, and over the past five years have travelled across Nepal to research their menu, collecting ingredients and ideas from homestays, food carts, and nature. The team then scouted for Nepal’s best architect, and zeroed in on Bhaktapur-based heritage conservationist Rabindra Puri who designed the Malla-era house for Tusa in the Nag Pokhari neighbourhood. Bohara and Shrestha have moved back to Nepal for good, and Pathak arrives in September. “I made dishes from all over the world, but when someone asked what Nepali food was like, I had no answer,” says Bohara, “I came back to find out.” &nbsp;“You can get citizenship, a green card, big houses and cars, but where is the self-satisfaction?” asks Shrestha, who has a red-and-blue chef’s knife with the sun and moon of the Nepali flag tattooed on his right forearm.&nbsp; Read also:<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/diaspora-diaries/the-return-of-a-master-baker"> The return of a master baker</a>, Raju Pakhrin  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240419180424_c601264463e5a28d4e71a46781f340a53619a08d00949a7aaebfef84e75a319d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20240419180424_c601264463e5a28d4e71a46781f340a53619a08d00949a7aaebfef84e75a319d" data-rendition-name="original" width="6000" height="4000" loading="lazy" alt="The return of the natives Page 12 NT #1208"> <figcaption>Photos: TUSA</figcaption> </figure>  Bohara and Shrestha passionately recount stories of their trips across Nepal, speaking of generous lodge owners who introduced them to local ingredients. Tusa can seat 28, and dining here is a sensory experience with a live kitchen. The chefs cook and place dishes on a large granite countertop with induction sections built in. Behind the counter is a grill on an indoor fire with pulley control to adjust the fire. Everything that can be made in Nepal — chairs and tables, ceramic dishes, the grill — is locally sourced. The executive kitchen/laboratory is downstairs. It is spacious, spotless, and contains appliances rarely seen in restaurants here: a sous vide machine that cooks vacuum-sealed packets at consistent temperatures, and a dehydrator for sisnu nettles. A fresh batch of deep purple kimbu (mulberry) muffins has just come out of the oven. Fridges have dry-aged fish and marigold kombucha. Fermentation seems to be the theme at Tusa, and Pathak explained: “Fermentation takes away the natural sugars in food, leaving behind a true, umami taste.”&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/vikings-khukri-passion">Viking's khukri passion</a>, Alisha Sijapati  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240419180424_c59e2b4230864f646bc36108adb951e95ec85da6156740294b1ec715b86acf89.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20240419180424_c59e2b4230864f646bc36108adb951e95ec85da6156740294b1ec715b86acf89" data-rendition-name="original" width="5895" height="3930" loading="lazy" alt="The return of the natives Page 12 NT #1208"> </figure>  Tusa itself means ‘shoot’ in Nepali, and can be a dish of fermented bamboo shoots. The restaurant serves a tasting menu with six courses, plus surprises. It starts with a fermented potato and millet roti with charred green garlic and tomato chutney. The bread tastes like a mix of alu paratha and kodoko roti with a satisfying, mild flavour. The chefs do not show off, and overdo it. Dishes are tastefully simple and faithful, a theme that runs through the meal. The second course is a filet of fish charred on one side and placed in a broth. It is delicate and smokey, and does not mask the character of the fish.&nbsp; The next is Batuk Chukauni, a Magar dish with a lentil snack and a yoghurt-based potato achar. The batuk, made of lentil batter, is light and the chukauni has potatoes and peas. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/money-is-not-everything-but-you-need-money-for-everything">"Money is not everything, but you need money for everything"</a>, Rohit Shrestha  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240419180424_e3f51228ff792e8d4297f81f8e67d138584e922ae035d131977494219e5e85c5.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20240419180424_e3f51228ff792e8d4297f81f8e67d138584e922ae035d131977494219e5e85c5" data-rendition-name="original" width="1333" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="The return of the natives Page 12 NT #1208"> <figcaption>Batuk Chukauni. Photo: VISHAD ONTA</figcaption> </figure>  Next is a skewer of jackfruit with a tamarind and mustard glaze that has the texture of a slice of sausage and melts in the mouth. Then comes the first off-menu item: a steak of watermelon, glazed and grilled, tasting sweet, sour and smokey. After that a palate cleanser sorbet made with laligurans syrup adorned with a frozen candied rhododendron petal. Finally the main course: barbeque chicken and chyakla coarse corn grits. The chicken has been brined, marinated, cooked sous-vide and seared on the grill. The delicate consistency of the chicken stands out. Desert is a smooth, creamy cheesecake that uses the local juju-dhau yoghurt. And the last course is a moist, moss-green sisnu cake laced with mulberry jam and cream.&nbsp; There is nothing gimmicky about Tusa. It is the coming together of skilled Nepalis with international exposure who have mixed what they have learnt abroad with the flavours of home.&nbsp; The tasting menu is Rs3,500, and it may take some time before Nepalis develop a predilection for some of its items. The chefs are excited, vindicated, and relieved. Coming back to Nepal, uprooting successful careers abroad to take a chance on Nepal must not have been easy.&nbsp; Tusa had a soft launch on New Year’s day with Kathmandu-based diplomats. Australian Ambassador Felicity Volk was one of them, and wrote on a Facebook post: ‘Chefs who honed their skills in Australia and returned to Nepal to give back. We call it fine dining, they call it #cominghome.’ Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/the-baker-of-barpak">The baker of Barpak</a>, Tara Aryal Pandey

The return of the natives

For a year or two after the 25 April 2015 earthquake, the residents of Kathmandu were too terrified to return to their high-rise apartments. None of them collapsed in the 7.8 disaster, but many sustained serious structural damage. &nbsp;
Fast forward nine years, and they have all but forgotten that frightful day. Kathmandu is back to building substandard structures, even as land prices drive developers to build taller.&nbsp;
With no more space to spread horizontally, Kathmandu is going vertical. But structural engineers say most of the high rises do not take into account seismicity, soil condition, construction methods, quality of raw materials, fire hazard, and search and rescue in collapsed concrete structures.
“Much of our focus since the 2015 earthquake has been on building and construction, but not as much on where we are building,” warns Sangeeta Singh, Professor of Urban Planning and Deputy Director of Centre for Disaster Studies at the Institute of Engineering.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/in-a-disastrous-state">In a disastrous state</a>, Sonia Awale
She adds: “Kathmandu is not really suited for high-rises. We have to first test the condition of the soil, but building permits are being issued without this fundamental step.”
Kathmandu Valley is a former lakebed with soft topsoil prone to liquefaction and excessive shaking, as seen during the 1934 megaquake. Many ruptures tore up the surface in 2015. &nbsp;
During an earthquake, the rock layers below Kathmandu ring like a bell and the vibrations on the surface take between 0.5 to 2 seconds for one oscillation. Buildings also vibrate, but at different frequencies depending on their height, construction material, and arrangement of their structural components.
At five floors, the vibration period of a building is 0.5 seconds, which is the same as that for Kathmandu Valley, and this could cause more damage, says structural engineer Surya Narayan Shrestha at the National Society for Earthquake Technology - Nepal (NSET).
“Building anything that is five storeys or higher in Kathmandu needs special design and structural considerations,” says Shrestha.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/shaking-things-up">Shaking things up</a>, Editorial
Technologies exist to reduce seismic risk in high-rises, and these are used in earthquake-prone cities like Tokyo, Los Angeles, Jakarta or Mexico City.&nbsp;
Base isolation, for example, separates the vibration of the land and the building, reducing damage from soil-building resonance. Base isolators move and stretch under pressure, absorbing much of an earthquake's impact by reducing swaying and shaking. &nbsp;
Seismic dampers change the pattern of vibration altogether, dissipating energy as vibrations move across a structure. But these are all expensive technologies, and none of the high-rises in Kathmandu use them.
However, Nepali engineers who can help with technology transfer are working in the field in Nepal and overseas. Kathmandu’s high-rises are already very expensive, and making them seismic-resistant would be an incremental cost.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/learning-from-jajarkot-what-we-didnt-after-2015-695vpzle">Learning from Jajarkot what we didn't after 2015</a>, Sushil Gyewali
The shape of high-rises also matters. Reinforced concrete buildings with asymmetric designs of the kind that are seen in newer structures in Kathmandu experience more torsion and shear during quakes. High-rises with regular geometry are stronger. &nbsp;&nbsp;
An even bigger concern is that of emergency evacuation and rescue in case of fire or earthquake. Kathmandu fire services do not have ladders that reach the higher floors of most new structures.
“High-rises mean more people and potentially higher casualties,” explains Shrestha. “We need immediate evacuation routes, fire escapes, emergency ladders, and fire trucks that can reach higher. Right now, safety features are voluntary and not mandatory.”
The street access, shelters, open spaces, and evacuation routes are integral to disaster preparedness and the safety of neighbourhoods and not just buildings. Most new high-rises in Kathmandu have narrow access roads.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/rebuilding-resilience-7-years-later">Rebuilding resilience 7 years later</a>, Anil Pokhrel
Since most of the buildings that survived the 2015 disaster were reinforced concrete structures, it fed the misconception that they are safer. But Himalayan seismologists say that if the intensity and duration of the shaking had been just a little higher, many substandard concrete structures would have collapsed.&nbsp;
And that is the final gap: Nepal’s limited expertise and equipment for search and rescue inside collapsed concrete structures. Kathmandu’s high-rises need to be better prepared for the next Big One.
“Structural safety and design were at the front and the centre after the 2015 earthquake, we also revised some building codes but we are back to square one with contractor-driven construction, especially in peri-urban areas,” says Sangeeta Singh, who is also with the National Planning Commission. “We need to monitor construction as much as design.”&nbsp;
Shrestha at NSET agrees there have been improvements in building practices in the past nine years, but adds, “We have both learnt and unlearnt lessons from 2015. The awareness hasn’t yet translated into action on safety.”
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/lessons-not-learned-from-2015-o2etq6zu">Lessons not learned from 2015</a>, Sonia Awale

The rise of high-rises

Midway along the stretch of the ancient trade route between Tibet and India lies the Kel Tol neighbourhood. The name is derived from the original Koligrām, and it is believed the Koli people, who were originally from Rāmagrām in present-day southern Nepal near the Indian border, settled here. The Koli were the maternal ancestors of none other than the Buddha. Kel Tol is famous for the Buddhist monastic complex of Kanak Chaitya Mahāvihar, featuring the majestic two-tiered gilded temple of the white god Karunāmaya.&nbsp; This elaborately decorated courtyard is a bustling centre of the Vajrayāna sect of Buddhism, practised widely by the indigenous Newā people of Kathmandu Valley. Karunāmaya, also known as Ārya Avalokiteshwor, is defined in great detail in the 1st century CE Buddhist text Sadharmapundarikā where he liberates all sentient beings from suffering. He helps rid the eight external fears metaphorically equated with their equivalent internal states of mind: lions (pride), wild elephants (ignorance), fire (anger), snakes (jealousy), floods (attachment), imprisonment (miserliness), thieves (wrong views) and cannibals (doubt).  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240418130432_fe370cbee75003cd3eb5dccc7c3b2671630da193b0744db2aeac1bab3ff4a85c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20240418130432_fe370cbee75003cd3eb5dccc7c3b2671630da193b0744db2aeac1bab3ff4a85c" data-rendition-name="original" width="1338" height="2000" loading="lazy" alt="Seto Machhindranath"> </figure>  In the Pancha Rakshyā Sutra, a Buddhist scripture from 200 CE, Ārya Avalokiteshwor was counted among the eight major deities. Followers of the Brāhminical god Shiva worship Ārya Avalokiteshwor as Seto Machhindranāth. For Shaivites, Machhindranāth is the Indian saint who founded the Nāth cult in the 10th century CE. He is the guru of saint Gorakhnāth. During the reign of Yakshya Malla (1428–1482 CE), a beautiful image of Ārya Avalokiteshwor was dug up by a farmer in present-day Jamal, which was then a cultivated area outside the city. The farmer, known as a Jamami (meaning the one from Jamal) took the image home for safekeeping. That night, Ārya Avalokiteshwor appeared in the farmer’s dream and told him that the proper place for him to reside is at the confluence of two rivers. The nearest confluence was at present-day Wongha (Indrachok) and the image was installed in the Kanak Chaitya Mahāvihar complex in Kel Tol near Wongha. This made it easier for city residents to pay homage to Ārya Avalokiteshwor and spread compassion. Soon, the deity came to be revered highly as Jamaleshwor, the one found in Jamal. Eventually, the name got corrupted, as happens often in Nepāl Bhāsā, to Janabahā Dyo. The courtyard where his temple is located is now popularly known as Janabahā.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240418130432_5c9b219530e400445ef4e7f64856b43e7cdb756be26d9ed4565c84044c178a7e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20240418130432_5c9b219530e400445ef4e7f64856b43e7cdb756be26d9ed4565c84044c178a7e" data-rendition-name="original" width="2500" height="1668" loading="lazy" alt="Seto Machhindranath"> </figure>  The gilded temple of Janabahā Dyo, first built in the early 16th century CE, is adorned with wooden and metal artefacts that symbolise 108 forms of Ārya Avalokiteshwor. It stands out as the most decorated temple of its kind in Kathmandu. Today, Janabahā is a living heritage site where many ancient customs and rituals are widely practised as per Vajrayāna Buddhist tradition. Devotees throng the Janabahā Dyo shrine for daily worship and to receive Karunāmaya’s blessings. Being the compassionate one, Ārya Avalokiteshwor goes around town every year in his tall wooden chariot to allow sick and physically disabled devotees to pay homage to him from the comfort of their homes. One could say it is a door-to-door visit by the Compassionate One.&nbsp; For the pragmatic minded, the chariot festival is an annual renewal of communal harmony, validation of our ancient mathematical supremacy and demonstration of the need to keep practical skills alive, including the craft of building earthquake resilient houses.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240418130432_fc8b234ceca87dee4b99e897a485cef121fb953857fb61492a413fbfcc48360c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20240418130432_fc8b234ceca87dee4b99e897a485cef121fb953857fb61492a413fbfcc48360c" data-rendition-name="original" width="2500" height="1667" loading="lazy" alt="Seto Machhindranath"> </figure>  The Janabahā Dyo chariot is pulled from Jamal, where his image was found by the farmer, through the historic heart of Kathmandu in a gala parade every year. The procession, accompanied by folk music ensembles and revellers, starts on the eighth day of the bright half of the month of Chaitra, and lasts up to a week (ending on Saturday this year). Hundreds of devotees pull the chariot along the streets as a way of expressing their gratitude to lord Karunāmaya for blessing them with compassion and well-being. Purna Ratna Vajrāchārya is an ordained priest who belongs to the clan responsible for taking care of Janabahā Dyo. He has been studying the design and architecture of the chariot for the past 40 years, and overseeing its construction for the past 15. He has learnt that the engineering principles of building the chariot are based on the mathematical system in which Buddhism is taught. For example, 365 pieces of wood are used in the chariot, each representing a day of the year. Each of the four wheels consist of 25 pieces of wood, totalling 100, representing completeness or fulfilment. The chariot is vertically divided into 13 sections, a parallel to the Buddhist concept of Trayodashi Bhuvana that describes the 13 steps that one must take to achieve the state of Nirvana.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240418130432_36d9964c9845f6d9a074786361fc5ab7d49138503ad162086998b731349b0ec0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20240418130432_36d9964c9845f6d9a074786361fc5ab7d49138503ad162086998b731349b0ec0" data-rendition-name="original" width="2500" height="1668" loading="lazy" alt="Seto Machhindranath"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240418130432_2662753a9514a682ccdfd17bf05e2be3771183a68dc86b717ab67d9aad894563.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20240418130432_2662753a9514a682ccdfd17bf05e2be3771183a68dc86b717ab67d9aad894563" data-rendition-name="original" width="1668" height="2500" loading="lazy" alt="Seto Machhindranath"> </figure>  &nbsp;Exactly nine types of wood are used, which is the sum of the four base elements that make up the universe (earth, water, fire and air) and the five human senses. The height and length of the chariot is 32 arm’s length (hāt in Sanskrit), 14.8m. The number 32 represents the maximum number of auspicious and physical qualities one could possess to be considered an outstanding human being.&nbsp; Says Vajrācharya, “Observing how the chariot is built helps one learn the fundamental pillars of the Buddha’s teachings, and find an easier path to Nirvana.” The structural design of the nearly 15m wooden chariot is not only awe-inspiring but also gravity-defying. It leverages the pliancy of the materials used in its construction -- flexible joints tied with cane soaked in water for several days. The precise proportions of the chariot ensure great manoeuverability in the narrow streets along the route of the chariot procession that include some 90° bends, without colliding into houses.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240418130432_9f5c2943f5d6b3f0010d3d5213697549945e87a6f7d3d8cbadd69f0dea6c6e2c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20240418130432_9f5c2943f5d6b3f0010d3d5213697549945e87a6f7d3d8cbadd69f0dea6c6e2c" data-rendition-name="original" width="2500" height="3750" loading="lazy" alt="Seto Machhindranath"> </figure>  Driving and steering the chariot with brute muscle power of the mirthful crowd is a seemingly impossible task. But this has been achieved year after year, despite the fact that the devotees who tug wildly at the ropes lassoed to the two front wheels, are most likely in high-spirits (pun intended). Sanjay Manandhar, a US-based technology entrepreneur, recounts how his high school physics teacher from Canada asked his students to go observe the locals build the chariots of Karunāmaya if they were interested in becoming engineers in the future.&nbsp; “That made no sense to me then, but, after all these decades, I now see clearly how the structural design of the chariot, adopted early on by our ancestors is full of earthquake-resilient properties that need to be applied in building houses in an earthquake-prone zone like Nepal,” says Manandhar. A highlight of the chariot festival is that human goddess Kumari makes an appearance at the final destination in Lagan, usually on the third day. This is only one of the 13 times that people get to see the Kumari outside her temple abode.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240418130432_08aa39f3f004a212b33c60a2840d6013110de15dd34a0288f699dd5fda8957ab.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20240418130432_08aa39f3f004a212b33c60a2840d6013110de15dd34a0288f699dd5fda8957ab" data-rendition-name="original" width="2500" height="1667" loading="lazy" alt="Seto Machhindranath"> </figure>  On the last day of the festival (Saturday), the image of lord Karunāmaya is carried on a palanquin by priests from Janabahā in a gala procession and brought back to his permanent residence at the temple in Kel Tol.&nbsp; The chariot festival is thought to have started during the reign of King Pratap Malla of Kantipur in the 17th century CE. For close to four centuries, the construction of the chariot and its operation has proven to be a phenomenal engineering feat, and the people’s faith in divinity means the tradition is alive.&nbsp; The essence of the colourful rituals and the religious beliefs of this ancient chariot festival is now all but lost. The logic, technology and practicality must be brought back to light, as they reflect the high civilisation and wisdom of our ancestors that we can leverage in modern times and into the future. &nbsp; Alok Tuladhar is a culture and heritage documentarian.

Kathmandu’s gravity-defying chariot festival

In the run-up to the third Nepal Investment Summit this weekend, there have been seminars, conferences and workshops where the discourse has revolved around the economy and the investment climate.
The consensus that Nepal needs foreign direct investments (FDI) to grow was repeated, and the familiar litany of reasons about why it has not been able to was discussed.&nbsp;
Policy advocates and regulators have understood that the lack of urgency is compounded by procedural inconsistencies, on top of the already deficient investment environment in the country.
It is a welcome change from what used to be flippantly accepting matters as given. There now seems to be a sense of urgency, with procedural inconsistencies and lack of harmonisation between various Acts and regulations openly discussed.&nbsp;
Government stakeholders also appear more willing to learn and attempt to be part of the solution. Whatever policy changes have been introduced in the past have been piecemeal and address the few rather than the entire industry. This left dual regulatory approaches aimed at similar players.&nbsp;
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/killing-investment-in-nepal-in-10-easy-steps">Killing investment in Nepal in 10 easy steps</a>, Dibesh Karmacharya
This time, unlike in the past two Summits, the government seems to be committed to amending 9 Acts, a positive step towards showing commitment to change. However, the deadline to do so during the winter session of Parliament is over. The option mooted has been to have it passed through ordinance, a lesser appealing step; albeit, a positive one moving forward.&nbsp;
To attract FDI in a competitive global market means that Nepal has to demonstrate that it is serious about bringing in investments with a more consultative and collaborative approach with investors. A departure from procedural to a result-oriented focus is needed.&nbsp;
To put issues in perspective, Nepal needs US$20 billion in investments to meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) targets by 2030. If net-zero decarbonisation targets are to be met by 2045, another US$7 billion will be required annually.&nbsp;
Looking at our investment history and poor government capital expenditure, the gap is long and wide. In fiscal year 2022-23 Nepal booked a lamentable ~$59 million in FDI (equity). Nepal is in fact the lowest market in South Asia for FDI with 0.3% of the regional average.&nbsp;
What is it that we can do to fill the gap?&nbsp;
First, we need to move away from the notion that Nepal only needs large investments. This has proven to be a mistake, and time series data have proven that smaller investments, in aggregate, make a larger impact on economies.&nbsp;
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/poor-cash-rich-nepal">Poor cash-rich Nepal</a>, Sonia Awale
We talk about an ‘enabling environment’ but without the right tools. We place restrictions on interest on debt ceiling (SOFR +5.5), without risk premium adjustments, we do not have an active secondary market for bond trading, nor do we have a yield curve, an integral part of the bond market, which is inhibiting us from tapping into the trillion dollar green bond market.&nbsp;
In order to attract green financing, Nepal needs to develop its bond market. Sovereign risk rating has been mooted and was expected to be operationalised before the Investment Summit.&nbsp;
However, to be rated in an adverse economic environment could further deteriorate investment potential due to a lesser-than-expected rating.&nbsp;
Hedging is another instrument that needs further research on. A commercial bank last year showcased the first risk-hedging mechanism for an investment of $8 million. This can be the beginning to expand on its modality. &nbsp;
Subordinated debt instruments have been introduced, but on a special nod basis, this now needs to be institutionalised as it is the most applicable form of investment after equity in a market that has volatile forex reserves.&nbsp;
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/invest-in-investment">Invest in investment</a>, Nepali Times
Viability Gap Funding has been introduced by multilateral development agencies implemented in solar installations. It is a tool to incentivise the private sector to invest in projects that are not financially lucrative initially, but have potential for profitability in the long run. This needs to be scaled up and replicated in sectors like infrastructure, where returns may not be immediate.
Moving forward, to attract FDI, Nepal needs to tap into the funds that are available for the growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and climate change. Alternative investments such as Private Equity Venture Capital (PEVC) have been around in a structured manner in Nepal for nearly a decade now.
These funds have blended finance components and have attracted climate funding as well. PEVC is a new asset class and can address the issues of penetrating into SME financing by incorporating environment, social and governance issues into their investment process.&nbsp;
SMEs are the backbone of any economy, PEVC comes with the ability not only to scale up the enterprise with risk capital, but with the ability to bring technical knowhow to enhance not only the enterprise but also the entrepreneur.&nbsp;
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/success-in-nepal-means-not-having-to-work">Success in Nepal means not having to work</a>, Anil Chitrakar
A differentiator from all other forms of financing available till date in Nepal. Blended finance is a way of de-risking investments, especially in frontier markets. Business Oxygen (BO2) is an example of blended finance with subordinated debt investments of IFC (World Bank Group) taking the lead and Climate Investment Funds along with FCDO as co-investors.&nbsp;
On a larger scale, the 216MW Upper Trisuli 1 is another example of blended finance with IFC, a Korean consortium and local investments. So far, we see that development finance Institutions have been taking the lead in Nepal as their risk appetite is greater than commercial investors and they are eager to help develop the financial markets.&nbsp;
In order to be sustainable, we need to step on this and attract commercial capital from all over the world. To do this there has to be political will to make that pivot.&nbsp;
Instead of being a means to an end, the two previous Investment Summits turned out to be intermittent and cosmetic, providing hardly any results. The third one’s success will depend on how the event will be implemented as a platform for continuous marketing for the country and facilitation for investors in future.&nbsp;
Nepal has outdone many countries in its macro-economic indicators, with sound forex reserves and a stellar history of debt payments to its creditors. This story needs to be propagated along with the drive for change to attract potential investors.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/alternative-investments-to-attract-fdi">Alternative investments to attract FDI</a>, Siddhant Raj Pandey

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