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EDITORIAL

The Kathmandu Post

Kathmandu Wednesday March 14, 2001 Chaitra 01, 2057.

The "sudden disappearance" of Krishna Sen, the editor of Janadesh weekly, is a clear indication of how easily law enforcing agencies circumvent the Supreme Court’s verdict. In fact, incidents such as attacks on journalists, while covering events of public interest, and mysterious disappearance from police custody, have increased in recent years. This also indicates that the police personnel have not only defied the court order but have also arbitrarily arrested some journalists. Many a people in detention have met with such a fate more recently. In a number of cases, the custodians of law and order have played a cat-and-mouse game. If such a nasty game goes on unabated, the Maoists may draw support from unexpected quarters. Despite media and human rights activists’ outcry, the government has been continuously violating rules and regulations on one pretext or another.

Arrested two years ago on charges of possessing illegal arms, a Maoist sympathiser Sen was

supposedly released on the Saturday evening in compliance with the Supreme Court order. Four full days have elapsed, yet the whereabouts of the journalist is shrouded in mystery. Once again, the government authorities have given conflicting explanations to his disappearance. Regardless of the nature of the crime committed, the kith and kin and the rest of the public must know the whereabouts and status of the detainees promptly, without any hindrance. The ruling Nepali Congress government that claims to be synonymous with democracy, should know democratic norms and values better. But the case is sadly different. It has failed miserably on the law and order front. Increasing incidents of gruesome violations of human rights and the lax attitude to rules and regulations have sparked off indications that the country may slowly slip back to the authoritarian regime. And Krishna Sen’s disappearance lends enough credence to it.

Even the Internal Security Law of the Panchayat regime seemed to have some semblance of democratic values. At least, the acquitted ones did not vanish in police custody, or before they could step out of prison premises. Even if for a few minutes, they used to release them before re-arresting them. That was one decade ago, during the autocratic partyless regime. But this hardly makes any difference to those who have been the victims of discriminatory rules and regulations after the restoration of multi-party system. The public dreads a repeat of the harsher version of the Internal Security Law. How can there be two sets of law: one for the government and the other for the public? On this score, the opposition parties and National Human Rights Commission are not that articulate. Krishna Sen’s case merits immediate attention and action.

Renewed hopes for talks with the Maoists are likely to be shattered since the government is repeating its past mistakes. But irrespective of anything else, the government should be fully aware that press freedom is of prime importance for the survival of democracy and respecting journalists and letting them have their say, no matter how unpalatable it may be to the ruling elites, is one way of proving commitment to democracy. We hope that the government will realise its folly in performing vanishing tricks on journalists who criticise them or the system and believe in an altogether different ideology.