As the committee to recommend the members of two Transitional Justice (TJ) bodies, on November 18, published a list of 61 aspiring candidates, conflict victims opposed the move stating that the independent committee acted as per the direction of political parties, reports The Himalayan Times on November 19. A meeting between top three leaders — Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, Nepal Communist Party (NCP) Co-chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Nepali Congress (NC) President Sher Bahadur Deuba — had last week decided to retain old members at the Commission on Investigation of Enforced Disappeared Persons (CIEDP). The meet had also decided to make two new appointments at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), Ganesh Datta Bhatta as chair and Gangadhar Adhikari as member, while retaining rest of three old members. The committee then published a list of candidates in line with the same agreement. As per the political understanding, the TRC will have Ganesh Datta Bhatta as its chairperson and Gangadhar Adhikari, Madhavi Bhatta, Shree Krishna Subedi and Manchala Jha as members. Madhavi Bhatta had filed her application at the recommendation of institutions for the post while names of Ganesh Datta Bhatta, Adhikari, Subedi and Jha were added to the list by the committee itself in line with its working procedure. Former TRC chairperson Surya Kiran Gurung and member Lila Udasi Khanal had already resigned. The TRC will have Lokendra Mallick as its chairperson and Bishnu Pathak, Bijul Kumar Bishwakarma, Nara Kumari Gurung and Aai Bahadur Gurung as members. While Pathak and Bishwakarma have filed their applications for the post, the committee has added Mallick, Nara Kumari Gurung and Aai Bahadur Gurung to the list.
The committee had received a total of 57 applications for the posts, of which three were rejected due to inadequate documents, said the committee’s Spokesperson Sharmila Karki. The committee then added seven new names, taking the tally to 61. The conflict victims and rights organisations opposed the move, stating that the commission members should have been appointed on the basis of process and criteria and not on the basis of political understanding.