Prime Minister Balen Shah Addresses Parliament on Human Rights Commission Report

Kathmandu. Prime Minister Balendra (Balen) Shah responded in the House of Representatives meeting on Sunday that although some sections of the National Human Rights Commission's report on the Jengji movement of Bhadra 23 and 24 have arrived, the full text has not yet been received by the government.  

Furthermore, he stated that the government plans to study all previous commission reports along with this report from the commission before making them public and proceeding with action.  

'That human rights commission report has not been officially submitted to the Prime Minister's Office either. Although some sections of that 29-page report have arrived, it is heard that the full report is 10,000 pages. That report has not officially reached us,' said Prime Minister Shah. He also stated that the government plans to study all previous commission reports along with the latest report from the commission before making them public and proceeding with action.  

Following the Prime Minister's response in parliament, some are questioning whether the Prime Minister lied by saying 'it has not arrived' even after the commission sent the report to the government.  

Previously, on Jestha 13, the National Human Rights Commission had stated that the committee formed by the commission to investigate the incident had completed its investigation and submitted the report to the commission.  

'The detailed description of the decision/recommendation on the report is attached herewith,' the commission's press note stated. Based on this press note from the commission, many understood that the commission had already submitted the full text of the report to the government.  

When asked about this by Ratopati, the commission's spokesperson Dr. Tikaram Pokharel confirmed that what the Prime Minister said was correct.  'It has arrived as 29 pages, and I have heard it is 10,000 pages, but the full report has not arrived. What we sent is also that 29-page recommendation section, and the commission sends only that much,' said Pokharel, who is also a joint secretary.  

According to Pokharel, the practice has been to send only the decision and recommendation sections of any report prepared by the commission.  

'The commission only sends its decision and recommendations of any report,' said spokesperson Pokharel, 'According to the practice so far, there is no tradition of sending the full report. The full report is kept within the commission.'

When asked if the Prime Minister said that after receiving the report from the commission, he would study it and make it public, Pokharel stated that he could not answer that.