Kathmandu, 27 Oct: While the new ministers of the government, born from the ashes of the GenZ movement, were taking their oaths, another meeting was being hastily prepared at the old Shilpi Theatre in Baneshwar. The “GenZ Movement Alliance,” a Genz group, had called this meeting to discuss ‘transitional justice’ with civil society.
Around 30 people were present at the gathering. Participants included Amit Khanal ‘Urja’, Rijan Ranamagar, Arnav Chaudhary, Manika Niroula, among others. Participants mentioned that this group, having already held discussions to clarify their stance before, had called this meeting to maintain continuity. However, during informal chats before the meeting, they seemed deeply concerned about ‘how to move forward now?’ Listening to some of the Genz youth present, it was clear they felt disconnected from the state’s primary information channels.
They were expressing confusion about what the interim government was doing or what would happen next. Most of what they said were points already covered in the media or their own perceptions about those reports. Feeling that almost everything had slipped from their hands, they were focused on figuring out how to save themselves or how this movement should now be viewed. Some members, speaking on condition of anonymity, said this is what they were referring to as ‘transitional justice’.
However, in the meeting which started without any formalities, it was stated that the aim was to give concrete form to the group’s ideas. Genz leader Rijan Ranamagar provided the context for the meeting. He primarily discussed the situation on Bhadau 23 and 24 (Sep 8 and 9) and some subsequent political activities. Based on this, he asked for necessary suggestions and advice on what transitional justice should look like in Nepal’s context.
Manisha Chaudhary, one of the members of the Genz Movement Alliance, pointed out the need to find answers to questions like how to understand the events of Bhadau 23 and 24? Was it state repression or not? Should it be considered vandalism or not?
Similarly, she mentioned that while an investigation commission led by Gauri Bahadur Karki had been formed in the following days, the police were still arresting protest participants. She termed this as police repression.
She further stated that the formation of the commission on one hand and the arrest of protesters by the police on the other were contradictory. She emphasized that it was crucial to stop this and give the movement legitimacy.
Amit Khanal ‘Urja’, however, discussed how transitional justice was applied in other countries after similar protests. He cited examples from South Africa, Rwanda, Latin America, among others. His point was that since those countries were in similar political situations at the time, something could be learned from them. But he also questioned why people were still being jailed even after the investigation commission was formed.
They feared that if this criminalization continues, the same parties could come to power in future elections, and in that situation, they could selectively target current Genz leaders for action.
Another member, Shankin Rai, claimed that after the protests, the police were targeting people from marginalized communities. She alleged that people from geographically remote areas, from communities like Pariyar, Tamang, and Gurung, were being arrested.
She also mentioned arrests were made without warrants and that the police used excessive force during the process. She stated that this led to human rights violations and that the police were taking such steps to exact personal revenge.
Suspicion that the government itself could be ‘hijacked’
Besides Genz members, some civil society leaders were also present in the discussion. Among them, Shishir Uprety said that transitional justice models from countries like Rwanda cannot be directly linked to Nepal. However, he expressed skepticism about the commission formed to investigate the protests.
He rather stressed the need to put pressure on the government itself to get things done. Along with this, he expressed a suspicion that just as the movement could be hijacked, the government itself could be hijacked.
Artist/Director Yubaraj Ghimire, who is also the manager of Shilpi Theatre, said that the terms rebellion, movement, and revolution regarding Bhadau 23 need to be clearly defined. He said if there is ambiguity, there is no basis to say much else. He stated that he himself called it a movement. But saying so, he also mentioned that they had lost many friends.
Similarly, he said the protests on Bhadau 23 and 24 should be viewed in the same way, but clearly.
However, some participants in the same meeting had different opinions.
“Now we have stopped knowing what’s happening inside. We find out who is doing what only from the media,” a leader met at Shilpi said, “Rather, it seems we need to think more about how to stop this movement from being criminalized and how to save ourselves from it.”
How to save themselves from criminalization?
They primarily objected to the fact that participants in the movement were lately being labeled as criminals. Their understanding was that forming a commission under Gauribahadur Karki on one hand, and arresting participants on the other, were inherently contradictory actions.
Another Genz leader told Online Khabar, “On one side, they say the commission is investigating, and on the other, they are making arrests left and right. If tomorrow they arrest us, accusing us of instigating or escalating the movement, what will we do?”
Thus, these leaders were less focused on reviewing what was gained from the Genz movement and more concerned about how to save the movement from the criminalization it was facing.
They feared that if this criminalization continues, the same parties could come to power in future elections, and in that situation, they could selectively target current Genz leaders for action. So, how to escape this?
“Now we must institutionalize this movement through an agreement with the President. Otherwise, they will destroy us. We must take the initiative for this now. We have lost track of what those in the higher echelons are doing. What to do?,” said another leader met at Shilpi.
