Conflict over Transitional Justice in Nepal

Abstract

A decade after Nepal's internal armed conflict came to an end its victims are still campaigning for redress. Krista Billingsley describes recent demonstrations in Kathmandu and charts the long road towards transitional justice.On International Right to Truth Day (March 24, 2016), victims of Nepal's armed conflict and human rights activists gathered to demonstrate close to the prime minister's residence in Kathmandu. When I arrived at 8:15 a.m., a man was waiting with a megaphone and signs to be carried by demonstrators. The signs displayed statements and questions, such as "My dad was hanged from a tree 14 years ago. Why isn't the murderer punished?" and "It was verified that child soldiers were used during the conflict. Why haven't legal actions been taken against those responsible?" All the signs shared a common phrase and hashtag: "I want the truth. #righttotruth." While truthseeking mechanisms are often created with goals of establishing an accurate historical record of what happened during an armed conflict, identifying perpetrators, and establishing the whereabouts of the disappeared, victims of Nepal's armed conflict were also calling for an establishment of the truth as it relates to the responsibility of the state. One demonstrator held a sign that stated, "During the conflict, I was a victim of sexual violence. No investigation has been done. Where is the justice for me? When will the rapist be punished?" Another sign held by a demonstrator questioned why the head of

Wealth in people and the value of historic Oberlin Cemetery, Raleigh, North Carolina

“…Wealth in people touches on these intimate subjects, as was evidenced in the presentations at the 2019 meeting of the Society for Economic Anthropology (and in this issue). For example, a wealth in people lens helped to clarify the complex interactions of life, death, and economics for topics as varied as the social relations of life insurance policy salespeople, holders, and beneficiaries in South Africa (Bähre ); the funding of funerals in New Orleans (Mulder ); and the payment of reparations for the death or disappearance of family members in Nepal (Billingsley ). More broadly, these studies demonstrate the relevance of wealth in people to a wide range of social phenomena, such as familial and reciprocal obligations, personhood, and collective memory.…”