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 a soldier's right to be mad
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Posted on 04-18-06 9:46 AM     Reply [Subscribe]
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Mathura P. Shrestha
a soldier's right to be mad
Sometimes around 2002 AD! It was a turbulent time. The parliamentary democracy was still intact, always steaming with difficulty caught between widespread public discontent, armed conflict and covert pressures from the regressing monarch. The Prime Minister Deuba's office had a project to empower local self governments in developing bottom-up' participatory and inclusive plans, programs and work charts incorporating human rights principles and mandates as provisioned in international and national humanitarian laws. Mr. Sindhu Nath Pyakurel, the then president of Nepal Bar Association and also a Coordinating Committee (CC) member, and myself as a member of Advisory Committee to advise the project directors and CC, proceeded then to Mahendranagar from Nepalgunj by a van provided by the project. We were to join the main team consisting ofa former chief-secretary, an executive director and other members that were already
there to initiate the ground works.
On the way we came across several check-posts with road blocked by bamboo poles. Some of these were manned by Armed Police and some by Army personnel. We had no problem in crossing those hurdles after showing the letters of introductions and our identity cards till we were stopped by army men in the middle of a dense jungle. We were to move by a queue, already lengthened by four buses and three microbuses, and some three hundred fifty passengers. As requested by undeclared military rule, each
passenger would thoroughly be searched along with their luggage. Then the passenger would queue on the right side of the road form recording their names including those of their fathers or husbands for married women, places from where boarded and those
destined, as well as reasons for travel.

Although a long wait was anticipated, we expected an uneventful outcome. Our
driver too came out probably to stretch his legs and to estimate the waiting
time. Our expectation was shattered when one arrogant soldier found faults
with three persons all about twenty years of age, standing on the queue.

"You bloody ….", the angry soldier shouted, "Don't you know how to be on line?. Up with your campus rowdyism here?"
"No wrong done! We all are in the line and silent," said one boy. "Why abuse, when we
are obeying you?" That was from another boy.

"Why all these bad words?", the girl asked. The soldier got angrier.
"Silent! Now you dare to question me?" After pointing his gun to them, he
continued, "Don't you see this? Don't' you know that
I can shoot you?"


The soldier in a fit of rage kicked each of the three twice or thrice over
their waist sides. The poor ones were angry but remained calm. They all, as if gripped by simultaneous terror, anger and helplessness, ignored the soldier turning their eyes away from him. Rest ofother solders, about fifteen of the, totally ignored the incident
although all had watched. It was too normal, too common. Similarly no other
passengers, who had watched, dared to speak. Even our driver seeing us agitated,
asked us to keep quiet.


"Nothing would calm a soldier with a gun," he whispered to us. We too, in the back seat, consoled each other helpless and not knowing what else we could do. Any protest would add fuel to the emotionally charged soldier. By then, the soldier suddenly approached our van. He probably wanted to escape the embarrassment of being ignored that way. As he asked our identity and purpose, we presented the letter from the Prime Minister's office. The soldier scrutinized the letter-head without caring
to read the content. He asked about the driver who immediately identified himself coming to his front. The soldier asked him to move on, ahead of waiting vehicles. The
driver put his right hand into his trousers' side pocket. At this, the soldier became wild again. "Why put your hand there? Don't you know, it isn't allowed?"

"Sorry sir, I only meant to take out the car key, sir!"
The soldier patting his gun now slung over his shoulder said, "Do you see this? If I press the trigger several bullets would be fired instantly, like sharrarara.."
"Pardon sir! My mistake sir.", the driver was scared and nervous.
"Say that your won't ever repeat that mistake. How would I know you weren't
pulling a pistol out?"

"Sure sir! Won't ever would do that again sir! I sear and I twin my ears for that. Pardon sir, Please."

The solder seeing angry and awkward forgot his previous order and asked us to produce our identity cards. After reading the cards he said, "So you are
leader of human rights! But sir, I have a complaint," he continued in a louder voice, "Why don't' you make the dialogue between the government and
the Maoists happen? Why do you neglect your sacred duty, sir? Why sir?"

We replied calmly and almost simultaneously that we are pleased to learn even
the soldiers want peace, peace through dialogue. We further said that we are
constantly pressing the government and the Maoists for the dialogue and
create necessary environment of mutual understandings and for constitution
assembly.

"But we want the result, sir. I can't understand why there is no dialogue."
"Let us hope, that will happen soon."
"No, you are not serious. You are not
at all concerned about us. We unfortunate soldiers!"

We were silent not knowing what to say. "Do you realize our plights?" he almost entreated us in a torn voice, "We have to be in such a jungle. A jungle of death and sorrows! We have to leave our women and children worrying about us, days in and days out, and we worrying about them. W are always haunted by unknown fate. We count our days in fear and terror, and he continued, "Do whatever you have to do to make
dialogue happen. Please make peace happen for us, for you and for me. Sure you
can do that. Do care for us, the soldiers in such jungles of death."

The driver had already started the engine. But he ordered to stop for a while.

"Sorry for the scene, sir! Put yourself in our shoes. You will know that we
have a right to be mad. Sometimes of course! Please sir! Think for us. Why
we the unfortunate ones have to be mad that way?"


Detention center, Maharajgunj Police Training
Center, March 21, 2006
 
Posted on 04-18-06 10:01 AM     Reply [Subscribe]
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Make sense ! thanks, lfc123
 


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