One of the most challenging ‘epidemics’ in the post-conflict period in Nepal has been that of gun violence. The staggering rise of criminality in the country denotes the illegal possession of firearms by civilians, which means the ascending magnitude of deaths, maiming, abductions and extortions. The recent high-profile murders of two media entrepreneurs Jamim Shah and Arun Singhaniya or the near fatal shooting of a medical professor and litterateur Dr Hemanga Dixit illustrates the point.
In fact, during the pre-1990 era, firearms were a proximate rarity in Nepal, civic violence were restricted to domestic weapons like knives, axes and khukuris, apart from sporadic cases of cross-border armed robberies. With the usurpation of authoritarian powers dissolving the embryonic democracy, the then royal regime enacted the Arms and Ammunition Act in 1962 that was very strict on the issuance of personal firearms. Hand-guns were strictly not allowed to civilian individuals. However, the government allocated licenses for .22 rifles and 12-bore guns. This 1962 Act still exists with some amendments.
Criminalization of politics is rife in Nepal. After the restoration of democracy in 1990 came the system of free elections, which became the only means to hit high government chair for a contesting politician. So the politicians have proclivities to apply any means, even (gun) violence, to serve their interests. This trend is common in the Tarai areas along the bordering Indian states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, where candidates and cadres use guns during elections for two reasons: Self-defense and to intimidate voters. Felonious gangs active in the border avail patronage in both countries and deliver service during elections. And with the launching of the Maoists´ ‘People´s War’ in February 1996, things took a sudden appalling turn, posing a direct threat to the nation with firearms.
A gun epidemic means the production of enough bullets to eliminate twice the entire population of the planet. Firearms kill 1,000 people a day while 10 billion to 14 billion rounds of ammunitions are manufactured annually, according to the report of International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA). There are sufficient guns to arm a tenth of the world population—and more than half of the weapons are in the hands of civilians.
The pervasive use of small arms and other portable lethal weapons (SApLW) in the present seemingly peace time has direct implications on the progress and success of Nepal’s peace process.
“If 1,000 people a day were dying of avian flu you can be certain something would be done about it,” says IANSA Director Rebecca Peters. “This is an epidemic which demands immediate international action. It should be that when guns move into illegal hands, an alarm should go off.” A huge number of firearms are manufactured legally, but then a significant portion of them are either stolen or bought illegally—yet little has been done when an arms shipment went missing, the report says.
The pervasive use of small arms and other portable lethal weapons (SApLW) in the present seemingly peace time has direct implications on the progress and success of Nepal’s peace process. Reforming the security sector and subsiding the abuse of small arms would bolster a healthier security environment for all, thus paving a way for a better human rights situation in Nepal.
Although the nation heaved a sigh of relief with the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in November 2006 and the end of hostilities, a new version of breeding ground for armed violence became manifest, contributed by a number of factors, the most visible being the instability in Tarai districts with the rise of secessionist tendencies and the emergence of criminal armed gangs, and porous southern borders that inspires criminal infiltration and arms trafficking into Nepal. The other factors for this are the lawlessness and culture of impunity (as most of the criminals or gangs are affiliated to political parties, they are frequently set free even if they are tried by the authority); a weak state presence in a number of volatile areas; tardy progress in security sector reform; poorly-equipped police personnel; illiteracy, unemployment and poverty among youths; cheaply available SApLW and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).
In the light of accelerated use of SApLW, what measures have we taken to check their proliferation? Near to nothing. An effective de-weaponization national policy should be enforced to eradicate the menace of violence caused by the accessibility of small arms. It is equally important to strengthen the rule of law, and thrash out additional efforts to the creation of sustainable small arms control mechanisms in Nepal, working in close consultations and cooperation among intelligence, police, military, custom officials, and crucially through regional networking of information sharing.
Tackling this virulent crisis is not only the sole responsibility of the police department—it is the responsibility of every citizen, and most essentially of the military, too. Nepal Army’s role can be significant in curbing illicit trade in SApLW and combat criminal activities along the border.
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