Kathmandu [Nepal], August 24 – Nepali Congress President Gagan Thapa has urged the government to immediately make public the report of the high-level inquiry commission known as the Lal Commission.
In a Facebook post on Monday, Thapa called on the office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers to release the report without further delay. He said the continued withholding of the report had prevented the full truth about the incident from emerging and denied victims their right to justice.
The Lal Commission was formed in 2016 to investigate the incident of the 2015 Terai-Madhes and Tharuhat protests that led to deaths, injuries, and human rights violations. The report of this investigation has yet to be made public.
Thapa acknowledged that previous governments including his own party when in power had failed to publish the report despite repeated commitments.
He said political parties had consistently pledged to make the report public before joining government but had been unable to implement those commitments after assuming office.
Thapa argued that past failures should not be used as a reason for further delaying publication.
He urged the current government to ensure that the issue does not remain limited to another political commitment and instead take concrete action to release the report.
“The right to know the truth belongs to citizens and the right to justice belongs to the victims,” Thapa said stressing the need for the government to act without further delay.
