The committee formed to recommend chairpersons and members for the Transitional Justice (TJ) bodies has formed yet another panel with former justice Prakash Wasti as head to develop new criteria to pick candidates other than those who have already applied for the posts, reports My Republica on July 1. Altogether 57 candidates have submitted applications to the recommendation committee seeking appointment at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons (CIEDP). But the committee is not satisfied with the current applicants. “A panel headed by Prakash Wasti will prepare a new criteria to pave the way for recommending candidates other than those who have already applied,” said Prem Bahadur Khadka, a member of the existing recommendation committee. The committee is mandated to recommend officials for TJ bodies from outside the current list of applicants if it feels the applicants are not competent enough to lead the organizations and settle the conflict-era cases. “We will recommend ten persons once Wasti’s team comes up with the criteria,” said Khadka.
The leaders of the ruling Nepal Communist Party, which was formed a year ago by merging the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist Centre (CPN-Maoist Center) and Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML), are also divided over whom to appoint as the chief of TRC as they have their own interests in dealing with the conflict-era cases. Sources say former UML leaders want to appoint Govinda Bandi as chief of TRC whereas former Maoist leaders have been pushing to appoint former attorney general Raman Shrestha. Nepali Congress is said to be lobbying for Surya Dhungel as TRC head. Nepali Congress has been demanding that the chief of the TRC be appointed as per its recommendation. Most war-era cases are filed against the Maoist and NC leaders. More than 12 years have elapsed since the government promised to settle the conflict-era cases.