| Username |
Post |
| ashu |
Posted
on 22-Oct-02 08:38 PM
In the interest of public information, I post here -- under a new thread -- an account of yesterday's Martin Chautari discussion, with my comments. Thanks to friends at Sajha for their comments and support.
***************
1. Krishna Malla, Ashok Sharma and Basundhara Bhusal presented their case quite well as speakers. Chautari was packed with more than 40 people.
2. From what is known informally so far (ie. keep in mind that all this still needs to
be PROVEN conclusively in a court of law later, when lawyers question and counter-question Kishore Shrestha and others):
The editor Kishore Shrestha had been blackmailing the actress Sreesha Karki (SK) for the last two years. He had been demanding money so that Karki's pictures would not br printed in his tabloid newspaper - Jan Astha (a name which ironically means: public conscience.)
3. So far, SK had paid up to Rs. 5000 to Shrestha. Shrestha had been demanding for Rs. 5000 for "dassain kharcha". Shrestha is known to have tried to blackmail other actresses too in the past.
4. TWO YEARS AGO, film-producer Sunita Khadka and the then sub-police inspector Uddhav Bhandari had taken some uncompromising pictures of SK against her will in a room at a house in Bishal Nagar. So outraged had SK been afterward that, soon after, she TRIED hard to file a formal complaint to the police at Hanuman Dhoka. Apparently, the police then REFUSED to register her complaint, much less launch an investigation. [This could be due to the fact that Bhandari was with the police then . . . and apparently he and Sunita Khadka were members of some Mafia here -- some sort of a prostitution ring -- that supplied women to mantris/VIPs and others, and that Mafia apparently enjoyed protection by the higher-ups in Nepal. Bhandari later left his police ko jaagir
and now works in some restaurant in London, England.]
5. Somehow, Kishore Shrestha -- the editor -- got hold of those pictures, and then started blackmailing SK, for at least more than a year, demanding money and finally publishing one of those pictures on Wednesday, October 9. [Shrestha is at large now and now the sentiment is that the police must issue warrants to arrest him.]
6. On Thursday, October 10, outraged by the photo in Jan Astha, members of the Kalakar Sangh called SK and asked her to come attend a meeting so that they could take actions against Jan Astha for publishing such a picture of her. Karki said she would come, and left home. But on the way, local hooligans, who had seen her picture in Jan Astha, began to harrass her, teasing her and passing sexually explicit comments to her. Karki turned around, and went back home.
7. The efforts of Kalakar Sangh to contact SK thereafter failed, for they were told that she was unavailable.
8. Karki took her life by hanging herself the following Monday on a day of Dassain.
*************
9. The question is: What if SK had been an UML or Congress ko karya-karta?
10. Jan Astha is an UML-supported newspaper, and Kishore Shrestha is an UML comrade. At Martin Chautari, NONE of the left ko intellectuals -- even the very folks who had even been active in Bichalit Bartaman program not too long ago -- showed up to give their opinions. What's more, none of the Leftist intelectuals have issued a statement so far.
Let me take names of these publicly-known individuals: The SILENCE of Rajendra Maharjan, Shyam Shrestha, Khagendra Sangraula, Sashi Shrestha, Bidya Bhandari, Sahana Pradha, Anand Dev Bhatta, Ninu Chapagai, Ramesh Bhattarai, Mahesh
Maskey et all has been DEAFENING.
The HYPOCRISY and the INTELLECTUAL BANKRUPTNESS of the Nepali Left are that
they think and move like a herd of cattle, putting party ko supposed unity before safeguarding individual rights, protesting against GENERAL social ills (and that's always easy to do!) while keeping silent when a SPECIFIC issue involving one of their own comrades comes up.
Protecting your comrades, in other words, is more imporant than defending your principles.
10. Likewise, the brother/sister organizations of Nepali Congress and RPP too have
been silent. Perhaps they are waiting to see/hear what the UML people do.
11. Even the women's rights activists -- Bandana Rana's Sancharika Samuha -- have been silent by and large, wven though this whole thing falls under one of those
donors ko darling issues: "Media and women".
12, Except for CVICT, none of the so many human rights organizations in Nepal - all
fed on donor's dollars -- have raised halla-khalla over this matter.
13. Like I said earlier, the death of SK does NOT lend itself to be a ready-made NGO-ish issue in Nepal . . . hence the inaction from organizations and individuals whose very boast is always how much they do for Nepal.
******************
|
| ashu |
Posted
on 22-Oct-02 08:40 PM
So, what's next?
At the Chautari discusssion, lawyer Gopal Chintan Siwakoti, Pratyoush Onta and I -- along with other discussants -- offered these concrete pieces of advice to the Kalakars.
1) Remain calm but be legally strategic (see below).
2) Do not start smashing railings and phone booths, burning down buildings and so on.
That will get you nowhere, and will hurt your campaign for justice.
3) Do your "aam sabha" and signature campaigns and all that, but don't get sucked into doing too much of those activities which are, let's face it, high on feelings and relatively low on gaining any strategic victory in Nepal.
3) The legal challenge is to PROVE that repeated EMOTIONAL harassment over a period of time contributed to the death. Though Nepal's laws recognize death due to PHYSICAL injuries, they do NOT yet recognize death due to EMOTIONAL injuries.
4) Hire a first-rate team of lawyers (who are low on rhetoric and high on building
winning strategies) whose one and only mission is to, after looking at the laws of the US and other countries, eventually argue in front of the Supreme Court of Nepal for a
precedent which, in effect, says something like: Nepali laws too recognize and
provide punishments for causing death by repeated emotional harassment.
5) Getting such a ruling from the Supreme Court will make this case a landmark one, and the similar rights of others in Nepal -- from whatever background -- will enjoy legal protections.
6) Do not spend your energy on too many thngs now, you'll get tired soon, and this story will recede into the background very soon, rendering all your andolan-work ineffective. Focus 90 per cent of your effort on the legal matter, with the only
objective to set a legal precedent. Getting that precedent would be a great
conribution to the democratization of the Nepali societies.
7) Do not try to defend SK's character or her lack of education and other UNRELATED matters. Once you get down that road, the issue wil be diverted. SK's good or bad character or her lack of formal educaton has NO bearing in this case. For the sake of argument, even so-called khattam men and women in Nepal too DESERVE legal protection against blatant violation of their basic right to life. This is what you want
to push for REPEATEDLY in public.
8) Do NOT try to explain legal matters to the public yourselves. You are not lawyers yourselves. Have your lawyer address them when jounalists as law-related questions. Having your lawyer speak up for you will help you achieve CONSISTENCY in what you are saying.
9) This is also a time for instrospection for you. Maybe you should look into your own film industry now and do a study of what makes and hampers a Nepali woman's career in your industry. Are they exploited there? Are they underpaid? Look for ways to so that your assoiation can unblock constraints (financial, social, logistics) that women in your industry (from actresses to dancers to starlets) face. Perhaps you can institute "help-lines" or "counselling sessions" within your industry so that men and women needing outlets can benefit. This self-cleansing will be good for the further development of your own film industry.
10) Finally, the SK case is NOT a three-hour movie. This is not reel life. The hero or the heroine may NOT win in this real life. More than raw emotions and seething anger (all understanable emtions given the death), what are needed are calm and cool strategies that WIN the case for SK by setting a legal pecedent and by throwing Kishore Shrestha et al into jail for years.
oohi
ashu
ktm,nepal
|
| Logical Sense |
Posted
on 22-Oct-02 09:02 PM
Ashuji, great commendable work!
I hope that they will find a 'Johny Cochran' type of lawyer in Kathmandu who will be interested more in taking this landmark case for the great cause rather than getting big fat fees for immediate advantage.
Good luck! Wish we could do something from far away!!!
- iti
|
| Nepali Kanchi |
Posted
on 22-Oct-02 09:53 PM
How about Sapana Pradhan Malla? She would be perfect fot this case?
|
| Nepali Kanchi |
Posted
on 22-Oct-02 09:59 PM
This is thw worst case scecnario that I imagined. The fact that this all happened, and the policee didnt help her in the first placec, where things could have been soemwhat settled. I hope the policeman who didnt write her report in the first place gets in serious trouble. This is a really sad story, I hope her soul rests in peace. I cannot beleive with a gazillion NGO's , not even one of them have outreached well enough , in welcoming women in Crisis to come to them for help. What are these organizations doing, they seem do have closed doors!!!
|
| VillageVoice |
Posted
on 22-Oct-02 10:02 PM
#Jan Astha is an UML-supported newspaper, and Kishore Shrestha is an UML comrade. At Martin Chautari, NONE of the left ko intellectuals -- even the very folks who had even been active in Bichalit Bartaman program not too long ago -- showed up to give their opinions. What's more, none of the Leftist intelectuals have issued a statement so far.#
Maybe, Kishore and Co. have other tricks up their sleeve to keep all these people silent. You never know.
|
| Nepe |
Posted
on 22-Oct-02 10:50 PM
Yes Ashu, very commendable work. I am also impressed by the maturity of all Sajhaites who expressed their views on this matter. Actually I was fearing that some immature conservative folks might storm this discussion and start to put the conservative Nepali concern, Charitra and Yaun naitikata in a kathghara for questioning. I am glad it did not happen and everybody who participated in the discussion showed their firm grasp of the core point. While the complete story is yet to come out and be proven, it is clear that Jana Astha violated the privacy and dignity of a citizen by publishing a nude picture without the consent of the person. This is a complete and independent ethical and legal case. Others, like sex mafia and the exploitation of young girls are additional cases. I am not against sex trade. Because it is unavoidable and natural in modern times. What we need, therefore, is a little bit courage and wisdom to have a well managed sex trade with no exploitation (ok, let’s be realistic, with exploitation as minimum as humanly possible) of sex commodities. But this is a separate issue and perhaps better be discussed separately.
|
| dilmaya |
Posted
on 22-Oct-02 11:43 PM
who is shrisha karki?
is that the same beautiful girl in maha's telefilm "SUR_BESHUR" who sings in resturants" kohi dil ka chor, kohi murgi chor"?. does anyone know????
|
| ashu |
Posted
on 23-Oct-02 08:50 AM
Hi all,
Thank you for your comments.
In Nepal, The Centre for Victims of Torture (CVICT) has just established a
helpline/hotline for other women and men to share their concerns related either
to the SK case or to seek counseling if they too have been victims of
blackmail and other forms of emotional harassment..
SHREESHA HELPLINE
CENTER FOR VICTIMS OF TORTURE, NEPAL
BANSBARI-3
P.O.BOX 5839, KATHMANDU
TEL: +977-1-373902, 373900
EMAIL: shreesha@cvict.org.np
*************
oohi
ashu
ktm,nepal
|
| ashu |
Posted
on 23-Oct-02 08:57 AM
What follows is an edited-for-sajha portion of a private email, posted here with permission. This email is from a Nepali lawyer -- someone I admire very much for
being a first-rate legal mind.
******************
Dear Ashu
The first hand information petition or Jaheri Darkhasta has been filed at Hanumandhoka Police Office on Kartik 5 but it is only a first step since:
a. the police after some weeks of investitation MAY simply say that this case does not fall under No. 16 of Homicide chapter of Muluki Ain that provide for 10-15 years of imprisonment for the culprits, and easily declare that it is case of suicide; or
b. if we have enough legal debate during this period and with some ongoing public actions then they may be under pressure not to deny the case but prepare it in such a way that we would loose at the end; or
c. depending on our legal and human rights arguments, we may achieve the goal of filing such a unique and important case by police through government prosecutors at Kathmandu District Court. If we are upto this point then the ball will be on our side to prove.
What I see here is that Bampanthis will not do anything on this. Pro-congress lobbies may also be hesitant when the high-level political links of [Khum Bahadur] Khadkas and the police are coming in the picture.
I [also am not sure what to make of Nepali lawyers] on such of type of typical, unique and highly controversial case since many of them are confined to old Muluki Ain, and I really do not know how these people are managing the legal team.
My only worry is that [in the absence of a concerted legal effort] this very important social issue will just die.
In any case, let's remain in touch concerning this issue as necessary,
|
| ashu |
Posted
on 23-Oct-02 09:00 AM
BTW, the lawyers appointed by the kalakars are:
Shanta Thapaliya and Sapana Malla Pradhan.
oohi
ashu
ktm,nepal
|
| NK |
Posted
on 23-Oct-02 09:04 AM
Wow!! This is unbelievable. Such a swift action. I hope there are trained professionals for the help seekers.
|
| KaLaNkIsThAn |
Posted
on 23-Oct-02 09:12 AM
Ashu, thats great!!
By going through random postings, I saw people wondering 'how can a nepali girl can pose naked?' If anybody asks that question, then its about he/she went to kathmandu. Go to kathmandu, mingle with movie people, models and truth comes roaring out of the closet. I read the article regarding Sirisha and others in janastha
(http://www.nepalnews.com.np/contents/nepaliweekly/janastha/2002/oct/oct09/intertentment.htm#1)
and I don't really deny it. Some people go to the extreme to get popular, get recognized. Some people are not that clean at all.
But the question is not about Shirisha. There might be million others, who posed nude, or performed the act of prostitution. (Remember Dharan ko blue film and Hotel honeymoon??) Its about Janastha, who tried to blackmail somebody. So lets forget about Shirisha, and talk about Janastha, which is using its reputation and power to blackmail somebody. LETS BHANDAFOR these horrendous acts, and expose all who are misusing their power. Lets kill the termite ruining our Democracy. Kill them all.
|
| KaLaNkIsThAn |
Posted
on 23-Oct-02 09:16 AM
Second line ma "about *time he/she went to KTM" hunu parnema annnetha bhayeko ma kshyama magdachu. (Hijo raati ko ajjhai niklya chaina.)
hehe
|
| VillageVoice |
Posted
on 23-Oct-02 12:38 PM
Don't know much about Santa Thapaliya's experience in cases like these - though she's been around for a long time. Sapana Malla-Pradhan definitely looks like a good choice. Again, I am not so well versed on her skills as a pleader, but as a human/women's rights activist, she has a pretty neat track record.
Now to digress a bit.
I believe Kishore Sh. faces homicide charges, right, Ashu? Just wondering how strong a case the Karkis have in the court of law - an act of blackmailing leading to the suicide?
Sapana and co. may even get a sympathetic hearing given the outage on the ground against Janastha, and the current public anger against the corrupt at large: get these bastards. And I wish them luck, assuming that Kishore and Co. *are* crooks - as has been widely reported. And also that the case helps expose political/police heavyweights who have been providing routine patronage to corrupt policemen, and patru patrakars.
But I am equally anxious to see that the case goes even beyond, rather than just being a one-off case influenced by the popular sentiments.
Certainly, the Karkis should get justice for the unfortunate death. But it is as important that the case sets an important precedent in libel--if that's the case--so that many more Shirishas are spared. I understand Nepal's current libel laws are pretty meek. The bar is Rs. 100,000 or something?
Isn't there a possibility for a steeper penality - and imprisonment too. At a time when there's no Parliament, who enacts the law to adress the needs? Can "Karki v Janastha" become a watershed legal battle, which is pointed out to every rookie journalist by their editors/managers, widely discussed and cited on books and journals: that the press pays a heavy price for libelous actions.
Just a thought.
|
| ashu |
Posted
on 23-Oct-02 08:34 PM
V V,
The challenge for the Kalakar Sangh and their lawyers -- Sapana Malla Pradhan and Shanta Thapliya -- is to turn this case into a landmark one.
And for that, they all need to tone down their (NGO-ish sort of platitudes and rhetoric)
and concentrate more on crafting winning step-by-step strategies to help them march
all the way to the Supreme Court, where they would want but a precedent-setting verdict.
If Kishore Shrestha et al get only a slap in the wrist in the end, then that would be
too bad, and an excellent opportunity to make Nepali laws speak on issues of libel, emotional injury and other related issues will be MISSED.
Let's see how things proceed.
As private citizens closely watching how this case proceeds, and wishing that it would deliver the kind of a precedent-setting verdict that would help democratize our societies all the more, we can do only so much -- keeping this case alive and so on -- without, well, stealing the thunder of the people (i.e. kalakars and lawyers) directly involved.
oohi
ashu
ktm,nepal
|
| ashu |
Posted
on 23-Oct-02 08:38 PM
Please read:
"all the way to the Supreme Court, where they would want but a precedent-setting verdict."
As
"all the way to the Supreme Court, where they would want NOTHING but a precedent-setting verdict."
|
| ashu |
Posted
on 24-Oct-02 08:15 PM
From nepalnews.com
Jana Aastha editor still at large, issues statement
Film artistes affiliated with seven different professional organizations are handing over a memorandum to Prime Minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand Thursday demanding for the formation of a probe commission on the issue related with the nude photo and news that led Nepali film actress Shreesha Karki to commit suicide.
The film artistes have already filed a lawsuit charging the editor of the "Jana Aastha" weekly of murder. A day after the case was filed, the editor of the weekly, who is still underground issued a statement saying that he had not foreseen the grave consequences of the news.
"The only motive behind the story was to unveil the perversions that are widespread in the Nepali movie industry," Shrestha said in the two page long statement.
The film artistes also burnt the copy of the weekly in "Ratna Park" yesterday appealing to the local people to ban the paper completely.
********************************************\
Who appointed Kishore Shrestha, the editor on the run, to be the oneman moral police force to "to unveil the perversions that are widespread in the Nepali movie industry."
Who defines what perversion? On what grounds? Is everything that offends the refined sensibilities of Kishore Shrestha "perversions"?
The alleged charges against Shrestha are those of blackmail, harassment and
extortion. Does "unveil[ing] the perversions that are widespread in the Nepali movie industry" require blackmail, harassment and extortion?
oohi
ashu
ktm,nepal
|
| ashu |
Posted
on 24-Oct-02 08:26 PM
NK wrote:
"I hope there are trained professionals for the help seekers. "
Well, NK, on many fronts,sure, Nepal may be just another Third World basket-case
of a country, but it does have a few trained professional providers of help.
That said, it's a fair assumption that Nepal and Nepalis can always welcome
additional resources to continue on with their "professional help" activities.
So that Nepalis in need of help get the help they need, you and others may wish to direct your contributions to the appropriate people via, amog others,
www.cvict.org.np
oohi
ashu
ktm,nepal
|
| protean |
Posted
on 24-Oct-02 09:04 PM
Thanks Ashu for sharing this piece and raising some valid points.
First of all , I don't know how Shrestha alone, could have decided to embark on this mission alone. The motive behind that seems unclear. Besides, how would one be able
to break into the mysteries surrounding the business that these "inept" politicians and some of the corrupt policemen, were conducting? To me, this "unveiling" that Shrestha suggests he was venturing to do, doesn't seem like a very easy task to accomplish--given the surreptious control of those powerful people, who could have been involved behind the scenes. It could have been Shrestha himself trying to "gain " something out of all this.
I don't think we have a rule in society that defines a threshold point for what perversion is. Probably, it has come time to define it (should we?).
To me, unveiling such information doesn't require and shouldn't have required extortion ,blackmail etc. Till now, this could have been due a gross abuse of the Nepali movie industry by "those in control of it", and the neglect from the private citizens in demanding that such "perversions" not be in existence in the movie industry.
It's very sad that all this has ended in the death of an actress. It's a loss for all of us that a human being had to commit suicide as a result of all this confusions.
Let me digess breifly. I draw a parallel to all the corporate scandals that became known to the public in the United States starting 2001. As a result of abuse of and wrongdoings of some coporate executives, several people lost their life long savings, lost their homes, and others suffered in other manners. After these incidents, some of what went wrong with the accounting practices at corporations are coming out. The unfloding of this drama has brought some executives to trial, and has also shown some possible connectiom for all this [malfeasance] to the current heads of the US administration.
I hope, the actresses' case will go all the way to Supreme court, and we get a proper hearing. At least, the truth has to come out. The prope rules have to be set forth, and all those who have been involved have to be brought to justice.
May Shreesha Karki's soul rest in peace.
_______________________________________________
On a side note, would burning of the paper and calling for its ban necessary? I believe it is the editor who is being suspected here. The paper publishing house, should have a law suit filed againt for damages. But, I personally think , it should not be banned.
|
| protean |
Posted
on 24-Oct-02 09:07 PM
Meant to say:
Let me digress here briefly and NOT Let me digess breifly.
|
| Paschim |
Posted
on 24-Oct-02 09:10 PM
Very glad with Sapana Malla-Pradhan's choice as one of the two lawyers. Don't know about Ms. Thapaliya, but I have heard Ms. Malla since 1997, and have usually been impressed with her passionate, substance-packed legal arguments. Very interested in seeing how this case proceeds for its profound implications.
I was also very impressed with some of CVICT's unique work -- especially their documenting of experience (and torture) of prisoners in many district jails outside Kathmandu. The conditions are usually horrific, and many people forget that even prisoners -- their spouses and offspring -- have rights in a democracy. I hope they are continuing their good work, but like most NGOs in Nepal that are heavily dependent on foreign aid and charity, internal management of those procured dollars often seems to create organizational tensions [A person who I know closely claimed that he was sacked for what HE claimed for alleged whistle-blowing of non-transparent fund use from DFID early this year. I do not know and have NOT heard the management's side of the story, so I have not concluded anything about this charge yet]. But generally, the cause of working for victims of torture is indeed a great one, but neglected. In addition to NGOs like CVICT (who are successful in attracting money by "selling" causes like this as "saleable"), I don't know if tax-funded state organizations also exist in this area.
"Public" provisioning of this kind of help is justified for obvious reasons of access and equity. But if the usual perpetrator (in our Nepali case) is the State itself (police, army, prison staff), is there an ironic, perhaps perverse, conflict of interest there? Worth pondering…
Something along the spirit of Ruck's thread, "prison reforms", including education of children of prisoners, would be another unconventional area for Nepalis from abroad to consider directing their help.
|
| SITARA |
Posted
on 25-Oct-02 01:54 AM
Embarassing into Action:
Ashu ji, very commendable work and effort indeed.
At the risk of sounding naive, I am going fling some suggestions....
First and foremost, it is an absolute disgrace that this "social death penalty" exists in our culture. If the law does not get you then the corruption will and if the corruption does not get you then the guilt will. A guilt imposed by a socio cultural morality that kills those who happen to step, falter and /or lose their way into a social "abnormality" called nudity. The irony is, a society that supposedly "hates" public nudity in all forms, shapes, and style... also endorces it in "normal" forms of pornography and sex trade!
I am more appalled by the so-called socially aware and functioning individuals and organizations that have turned a deaf ear to this attrocity. As you said, the silence is deafening... one wonders at the sound of silence governing this issue. You have raised valid points about the political leanings and loyalties of some of those silent observers. Is it a leaning away from "Political Liberalism" ? "Political Liberalism" is about public reason or lack thereof. "It" is about appreciating the consitutional intricacies and questions about basic justice, regardless of the victim's background, education and or status. And yet this little detail has been conveniently ignored by both the NGOs and the intellectuals.
I am especially disappointed with Sancharicka Samuha and Saathi Nepal. Sancharicka supposedly exists with a thrust on promoting communication and gender equality. Their mission statement states: Creation of gender-equal society enhancing the capacity of the media from promoting equity and equality-based development.
And yet they have remained silent; "this prestigious NGO started by a group of women media professionals concerned by the lack of gender perspective in media" (this,according to their handbook). Obviously, they want to play it safe lest they tool be hounded by such as those running around in Jana Astha. Point taken.... But since the NGO has taken up the lofty role of "fostering" gender equality in Nepal, I have my eyes on them.
How about coaxing (coercing...)cooperation and support from thses oganization by embarassing them into it? I know Sancharika has an immense reputation and we would like to see this reputation thrust into action. So I have one suggestion:
Embarass them Into Action: Let us start from Sajcharika Samuha.
Executive committee:
Executive president: Bandana Rana
V. President: Gyanu Pandey
General Secretary: Babita Basnet
Advisory Board:
Dr. Krishna B. Bhattachan
Kanak Mani Dixit
Rupa Joshi
Shanti mishra
Protyush Onta
Durga nath Sharma
Bharati Silwal
Prem Kumari Pant
Rita thapa
Sancharika has also initiated the formation of NAGARIK AWAZ: "A consortium of organizations and individuals interested in working together to address the problems that have risen through recent situations of conflict.........to promote areas of support for victim's of conflict, awareness raising, research and ADVOCACY to promote peace and reducae violence in Nepal." Sancharika Samuha Annual Report 2001.
so, what are the possibilities of bringing such NGOs to shame and thus spurring them to actions prestated by words?
Or How about targeting their supporting organizations:
ESP (DFID)
FES
ICIMOD
MGEP(UNDP)
SNV
UNIFEM
UNFPA
(Sancharika Samuha, Annual Report 2001)
Can we start garnering more support in this manner by targeting the NGOs and especially their donor agencies? Can we bombard them with emails? Lampoon them with letters and/ or expose them with theri own annual report?
If Not, Can we atleast make them eat their own words and help them lose their credibilty, in public?
|
| Paschim |
Posted
on 25-Oct-02 03:01 AM
The seed that might have eventually led to the tragic death of Ms. Shrisha Karki seems to have been planted two years ago when a policeman took her nude photograph that was published by Jana Astha a few days ago, after what has been alleged as blackmailing of the late actress by that newspaper's editor.
An exclusive interview with that policeman who took the photo was broadcast yesterday on the BBC Nepali Service. Pls. click below to listen to its 24 October broadcast.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nepali/index.shtml
Also there's a write up in Kantipur today that draws on this radio interview:
http://www.kantipuronline.com/kantipur_html/kantipur_news1.htm#6
|
| ashu |
Posted
on 25-Oct-02 07:29 AM
What follows was published in today's (Friday's) The Nepali Times newsweekly. Manjushree, a novelist/writer, is a columnist at the newsweekly.
Thanks to friends at The Nepali Times for emailing, upon request, this article for
a wider circulation on Sajha and beyond.
oohi
ashu
ktm,nepal
***********************
PUTTING THE MEDIA ON TRIAL
Manjushree Thapa
The front page of the 9 October issue of Jana Aastha, a left-leaning vernacular weekly, carried a story headlined: A COLOURFUL EVENING IN FILM CITY. Written by Bishwamani Subedi and Yadavprasad Pandey, it concerned the alleged prostitution, sexual escapades and love affairs of those in the Nepali film industry.
Sadly, this was not out of the ordinary for the paper, leafed through by many for its insider police and army gossip, but considered, like many of the vernacular weeklies, to fall short of professional standards. But what was out of the ordinary, even for the sleaziest of vernaculars, was a photograph of a naked woman that accompanied the last story. Its caption sadistically read: "Do you recognise this Nepali heroine?"
The actress in the photograph, Shrisha Karki, hung herself at her home in Chabahil six days later in a case that shook the film industry over Dasain. It is not hard to imagine the intense degradation the young woman must have felt in her last days. What support would she have possibly received a society obsessed with women’s sexual purity?
Anyone who looks at her photograph can measure her vulnerability: in it, she stares up from a hunched-over position in bed, her face contorted in fear, her body frozen in humiliation. It is obvious that the photograph was taken against her will. Karki’s is the face of a victimised woman pleading, unmistakably, for some decency from her victimiser.
This was a decency that Jana Aastha's editor, Kishore Shrestha, did not extend to her.
Shrestha’s decision to run the photograph has reared ugly allegations about the sordid underworld of journalism. Film artists claim that Shrestha had been using the photograph to extort the actress.
According to them, the picture was taken a year and a half ago by a photographer and a policeman who has since retired, Uddav Bhandari, after inviting Karki to an apartment and forcibly stripping her, with the help of a film director; it was their intention to blackmail her into prostitution. The actress filed a complaint immediately after the incident, but the police were slow to act on it. She went to meet the photographer, but could not retrieve the film. According to film artists, Shrestha continued to extort her even after her engagement. He ran the photograph after Karki refused to give in to his extortion.
Krishna Malla of the Film Artists’ Association says that the organisation is pursuing a variety of legal recourses. These avenues, however, are limited. The Film Artists’ Association helped file a plea with the police—while Karki was still alive—requesting that strong action be taken against Shrestha. But the maximum punishment for defamation is a Rs 5,000 fine and a sentence of two years.
The public offence law against indecency carries a maximum punishment of Rs 10,000, a two-year sentence, and damages. According to public interest advocate Gopal Sivakoti Chintan, punishment for such crimes usually amounts to a fine of five or ten rupees, and limited jail time, if any. There are no laws in Nepal to punish those who instigate suicide. A bill on journalists’ code of ethics, which bars the publication of photographs without permission, is stuck indefinitely in parliament. Malla reports that Karki’s family is now proceeding with murder charges against Shrestha, in the hope that he is meted out the stiffest punishment.
Film artists have formed a committee for this cause, and are also lobbying media organisations to hold its members accountable. The Nepal Film Directors’ Association has pressed complaints at the Nepal Press Council and the Federation of Nepalese Journalists, asking that action be taken against Shrestha.
Acknowledging that Shrestha violated Karki’s right to privacy and instigated her death, the Press Council’s Chairperson Harihar Birahi has said that the Press Council can issue a warning, demand an apology, and work to revoke Shrestha’s press identity card. The Federation has been meeting to deliberate over its response.
The office of Jana Aastha remained closed throughout the Dasain holidays, and neither Shrestha nor the two authors of the article have surfaced. In the meanwhile Biswamani Subedi has taken out a notice claiming that Karki’s suicide proved his story’s allegations to be true; he has exposed, in the process, his own ignorance of privacy laws and journalistic ethics. The paper’s assistant editor resigned after public outcry over the incident mounted.
Would this case have received such attention if Karki had not lost her life for it? Most probably not. It is an open secret that most vernacular weeklies are backed by various political parties, or cliques within them. The political patrons of Jana Aastha are said to be the Bam Dev Gautam clique of the CPN (UML). These patrons have never, till now, had to question their own moral standing, and their commitment to Nepali women by backing such a substandard, anti-women rag.
Strangely, despite the overt misogyny of Jana Aastha’s treatment of Karki, women’s rights activists have been slow to organise dissent against this incident. There is plenty they could do to address the widespread denigration of women in the media, and social double standards in demanding sexual purity from women.
One problematic but typical response to Karki’s death has been to blame the victim. An example: while supporting Karki, the Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Studies has also suggested that the film industry keep its activities respectable. Another response from a film industry journalist was: “Actresses with bad morals are also polluting Nepali society.” (Needless to say, most activists and journalists are not of the breed that necks openly on the couches of Himalayan Java).
Manju Thapa of Asmita has been quick to speak against the preying of women in the media after this incident. To return to the 9 October issue of Jana Aastha: the only other story concerning women on the front page was headlined: MANISHA’S LOVER IN A BRAWL.
The story reported a scuffle in the Everest Hotel’s disco, where actress Manisha Koirala’s former boyfriend was supposedly ogling, while drunk, a show of “young women in transparent clothing”. In fact the former boyfriend and his wife were having a quiet dinner elsewhere in the hotel. None of which has anything to do with Koirala: Jana Aastha was simply smearing her name in the mud, in a casual show of contempt for an accomplished Nepali woman.
Such prevalent double standards pose a challenge to women’s rights activists, who are, let us hope, not too busy with their party politics or NGO projects to act on this case. After all, Shrisha Karki is not on trial here. Nor is the film industry. Kishore Shrestha, Bishwamani Subedi and Yadavprasad Pandey of Jana Aastha are on trial. The police are also on trial, to route out police complicity, if any, in this case. And the sponsors of Jana Aastha are most definitely on trial.
The entire Nepali media faces a serious challenge at this time. Krishna Malla has been heartened by the media’s support against Jana Aastha: “The press is very aware. I believe we will receive justice because of the coverage the media has given this incident.”
But stamping out corruption in the media will take serious effort. The Nepal Press Council and the Federation of Nepalese Journalists must not only penalise Jana Aastha in the strongest terms possible, they must actively enforce more ethical standards in their member organisations. Media houses must aggressively flush out those among them who are violating their profession’s code of ethics.
If such steps are taken, they may be the only meaning to be salvaged from the death of a brutishly hounded and hunted-down young woman. THE END
|
| ashu |
Posted
on 25-Oct-02 10:56 AM
Sitara,
I LIKE Nepali men and women who work at many of Nepal's NGOs and INGOs that
focus on, well, various strands of activism.
[I, for one, FYI, work full-time to promote private-sector forbusinesses, so, for almost
two years now, I have NOT been professionally involved in social activism in Nepal, though through Martin Chautari, I keep my interests in social activism alive.]
Hailing, often, from (acquired ot inherited) upper-middle to upper-class backgrounds, MOST -- not all -- of these NGO-activists speak and write excellent English, are well-groomed and well-travelled, banter easily, throw appropriate Marxist/Capitalist/Development jargons and always, always make pleasant lunch/dinner or coffee companions.
They say the right phrases to the right audience in the right tone, and get away
with anything they say . . . without ever risking much.
As their friend and acquaintance, I, for one, can always count on them to show their indignation at the GENERAL (i.e. vague) status of Nepal on whatever fronts.
You know, GENERAL issues such as women's trafficking, the poor status of the girl child, the crushing poverty, the mistreatment of women, the marginalized status of ethnic groups, and so on and on.
But ask them to really give a damn, to stop issuing platitudes through trite lectures, to
start getting involved in unglamourously SPECIFIC cases (cases such as this SK case): cases which require them to upset the status quo, to challenge the authorities, even to make enemies, to choose principles over career success, to defend ideas as opposed to easy life, to risk friendships and to push the hard work of even lonely activism to the finish line . . .
Suddenly, you see their smiles vanish.
Suddenly, you sense that they start to feel uncomfortable around you.
Suddenly, you know that they start avoiding you.
Suddenly, they start bad-mouthing you behind your back.
Suddenly, they resent you for pushing them to do the hard, lonely work.
Suddenl, you may become a persona non grata in their circle of friends/acquaintances and so on.
You know, Kathmandu is a small village. You can't afford to piss off too many people. Soon, you won't be able to eat lunch in this town. And so, before any of that happens, what do you do?
You continue to like them and be friendly and nice to them. You joke with them, have lunch/dinner coffee with them. You also continue to wish them well in their carefully crafted careers as social activists.
But you know what, deep in your heart, you stop trusting them to really engage themselves - heart and soul -- in the kind of social activism that really makes Nepal a better place. And after some time, you learn live with the low expectations that you have of them.
That is why, I, for one, can live with the FAILURE of, say, groups like Sancharika Samuha and others to really get themselves involved in this SPECIFIC case.
In Nepal, low expectations -- as I am fnding out -- can be a wonderful buffer against disapppointments.
oohi
ashu
ktm,nepal
|
| protean |
Posted
on 25-Oct-02 05:47 PM
More on this story.
It' s time that the libel laws got reformed. In addition, it's also time for serious reforms in other arenas including the amendment of the constitution.
_________________________________________
Suicide by actress raises questions of media ethics in Nepal
Fri Oct 25, 4:57 AM ET
By BINAJ GURUBACHARYA, Associated Press Writer
KATMANDU, Nepal - Until last week, when her suicide suddenly thrust her into the limelight, Shrisha Karki was little known in this Himalayan kingdom.
Days before she was found hanging in her home, a nude photograph of the 24-year-old struggling actress, part-time model and beauty salon manager, was published in Janaastha, a weekly newspaper. The newspaper, giving no evidence, said she was a prostitute.
Her death outraged the small Nepalese film community, and raised serious questions about media ethics and press limits in a country with no libel laws.
Even media rights activists are furious.
"The incident has not only ended the life of an aspiring artist but has also scarred the whole profession of journalism in the country," said Taranath Dahal, president of the Federation of Nepalese Journalists. "We don't have laws protecting privacy and right to information and this is the result. It was wrong for the newspaper to write or publish materials like that."
Police are searching for the newspaper's editor, Kishore Shrestha, and two of its reporters, said police official Topendra Dhoj Hamal. Hamal said criminal charges will be filed against the journalists once they are found, but it was not clear what the charges would be.
The newspaper has been shut down, and former employees refuse to comment.
Karki was found hanging from the ceiling of her rented house in the capital Katmandu by family members on Oct. 14, five days after the black and white photograph was published.
It was not clear how the newspaper paper obtained the photograph.
Karki had had minor roles in a few Nepali-language movies and had modeled for a soap commercial. Like most people in Nepal's tiny movie industry, she had another job to keep her bills paid — in Karki's case running a Katmandu beauty salon.
After the publication of the photograph, which showed her on her hands and knees on a bed, Karki's mood reportedly changed dramatically.
"People began ridiculing her and the public scorn drove her to suicide," The Himalayan Times quoted her brother, who did not want to be named, as saying. Nepal is a conservative country in many ways, and displays of nudity are all-but unknown here.
Nepal's Constitution guarantees freedom of the press, but the law remains ill-defined.
"There are no libel laws existing in our country that specifically state how much is too much in regards to the media," said Bal Krishna Neupane, a Supreme Court advocate.
Karki's friends have filed a complaint with the Press Council, a government-appointed body that monitors Nepal's media. The Council has condemned the incident and summoned the editor for questioning. It cannot press criminal charges against individual journalists.
Most cases against the press are filed under the Public Offense Act, which is used mostly for criminal cases like assault.
Neupane said that while there is a defamation law, it is mostly used for cases of verbal abuse and has been little-tested in newspaper cases. It carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison.
"No one has been sent to jail under this provision," Neupane said. "This case show how important it is to have strong libel laws."
|
