KATHMANDU — Coordinator of the Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ has called for an impartial, independent and fact-based investigation into the repression, violence, looting and arson that took place during the Gen-G movement.

Issuing a press release on Wednesday on the occasion of the completion of one year of the Gen-G movement, Prachanda has paid tribute to those who lost their lives during the agitation and extended condolences to the bereaved families, injured and affected.

The movement that began with demands for lifting ban on social media, ending corruption, good governance and equality of opportunity was centred on freedom of expression, good governance and awareness against corruption.

But instead of addressing the voices of the youth sensitively, the state has chosen the path of repression, he alleged. Prachanda claims that the movement has been hijacked by “suspicious elements” by taking advantage of the situation that has arisen since then.

According to him, Singha Durbar, Parliament Building, President’s House, Supreme Court, National Archives, government and police offices, political party offices and public and private properties were looted, torched and vandalized on September 24.

“The legitimate discontent of the youth and the planned act of turning it into violence, looting and destruction is not the same issue. Seeing the two from the same point of view is not justice to both history and truth,” he said in the statement.

Prachanda said that the truth of various questions about the repression of the Gen-G movement and the subsequent violence should be revealed. He said that there should be an investigation into why and how the suppression of the movement took place, who instigated the movement, who instigated the violence and looting and who benefited from it.

He said that whoever is responsible should be brought to book. He said that even after the resignation of the Prime Minister, the continued looting, vandalism and arson, the mobilization of organized groups and the use of inflammable materials have raised more serious questions.

Prachanda has also demanded that the report of the National Human Rights Commission on the Gen-G movement should be implemented. He said that an impartial investigation should be conducted on the issues pointed out in the report and legal action should be taken against the guilty.

Similarly, he expressed dissatisfaction with the current situation, saying that the issues raised by the Gen-G movement have not yet been addressed. He claimed that the citizens who had hoped for ending corruption, good governance, employment and equal opportunities are disappointed again.

Inflation, weak economy, lack of employment, increasing foreign migration, public debt and tax burden have added to the problems.

Prachanda also warned that attempts to change the basic structure of the constitution in the name of constitution amendment would not be acceptable. He said that federal democratic republic, inclusion, secularism, social justice, fundamental rights, civil liberties and people’s sovereignty are the achievements of the struggle of the Nepali people and they will be resisted by any attempt to weaken them.

“Democracy can be strengthened not by suppressing the voice of youth, but by listening to and addressing them,” he said, adding that the antidote to the weaknesses of democracy is not to end democracy, but to make democracy more responsible, transparent, people-oriented and result-oriented. ’

Describing it as “servicing democracy”, he said the day marking the one-year anniversary of the Gen-G movement is a time to not only remember the past but also to question the state, seek the truth and chart a course for the future.

He also pledged that his party would take ahead the process of party purification, organizational reconstruction and political transformation learning from past practices and experiences.

He also appealed to all the political forces, youths, civil society and the general public to stand united against the regressive, autocratic and anti-people tendencies.