As many as 295 people have registered complaints at the Department of Consular Services seeking repatriation of their relatives serving in the Russian army whose whereabouts are not known.

According to Prakash Mani Paudel, director general at the department, the kin of 295 Nepali citizens who were serving in the Russian Army have filed complaints at the department seeking the repatriation of their relatives.

“After our intensive campaign asking people not to join the Russian army, at least 68 Nepali nationals have returned from Russia where the majority of them were serving in the Russian army,” Paudel said.

The government has so far declared the death of 22 Nepali nationals and is going to complete the DNA testing of another 15 Nepali nationals who are suspected as dead. The DNA samples were sent from Russia to Nepal and the consular department is liaising with the victim’s families and Russian authorities.

The government is facing a tall order to address the demands of the families and relatives of the Nepalis who are serving in the Russian army. The recruitment of Nepali nationals in the Russian army was widely discussed in Parliament where the government updated the latest situation of Nepalis fighting the war but was unable to say how many of them are serving in the Russian army and how many were killed, disappeared and injured.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Kaji Shrestha also held a telephonic conversation with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, and discussed the issue of Nepali citizens serving in the Russian Army. After Nepal’s repeated push, the Russian side is ready to provide compensation to the families of those who were killed while serving in the army and at present, the documentation of such seven nationals is underway, said a joint secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“The documentation process is very lengthy and is in Russian language, which took us very long to translate and get attested,” said the joint secretary. “Once the paperwork is complete, the process of distributing the compensation will begin.”

After the government failed to address the demands of the victims’ families, the relatives and family members of those who are serving in the Russian army have started protesting since last week. On Saturday also, they staged a protest in Maitighar seeking the protection and repatriation of Nepalis serving in the Russian army.

“The relatives of 12 family members have started the protest at Maitighar,” said Kritu Bhandari, who is leading a campaign for the repatriation of the Nepali nationals serving in the Russian army. The campaign also demands dignified compensation for those who have either died or been injured while fighting for the Russian force.

The victims' family members have also forwarded a 13-point demand to the government including the safe repatriation of the Nepalis serving in the Russian army, compensation and treatment to those who were injured in the war, safe evacuation of five Nepalis who were taken hostage by the Ukrainian army, repatriating the dead bodies of those killed in the war, dignified compensation as fixed by the Russian government, and finding out the situation of those who have gone missing while fighting for the Russian army.

The family members have also demanded the numbers and details of Nepalis serving in the Russian army be released and action taken against the middlemen and fixers who lured them to join the Russian army.

The victims’ kin also demand that all kinds of facilities, perks and remuneration that the Nepali nationals will get from the Russian army be paid from Nepal and that a minister-level mechanism be formed to carry out rescue, relief and rehabilitation works.

“We have just started our street protests,” Bhandari said. “We are going to expand it if the government fails to listen to our grievances.”

Published on: 22 April 2024 | The Kathmandu Post