Eyes on Nepal Police

The force must transparently review the Tinkune incident instead of hiding its mistakes.

Riot control is a difficult art. Even with the best of preparations, crowd behaviour is hard to predict with a high level of accuracy. This is why the police have a set of rules on how to deal with a rowdy crowd with the minimal use of force. For instance, if the police is struggling to control a crowd, it first does miking, asking for restraint. When that does not work, there might be some baton wielding, followed by tear gassing and, if things are still threatening to get out of hand, opening fire. As the police themselves designate the place for particular protests, they can assign a venue that offers the least likelihood of escalation. But during the March 28 protest of the pro-monarchy forces in Tinkune, the police are believed to have made some serious miscalculations, starting with the designation of Tinkune, a sensitive location near the international airport and national legislature as the protest venue. The choice of venue was poor also because the leaders of the protest, many of them disreputable figures, had given ample hints that they would be ready to resort to violence.