Post Election Frenzy

Now that Prachanda threatened HM the King with trial and execution if he didn't take the hint "to go to exile", there come reactions from ordinary nepalis:

National culture refutes Maoist violence

by Prakash Dubey

Negative feedback has greeted the rebel leader's statements against the king. And the Supreme Court has released the former premier, detained since July.

Kathmandu (AsiaNews) Statements made yesterday by the Maoist rebels have not been well received. Meanwhile, the former prime minister has been released. King Gyanendra "must leave the country", said Prachanda, leader of the Maoist rebels, in an interview broadcast on 12 February, the tenth anniversary of the revolt. Or else, added the leader, the king should stand trial in a people's court. "This statement is preposterous in the backdrop of the recent emerging political scenario of the country when a milieu of dialogue is being built up among all political forces," Ravikant Mishra, a human rights activist and political scientist told AsiaNews. In November, the Maoist rebels and a coalition of political parties which oppose absolute power for the monarchy reached an agreement regarding pluralistic democracy, a referendum about the monarchy and the renunciation of violence. At the beginning of the month, Prachanda said in another interview that he was willing to dialogue with the king to resolve the crisis gripping the country that had claimed some 13,000 lives. "But all of a sudden Prachanda has changed his stand like a chameleon and is demanding that the king face exile or execution. This is inauspicious for peace in the country and could precipitate worst violence," added Mishra. "Prachanda must not forget that the Nepalese culture is rooted in non-violence despite the ongoing spate of killings and bloodshed unleashed by both army and Maoists," said Norbert Rai, a lawyer in eastern Nepal. "Our law does not provide for execution or capital punishment even for an ordinary man, let alone the king whom Nepalese people consider as divine." Such statements, he continued, could only "reinforce the people's conviction that the Maoists have a culture of violence and blood and they cannot become heralds of peace in the country". "People want peace and reconciliation" and these statements "will only alienate the people from the Maoists and political parties allied with them". --- Meanwhile, the Supreme Court yesterday released Sher Bahadur Deuba, the former prime minister and declared "invalid" the order for his arrest - indicated by the king - under which he had been detained since July on corruption charges. Deuba was removed from his post in February 2005, when the king seized direct power. An official from Deuba's party, Dip Kumar Upadhaya, said: "This is a victory for democracy and a humiliating defeat for the royal regime." ---- As "failed" states go, this is AMAZING development - despite hoarse calls about Palace Dicatorship etc. - the Supreme Court of "failed state" orders sworn enemies of HMK to be released, and the State complies. Some "failed state" !

Panauti attacked.

Last night the MaoBadBoyz probed the defences of the Valley for the third time - this time from the East. After the Thankot Massacre last month (West of Kathmandu, on the way down to India) and big clashes at the end of January with aerial bombardment of Makwanpur villages (South), now came coordinated assault on Panauti with diversionary faints at Dulikhel (district HQ) and Banepa - only 25 km E of the centre! Details are still ariving.
I know the area well, actualy this is the part of the country I feel most about, just like a home: Indu hails from a small village 2 HR uphill from Panauti, she still has some land there though her Father and Mother passed away in the past 18 months. I went up there gladly many times since 1984, and in the village I savoured the simple Nepali life: spicy greasy chicken, jhar (beer-like concoction) and dnces by villages in the moonlight. Power and water came only in the last 5 years. With the great gompa of Namo Bouddha presiding over the plain we went swimming down to Roshi Khola and watched a tribe of monkeys doing their antics on opposite shore - too steep even for goats to graze, so it was left to monkeys. This was where I first saw bombed out school in the village and abandoned, burnt-out Police posts. 40 km from Civilization! It seemed more absurd then anything Kafka wrote...
Info sofar from NepalNews:

Security forces and Maoists clashed in Panauti in Kavre from Monday evening. The rebels targeted RNA base camp at Gorakhnath hilltop. The Maoists also attacked the Panauti Municipality office. Though the Maoists have reportedly taken into their control some security personnel deployed in the municipality office, there was no official confirmation. Locals said the Maoists, after attacking Panauti, headed towards Dhunkharka in three buses at 11:00 p.m.

Maoist Band, Day II.

Hazy weather hungs over the Valley, sun shines strongly through only at midday, and it's hardly seen when it sets above Thankot. The temperatures are nice, max. hovering around 23°C. Nepalis are used to BANDHS now, having survived about 100 of them. It suits their easy-going, unstressed daily life - a day, or as is the case now, a week off! Why taking chances with your motorbike or car - there is no remedy from insurance and HMG's reimbursmenet scheme is hazy as the weather. Bike/car is a substantial investment - so better take the day off, if you can...
But the idyl - except for a report of a torched bus bellow Kathmandu yesterday- couldn't last! The Liberators of Mankind showed their terrorist teeth and shot dead a hapless taxi driver tonight:

Taxi driver shot dead in Kathmandu (7:40 p.m.)

An unidentified group of people has shot dead a taxi driver in Kathmandu on Monday?the second day of nationwide shutdown strike called by the Maoist rebels.

According to police, Jitendra Shrestha was shot dead at around 6:30 p.m. on Monday just near the gate of B & B hospital at Ring Road of Kathmandu by one of the two passengers who were traveling in the same taxi (plate no. Ba 1 Ja 8884).

The bill in the taxi showed only Rs thirty-two, according to police.

Police quoted local eyewitnesses as saying that the assailants immediately fled. Shrestha succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment.

Police said the assailants had used a Chinese-made pistol to attack Shrestha-- a resident of nearby district of Dhading.

Nobody has claimed responsibility for the attack on an unarmed civilian earning his bread. Police blame Maoists for the attack. There has been no word from the rebels regarding the incident as yet.

The incident came as a large number of taxis and private vehicles were seen plying in the streets of Kathmandu (with their plate nos. covered) defying the week-long strike called by the Maoists. Only few vehicles took to the streets of the capital on Sunday.

The rebels have called the strike as part of their bid to disrupt municipal polls slated on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, the government?s spokesman, Shrish Shumsher Rana, told a press conference that the government had made adequate security arrangements ahead of the polls. He even asked people to go out for voting by shedding off any kind of fear.

Armed security personnel were guarding major thoroughfares of the capital today. Royal Nepalese Army personnel could be seen standing guard in front of polling booths and ward offices of Kathmandu municipality.

Most of the shops in main roads remained closed while shops in the inner parts of the city were open. Schools, colleges and private offices remained closed for the second day on Monday due to the strike. nepalnews.com by Feb 06 06

So this means there will be NO taxis inside the Ring Road tomorrs, and much less trafic. Poor chap, that somebody will execute for doing just his job and provide for family! Think of this offer of the senseless Communism, the 100,000,001 in row! May this murederous ideology never wins in Nepal!

Week of trials & tribulations ahead.

Another test of wills is awaiting the hapless nation. From tomorrow, and for a week more, we'll have to endure MaoBdBoyz Diktat and stay home and eat rice... well if you have any. There are countless thousands in the Valley who live by daily wages - from taxi- and rickshaw- drivers to porters and bus conductors. The low bottom of the social pyramid, supposedly these are the guys the Prachanda brigade is living in the jungles for - and what are they supposed to live on for ENTIRE week?
So I suspect the BANDH will be observed on Sunday seriously, everybody calling on (landlines and post-paid mobiles only!) friends and relatives around the Valley, and when they start to see that the terror is mostly in the mind of the beholder, and driven by empty stomach and desire to see family, the BANDH will start to unravell on Monday. So on Tuesday the MaoBadBoyz will do something, in their twisted eyes, spectacular - set a fire to some intrepid bus, with people inside, just to make statement, just to show how incompetent HMG is.
Just like tonight on the ever-so condescending and Palace-hating KANTIPUR TV the usual suspects: the self-appointed, foreign-financed guardians of Human Rights with straight face postulated and fumigated that it was the Home (Police) Minister, the able Kamal THAPA who through his INTRANSIGENCE has somehow provoked the MaoBadBoyz into attacking and bruning down Tansen!
So I made my preparations - I have hoarded all of 5 l petrol and will start cruising on my BULLET on empty roads tomorrow: no dust and smoke, no TATA buses trying to kill me, wellm maybe MaoBadboyz! Best days for cruising are BANDH days! And they can shoot me, J have lived long enough, and who knows, I might show some hope, and courage to frightened Nepalis!
Jai Nepal!

This is the secret: Foreign remittances!

One of the reasons HMG is is immune to pleading of its donors, the EU and various foreign do-gooders is the million plus Nepalis in Malaysia and Gulf. That might be the BEST development of the sad, slow and bloody civil War: to wean the nepali-elites, especially the NGO and TOYOTA Talibans off the foreign-aid tit! You want a TOYOTA: work hard and buy one!
Nepal is a poor country, but Nepalis are rich.


As Nepal economy weakens, one export grows: peopleKATHMANDU: With Nepal?s finances in shambles due to a deadly Maoist revolt and mounting political turmoil, the country has found a new export - its people - to help keep its economy going.
About 1.2mn Nepalis are estimated to live abroad, and that does not include uncounted millions in India.
Last year they sent back $1.1bn - up 17% from the previous year - an amount that accounted for 12% of Nepal?s gross domestic product (GDP), according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
?People can?t stay in their villages because of the political situation and the Maoists,? said Narendra Raj Shreshtha of the Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies.
?All the young people are going abroad and mostly old people are left in towns outside Kathmandu.?
More than 180,000 people left Nepal last year for work abroad, government figures show, four times the number who left five years ago.
The Maoist insurgency that began a decade ago and political upheaval aggravated by King Gyanendra?s seizure of absolute power last year have pushed increasing numbers of Nepalis to seek better lives elsewhere.
Economists say it is the money these Nepalis send back for relatives that has been vital for the desperately poor Himalayan nation?s economy even as the Maoist conflict and political instability have escalated.
?This is the flip side of insurgency, as unfortunate as it is, that overseas remittances are increasing,? said Sultan Hafeez Rahman, ADB director for Nepal.
?Remittances are one of the great equalisers in otherwise inequitable economies. People who go abroad are randomly and evenly distributed from across the country,? and the money they send home is evenly spread, he said.
King Gyanendra dismissed the government on February 1, 2005, promising to end the Maoist revolt that has claimed over 12,000 lives.
But with continuing rebel attacks, protests and government crackdowns on dissent, peace looks far off and the number of Nepalis leaving the country of 26mn nestled between India and China is only expected to grow.
While worker remittances have been a boon for the country where 31% of the population live below the poverty line, the money sent home cannot match the conflict-related loss.
?Remittances have helped but they cannot offset the decrease in investment in infrastructure, education and health,? said the ADB?s Rahman.
In the 1990s, annual economic growth averaged a healthy 4.9% but this figure dropped to an average of 1.9% between 2002 and 2004, according to the ADB.
Tourism, which was the kingdom?s economic lifeblood, has also slowed sharply. It contributed around 4% to GDP in the 1990s but in the last financial year to July 2005 kicked in just 2%.
Arrivals by air, which peaked at half a million in 1999, numbered about 270,000 last year, government figures show.
?If there wasn?t a conflict, tourism wouldn?t have been as hard hit. Nepal has major potential in tourism but none of this investment has taken place for 10 years now,? said Rahman.
The money earned from tourism was just $143mn in the fiscal year that ended in July 2005, down from $246mn a year earlier, according to the ADB.
?There is hardly 25 to 30% hotel occupancy,? said Narendra Bajracharya, head of the Hotel Association of Nepal.
Adding to the economic woes is the disruption caused by Maoist roadblocks outside the capital, government curfews and party-led strikes. These have made it difficult for businesses to operate normally, let alone grow.
?Transportation costs will jump. Industries have already cut down production - they can?t compete, they can?t supply,? said Badri Prasad Ojha, director general of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
Furthermore, after the king?s takeover, some international donors and lenders curtailed aid. The World Bank suspended a $70mn credit to Nepal, saying it would need to see how the government implemented development spending and economic reforms.
Development spending, a large part of which comes from donor aid, has fallen by a third since 2001.
?In the case of government-to-government assistance, when local government is dysfunctional, it?s difficult to get the money to the community,? said Minty Pande, country director of the development organisation Plan, which like other international NGOs with local networks has continued its projects.
?Now is not the time to leave Nepal,? said Pande. ?Now is the time to give assistance, but give it as directly as possible.? - AFP

One year after.

HM Gyanendra summed up his achievements in a low-key, patriotic address this morning on Nepali TV stations. He claimed, I think with merit, that the country is better then a year ago. He asked the people to participate in the forthcoming municpal elections:

FULL TEXT OF THE PROCLAMATION TO THE NATION FROM HIS MAJESTY KING GYANENDRA BIR BIKRAM SHAH DEV

Beloved Countrymen,

1. It is now a year since the decision was taken to restore law and order and activate the multiparty democratic polity in the country in keeping with the nation's needs and the people's aspirations. Arresting a situation that was slipping into anarchy and reactivating a stalled democratic process has not been easy. Yet, given the commitment of our patriotic countrymen, all the Nepalese people have experienced the nation grow in confidence and the self-respect of the Nepalese people restored within a short span of one year, with the cloud of pessimism dissipating. We are confident that, remaining alert to the sensitivities of the self-respecting Nepalese people and our glorious ever independent history, we will be able to ensure for the nation peace, stability and prosperity within the next one year through mutual understanding and with patriotism as the focal point. We believe that a road-map to sustainable peace and reenergising a meaningful democracy are two sides of the same coin. We are confident that a road-map of consensus will forever end all possibilities of resurgence of violence and terrorism in our motherland, which will otherwise put at risk the universally acclaimed multiparty democracy and hurt the self-respect of Nepal and the Nepalese people. Guided by a national perspective that upholds our political, administrative and civic traditions, we are confident that by April 2007, all popularly elected bodies will be active in ensuring a bright future for the Nepalese people through a dedicated exercise in democracy so as to create a welfare society. 2. The nefarious designs to portray Nepal as a failed state a year back has now begun to unravel with acts of terrorism being limited to petty crimes. The elected government not only dissolved the popularly elected village, municipal and district bodies but also at the national level. The process of activating multiparty democracy and Constitutional Monarchy has now begun with the people exercising their franchise to reinstate these bodies for which the elected government had failed to conduct elections in spite of being given repeated opportunities. The people are determined to ensure the success of the municipal elections currently underway. In fact, the freedom to exercise one's vote through adult franchise forms the democratic basis for a honourable national consensus. Democracy flourishes only through the enfranchisement of the people and democrats are never losers when democracy is upheld. Therefore, the first and foremost preconditions for consolidating democracy are to gain the support of the people through the ballot and respect their mandate. In keeping with these universally accepted democratic principles, the process to reinstate all the elected bodies through free and fair elections has been initiated. We are confident of the active participation of all democrats who have faith in the people's democratic rights. Democratic norm dictates that, while upholding the people's rights, their confidence can be won only through participation in the democratic process. Beloved countrymen, 3. With efforts to initiate a meaningful exercise in democracy in keeping with the accepted norms, measures are also underway to improve public service utilities for the benefit of the people. As the bureaucracy has been freed of political pressures and discipline instilled among them, criminal activities under political patronage is now under control. The ongoing fiscal and administrative reforms will be implemented in a more effective manner. Rule of law alone will ensure good governance. As long as corruption, which has proved to be a parasite to our society, is allowed to spread its tentacles, a system of governance as aspired by the people cannot be ensured. More effective measures will be adopted to realise the commitment to maintain fiscal discipline. The concept of Land Bank will be effectively implemented to make available land to the landless, agricultural tenants and freed bonded labourers. Internal and external investments will be mobilised to accelerate the pace of economic development, increase employment opportunities, improve transport infrastructure and attain self-sufficiency in the energy sector through optimum utilisation of water resources. An effective integrated policy must be adopted to initiate development activities that have direct impact on the people. A conducive environment exists to utilise the opportunities created by information technology in the economic development of the country. Likewise, the role of the service sector is also increasing in importance. In this context, special programmes will be introduced to create opportunities of self-employment within the country for talented youths. Measures will also be adopted to train those youths going abroad for employment so that their skills and abilities are duly recognised. 4. The Nepalese are well aware of the fact that character without any moral foundation, politics indifferent to national pride and a form of governance bereft of the people's confidence will neither benefit the nation nor the people. They also know that politics will not have the strength to inspire the people and overcome challenges if it is tainted. It is our belief that multiparty democracy cannot be made meaningful in the absence of significant popular participation in governance, effective decentralisation of authority in the village, municipal, district, zonal and regional levels and maximum autonomy to elected local bodies in the formulation and implementation of development projects. 5. Democracy can be adopted into our way of life only if we are prepared to have faith in the people's abilities and the elected representatives. To achieve this, guidelines will be formulated in a transparent manner through collective wisdom and reflections based on experiences and aspirations. Appropriate measures will also be initiated to convincingly address, in the greater good of the nation, grievances regarding indigenous people as well as discrimination relating to regional and other issues. Contributing to efforts aimed at the general welfare of the people alone can ensure the collective well-being of the Nepalese. The nation can be freed from the clutches of poverty and made prosperous only through the collective participation of all. We are confident that all Nepalese, conscious of their national pride, will make significant contributions from their respective places towards the success of the pro-development strategies currently being implemented. While history will be the sole judge of an individual or a generation, it should be our endeavour to ensure that the present generation of Nepalese is given due credit.

Beloved Countrymen, 6. Nepal's foreign policy is now clear and stable. Our foreign policy and relations are solely guided by how best to serve and protect our national interest in a rapidly changing world. This has restored Nepal's prestige and credibility in the international arena. Nepal desires friendship with all and is always ready to cooperate for mutual benefit. Nepal has malice towards none and is ever alert in ensuring that her territory is not used against any friendly country. Nepal is ever ready to have mutually beneficial fruitful relations with both her neighbours. This policy remains unchanged. To act as a catalyst in enhancing economic ties between her two neighbours, Nepal is preparing to be the transit point between them. Nepal's role as a transit point will contribute to the welfare of Nepal, India, China and the region as a whole. 7. Nepal has unflinching faith in and is totally committed to the principles of human rights. It is in this spirit that our country has adopted the policy of institutionalising the promotion and protection of human rights and rectifying its shortcomings. It is not easy for a country combating terrorism to strike a balance between the compulsions of national security and upholding the rights of the citizens - this is a reality faced by all democratic countries afflicted with the scourge of terrorism. But it is our strong belief that the people must be allowed to exercise their democratic rights in a peaceful manner, with due consideration to national security. 8. The Nepalese people desire for sustainable peace. This was clearly spelt out to us when we had direct contacts with our beloved people during our recent visits to various parts of the Kingdom. The vigilant Nepalese have well understood the conspiracy to foment further acts of terrorism in the name of momentary cessation of violence. If those who have gone astray wish to rejoin the mainstream of peace and creativity, democracy and coordination, and if they wish to dedicate themselves in the service of the people through the ballot, abjuring their murderous acts against the nation and people, we make it clear that they will be given the security and opportunity necessary to shoulder the responsibilities of governance in their capacity as the people's representatives, having won the people's confidence through the universally accepted democratic exercise. The people can be won over only through peaceful political and constructive activities. Activities like disrupting peace, encouraging discord and creating hurdles on the road to rapprochement in the name of democracy will benefit none. Let us, therefore, unite, with patriotism as the focal point, in dedicating ourselves to the people's welfare and initiating a new chapter in the exercise in meaningful democracy. We wish to emphasise that all differences can be resolved within the framework of the Nepalese patriotic tradition in keeping with the Nepalese psyche, which has never had to put up with subjugation throughout history. Beloved Countrymen, 9. We have always, single-mindedly and with determination, strived to fulfil our beloved people's aspirations in the greater interest of the motherland. We have no desire other than the Nepalese people's welfare and the responsibility towards Nepal's glorious history. While utilising the indestructible synergy constantly spouting from the fountain head of patriotism, it will be in the interest of the nation to uphold, with utmost dedication, the glorious history of the Kingdom of Nepal. The success of this alone will keep the nation secure and ensure a meaningful democracy for the people. 10. A clear decision was made for the country last year. Today, let us, once again, pledge to achieve this national goal. The Nepalese are determined to see a peaceful, prosperous and democratic Nepal in tune with the 21st century. The essence of Nepal's glorious history is the fact that the Nepalese people themselves determine Nepal's national agenda in the interest of the country and their own. 11. Patriotism is the only means of creating a democratic society. We, therefore, call upon all Nepalese to consign mutual recrimination to the bitter past and build a secure and prosperous future for the nation and people, while upholding democratic norms.
May Lord Pashupatinath bless us all!
Jaya Nepal!