Wednesday, January 11, 2006

Kathmandu: How the Nepali establishment took the out and out erratic utterances of the incumbent Indian Ambassador, Shiv Shankar Mukherjee, made on January 8 evening through a local television network against the Nepali monarchy is not yet clear, however, analysts at this newspaper and some political scientists who possess pretty good and sound knowledge of International relations and its conduct between nations say that what the Indian diplomat ventilated that evening was not only disgraceful but a definite case wherein an envoy of a very friendly country "exceeded" his diplomatic limits and functions.

The Indian diplomat did not hesitate in indicating through the Idiot Box that the Nepali establishment including the Nepali monarchy must drink quickly what prescriptions he was providing for the Nepali ailments or else his country (implied) would do the needful to penalize all those who differed with his "modus operandi".

Look the pinnacle: "The King's roadmap is incorrect", is what he says bluntly whereby he directly tells the monarch that he should have instead followed a roadmap sent by New Delhi.

How come a simple foreign ministry official can dare to make such observations on a personality who is the Head of the State of a sovereign country, never colonized in the first place, in front of whom he has presented his diplomatic credentials and has been allowed to accomplish his duties? He provided an impression to his views that he have had some sort of anger towards the Nepali monarch.

By dismissing the King's roadmap summarily- good or bad whatever it is- Ambassador Mukherjee has dared to intercede in a matter that is not of his concern.

Nevertheless, if King's roadmap pinched him or his country, then there were several other diplomatic ways left to ventilate his "inner" feelings. But instead he chose to speak straight in a manner that must be considered as "unacceptable" and "unwarranted" by any standard of the conduct between nations.

This is not all; he further says, " King can't be a political player".

This means that Ambassador Mukherjee sees the King as a political player and reminds the King that let politics come under the jurisdiction of the political parties. This the King knows well and needs no advice from such a junior level diplomat considering the height of the Head of the State.

Agreed. A constitutional monarch must not play politics as per the constitution. But will Ambassador Mukherjee stop playing politics while being in Nepal, which is what he has been "openly" doing? If a foreigner like him possess the right (or even forcibly prefers to intervene in Nepal's politics as a self-proclaimed arbiter) to play nasty politics in this country, then why King Gyanendra as the Head of the State of this "independent" nation and more so as a "guardian" of this Himalayan Kingdom should not play politics to make the things normal here?

Why is the nuisance? Is it that King Gyanendra like his late brother King Birendra now differs with Indian dictates on Nepal's exclusive issues? Could be that.

Nepal's democratic minded intellectuals including those in the agitation possess the right to make comments of their Nepali King. But this right is not "held in reserve" for foreigners like Indian Ambassador, Shiv Shankar Mukherjee simply because he represents a country called India which is Nepal's traditional friend.

Analysts at the Telegraph suggest the Indian envoy to watch the TV clip again and again and come out with a clear mind and say whether he has exceeded his diplomatic functions or not?

Look at how forcibly the Indian diplomat derides at the King when he says emphatically, "What we do not agree (stress added) with is a monarchy that is a political player that is competing for political power with the political parties".

The King is on record to have said time and again that he will "reign" not rule. More so the King has repeatedly made it clear that within three years time, he will handover the charge of politics to those who should have it in a multi-party system.

Is this not enough to soothe the Indian diplomat's concern?

Question is why India is so distressed with the King's political overtures in his own country ? What made the Indian envoy so panicky all of a sudden that he preferred to lose his temper?

Is it the inferiority complex that India has suddenly developed specially after China, an equally trusted and tested friend of Nepal, came to the rescue of her smaller neighbor?

Is this the China factor that has irked the Indian brains?

Perhaps yes! Which becomes clear from Ambassador Mukherjee's crying plea to the Chinese authorities wherein he hopes " China will not add to the problems by putting arms in the hands of the security forces".

The crux of the Indian hatred of Nepal lay here.

It is China coming to assist Nepal and that too with required weapons that have perturbed the Indian minds in Delhi and hence FS Saran's sudden dash to Nepal last moth. Clearly, the China assistance to Nepal appears to have shaken the earth in the South Block power corridors.

India as a matter of fact does not want Nepal going out of her hands. India wants Nepal to be obliged to listen to the Indian sermons and gospels and gulp it without making any comments.

Finally, a piece of modest suggestion in all humbleness to the Indian diplomat from Nepali analysts: we have respect for you as long as you respect us. If you want Nepali honor for all time to come, reciprocate the same to the Nepali people. We can mend our differences provided the prescriptions are attached with no strings. If you are a true diplomat, try to learn from your own predecessor, Ambassador K.V.Rajan who never hurt the Nepali sentiments during his extended five years tenure in Kathmandu.

Will Ambassador Mukherjee tell the analysts as to how the Indian population will behave with any foreigner who derides at their President right being in New Delhi through Door Darshan or for that matter the ZEE TV? Will Mukherjee tolerate such an eventuality? Perhaps not and he should not!

Politics revolving in the periphery of elections; frightening days ahead

Kathmandu: Nepal's politics continues to be heading for worse.

As the dates for the announced municipal elections approach, the opposition now housed in the seven party alliances appear more interested in disturbing the elections by any means in order to provide an impression to the democratic world that they have been doing what a true democrat should do even it meant just the otherwise in the eyes of many here and there.

What is intriguing is that why the widely acclaimed democratic world situated in the West not coming with their clear perception on the happening of the elections?

The delay seen in their utterances either in favor of the election or in opposition to that does tell amply that the West sides apparently with those who have vowed to oppose the elections. This is the fact and the Nepali people will have to live with this hard fact.

But why is this stance? Is it that king Gyanendra and his establishment has announced these elections? Is this reason sufficient to reject the elections tooth and nail as announced by the agitating lot plus the Maoists?

After all King Gyanendra is not going to be elected. Whosoever comes with flying colors are primarily a Nepali citizen and not a foreigner having a possibility of changing the political camp for more political gains. This is not unusual in Nepal. It so happens in India and in many a South Asian countries.

If the contention is that the elections might bring those who support the establishment and hence the fear that the King's rule might get legitimacy, why not the political parties sponsor their own candidates even in disguise (and this is what the UML exactly doing to the best of our knowledge) in order to thwart any such design of the establishment? After all, any Nepali citizen is entitled to fight his or her candidacy at time of the elections. So why not use this fundamental rights instead calling bad names for the King and his establishment?

Shying away with the horror of elections will not serve any body's purpose but instead could facilitate further alienation with the already alienated people.

As the schedule, after the conclusion of the municipal elections, the King is all set to go in for the parliamentary polls. The day a full fledged parliament comes into existence, the King will have no choice other than to handover whatever executive powers he has at the moment to the new parliament and the minute the parliament comes into action a new elected government will appear in Singh Durbar thereby curtailing the rights of the monarch. It is at this stage the King will automatically be transformed to a constitutional monarch which is what he is and should be in a multi-party system.

Some say that the shying away with the impending elections by the political parties could be the fact they have so far possess the distinction of fighting an election while being only in power. The fear that fighting elections while not in power might be detrimental to the "political health" of the party could be one of the sure shot reasons as to why the agitating conglomerate prefers to avoid the elections.

Now that the Maoists too have vowed to disrupt the elections, the agitating parties have consoled themselves that the outcome of the King sponsored elections will be null and void and the results declared thereafter redundant.

It is in the periphery of the elections-elections will be held, elections will be boycotted and elections will be violently disturbed-that the national politics is revolving.

The net result is expected to be a sort of unprecedented chaos. That the situation will then be a frightening one becomes clear from the fact that both, in favor of the elections and those opposing the elections, have made it a matter of "prestige".

It is this prestige conscience which will push the nation to yet another conflict whose consequences are any body's guess.

The ninth party in agitation, India-let's call it so as per the assertion of Ambassador Mukherjee the other day in a television interview, too has hinted that holding of the elections by the government is under the ambit of suspicion and there was a big "question mark" as to whether it could be held at all?

"Theory wise, the idea of holding of the elections is not that bad, but when the political parties say that they would "actively" boycott the polls, naturally one could question the credibility of the elections"? is what Indian Ambassador says of the elections. In a visible manner in saying so the Indian diplomat is supporting the idea of the agitating parties.

Should this mean that the entire Indian establishment will come to the rescue of the seven party alliances at time of the boycotting of the elections?

If this were so then the dimension of the boycott could well be imagined.

" We support the seven party alliance objectives", is what was said by Ambassador Mukherjee implying that India was already the ninth party in agitation against the monarchy.

All these provide an inkling into the emerging political scenario in the country.

Tighten your belts please. Big brother is coming.

Political significance of King's eastern region trip!

Kathmandu: The UML leader, Madhav Kumar Nepal, and his party men appear more than happy with the fresh understanding that the seven party coalition have signed recently with the insurgents in Delhi.

The UML as a namesake (or a real one?) communist party have ample reasons to rejoice from this understanding that has secretly, as the rumor goes, managed separate arrangements with the Maoists for the formation of a broader left front ostensibly to ditch primarily the congress and the rest of the fringe democratic parties.

The manner Madhav Nepal and his colleagues have been praising the understanding and the Maoists does speak of some tacit understanding that could have been clandestinely reached in between the two communist grouping, the one in the streets and the other in the jungles.

The congress President apparently is pained to learn of such a happening under his nose and thus in the recent days he has begun talking that he is yet to be fully assured of the Maoists' intents.

President Koirala got a jolt when his appeal for further extension of the ceasefire was rejected by the rebels forwarding some pretexts as he expected that the other camp will listen to his fervent appeal.

What pains Koirala most is that the Maoists have vowed to disrupt the polls by all possible, let's presume violent means, which Koirala and his party colleagues would love to dissociate themselves with. Koirala and his party men albeit would want the polls disturbed but not by violent means. But then their understanding reached recently with the Maoists wherein they have agreed to disrupt the polls would mean that Koirala in the eventuality of violent disturbance at time of the elections can't escape the public wrath being branded as "lover of violence" which he and his party is not.

This is his pain and perhaps it is this pain that compelled him to appeal the King that if the polls were doddered side die, he would come to negotiate with the King for the settlement of the current crises.

This means that Koirala and his party would wish that the King wasted no time in postponing the elections and prepare a ground for talks with the agitating parties.

If this is the Koirala thinking which is certainly a moderate one that possess the seeds of "reconciliation" with the monarch, then we have, analysts say, another flamboyant communist leader, Madhab Nepal, who has turned his deaf ears to Koirala's "ilive branch" to the monarch.

Look what he and his party men say of the King: "Now it will be the Tsunami in-the-making against the monarch that will determine the fate of the country. No dialogues were possible at this stage with the monarch. Let the Tsunami decide".

A close analysis at what the UML says of late does hint that it is not Koirala who counts now in the seven party coalitions but Madhav Nepal who appears to have snatched for himself the commandership from Koirala. Its corollary would be that in the scheme of friends from the alien countries aiding the agitation, Koirala has lost his relevancy and that the foreign friends would love to see Madhav Nepal taking up the charge of the agitation against the monarchy.

It is thus surprising to note that the two major partners in the seven party coalition differ on the question of approaching the monarch for reconciliation. While the old man would wish that the King becomes flexible enough, the other comparatively young man would not mind in confronting the King.

After all whose brain is this that Madhav Nepal has been utilizing? Has he been assured of greater political roles by some one near or far?

Should this mean that if some practical maneuvering is done, the two major partners could be dissociated from the conglomerate thus rendering the whole set-up redundant?

Perhaps politics is going that way, analysts presume.

Koirala's non-appearance at the inaugural ceremony of the convention of the NC-D does speak of so many things. Toeing Koirala line, the NMKP and the NSP too boycotted the NC-D convention. Should this mean that Koirala does not consider the NC-D yet a full fledged party?

However, Madhav Nepal and Pasupati Rana were seen attending the NC-D jamboree.

A beaming RPP chairman, P.Rana lambasted at the establishment in a roaring voice for having ventured to split his party. Some commented that he did so deliberately to impress upon the Indian Ambassador who was sitting in the front row at the inaugural session of the said convention. Rana pleaded that his party be taken in good faith by the partners in the coalition and by foreign friends who have a say in Nepali politics.

Be that as it may, analysts at this newspaper say that the King's trip to eastern region is not for nothing. They say that his trip has some political significance. According to strong rumors, the King has already used his own channels with regard to the Maoists. Some even say that as in the past the King could use his aides to be in contact with the Maoists leaders available in that part of the country. As the newspaper reports have it, Military wing commander of the rebels, Ram Bahadur Thapa-Magar has been reported to be in the same area. Who knows what is being cooked up in the eastern zone? Is it a mere conjecture or has some thing underneath?

If the Maoists can be with India, if the Maoists could join hands with the seven political parties who at one point of time branded them as terrorists, isn't' it possible that the rebels could by the same token be friendly with the Palace if the latter offered greater political concessions?

Interpretations may vary but the hard fact is that a political entity of the sort of the Maoists could settle the differences with the Palace if its political wishes were accorded high priority. In war and politics, such eventualities do happen to the utter dismay of some. After all, the rebels know it better that in the given scheme of Nepali politics, the Palace continues to be a strong force that can in no way be dismissed out rightly.

Let's see which turn the politics takes in the coming weeks.

A new RPP-2 in offing; Rana expelled from party

Kathmandu : The party of the erstwhile Panchas is counting its last breath. If the politics of "you kill me, I kill you" continued even for a day more, the party of the former Panchas is sure to split into two halves.

Hardly had the ink dried of RPP Chairman Pasupati Rana taking stringent actions on some of the RPP stalwarts from the party post who differed with Rana's working styles, the freshly expelled ones have forcefully retaliated by expelling their own former boss from the party itself.

One day after the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) expelled ten members from the party’s central working committee, the special convention called by the dissident faction led by Padma Sundar Lawoti expelled party president Pashupati Shumser JB Rana from the party’s top post.

The recently expelled ex- vice-chairman had proposed at the convention to expel Rana from the RPP top post and the meet fortunately or even unfortunately did a job that could have been for the time being postponed.

A real case of tit for tat.

"We have taken this decision to take the party in the path towards democracy," said Lawoti, convener of the special convention and the real arch rival of former RPP Chairman Mr. Rana.

Addressing the gathering of the dissidents, Home Minister, Kamal Thapa said that they called the general convention as the establishment side initiated action against party leaders haphazardly and the party became indecisive in the issue of taking part in the election.

To recall, Rana faction of the RPP endorses the view that elections can't be held unless peace was restored in the country. This view some how or the other came closer to those who oppose election. However, the dissident faction led by Lawoti maintains that the RPP must embrace the elections come what may.

Unless a miracle saved the party from a major catastrophe in the meantime, the split in the RPP is imminent.

Kharel new RSS Chief; resigns from NPI

Kathmandu: Noted journalist of the country, Mr. P.Kharel, has been nominated as the Chairman of the National News Agency by the incumbent government recently.

Mr. Kharel prior to this new assignment had been working in the capacity of the General Secretary of the Nepal Press Institute.

Unsubstantiated reports have it that Mr. Kharel has recently resigned from his NPI post effective this Monday.

Under the convenorship of Mr. Kharel a new Journalists Federation entitled Nepal Rastriya Patrakar Mahasangh has been in operation since a few months or so.

Whether he will continue with that post in the said federation or will facilitate others to take up the charge is not yet clear, sources say.

Telegraph congratulates Mr. Kharel on his new appointment.:

Nepal on top: Press censorship-2005

Kathmandu: A Paris based Reporters Sans Frontiers (RSF), in its annual report released last week declared among 1,006 cases of censorship, Nepal topped the list with more than half cases reported all over the world.

"The big rise was mostly due to the much worsened situation in Nepal, where more than half of all cases worldwide were recorded," the survey said.

The France-based organization said that, “567 cases were recorded and since the state of emergency declared by King Gyanendra on February 1 (2005), the media has been getting a battering".

Government sources, however, refute this allegation and suspect the very credibility of the Frontiers annual report.

European Union to provide 12 M € to settle Nepal conflict

Kathmandu: The European Commission will provide 12 million euros to help settle the conflict and to shore up human rights in the country.

The commission’s financial aid will be split into two parts: 7 million euros for a three-year conflict mitigation project to strengthen Nepal’s national human rights commission and its Supreme Court, and 5 million euros for an international human rights monitoring mission. The latter, to be managed by the U.N. Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights, will rely on more than 100 international and local observers based throughout the country.

European commissioner for external relations, Ms. Benita Ferrero-Waldner, said recently the cycle of escalating violence in Nepal must be broken. “It is essential that we boost human rights and end impunity for those who commit human rights abuses,” she said. (Defense News, EUROPE).

ENBREF:

Nepal on top: Press censorship-2005

Kathmandu: Reporters Sans Frontiers(RSF), in its annual report released last week declared among 1,006 cases of censorship, Nepal topped the list with more than half cases reported all over the world.

"The big rise was mostly due to the much worsened situation in Nepal , where more than half of all cases worldwide were recorded," the survey said.

The France-based organization said that, “567 cases were recorded and since the state of emergency declared by King Gyanendra on February 1 (2005), the media has been getting a battering".

Reports: European Union provides 12 M €

Kathmandu : The European Commission will provide 12 million euros to help settle the conflict and to shore up human rights in the country.

The commission’s financial aid will be split into two parts: 7 million euros for a three-year conflict mitigation project to strengthen Nepal ’s national human rights commission and its Supreme Court, and 5 million euros for an international human rights monitoring mission. The latter, to be managed by the U.N. Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights, will rely on more than 100 international and local observers based throughout the country.

European commissioner for external relations, Ms. Benita Ferrero-Waldner, said the cycle of escalating violence in Nepal must be broken. “It is essential that we boost human rights and end impunity for those who commit human rights abuses,” she said. (Defense News, EUROPE )

Koshi-Lahsa Highway Chinese priority: Ambassador Heping

Kathmandu : China accords high priority to the construction of the proposed Koshi-Lhasa Highway linking Nepal 's eastern zones with China 's Tibet Autonomous Region, Chinese Ambassador to Nepal said last week.

"We have given this highway a high priority," Heping, said at an interaction program organized by the Morang Trade Association. Among the 10 highways that links Nepal with China , this was the most important highway, Sun noted, adding, "However, the Nepali government needed to request the Chinese authorities officially for the construction of the highway."

China was always for the establishment of peace in Nepal and would continue to help developmental activities here, Sun added.

Nepal : Lowering Child Mortality

Kathmandu : News reports quoting a high ranking official in the Nepal government claimed that the country is in the position of achieving the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) on lowering child mortality rate as per international commitment.

Nepal has been successful in lowering the rate to 91 from 172 on 1,000 living births in 1990 and the situation to achieve MDG has been perceived, reporters indicated.

Nepal is now among the seven countries which have been close to achieving the goals of decreasing the mortality rate of children under-five years of age by 2015 and the rate has to lower at 54 per 1,000 by 2015 to achieve the goal.