Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Kathmandu: The King appears to have become serious upon analyzing the state of the political health of the country that is surely deteriorating by every day.

The King has to be serious as the ultimate guardian of the State because the country has already headed for a "confrontation" presumably of the highest order, which not only bodes ill for the entire nation but will also have its wider political ramifications which have got to be arrested soon.

And who else can check this deteriorating trend other than the monarch himself?

High placed sources say that the King has acquired a two-pronged policy to deal with the impending situation, which possesses both, carrot and stick.

He has the stick or has been forced to use the threat of the stick only in order to avert any untoward event that might erupt if the April first week movement sponsored by the agitating political parties gets out of their hands and created a havoc in the country's domestic scene. The stick has presumably been thought to have been brought into use to save the country from going on the rampage. All the organs of the security have been put already on high alert to deal with the eventualities. The King is learnt to have provided instructions to the chiefs of the security agencies while being in Pokhara.

Concurrently, the King has carrot in his hands as well. This carrot is likely to ease the situation for the better, politically speaking.

Informed sources hint that the King might extend a formal invitation to the agitating seven in order to have, as have been put by the sources, a "meaningful" and a "composite" dialogue with the parties now planning to go to the streets.

Sources claim that such an invitation might come to the door steps of the leaders of the agitating seven much ahead of their planned agitation that is scheduled for April first week.

That the King has become grave considering the state of the affairs of the country got reflected from what the Speaker of the now dissolved lower house of the representatives, Tara Nath Ranabhat, said the other day.

Prior to his departure to Colombo, Ranabhat said the media men that he found the King to be mulling over the country's situation with a cool mind. The Speaker also hinted that the King was all prepared to take measures in order to satisfy the ego of the agitating seven and whatever the King will do he would do so without jeopardizing peace and the system now in place.

No wonder that the King is suddenly in Kathmandu for a while. His brief stay in the capital might bring some good news for the agitating political parties and if he initiates certain measures that ease the tensed atmosphere would be a welcome move.

If he does so or takes any such moves toward easing the boiling politics of the country would also benefit the monarch for his critics near and far would have to reconsider in their preconceived notion that the King was adamant.

Analysts at this newspaper presume that certain forces on earth prefer that a sort of confusion and distrust always prevailed in between the King and the leaders so that they can extract political gains out of this continuing conflict. It is these extraneous forces that have been clapping the Delhi sponsored Maoists-party tie up to continue with full vigor in order to bend the King but do not want the constitutional forces to come together. Here lay the problem, which in effect has been causing delay in the King's coming closer to the agitating parties and vice versa.

In this regard, if the King, as the guardian of the nation-state himself takes certain decisions and invites the political parties for charting out the future political course of Nepal, those forces inimical to Nepal will fall flat. This is for sure.

In such an eventuality not only the forces will get exposed to the hilt but would also bring the Nepalese together and this what presumably the political parties and the King want from their inner heart.

Koirala hints he can't defend the 12 point accord for long

Kathmandu: He has a habit of visiting his hometown whenever he feels that Katmandu's jumbled politics will not allow him to think of the country's political affairs in a cool manner.

He visits Biratnagar every now and then. Analysts say that Koirala's leaving Kathmandu for his hometown carries meaning every time.

His departure statement that he usually makes prior to leaving his hometown is loaded with meaning and analysts are provided with a chance to go deep into what he says in Biratnagar.

This time also Nepali Congress President Girija Prasad Koirala has spoken of politics more so of the 12 point understanding arrived at recently with the Maoists rebels in Delhi.

He has made two things clear through his Biratnagar statement.

Firstly, Koirala says that the 12-point agreement with the Maoists was the real and the correct roadmap for the country and he would stick to the accord come what may.

This means two things. First, his consideration is that the said accord with the Maoists will ultimately result in bringing the Maoists to the competitive politics and that the moment the rebels were in the countries' mainstream politics every thing would be in place as before. This also speaks of Koirala's confidence on the Maoists. However, what the Maoists think of Koirala is yet not made known. Secondly, Koirala's hope is that if this accord were implemented in ints etire totality, the King would automatically find no other option than to yield to the pressure of the Maoists-Party tie up.

The second point which Koirala has made it clear through his Biratnagar statement is that he still suspects the very intentions of the Maoists that they would abide by the accord so beamingly signed in Delhi last November.

Koirala, indeed a seasoned leader of the country who by now has already become a legendary political personality, expression does reveal that he is pained internally to see the Maoists not sticking to the rules of the game.

Koirala's inner pain is, as much is visible from his expression made in his hometown, that it was becoming more and more difficult for him to shield the said 12 point agreement given the continuing violence, loot, murder and acts of abductions and extortion by the Maoists even after the signing of the MoU with the rebels.

This tells that Koirala on the one hand wants to use the Maoists stick to threaten the King, then on the other, he also concurrently feels that if things went wrong with the accord the Maoists could well ditch him for their political gains.

This means that he is lingering in between a frying pan and a fire.

The fact is that other political parties, such as the UML, too is feeling the brunt of the Maoists continuing violence.

On Monday afternoon, one prominent leader of the UML, Amrit Kumar Bohra, too sounded the same feelings much similar to Koirala's considerations regarding the deflection noticed in the Maoists words and deeds.

Bohra lamented that the rebels who by now should have abandoned violence have been found till today engaged in killings, extortions and abductions.

Bohora's contention presumably has been that with such practices remaining intact, it would be very hard for them to defend the finer points contained in the 12 point agreement.

But then yet, the UML leader vowed to stick to the letter and spirit of the said Delhi accord with the Maoists come what may.

Analysts say that the continuation of the acts of violence from the Maoists quarters even after the Delhi pact does suggest two things: firstly, even if the top-hats of the Maoists leadership favored the true implementation of the 12 point accord, some influential men in the party might have not digested the content of the said accord and hence the continuation of the acts of violence and terror. Secondly, it does provide an indication that not all was well inside the Maoists camp. Some political pundits even predict that some high-ranking party men in the rebel camp differing with the spirit and the content of the accord could have managed the continuation of the violent acts only to malign the accord as a mark of their discord with the accord.

Should this mean that Prachanda's line of thinking now differs with his own party men? Or is it that the junior cadres of the Maoists were no more in the grips of the party's high command?

Does this mean that the party of the rebels is undergoing through a difficult time more so after the expulsion of Rabindra Shrestha and Mani Thapa?

Rabindra Shrestha is on record to have recently told the Nepali media that a majority of the Maoists cadres object Prachanda's recent saying that he would abide even by the verdict of the people made at time of the constituent assembly elections if it went in favor of an active monarchy.

Albeit, according to Rabindra, this constituted the silent majority in the party.

All put together, the rebel politics too appears to be in a mood to take a new turn. Whether it would take a positive turn or just the other way round only time will tell.

It appears that a sort rift exists now in between the top rank leaders and the junior cadres on matters regarding the 12-point accord with the constitutional forces.

How the party of the rebels will tackle the inner dissenting voices will have to be watched.

Promotion of Nepal-ROK bilateral ties to be accorded 'top priority'

-H.E. Mr Sang-Jung Nam, Ambassador of ROK in Nepal

Kathmandu: "With several dimensions to my job as Ambassador to Nepal, however, I will be attaching greater significance and weight mainly on three key areas, for example, such as political; economic and cultural".

This is what the freshly accredited Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the Nepali Court, Mr. Sang-Jung Nam, has said during a short tête-à-tête with this weekly newspaper last week.

Elaborating his inner yearning to promote and enhance his country's bilateral ties with Nepal, Ambassador Nam said that his main thrust would be to let the people and the government of the host country know about the agenda of his government that she has charted for a peaceful reunification of the two Korea and for the prevalence of a sort of permanent peace in the Korean peninsula.

"I will make an humble effort to get sympathetic support for our initiatives regarding the national unification and a host of global matters", added Ambassador Nam.

This included getting support from the Nepali establishment for Korea's initiatives taken as regards the United Nations. Reforms as underlined in a speech by President Roh last year at the UN Assembly.

"We need a peaceful unification with the North that should be based on "ensuring stability" in the peninsula and for that we want friendly countries to extend their support which would encourage us to move ahead in that regard", continued the Ambassador.

He urges other countries including Nepal to encourage the North as well so that a peaceful reunification could be achieved.

"Good advices and suggestions from the global community would be a welcome move that will provide both the countries some sort of encouragement", opined the Ambassador.

The second agenda during my stay here would be to expand economic and the already existing commercial ties with this country.

AS regards the enhancement of Nepal-ROK cultural ties, Ambassador Nam hopes that he would be able to depict to portray the "right" image of the Korean culture by organizing various cultural events in Nepal.

The first one, according to him, will begin this July as a cultural team is all prepared to come to Kathmandu.

Promotion of cultural exchanges in between the two countries will be given priority, explains the ROK envoy.

Asked about his future plans to assist this Himalayan Kingdom in her developmental efforts, the ROK Ambassador Sang-jung Nam says that his country has been providing assistances to Nepal through the channel of Korea International Cooperation Agency, KOICA. He, however, added that he would find new areas of cooperation for development being in contact with the government and the people of Nepal.

"We can provide soft loans or at times even grants to Nepal through our own channel that is KOICA", explains the Ambassador.

Moving again on the business sector, the Ambassador says that his country was ready to provide assistance to business people in order to facilitate them to manage contacts with the Korean business enterprises in the sectors such as, for example, Information and Technology and the likes.

According to the Korean diplomat, he would be more than willing to promote investment in the IT sector and for that the needed and adequate technical know-how and expertise will be made available to the people here.

"Indeed, promotion of bilateral ties at the government to government level will be accorded a top priority", concluded Ambassador Sang-Jung Nam.

UML leader's extended detention is a mystery

Kathmandu: The UML leader, Madhav Kumar Nepal, has been recently awarded yet another three-month long extension to his detention.

As if Madhav Nepal were a cause of serious security concern for the state even if he were kept already under house-arrest since long, the security agencies last week shifted him to Kakani presumably considering that Madhav's stay in Kathmandu might add fuel to the fire during the seven party sponsored movement that is to begin next week.

Why Madhv Nepal has been singled out by the government when most of his preciously detained colleagues have been freed? This is a question that has been boggling the minds of Kathmandu intellectuals.

Has the UML leader become so dangerous for the state that the latter found it suitable and logical to keep him in custody and that too in a far-flung area that is not in the vicinity of the Kathmandu valley?

Intellectuals await appropriate answers from the government or else they would consider that the state authorities were in a mood to take a sort of revenge for a fault that the people don't know but would like very much to understand.

With President Koirala who is also the commander of the seven party alliances that is all set to come to the streets next week and the UML supremo under custody, one is bound to think as to how the rest of the less experienced leaders could steer the activities of the impending movement?

But then the fact is rather different.

Some high level political analysts presume that since Madhav Nepal had been acting as the main architect for a "broader Left coalition" that would later at an appropriate time chart the map of a republican state in Nepal and hence the state actions on him.

However, the presumption of the analysts is yet to be substantiated. Nevertheless, the broad left coalition included the Maoists as well, say the same sources.

Yet another set of political pundits claim that the State might have got irritated from his "increasing" friendly ties with the Indian influential leaders more so with the India's radical communists who at the moment partner the present Indian regime under Dr. Man Mohan Singh. Rumors galore indeed. At times wild rumors as well.

Though many rumors and speculations revolve round Madhav Nepal's extended detention, however, what is for sure is that the talk of the formation of a broader Left alliance in the future had become a talk of the town immediately after Bam Dev Gautam presumably signed a separate deal with the Maoists some three months back wherein it was presumed that the UML and the Maoists have agreed to form such an alliance. To recall, Bam Dev Gautam is still in Delhi for a variety of political reasons.

However, this rumor is still a rumor and will continue to be a rumor only till some authoritative communist personality clarifies the nitty-gritty's behind the circulation of such a rumor.

The UML alleges that the government out of fear extended their leaders' detention period. The government says the UML leader had been spreading false remarks against the government and making the people to agitate.

What is the fact behind his extended detention is not clear. Surely the government knows but makes rounded statements only.

Israeli Film fest begins

Kathmandu: Kathmanduites for the first time got an opportunity to watch the tradition and the culture and the lifestyles of the Jewish community through the movies.

On the inaugural day of the First Israeli Film Festival, March 26, the Israel embassy in Nepal screened

a film entitled Desperado Square which mainly featured the dream of a boy, Nissim, who upon his late father's personal request takes initiatives to break a 25 year old vow and reopen the neighborhood's cinema.

Nissim's determination to comply by his late dad's call uncovers many a family secrets and finally reunites love. The film basically portrays life style of the Shepherd Community in Tel Aviv that some believe existed both in myth and memory.

The film has bagged five academy awards, says a press note issued by the embassy here.

Welcoming the guests prior to the screening of the film, the Israeli Ambassador, Dan Stav, highlighted the current trends seen in the Israeli cinema.

According to the Ambassador, his country's cinema industry were heavily under the influence of both the Hollywood and Bollywood.

No wonder that the film begins with the Indian song, which amply explains how much Israeli movie directors were influenced by the Indian movies and songs.

Koirala advised to take rest

Kathmandu: The NC President, Girija Prasad Koirala, has suddenly become sick.

To recall, Koirala has some problems with Asthma and Chest pain.

Family sources said that Monday afternoon he complained of a chest pain that was a severe one.

Doctors attending on President Koirala have said that he could be treated well in his residence and there was no need to admit him in the hospital.

Physicians have advised Koirala not to smoke and remain free from mental tensions. They have also suggested him not to engage himself in energy consuming activities.

We at the Telegraph weekly wish Koirala a fast and early recovery.

ENBREF

India SSB chief defends Nepalese Maoists

Kathmandu: At a time when Maoists rebels in Nepal and India have increased their onslaught against the government forces and are suspected of joining hands which each other, the Director General of Sashastra Seema Bal, India Tilak Kak talking to media personnel said that, there was no concrete proof of Maoists from Nepal joining hands with the Indian Maoists.

The SSB chief on the eve of 43rd anniversary of SSB said, “Even they have ideological similarities but we don't have any proof that they are joining hands or launching offensive together in anywhere.”

Maoist discriminate Dalits and indigenous: UN report

Kathmandu: The majority of the Dalit and indigenous communities have been victimized in the ongoing conflict and deprived of their fundamental rights under the centuries-old caste system in Nepal, a UN Human Rights official said.

Referring to a survey report published by the Centre for Human Rights and Global Justice at New York University School of Law in 2005, Ian Martin, representative of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal, said the report notes that while Maoists root for political empowerment of Dalits as a central tenet of their agenda, "Dalits and indigenous civilians also face discrimination and egregious abuse at the hands of Maoists themselves.”

Continuously deteriorating Press situation

Kathmandu: International media rights groups last week condemned the increasing restrictions on the Nepalese media and a crackdown on critics of the Nepal government.

Press freedom has “significantly deteriorated” in Nepal since King Gyanendra seized absolute power last year, representatives of 12 international media organisations said at the end of a week-long visit to Nepal. “The continuing military and civil authorities’ harassment, attacks and detention of media professionals, and the seizure of equipment ... is having a devastating effect on independent media,” said a departure statement from the group.

60M$ WB grant for higher education

Kathmandu: The World Bank has agreed to provide 60M$ for the Second Higher Education Project 2006organized by the University Grants' Commission (UGC), a senior government official said. According to the UGC, of the total 60 million dollars, around 40 million dollars will be spent as reform grants and research funding sub-components, 4 million dollars will be used for Students' Financial Assistance, 13 million dollars for higher secondary education and 3 million dollars for a Strengthening Systemic Capacity that is to start this year.

The WB-Nepal, Chief Ken Ohasi, while talking in a program last week also said that the WB may lend about $100 million every year starting from 2006 to 2008, which is likely to be linked with reforms in sectors like higher education, poverty alleviation, irrigation, agriculture, HIV/ AIDS, community electrification, infrastructure and social sector operation.

NRs. 9.6 billion loss through smuggling

Kathmandu: A mushrooming trans-border operation is costing Nepal billions, the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry's anti-corruption project data revealed.