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Wednesday, February 7, 2007
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INDEPTH ANALYSIS:
Growing chain of discontent
Kathmandu: It has been abundantly proven that Loktantra, a system synonymous to a democracy copied from India, does not guarantee stop in the killings of the innocent souls as and when these souls come out in the streets with certain demands which for them constitute a matter of life and death but for the ruling elites it might be looked upon in a different manner.
If the erstwhile King’s regime killed civilians in the name of taming the agitators housed in the seven party alliances, then, as the fate would have it, the current Loktantrik regime too had to resort to the same methods in taming the Terai revolt which in the process have taken its toll. The number of the Teraians killed during their protests in the eastern belt of the country appears to have exceeded twenty plus. The numbers could increase if things are not handled in a “democratic” manner.
Political theories guiding Loktantra or democracy or give it any name demand resilience and flexibility from the system in place. It also requires compromise in between those claiming to have been the aggrieved ones who forward their just demands and the state at the center.
Unfortunately, what has so far come to the open is that the State wherein the Brahminic/Chettris have their overwhelming influence do not appear in a mood to take the Terai issue in its right perspectives but instead branding the Terai revolt as to have been engineered by certain reactionaries, both from within and without.
Those who do not want to see Terai to calm down have even hurled the allegations onto the heads of the Hindu extremists from neighboring India .
What nexus these rulers, or the would-be rulers, see in the Terai uprising of the reactionaries and those of the Hindu fundamentalists is difficult to understand.
It has been rightly said that “a bad carpenter quarrels with his tools”. Hurling allegations is different but to prove it is an altogether different matter.
The fact is that Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula, a NC leader though but his critics find him more closer to the Maoists for certain unknown political reasons, should be held responsible and made accountable for his inept handling of the Terai sentiments on time that took so many precious lives. Sitaula’s dilly-dallying in taming the Terai unrest through logical means on time has not only added fuel to the fire but also aggravated the situation to such an extent that demands either an apology from the Prime Minister or the deployment of armed forces in the parts where the unrest still continues.
Rumors have it that Prime Minister Koirala’s second address to the nation if some way or the other fails to address the Madhesi issue in real terms (read in their terms and conditions set and forwarded to the government), the deployment of the military will be the single option left under the sleeve of the ruling elites in Kathmandu .
If this does happen in any eventuality, the country will be a back to square-one syndrome which will remind the people, more so the lay men, of the good-old days of the Royal regime.
For the time being, thanks the Terai agitators that they have only demanded the sacking of the Home Minister Sitaula. What if they begin demanding other top hats in the present cabinet? What if they demand the replacement of Koirala even?
Analysts opine that if Sitaula’s sacrifice brings normalcy in the country more so in the Terai then why not give this option a chance? But what is the guarantee that the Terai will calm down with Sitaula’s ouster?
Finally, the revolution waged by the Maoists for well over a decade and plus and the height they have attained over the years have all gone to the dogs. The Terai unrest that is yet to enter its third week, to be honest, has outmaneuvered the entire Maoists gains to which they gleefully claim.
However, the Maoists must be given plus points in that they taught others on how to resort to arms and create terror and panic among the population. The rebels of the bygone era also taught other similar outfits that if they wish to tame the State and want their real issues addressed, they must take up the arms and pocket political benefits.
To be honest, the Maoists through their recent erratic utterances and activities on matters of the cause Terai unrest have loosed their sympathizers. The Terai people now will hardly entertain their dictates.
Here is a flash: Fresh reports say that some Maoists leaders/cadres were injured and even abducted by the men belonging to the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum. The Maoists parliamentarian abducted is learnt to be Chinak Kurmi. He was abducted in Butwal, it is learnt. The tricks that the Maoists used to bring into effect in the past has now become a sore for themselves.
Summing up, analysts suggest the powers-that-be in Kathmandu to remain sympathetic towards the Terai grievances. However, while fulfilling the Terai demands, care must be taken that similar other tribes/communities do not feel that they have been cornered. If it would be so then these cornered hill people too would resort to arms as the people in the Terai did or have been doing now and more so the Maoists did it in the past in order to get their political demands addressed by the State.
The chain of discontent thus would finally disintegrate the nation.
Pakistan desires a peaceful environment in the South Asia Region; respects territorial sovereignty of Nepal
- Sohail Amin, Ambassador of Pakistan in Nepal
Kathmandu: Pakistan believes that without peace and in and around South Asia there can be no lasting stability and sans lasting stability, the goals of economic development will remain in the realm of dreams and that’s why Pakistan considers that it was time when we, the countries of the region, should act individually and collectively as well in order to realize the cherished goals.
This was stated by the Pakistan Ambassador, Sohail Amin, 5 February, 2007 , at a talk program sponsored by the Embassy itself on the topic “Regional Peace and Security in South Asia ”. February 5, to recall, is marked as Kashmir Solidarity day by Pakistan every year.
Addressing the program, Ambassador Sohail Amin also made it abundantly clear that his country enjoyed a pivotal position in being at the cross-roads of three regions of the world e.g. South Asia , Central Asia and West Asia and it is therefore, in his own words, “positioned to leverage this location as a bridgehead for multi-sectoral cooperation between these regions”.
“Over the past six years, despite daunting external and internal challenges, Pakistan has been transformed into a dynamic nation moving rapidly towards the vision of our Founder-a modern, progressive, Islamic and democratic republic”, added the Pakistani dignitary.
According to the Ambassador, Pakistan internally is cruising on the path of economic development and political stability and externally this country is poised to become an anchor of peace and hub of economic and commercial activities.
In the regional context, added the envoy, peaceful co-existence between his country and India would unlock immense opportunities for economic development and social progress for the entire region should there be the early resolution of all the disputes plaguing the Indo-Pak relations.
Elaborating it further the Pakistani envoy went on to say, “ Pakistan desires a peaceful environment in the region. The biggest impediment, however, on the path to lasting peace in South Asia is the Kashmir dispute.
“Its effects are not limited to Pakistan and India but the repercussions are felt in the entire region as well as the world at large”, is how the Ambassador put the Kashmir issue that has been plaguing their bilateral ties with India .
Kashmir issue, as the Pakistan Ambassador records, remains as a stumbling block in the friendly relations between Pakistan and India . He says, the non-resolution of this dispute over Kashmir , has also dampened the prospects of what he calls, “greater intraregional economic and social interface” and laments that such a prolonged situation might have its negative impact upon the betterment of billion plus population of the region.
On a positive note, the Ambassador revealed that his country was at the moment “engaged in a sincere and purposeful dialogue with India and “out of box” thinking to resolve this longstanding dispute”.
The said dispute to get sorted, says the Ambassador, demanded “sincerity, courage and flexibility” on both the sides.
If it does happen, the Ambassador remains hopeful in finding out a solution to the Kashmiri dispute which is acceptable to all the parties in dispute more so the Kashmiri people.
However, he demands apparently from the other side to shun “rigidity and aggression” and prefers its replacement by “accommodation and flexibility”.
Talking on the recent political developments in Nepal , Ambassador Sohail Amin says that his country has welcomes the “Peace Accord” signed between the Government of Nepal and the Maoists on 21 November 2006 .
“We have also welcomed the establishment of interim legislature and the interim constitution and believe that these were significant steps towards bringing about peace, progress and prosperity in Nepal ”, added the Ambassador.
The Pakistani diplomat concluded by saying that “our bilateral relations will always flourish because they are based on the principles of respecting each others “territorial sovereignty” and independence and “non-interference” in internal affairs”.
The concluding remarks of the Pakistani diplomat are, as analysts put it, are loaded with meaning.
Gajurel’s Delhi grand revelation supports Moriarty’s argument
Kathmandu : The country is in an unparalleled political mess.
Terai is yet to calm down. The ruling elites have turned deaf ears to the root causes for the Terai violence and terror which is round the corner even to break down the communal harmony that remained so far intact in all adverse circumstances in the past.
The Maoists have, surprising though it may appear, been adding fuel to the fire and have been indirectly suggesting the government to squash the agitation by the use of force for which they would, if need be, deploy some one thousand plus people’s militia.
The Teraians appear even more encouraged to give “energy” to their agitation if the state goes the way the Maoists have dictated. Hridayesh Tripathi, a NSP leader who just resigned from the cabinet in favor of the Terai movement, Tuesday, warned the government that if the Army is deployed it would disintegrate the country.
In this continued mess, there is one single gentleman from the United States of America , Ambassador James F Moriarty, who appears more concerned over the state of affairs of this state than the Nepalese leaders.
To recall, it was Moriarty who had been sending words of warning to the government to remain ever on the alert and cautious from the clandestine moves being played by the Maoists. Moriarty, if one were to recall, is on record to have said to a select group of media men only recently that he has the information that the rebels had been handing over substandard crummy weapons to the UN monitor team which they bought from the adjoining state of Bihar, India and that he had full proof reports that the Maoists have had some clandestine designs in order to capture the State through the use of force time permitting. Moriarty had also said that the Maoists have not halted recruiting soldiers even after the peace accord with the government in order to exhibit that had considerable strength militarily.
Well after a fortnight or so of Moriarty’s grand revelation made here in Kathmandu vis-à-vis Maoists would-be designs has come to true.
Chandra Prakash Gajurel, a Maoists leader who is considered to be the real mentor of Prachanda on ideological matters declared in Delhi on February 1 that “we have in the mean time increased our military strength from ten thousand to thirty seven thousands. This in itself amounts to a huge accomplishment”.
This bulge in their strength has come, as per the declaration of Gajurel, after signing the peace accord with the government which strictly forbids the recruitment of the soldiers in the respective armies.
The second million dollar point Gajurel beamingly declared in Delhi at a program runs like this.
“Our entrance into the interim legislature and our soft attitude towards India what we have been exhibiting at the moment is only a strategic move initiated by the party in order to declare Nepal a republican state”.
This is not all. Gajurel has further to say this hair-raising story.
“We have accepted the challenge of the election considering that after the elections we will frame a constitution that toed our line of thinking and ideologies. In order to arrest power through the use of “booth capturing” we are soon to announce the formation of a unit called the “people’s volunteers”, the strength of which could well be around one lakh”.
More is yet to come.
The idea is to manage the elections in our party’s favor by any means. In the process, if the opponents capture one election constituency, we will capture some five, is what a beaming Gajurel told a gathering in Delhi .
Does not these all put together support the American Ambassador’s warning that he made some weeks back?
Gajurel, deliberately or otherwise, also indicated that if the “way of peace” did not work in favor of the party, we will instantly bring out our entire militia from the cantonment well within one hour who will be equipped with arms and weaponries.
The hair-raising declarations made in Delhi as it does come from the horse’s mouth, questions are being raised as to whether under the shadow of such horrifying proclamations the impending polls for the Constituent Assembly can be conducted in a free and fair manner? Ambassador Moriarty appears to have said so upon collecting certain reliable reports obtained through his own secret “channels”. Is this channel connected to Delhi which is still in the Nepal “axis”? Perhaps yes! To recall, Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee is on record to have said a visiting Nepali delegation recently that the Maoists must not be brought to the power structure until their entire arms were locked by the UN team.
Questions are also being raised as to how the UN monitoring has been keeping the arms of the rebels? Is the UN doing it in a completely transparent manner? Should not the UN assure the population that the arms were completely under its control and would in no way go the way as Gajurel divulged in New Delhi ?
If the UN fails, and the UN past records have it that it has failed in most cases where it has been involved, and Gajurel proved to be right in what he said in Delhi, will not that particular situation invite chaos and may hem in the country which would definitely be of unmanageable dimension for a country like Nepal.
If things went the Gajurel way, what will be the credibility of the UN body?
The fact is that the Maoists have already got an interim constitution of their liking though certain amendments now are in place. The fact is also that the Maoists have been championing for the need for the formation of a republican front and reports have it that they have already formed a task force which reportedly begun talking to some like-minded fringe red parties. If this materializes the scenario for the liberals would be chaotic given the threat loaded statements made by the Maoists ideologue Gajurel recently in Delhi .
Add to this, what would happen to the country’s already fragile and fluid politics if one fine morning the radicals among the UML political paraphernalia revolt internally and put excessive pressures on the moderates to be a part of the said broader Left Front?
To recall, the UML leader, Madhav Nepal , too has begun talking “why wait for the CA polls, the country could well be declared a republican state right from the closed ramparts of the interim parliament”. His views were instantly subscribed by Amrit Bohra, yet another Madhav’s yes-man while talking to a vernacular weekly. The Maoists were the first ones to voice in favor for this direct option.
All put together, what comes to the force is that the country is slowly but very steadily going to the pocket of the Maoists, either by default or by design.
In such a fluid scenario, Moriarty’s warning in no way could be out rightly dismissed.
He said so because he found the proofs. He warned the Nepali leaders in advance hoping that the leaders will take advantage from his warning.
How the international community based in Kathmandu takes Gajurel’s New Delhi frightening proclamations will have to be watched carefully.
Who is the next home minister?
Kathmandu : With the Terai leaders’ demanding the out right sacking of the Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula, the search for yet another suitable home minister has begun. They have point blank made it known to the establishment that they would come to the talks only when Sitaula resigns.
Insiders in the congress say that to tackle the deteriorating law and order situation in the country created by the inept handling of the state of affairs in the Terai by home minister Sitaula, the nation now needed such a political personality who could not only arrest the grave situation in the Terai but could also let the people in the Terai feel that the new figure would understand the issues raised by their movement.
Dr. Ram Baran Yadav, a Teraian NC leader, is talked to be the one who could handle the situation the moment he is inducted in the cabinet as home minister.
Others say that Gobinda Raj Joshi, Khum Bahadur Khadka and even Arjun Narsingh K.C are in the race for this post.
However, Mr. Joshi and Khadka are considered to be the number one corrupts in the country whose elevation to Sitaula’s post would not only damage the very image of the party but would also send negative signals to the international community.
Dr. Shekhar Koirala, the nephew of Prime Minister Koirala, is also hitting the media headlines and is being considered to be the next home minister.
Dr. Koirala is currently mourning the death of his mother-Nona Koirala.
Enbref:
250,000 children still fighting
A two-day conference co-chaired by French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy and the director general of UNICEF on children forced to become combatants in armed conflicts opened Monday in Paris .
The conference aims at approving the Paris principles, which have been drawn up to enact measures to protect children from being coerced into fighting wars.
The number of child soldiers in the world is estimated at 250,000, a total that includes girls as well as boys. The practice of using minors as combatants is widespread in Africa, but also common in Chechnya, Nepal and Colombia reports indicate.
"This is more than a crime; it is a time-bomb that threatens stability and economic growth in Africa," the French foreign minister declared. He added a dozen countries have been placed on a UN blacklist because of their apparent tolerance of the practice.
In Nepal reports have it that, Children as young as 14 receive weapons training and carry out crucial military and logistical support duties. Using children in war was supposed to have been banned 10 years ago.
New avenue to fight HIV
According to U.S. National Institute of Health scientists report published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the new findings on body’s natural defense system might help the scientist working in the filed of finding cure for the AIDS virus.
According to the report a naturally occurring molecule saves vital immune system cells from cellular suicide during the onslaught of the AIDS virus and might help keep the body's natural defenses working in HIV-infected people.
Reports have it that the findings represent a potential new avenue to fight the effects of the human immunodeficiency virus, HIV.
AIDS has killed more than 25 million people since it was first recognized in 1981. About 40 million people now live with HIV.
RSS set to foil Maoists’ design
Kathmandu: The RSS (Rastriya Swyam Sevak Sangathan), supposedly a Hindu extremist group in India is set to foil the efforts of the Indian Maoists who want to create a 'red corridor' in India like what the Nepali Maoists have now in Nepal.
Indian media reports have it that the Nepalese Maoists were in close contacts with each other even in the changed circumstances in Nepal.
The RSS chief KS Sudarshan addressing a mass-gathering recently in Siliguri said that “The "evil designs" of the Indian Maoists, who appeared as a major threat to the country, should be foiled at any cost”.
The Maoists were out to create a red corridor like in neighboring Nepal which had to be resisted at all costs in the greater interest of "Bharat Mata", he said.
The RSS chief said that the time was ripe for the Hindu community to enrich their religion by uprooting the 'caste discrimination' which was still all pervasive in the Indian society.
Indian government worried over Google Earth Images
The Indian government citing security worries has asked Google to reduce the detail in a selection of images in the downloadable program giving access to a database of satellite photographs called Google Earth, the BBC reports.
The Indian government was worried over the images showing detailed plans of buildings and accurate maps that could prove a boon to extremists.
The Google said that they have been talking and will continue to talk to the Indian government about any security concerns it may have regarding Google Earth.
Chinese journalist beaten to death
Kathmandu: An IFJ (Int. Fed. of Journalists) Asia-Pacific e-bulletin reports that while Mr. Lan Chengzhang of Beijing's China Trade News was investigating a story on China's coal mining industry with a fellow reporter he was beaten to death by a group of assailants on January 10, in the Huiyuan county of the Shanxi province. The murder was allegedly on the orders of a local coal mine boss, Police are reportedly investigating the incident after an uncharacteristic public outcry in China about the murder. Chengzhang is the third journalist to be violently murdered in China in the last year.
Maoist loosing battle among common men: BJP-India
Kathmandu: The Financial Times, India reports that the Nepal Maoists have turned their guns on the Sangh Parivar for inciting violence at the Terai region of their country.
“We have got evidence that people close to RSS and VHP are involved in creating trouble in the region. The reports say that they were regularly attending meetings of RSS and VHP and crossing the border to create trouble. This should be stopped," Polit-Bureau member of Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-M) CP Gajurel said at a meet the press program organized by the Delhi Press Club. Gajurel also said he would raise the issue in a meeting to be held with the officials of ministry of external affairs on Saturday. “I have discussed this problem with many political leaders. We will also bring the issue to the Indian government’s attention," he said.
Refuting this claim by C.P. Gajurel, the BJP spokesman Prakash Javadekar said “It is not our ethos to interfere in the affairs of other countries. Since they (Maoists) are losing the battle against common people, they have started dragging the BJP and the RSS into their mess".
Children amount 54 percent casualties of explosion
Kathmandu: Fifty four percent of the casualties from victim-activated explosions in Nepal have been
children. This make Nepal, along with Laos, ranked amongst countries with the high rate of child casualties from victim-activated explosions. This was disclosed at a press briefing by members of the Mine Action Group held in Kathmandu.
Explosive devices such as Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and landmines used during the decade-long conflict continue to take the lives and limbs of Nepalis, most of them children. The number of children being killed or maimed in 2006 alone was 91.
While the number of civilians being injured or killed when they unknowingly activated IEDs or landmines in 2005 was 142, the figure in 2006 rose to 169. The figures for new victim-activated have doubled from the figures in 2005. While the number of new casualties in 2005 was 47, it rose to 98 in 2006. Fifty one districts out of 75 have been affected by victim-activated explosions in 2006, and 'houses' became the first places of incident.
RSF 2006 Report: 6 Journalists Killed in Jan 2007
Kathmandu: The Reporters Sans Frontiers (RSF), an International media rights group expressed concern at press freedom violations in 2006 and alarmed at the killings of six journalists and four media assistants in January 2007 alone. Releasing a report on the state of media rights in the year 2006 while analyzing media situation in 98 countries, the RSF lists North Korea, Cuba and Turkmenistan among the worst performers for the year 2006.
A disturbingly record number of journalists and media workers were killed or thrown in prison around the world in 2006 but beyond these figures is the alarming lack of interest by democratic countries in defending the values they are supposed to incarnate, the report declares.
On the state of Press Freedom in Nepal, the report claims that the 15-month absolute rule by Gyanendra saw the worst suppression however, despite the fall of the monarch the media is still being attacked, this time by the Maoists the report claims.
Trans-gendered awarded citizenship certificate
Kathmandu: A resident of Banke district Chanda Musalman received citizenship as a man and as well as a woman in Nepal for the first time.
Sunil Pant the president of Blue Diamond Society, a network of gays, lesbians and transgenders in Kathmandu said that, "As we had discussed the issues of the right of transgenders, gays and lesbians to get citizenship certificates spelling out their identity, the administration listened to our demand.”
Maoists continue recruiting children: HRW
Kathmandu: An international human rights watchdog has brought to the notice that Nepal’s Maoists have continued using child soldiers, and even recruited more children, despite signing a Comprehensive Peace Agreement with the government on November 21.
The Human Rights Watch report entitled, "Children in the Ranks: The Maoists' Use of Child Soldiers in Nepal," claims that children as young as 14 years served on the front lines, received weapons training, and carried out crucial military and logistical support duties for the Maoists.
