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Wednesday, January 3, 2007
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INDEPTH ANALYSIS:
Hair-raising foreign penetration this!
Kathmandu : This is just an incredible event. Many would not believe the following write ups but would have no option left other than to gulp this bitter happening which was pronounced as an historic event by Nepal ’s academic as well as the political leadership circle.
This event exhibits as to how we have been left to the mercy of some foreign elements that more often than not poke their nose in our internal matters which are exclusively of our concerns.
This happening also exemplifies as to how some nefarious elements have found safe shelter in Nepal ’s most sophisticated places which were indeed closed for the Nepalese but have been kept open for those who want to chart the future course of Nepal ’s politics. One would wonder how come these “elements” close to some foreign research wings were allowed to enter into the official residence of the country’s Prime Minister on December 16 when the draft of the interim constitution for this country was being finalized.
Who invited these personalities at the first place?Who managed their smooth entry into the Prime Minister’s official residence? Which foreign country posted their men inside the official residence of Nepal ’s Prime Minister on that very fateful day? What were their designs? What influences these men had while charting the interim statute? Did they succeed in influencing the statute which remains yet to be promulgated? Questions galore indeed!
Though pretty late, analysts at this paper have found out that some three “unidentified and unknown” personalities were loitering around the Prime Minister’s private residence together with the Nepali leaders on December 16 and were seen to have been influencing the men involved in the drafting of the said constitution. What was intriguing and mind boggling is that these “parasites” were having cell-phones with them who were seen talking to some one, near or far, as and when certain changes in the draft of the constitution were being discussed by the Nepali leaders.
The climax of it all was that those engaged in the drafting of the constitution were being dictated by these unidentified personalities and the Nepalese side had to consider to their dictates.
The fact is that the Nepali leaders engaged in the draft thought those elements were members of some of the political parties and hence had to listen to their voices which were in effect not the Nepali voices.
Yet another fact is that none of the leaders inside the Prime Minister’s official quarter dared to ask these unknown personalities as to which party they belonged to?
If one were to believe the SANGHU Weekly dated January 1 which revealed this entire sad episode says bluntly that these three unknown person even got assimilated in the group of the Nepali leaders who collectively posed a photograph to mark the finalization of the interim constitution. The weekly further reveals that these three unknown personalities could well be seen in the photograph. However, analysts at this paper have failed to recognize them. Nevertheless, we at this paper have printed the photograph so that some of our brilliant readers could locate the most-unwanted personalities who not only penetrated into the Baluatar residence of the country’s Prime Minister but also showed that they possess the right to intervene into Nepali politics if they so desire.
What adds strength to our analysis is that the day the historic photograph was published in various newspapers, one Indian national, Surendra Bhadauria, who is talked to be a close friend of George Fernandes (India’s defense minister in the BJP rule) upon looking at those unknown elements in the midst of the Nepali leaders in the photograph exclaimed that how come those men who are close aid to the Indian intelligence agency be seen in the photograph?
While Bhadauria was expressing his utter dismay over the inclusion of those unknown elements in the historic photograph, one of our sleuths was present around enjoying a cup of tea.
According to Bhadauria who was loitering around Thamel area on 17 th December even said that those three unidentified men were having close links with Indian Intelligence Agency. However, Bhadauria did not disclose to which agency those three luminaries belonged to or have been working for.
This perhaps explains as to what extent we the Nepalese are vulnerable to foreign penetration.
Nevertheless, Telegraph’s eavesdroppers have been told to investigate the matter in a more serious manner so that we could locate the very special person who allowed the smooth entry to those elements inside the Koirala premises.
You can’t have cake and eat it too
Kathmandu : Prime Minister Koirala’s each and every stay in his hometown, Biratnagar, creates ripples in Kathmandu ’s political circles.
He does so more often than not.
If Koirala has to say some thing very concrete in terms of politics of the nation, he leaves for his hometown and airs his inner feelings thus forcing politicos to read in between the lines contained in Koirala’s fresh political overtures.
This time again as usual he made several comments as regards the unfolding political events in the country.
In his first reaction to the communal violence that erupted in the Terai belt, more specially in Nepalganj, Koirala saw grand designs of the now uprooted reactionary forces to reverse the new order that is currently in force in the country.
While saying so Koirala obliquely wrapped one of his own coalition partner, the NSP-A, and even dubbed this party as to have been close to the reactionary forces.
The NSP-A denies this allegation and says that the ruling elites in Kathmandu have every time dumped the Terai voices as and when they have come to the streets to express their genuine concerns.
Nevertheless, what is for sure is that the party which has come to the open this time against the draft of the interim constitution alleging that the demands of the Teraians have grossly been neglected while charting the interim constitution is a signatory that has finalized the final version of the draft of the constitution which remains yet to be promulgated.
The fact is that the NSP-A thus is in the government and in the opposition as well.
While one of its prominent members has put his signature in the final draft of the interim constitution, on the other the same party members have been of late demanding some reforms in the said constitution.
This opposition has caused panic in the entire Terai belt to the extent that the firmly established communal harmony in between various sects and tribes of the country who were living together in a total harmony for hundreds of years appear to be in a mood to quarrel with each other in the name of politics.
Perhaps it is this dual role played by the NSP-A which irritated the Prime Minister who saw some designs framed by some invisible quarters aimed at the disintegration of the country in collaboration of the reactionary forces. But who were the reactionary forces, Koirala did not reveal. If his hint is towards the NSP-A then Koirala will have yet another front to deal with in the future.
Similarly, if his tip-off is directed towards those who have lost their power in the recent months then what comes to the fore is that the now replaced forces were on the rise who would want to destabilize Nepal in order to create panic and terror in the country so that they could serve their political ends.
But why would they do such nasty things ignoring the fact that the communal riots will not spare them even?
Instead, Koirala should have lamented over the fickle law and order situation in the country and should have sacked his home minister for having failed in controlling the communal fire that swept Nepalgunj and other sensitive areas of the country.
Dumping the allegation on some one else of for that matter a group in order to hide one’s own faults could not be taken as a wise conclusion.
Koirala and his government must listen to the grievances of the Teraians and act accordingly so that the people living in those areas could feel that their voices too were being heard.
But then yet the NSP-A must also convincingly make it public as to why they put their final endorsement to such a draft interim constitution which did not favor the sentiments of the entire Teraians? They must also answer as to why this double play?
Analysts at this paper say that the leaders of the NSP-A have no right to make various sects and tribes living in complete communal harmony to go in for a permanent quarrel which, if that happens unfortunately, has perhaps no end.
Prime Minister Koirala must be held responsible and thus answerable if the communal harmony in the Terai belt gets disturbed for long. He should understand, as the guardian of the nation for the moment, that if the communal hatred continued for long then he too will have to bear the consequences for understandable political reasons.
Compelling political factors might bring liberals together soon
Kathmandu: The stage is set for the much publicized polarization in and among like minded parties.
Birds of same feather will obviously flock together. What is also for sure is that blood will be thicker than water.
While the communists have of late been trying to bring in all the REDS under one single umbrella, then the liberals too have been working day and night to collect all the like minded forces together who believe in nationalism and democracy.
The idea has clicked in both the camps housed by the liberal and the communists alike.
While a section of the Radical communists, read the Maoists, would very much want the entire UML to get assimilated in their political paraphernalia, on the other the UML leadership would prefer the merger of the Maoists into their broader political organization.
Though some leaders from both the camps have been working on those lines, news reports suggest that neither the UML nor the Maoists have so far been successful in their attempts.
Nevertheless, the exercise is on.
Insiders of the Maoists say that their party would want the UML to come to terms with them and get assimilated so that a broader Left front could be formed to face the imminent challenge from the liberal forces which time permitting would come together.
Similarly, the UML stalwarts would want the late-comer communist party, the Maoists, to merge in their party in order to face the formidable challenges posed to them by the liberals.
The difference thus persists in between the two REDS but some enthusiasts from both the sides have been working hard to materialize this eventuality.
Perhaps sensing the present seen and unseen political overtures of the REDS, Prime Minister Koirala the other day hinted that the need of the hour was to see the nationalist forces coming closer to the democrats.
Why he said so or why he saw the need of the two forces, nationalists and the democrats, coming together need no special explanation for his call for such a convergence must have emanated from the need to counter the formidable challenges that the liberals will have to face at time of the CA polls.
In addition to that, Koirala must have been watching the moves of the communists scattered in various camps who appear in more ways than one to come together in order to capture the future politics of the country.
Koirala’s contention could be that if the REDS can unite and come under one umbrella then why not the liberals unite?
The logic is there.
Prime Minister Koirala must not have seen the need for such a convergence of like minded parties for nothing. His clarion call does speak so many things. While on the one hand, his hint means that it was time when the liberal forces came together if they wanted to remain active in the country’s politics, on the other his indication is directed towards the eventuality as to what would happen to the country’s politics if the liberals remains dispersed as they are today?
This means that Koirala has already sensed a peril that is about to take a formal shape in the country which if allowed to go its way might plunge the entire liberals in one single ditch thereby overwhelming the country’s politics with the dictates of the party led surely by the REDS.
It is not for nothing that the clandestine overtures of the Maoists and the UML have caused panic among the liberals who have now begun talking of the possibility of such a convergence or else face extinction from the country’s political scene.
It would be no wonder if Koirala’s call made in Biratnagar brings like minded parties closer to the congress led by Koirala.
Perhaps Koirala’s call might also jolt Sher Bahadur Deuba and encourage him to hasten the unification process in order to face the threat that is yet to take a formal shape.
Be that as it may, some UML enthusiasts like Bam Dev Gautam, J.N.Khanal and the likes have been already on the move to make the UML-Maoists convergence a grand success. What is, however, plaguing their job is the million dollar question: Which party should be merged into the other? The UML wants the assimilation of the Maoists. The Maoists want merger of the UML with them. The difference lay here.
The formation of a broader left camp or for that matter a broader liberal front has almost become a compulsion for both the ideologically different political groupings. This is not a choice.
Prachanda-path will overwhelmingly prevail if King is dumped
-R. N. Sharma, Chairman RPP-Nepal
Kathmandu: The Chairman of the RPP-Nepal, Mr. Rabindra Nath Sharma has said that his party is under attack by the Maoists when they failed to conquer over our benevolent ideas which were both democratic in nature and content.
To recall, Sharma’s party has come under violent attack by some groups who see Sharma’s party as to have been advocating for some space for the King in the future politics of the country’s governance.
“I am not deterred by the violence perpetrated by some interested quarters. Even if they attack we will not attack them”, said a determined Sharma while talking to a local weekly this Tuesday.
He, however, said that he was not advocating the rule of the present King but instead favoring the institution of the monarchy in the country for a variety of political reasons.
This means that Sharma and his party would go to the voters at times of the CA polls championing the need for the continuation of the monarchical institution in the country for so many seen and unseen political reasons.
“Tell me which countries after throwing the monarch have remained a democracy”?, questioned Sharma citing examples of Afghanistan, Ethiopia and more recently in Cambodia.
To a question of the Dristi weekly, Sharma saw the prevalence of Prachanda-Path polity in the eventuality if the King were thrown out of his current seats.
He lamented during the course of the interview that of late the ruling Nepali leaders have tempted the people on regional, communal and class lines and added that such temptations might disintegrate the country in the long run.
He, however, admitted that the King repeatedly attacked the democratic system. In the same vein he also said that the King was facilitated or encouraged to do so by the then ruling leaders.
“My party does not favor a monarchy that is an active one. However, what we wish is that the institution should remain intact”, Sharma continued.
Mr. Sharma appears to have been the single political personality who have come to the fore advocating the need for the continuation of the monarchical institution in the country.
So far, S.B.Thapa and Pasupati Rana-considered to be liberals by the present political credentials they possess have yet to openly come to public as Sharma has done it and in the process got violently attacked.
It is altogether a different matter that Prime Minister Koirala was the first political personality demanding a ceremonial monarch in the country. Though late but then yet the number is growing in favor of the institution of the monarchy.
Sharma is considered to be very close to the South Block establishment in New Delhi.
Dr. Pokharel is new IFA director
Kathmandu: The New Nepal government has appointed Dr. Gopal Pokharel as the Executive Director of the Institute of the Foreign Affairs Academy.
Dr. Pokharel is basically a political scientist and has been teaching political science at the Patan Multiple Campus, Tribhuwan University.
Dr. Pokharel is an avid reader of this weekly and has contributed many articles of academic interest to this paper in the past. To recall Dr. Pokharel last December presented a working paper on “Role of Youth and Media in Development: A New Perspective” at a seminar jointly organized by The Telegraph Weekly and the FES-Germany. The Telegraph Weekly congratulates Dr. Pokharel on being appointed as the captain of the IFA and hopes that during his tenure at the IFA, the institute will attain new heights.
Govt. supported beautician training course begins
Kathmandu: A three month long beautician course has been designed in order to provide the needed training to the participants under the joint aegis of the Nepal Government’s Skill Development organ and Ghattekulo based Bindus beauty parlor.
The added attraction of this training program is that the participants in the said course will not have to pay a single penny for the entire training course.
The chief of the Skill Development organ of the government located in Bhaisepati, Lalitpur, Mr. Rohini K.C assured the trainees that should they desire to go in for further training in the same sector, the government would do all the needful in that regard.
The principal of the Bijaya Memorial Higher Secondary School, Ms. Indu Kafle, said that the training would be useful for the participating candidates for the training received could encourage them to start their own private businesses.
The chief of the Bindus Beauty parlor, Ms. Bindu Sharma thanked the government for having supported the scheme developed and designed by her organization.
She hoped that the training course would be useful for the participants to stand on their own in the future.
Enbref
15 day tour to Buddhist holy places: India launches special train
Kathmandu : The government of India is to launch the first-ever special train connecting Buddhist pilgrimage holy centers in India and Nepal , according to the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation, Indian newspaper reports.
According to reports, the holy places also include Lumbini in Nepal . In India , the destinations are Gaya , Agra and Varanasi . The special train will be launched from Chennai, a city in southern India from January 12. The train will stop at all 12 Buddhist holy places within 15 days.
Frustration leading to extremism: Refugee Rights Coordinating Committee
“Although no evil tendencies exist in the refugee camps so far, youths are being misled to radical groupings due to frustration which might easily grow into evil political designs,” says a Bhutanese refugee living in a refugee camp in Jhapa.
According to a statement issued by Refugee Rights Coordinating Committee (RRCC), evil political designs are en route to the minds of frustrated refugee youths, which may cause greater harm to all the efforts made so far for resolving the crisis.
Members of the RCCC say the recent orchestration by the Bhutanese officials, saying that the refugees living in eastern Nepal were "terrorist elements" who could invite problems if repatriated back to Bhutan, has only helped to further complicate the issue.
Nepalese and Chinese team to measure Everest
Kathmandu : A new survey to find out exact height of the tallest peak in the world is underway. A group of Nepalese and Chinese experts has joined to conduct the survey.
News reports citing foreign ministry sources declare that the Joint Inspection Committee of Nepal-China borders took this decision. The source claim that the height of the tallest peak in the world might have increased from 8848m to 8850m as indicated by other technical groupings.
Rhino extinction within 20 years
Kathmandu : Nepalese wildlife experts and activists declared that the endangered one-horned Asian rhinoceros face a complete extinction within the next 20 years if the current rate of poaching continues.
The total number of rhinos that died due to poaching and natural causes in 2006 was around 47. Nepal had 372 rhinos in 2005, down from more than 600 in 2000.
Nepal recorded considerable success in rhino conservation when it set up national parks in the early 1970s, but the country also saw rapid deforestation and loss of rhino habitat during that period.
Nepal had more than 800 one-horned rhinos in 1950. That number went down to fewer than 60 in 1960.
