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Kathmandu Sunday December 31, 2000 Paush 16, 2057.
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Bandh call draws scathing criticism
Post Report
KATHMANDU, Dec 30 - The two-day Nepal bandh called by Nine
Left parties has been greeted with scathing criticisms from various quarters of society
including some of the left leaning parties.
There has been even a mounting pressure on the Nine-Left, to
call off the bandh, which has basically remained as the left-affair during the post-1990
period. The left alliance has called for a two-day Nepal bandh on January 1 and 2.
According to the admission of one of the leaders of Communist
Party of Nepal (Mashal), a constituent of the Nine Left, the party was unwilling to go
ahead with the bandh. Though the party felt that the bandh was not proper at this
juncture, it decided to support the strike for the sake of left unity and to avoid being
ostracised from the alliance.
Even the main opposition, whose support was claimed by the
bandh callers, has already dissociated from supporting the strike. The Standing Committee
meeting of Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) held in the capital
Friday decided not to support the Nepal bandh call.
And the business community, which fears a loss of confidence
by the foreign investors with ensuing strikes and violence, is trying hard to avoid the
strike. A business delegation today met Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and urged him
to initiate dialogue to sort out the problem.
A delegation from Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce
and Industry (FNCCI), Nepal Chambers of Commerce (NCC) and Hotel Association of Nepal
(HAN) itself met with the leaders of nine left parties yesterday and asked them to call
off the two-day nation-wide strike.
The delegation requested the group to call off the strike,
"which would otherwise invite a heavy loss to the national economy since it coincided
with the international New Year."
Mahesh Acharya, Minister of Finance and Defence, told The
Kathmandu Post today that the frequent bandhs were tarnishing the image of the country.
"With continued bandhs and violence, we are beginning to lose whatever potentials for
the development of the country." It is time that we take up the issue seriously
before it is too late, he added.
A cross-section of daily wage earners who spoke to The
Kathmandu Post too have taken the news of strike with pain. Vegetable and fruit vendors,
cobblers, those running pavement tea service, tempo (three-wheelers) drivers, among
others, feel that the instances of bandhs are unnecessarily increasing day by day. And
most of them say, they don’t know the reason for the bandh neither they think it will
help their cause.
Chandeswar Ram, cobbler from Sarlahi, tea vendor Nirmala
Tamang from Ramechhap, vegetable vendor Babi Thapa from Naikap and Kumar Tamang, a
three-wheeler driver from Shindupalchowk say the bandh will only take away their daily
earning.
"We can’t risk selling vegetables on any strike day
as the supporters pelt stones indiscriminately," said Thapa, who is the only parent
to support a family of four.
Narendra Shrestha of Minbhawan-34, said that the left parties
should stage a sit-in, instead of bandh, outside the Singha Durbar, to press for their
demands, whatever they be. "Why harass the public and the hapless poor?"
Similarly, Dharmendra Shaha of Rautahat, a mobile banana
vendor at Kalimati said that the strikes should be banned once and for all. "In whose
interest are these parties calling the bandh?" asked Shaha.
Since February 1990, nearly 50 bandhs have been called, and
only twice the organisers have withdrawn. 16 of the strikes were limited to Kathmandu
Valley only. Speaking to The Kathmandu Post, senior Nepali Congress leader and former
Finance and Foreign Minister Dr Ram Sharan Mahat termed the proposed strike "a
symptom of total social indiscipline and anarchy".
Many of the intellectuals who met Prime Minister Girija
Prasad Koirala at his official residence today urged the PM to contain such bandhs that
were giving rise to anarchy in the country.
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