Terror tactics

Apowerful bomb suspected to have been planted by Maoist rebels exploded at the premises of Balaju Textile Mill the other day. The blast caused property damage worth millions and brought the textile mill grinding almost to a halt. The reason the Maoists planted such a bomb at a privately owned textile mill is not clear. They have not so far claimed responsibility for the blast. However, it seems to be part of the "terror tactics" adopted by them to make their presence felt in the capital. There also seems to be a shift in their strategy with the focus clearly on economic targets. The idea may be to cripple the economy and make life still more difficult for the government. This is not the first time Maoist rebels have used explosives to destroy industrial capacity. But the underlying shift in strategy indicates a shift in Maoists’ thinking. It may partly be aimed at making the government think again about its intended deployment of the armed police force in the Maoist hinterland. It may also be intended to strengthen their hand if talks with the government eventually materialise. That is one way to make sense of the bombings.

Last year the Maoists, in a series of attacks with explosives, extensively damaged Colgate Palmolive, Nepal Lever and Surya Tobacco plants. Part of the Colgate Palmolive plant at Hetauda was destroyed a month later. These plants are joint ventures with Indian companies set up in Nepal to aim at the market in two Indian states - Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The Maoist rebels hurled bombs at a number of industrial plants in Birgunj and Biratnagar also. Foreign investment in the country has, unexpectedly, declined to an all time low as a result of Maoist threats to newly established plants. All this has sent a negative message to foreign investors about escalated Maoist activity in this country. As part of their terror tactics, the Maoist hung explosives along with a pro-Maoist banner at Keltole in the heart of the city. A week later, there was a similar pouch of explosives hung with a pro-Maoist banner at Bafal. Today, there was a powerful blast near the residence of Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, Chief Justice Keshab Prasad Upadhyay and Chairman of Raj Parishad Keshar Jung Raymajhi. Symbolically or not the explosion occurred where the country’s top officials live and where army personnel have been deployed day and night. A bus that belonged to the Janak Educational Materials Centre was also set on fire.

The series of Maoist initiated incidents in the capital have raised questions about security. Why couldn't the government provide security even in areas where the country’s top executives reside? What were army personnel doing when unidentified persons planted the bomb at Baluwatar? There may also have been some inside help. Otherwise the Maoists alone would not have been able to carry out so many such activities within a week. Then there is the question of what the ultimate way out of this situation will be. The government is obviously not going to be able to police the capital intensively while at the same time taking on the Maoists in the countryside in all out confrontation. The only serious option seems to be to embark on serious talks. Mere posturing about talks is no longer acceptable. Come to think of it, the Maoists too may be upping the ante in a bid to nudge the government towards talks.

Tackle political inequality, not equation

By Kalyan Bhandari

The 19th Winter Session of Parliament closed without a single hearing. Despite attempts to activate parliamentary proceedings, no breakthrough came. The issue awaited Bangladesh style Bandhs. Roadside railings were uprooted to obstruct the Prime Minister’s way to his office. The capital’s air was filled with tear gas. Public life was made as uncomfortable as possible in a political battle for superiority. Hooliganism was practiced by both sides to ensure the rival’s humiliation. State enforced terrorism with the opposition party acting in tune brought unimagined disorder for commoners whose life rest on daily earnings, not to mention the multiplying effect on the overall economy, a major part of which depends on tourism. Caught in the political war were Nepali voters, who voted for governance for the country.

The concern of the Nepali people now is that the stand off of the 19th Session of Parliament will be extended to the 20th session. The unprecedented turn of events at the Royal Palace has totally shaken Nepali politics. Thus, any irrational move by the UML at this precarious time may bode ill for democracy, which was restored after the thirty-two year long fight against the Panchayat regime.

The pseudo-democratic move to introduce the public security regulations at this juncture may also compound the political crisis and hamper the smooth functioning of parliament.

It would not be surprising if the political battle for throwing out the Prime Minister – alleged to have been implicated in the multimillion dollar Lauda Air deal scam – means disrupting parliament again. Equally not unforeseeable is the Prime Minister running the government without parliament for a second consecutive session.

If the current impasse is not addressed, the people may once again blame the system as dysfunctional and not the players. Furthermore, with the upper house election in which the main opposition has strengthened itself, the government may find it hard to pass legislation without the support of the opposition.

The bad precedent set by the UML and other opposition parties during the 19th session by not attending parliament means uncertainty in the present session also. The country has witnessed an unprecedented crisis of governance. The increasing activities of the insurgents and failure of every successive government to deliver have prompted one to evaluate the performance and achievements of the last ten year and debate the reasons behind the prevailing discomforts.

However, no single person can be denigrated for the unwarranted ill yield from the restoration of parliamentary democracy. The single issue of the Prime Minister’s ouster cannot alone be the reason of country’s ill-fate.

The parties contest elections with their own agenda and programmes. Ideology defines a political party, not any personality. The electoral verdict is the acceptance or rejection of such agenda, not individual candidatures. The majority obtained by one party is the popular mandate for governing the nation for a full term. Thus, instilling fear by abrogating parliamentary norms – dictating the choice of Prime Minister - in the middle of the parliamentary tenure is not only noxious but also disrespectful of the system premised on democracy.

The problem lies not in the political equation but in political inequality. The lack of access to benefits – socio-economic and political – for different strata of society and the privilege enjoyed by a handful of cronies have provoked the people into revolt, and resulted in crackdown by internal security. The extra constitutional powers acquired and exercised by politicians have been conducive to rampant corruption. The unmatched privilege enjoyed by the urban elite contributed not only to people’s frustration but also to the prevalent chaos.

Women, who constitute half of the population, are denied their rights and are subjected to miserable living conditions. The women’s empowerment bill is being stalled at parliament. Constitutional bodies are denied powers. The bureaucracy is girdled with incompetent political affiliates. A bill to bring electoral reforms is still pending in parliament.

The systems needs a revamp. The administrative machinery needs reforms. Society needs emancipation –from the evil that holds our system. The detrimental extra constitutional powers that hold our entire system are the culprit, not the political equation.

The crises of governance must be rectified within the system. Going for political nexus merely for political survival may look good for the short run but will be fatal at the end. The long run instability invited by such nexus should always be accounted for. The precedent of uprooting the Prime Minister through muscle power can never be legitimized.

Yes, corruption is the grave issue and needs parliamentary debate - not street protests. Denying parliamentary debate on such a grim issue is a disservice to the nation. The solution doesn’t lie in changing the appearance of the government. Concerted effort should be put in by all parties to make the government act independently to uplift the quality of life.

Reform should be introduced in those sectors, which throw up obstacles to systematic functioning. Electoral reforms are needed. The constitutional autonomous bodies need to be activated.

Parliamentary debate should be allowed to address the prevalent situation. The no response behaviour – shown by the UML during constitution of the probe committee looking into the Palace Massacre - does no good for the people. Parliamentary democracy requires parliament. Rational behaviour is expected of all governing and non-governing parties, not irrational reasoning.

For the perfect match

By C B Dahal

Every person wants to get married. Traditionally girls are supposed to accept any groom selected by the parents without objection or show of selective desires. Men have had the sole right to be selective in choosing their prospective life partner. And many a time the result is — as the maxim goes — too choosy gets not the best.

One acquaintance of mine, at the ripe age of 30, wanted to tie the knot. So began the countdown to select the prospective lifelong partner. With the clinking of glasses and declining level of the potent liquid, the criteria for the bride-to-be began to grow. My friend had had a childhood sweetheart, and he somehow used her as the yardstick. He was of the notion that she was somewhat moderate in her looks though with a proper education, a good family background and of course quite familiar to his own family. So with her in mind his bride selection process began and lasted for nearly a year.

The criteria laid down were: the prospective bride had to be fair (if not stunning!!!), tall, slim, with a perfectly proportionate figure and long flowing (billowing) hair, well educated - at least a Masters in any discipline, and above all she had to be a homely (fail to comprehend this myself), dutiful wife, a good cook, an even better washerwoman, a perfect house keeper and - not the least expected - she ought to bear him a perfectly handsome son (mind you not daughter).

When I heard his list, I mulled for some time too astonished to at the criteria for selection, that too coming from a person who himself could hardly pass for mediocre or less. I did not want to hurt his sentiments and disturb his thoughts of such a dream woman resembling nothing less than a Goddess, by injecting my own opinion. But, in the days that followed I did try to make him see reason.

First of all, a beautiful lady of perfect figure would likely overlook or even ignore someone of his own build. A well educated woman would be too busy trying to pursue a career for herself to be a homely housewife for him. A fashionable one would be a drain on his pocket and ultimately lead to sorrow. And to have a wife who is going to be dutiful and a good cook and washerwoman for him, he should try and get hold of someone with a more rural and tradition bound background than one who has had a taste of city life.

My dear friend did not relent. He scoured the local area, then the adjacent district and even the capital city. But somehow all the prospective candidates had one fault or another. Some had a loud voice, others vixen looks. Some were too delicate, others amazons. A few had ugly noses, big ears, scruffy hair and some even had an ungainly gait. During the year he must have paraded himself in front of not less than a hundred prospective brides but all to no avail. And, he remained unsatisfied with the flaws that continued to pile up in proportion to the number of beauties paraded before him.

By the year-end he had become a mental wreck. He began to lament that he may never get his dream woman. But, as luck would have it, his progenitor (heard he had married five times) paid him a surprise visit. And, before my friend could utter a word, dad most casually announced that he had fixed his marriage with his childhood sweetheart. It was a bit of a surprise to me and I expected some semblance of revolt from the son’s end, but his year long search seems to have drained away all the energy and he accepted the parental verdict without a whimper.

The bride was definitely a fine specimen of a woman. I would not say that she was a stunning beauty but definitely someone who deserves a second glance. Nowadays, he is perfectly happy trying to please his one-in-a-million spouse.

How the world can win its battle against AIDS

By Kofi A Annan

There are two wrong approaches to the global threat of HIV/AIDS. One is to underestimate or ignore it. The other is to despair. The first can only be described as irresponsible. The second is unjustified.

No continent, no society, and no social group is immune from this scourge. Twenty-two million people have already died—and last year’s total of three million was the highest yet. Adolescents and children are dying every day, and in every country. So are their parents- young adults in what should be the prime of their lives.

In some African countries today one quarter of the population is infected: the workforce is being decimated: and decades of progress in rasing living standards and life expectancy are being wiped out. The same will soon happen to countries in other parts of the world- Asia, eastern Europe, the Caribbean-unless they take drastic action now.

But action is possible. Despair is not justified, for we are not powerless against this epidemic. Even poor and middle-income countries can protect themselves by combining prevention and treatment-as Brazil, Senegal and Thailand have shown. Even the worst affected countries can confront the disease and contain its spread, as Uganda has shown. In the last few months, the world has at last woken up.

International drug companies, responding to world public opinion and to competition from generic manufacturers have slashed the price of antiretrovirals and other AIDS-related medicines in the poorest countries. Providing treatment to infected people in those countries is no longer and impossible dream. In Africa political leaders, too, have faced up to the problem as never before.

Two months ago, at the African summit in Abuja, Nigeria, I sensed a new spirit of urgency. All the nations represented there undertook to increase the share of resources they devote to health, and to HIV/AIDS in particular.

At Abuja, I laid out five key objectives for the worldwide struggle. First we have to prevent disease spreading further, above all by teaching young people how to avoid it.

Second, we must stop the cruellest infections of all - those from mother to child. Third, we must bring care and treatment within reach of all those infected. This is not an alternative to prevention, but an essential complement to it, since people are more willing to take HIV tests when they know there is the hope of treatment. Fourth, we must step up the scientific search, both for a vaccine and for a cure. And fifth, we must protect those whom AIDS has left most vulnerable-starting with the orphans.

Those five objectives were chose after wide consultation among all those involved in fighting AIDS. They from the nucleus of a strategy on which all can agree. And they are achievable.

All this can be done, in the whole of the developing world, for an annual expenditure of $7 to 10 b provided it is sustained for the long term. That represents a fivefold increase on what is now being spent. But it is only a quarter of New York City’s budget. The world can surely find this amount.

Some of it will be found within developing countries. But clearly international solidarity is needed. And I believe the public in developed countries is now ready to show it. They understand that it is in their self-interest to do so, since no country can be unaffected by a global disaster of this magnitude.

Governments, foundations, commercial companies, private individuals - all have been coming forward in the past few months, wanting to play their part in the global effort.

Some already know how they want to spend their money, and to whom they should give it. But others want to contribute to a global fund, which can make sure all five priorities are addressed and can simplify the application procedures for countries that need assistance.

Several countries, one major corporation, and countless individuals have already pledged money for this Fund, Today in New York the UN General Assembly begins a Special Session on HIV/AIDS, during which I am sure more countries will announce contributions.

Every day lost is a day when over ten thousand more people become infected with HIV, and many millions of people living with AIDS suffer unnecessarily. We can beat this disease. And we must. But the longer we delay the higher the cost will be.

(The author is Secretary-General of the United Nations)