In depth Analysis

Girija's hard-line to prompt backlash!

Kathmandu : As yet no significant policy measures emanate from the government suggesting that the emergency measures overly due to boost the economy appear not forth coming in the immediate days. Much controversy is therefore being made of the King's New Year message to the nation where he has talked of the need for stability and economic uplift to keep the people happy. No where has the cabinet made an effort to rise above the party imbroglio and come to grips with the state of the economy. Changes in even congress fed programs of personalities continue to suggest that the Girija camp is asserting its presence by elbowing out opponents within the party. Even the congress organization in Kathmandu has been shaken by the new measures.

These developments suggest drift in the policy making sector damaging the need for decisions to give the ship of State a much necessary direction. Girija babu's strong-man status, the lack of immediate policies and the mere changes of personalities in government office suggest either a level of suicidal bankruptcy or a dangerous obsession to capture the spoils of government in order to do away with competition.

In contrast to the anticipation for the policies, even steps taken towards policy by the alleged weak government of Krishna Prasad Bhattarai appear to have been dismantled. It is now no longer known whether the Sher bahadur Deuba headed committee to talk with the Maoists' remains in existence. No dialogue seems to have taken place from this channel after the change in government. Girija babu has placed the strategy with the Maoists' in jeopardy. He appears to have cut-off talks on the one hand while assuming a severely hawkish position on the other. He has reopened the question of mobilizing the army against the Maoists' through the activation of the "Security Council". He continues to pursue the position that a separate "armed" constabulary of 15 thousand plus men is immediately needed for the current law and order situation.

Contrary to expectations, the people are increasingly aware that the sliding economy of the ten years of multi-party system in Nepal has not prevented an increase annually of investments in the Police sector. Indeed, knowledgeable sectors complain that Home ministry allocations for the Police now surpass allotments made for the army. Whether the creation of an alternative para-military body under the Home ministry alone is remedy to the current situation is a matter being scoffed at by knowledgeable sources who are not blind to the recruitment advantages and the traditional preference for "'MUKTI SENA" loyalties that the congress has for long aspired to. Inevitably, these developments are likely to contribute to a scare effect hardly beneficial for the longevity of the Girija government.

It is not surprising therefore that much is being made of Deuba activities such as political receptions where it is said the count of congress parliamentarians is on the increase. Deuba tours countrywide are being forecast as positively received. In the process one casts a wary eye at the promise of an increase in UML activities, albeit in the streets, designed to expose the congress government from all possible angles.

Mobilization of Nepal's army raises controversy

Kathmandu : Prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala appears determined in bringing out the military men from barracks.

His firm determination in this regard got amply reflected in his speeches made in Biratnagar wherein he also assured the public that there was nothing to panic if the military men were told to get themselves engaged in "special activities" ordered by the government.

Contrary to Koirala's assurances made in his hometown last week, the people remain pretty terrified with the breaking of the news itself.

What the Prime minister wishes from the military men are not clear. What he expects from the military personnel is also under dark. What jobs would be given to the military men is still unclear and so on and so forth.

However, the general perception is that the Prime minister would very much wish to use the military men for containing the ever-growing threats of the Maoists' insurgents who have virtually been ruling some of the districts in the western part of the country. Yet more importantly perhaps, Koirala's apparent wish is to shift the loyalties of the Nepali military men in his favor, which traditionally is being exclusively enjoyed by Nepali Kings since centuries.

In doing so, the Prime Minister also appears to have taken into account of the fact that till the Nepali army remained loyal to the King, a threat to the new order would remain intact. To do away with this permanent threat, Prime Minister Koirala perhaps felt the need to bring the military force under the government's command.

However, things are different. The Nepali army swears in the name of the King and the nation. These forces still claim that they were above politics and remain committed to the preservation of genuine national interests. Things as it stand today, what could be fairly said of them is that the Nepali military men will perhaps exhibit their reluctance in obeying the orders of the government if they are told to crush the Maoists'.

Only recently one top ranking staff at the Royal Nepal Army told a newspaper that they will not alone proceed to the Maoists affected areas and summarily kills the insurgents, as they too were Nepalese. The army official, however, said that they would go to those areas provided the representatives of civil society accompany them.

This clearly means that the Nepali army can't be pressurized. Yet if the Army gets a nod from the King, they might change their decisions.

It would be rather advisable to initiate a meaningful debate prior to the mobilization of the army men to the Maoists affected areas. Visibly, other than the Koirala faction of the congress, most of the opposition parties have in one way or the other have ventilated their reservations regarding Prime minister Koirala's determination made in this regard.

A healthy debate would perhaps ease Prime minister's problem. Failing to do so might invite not only the ire of the opposition but from other seen and "unseen" quarters as well.

Sending the military men to the battlegrounds to confront the Maoists presumably would be easy. However, if the military exhibits its reluctance in going back to the barracks after containing the Maoists threats any thing could happen. At the same time the military men can fight with the insurgents inside the Nepalese territories but how they could control the "external" forces through which the Maoists are supposedly getting proper material support. Or even what is the guarantee that the army could crush the Maoists insurgency? In case if the military fails then should we invite Indian military men to contain the same threats?

These are few pertinent questions that warrant the attention of the Prime minister prior to arriving at any hurried decision to deploy the army in Nepal's troubled parts.

Deuba's New Year reception meaningful!

Kathmandu : The news that former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba will soon begin  a countrywide tour must have shaken the Koirala camp from within.

Deuba, a declared political rival of the incumbent Prime Minister, has decided to go in for a tour of the country to garner support from the congress cadres at the grass-roots level. The idea is also to tell the people living in the villages about how Girija Prasad Koirala snatched the Premiership from Krishna Prasad Bhattarai only a month back or so.

The tour will undoubtedly offer a golden opportunity to Deuba in explaining his colleagues in the villages as to how his government was unceremoniously toppled down by his own top ranking party men.

In essence, Deuba has still not forgotten the sad episode when two of the congress parliamentarians under the clandestine instigation of Sushil Koirala vanished from the Lower House on the day when the house was to decide the fate of Deuba and his government through counting of the votes in a no confidence move initiated by the then opposition. 

In addition to this impending move, Deuba apparently has increased his numerical strength over these weeks in the parliamentary committee which stood at 43 on the day of the election which allowed his bete noir Koirala to assume the nations' executive post as the latter enjoyed the strength of 69 congress MPs.

A "political reception" thrown by Sher bahadur Deuba in his private residence to mark the new year celebrations saw several congress parliamentarians attending the gala event. Insiders of the congress say that the reception had been well attended by a considerable number of congress MPs those who had preferred Koirala over Deuba only recently.

" The number of the congress MPs siding now with Sher Bahadur continues to swell. All the disgruntled congress men who were denied ministerial portfolios have joined the ranks of deuba", explained a congressite to this scribe who too had been invited at the New Year party thrown by Deuba.

If this were not enough to add to the mental agony of Prime Minister Koirala, former Prime Minister Bhattarai only the other day told a newspaper that the algebraic equation of 43 versus 69 might not remain static and that he has a possibility to bounce back to power yet again.

In the interview Bhattarai has also hinted his rival camp that he might present himself as a candidate to the Party's chairmanship come the next convention.

The meaning loaded statements and the threats contained underneath amply suggests that Prime minister Koirala will have to confront a crisis of a grave nature which will perhaps determine the longevity of his tenure in government.

Undoubtedly, contrary to their statements Bhattarai and Deuba will spare no efforts in creating troubles to Prime minister Koirala and the charges against him would be the same as had been practiced by President Koirala before unceremoniously ousting his political opponent-Bhattarai.

The political reception got a new meaning when it was reported that minister Khum Bahadur Khadka not only attended the reception but "mixed" with Deuba supporters and left the venue in a very "happy mood". To recall, Khadka remained instrumental in tilting the parliamentary favor for Koirala, which facilitated the latter to become the Prime minister of the nation. Khadka enjoys the unconditional support of 18 plus congress MPs. Khadka's "happy mood" at the reception and the number 18 with him is full of meaning.

Pakistan ready for talks with India

 Kathmandu: Pakistan's military ruler has once again reiterated that he was ready for talks with rival India to initiate the now stalled talks on the crucial issue of Kashmir.

General Mussarraf hinted his wish to begin talks with India and reduce the existing tension on the Line of Control along the Indo-Pak borders.

He also said Pakistan will welcome any initiative from anyone that facilitates progress to address the Kashmir dispute. He apprised the Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on the tension between India and Pakistan existing on the Line of Control in Kashmir.

The Pakistani leader had a stopover in Egypt last week on his way back home from Havana, Cuba.

During the meeting, General Musharraf is learnt to have briefed the Egyptian President about his offer to hold talks with India on Kashmir unconditionally.

 "I am prepared to go anywhere in the world, at any time and meet at any level to initiate the dialogue on Kashmir," he told Mubarak. The talks covered, according to media reports monitored here, a wide range of issues including tension between India and Pakistan on the Line of Control in Kashmir, Afghanistan, the Middle East situation, and the economic cooperation and the issue of terrorism. "On Afghanistan the two leaders discussed the requirement of a cease fire, requirement of a solution that satisfies the reality on ground in Afghanistan and introduces a multi-ethnic government."

The two leaders also discussed the issue of terrorism and whether there are any sanctuaries in Afghanistan. He said, he would like to discuss this issue with the Afghan government. In response to a question about Osama bin Laden, he said, this is a "controversial and sensitive issue." One would like to take up the issue with Afghan leaders, "but one cannot guarantee anything, but one can certainly take this issue up with them," he said. General Musharraf said, Pakistan and Egypt have signed two agreements on increasing mutual cooperation in the economic and commercial fields. The two sides, he said, discussed the cooperation in agricultural, industrial, textile and fertilizer sectors and in the field of defense production.

Shakya's photo exhibition at AF

Kathmandu: The Alliance Francaise in cooperation with the French Embassy organized a photographic exhibition at its premises Monday evening.

The exhibition has a collection of 45 different photographs depicting several aspects of Nepalese life style and culture.

Mr. Ashoka Raj Shakya, the Nepalese photographer who is concurrently French language teacher at the AF, told the gathering that photographs enable one to understand the life style of a particular country which not necessarily be pleasant all the time. "My quest has been to give texture for the beauty of my country in my own way. I've focussed in my photographs both the beauty and the tragedy of living in my homeland", added Shakya.

The French Ambassador, Michel Lummaux, inaugurated the photo exhibition.

In his opening remarks, the Ambassador opined that such events not only contribute in expanding bilateral relations at the political levels but also facilitate the citizens of both the countries to understand each other better.

The Ambassador applauded the efforts of the Alliance Francaise in bringing the French people closer to the Nepalese by organizing such cultural events at its premises.

The Director at the AF, Ms. CHANTAL Lama, introduced the photographer to the attending guests. Ms. Kalpana Ghimire conducted the program.

NEFAS invites B'desh envoy

Kathmandu : The Nepal Foundation for Advanced Studies, NEFAS, will greet the newly appointed Bangladesh Ambassador, Cyril Sikder, at its Kirtipur office next Wednesday   April 26, it is learnt from the NEFAS sources.

Ambassador Sikder will be the first South Asian Ambassador to have been invited by the Foundation.

According to the NEFAS sources, this will be just an introductory meeting between the scholars managing the NEFAS and the Bangladesh diplomats. Counselor Abdul Kader Khan will also accompany the Ambassador.

NEFAS is considered to be one of the most widely known scholarly organizations in the country. The Foundation has several books to its credit. Some of the books published by NEFAS have been included in the University curriculum.

Ambassador Cyril Sikder's meeting with the NEFAS scholars has been initiated by the Nepal-SAARC Journalists' Forum.

In the meanwhile, the Biratnagar Press Club has informed the Nepal-SAARC Journalists' Forum that Ambassador Sikder will address a gathering of Purbanchal University scholars and the students on 28 April at the very premises of the Varsity itself.

Later the Bangladesh diplomat will pay a courtesy call on the chief district officer of the Morang district the same day.

During the afternoon, B'desh envoy will meet the high officials of the Biratnagar sub-metropolis . Talks are being held for a meeting with the Biratnagar businessmen.

Later in the evening, local pressmen will meet the Ambassador at a tea/coffee session at the Xenial Hotel.

Finally, the Ambassador will throw a cocktail reception in honor of the local personalities including pressmen, scholars, lawyers, businessmen, and the politicians.

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