Indepth Analysis

Sinister designs bode ill for the nation!

Kathmandu: As discussions on the budget tabled Monday in parliament become nothing more than routine, several trends become clear. The Prime Minister is not going to resign. Even if he does so, his parliamentary party will reelect him. This is unless his party-men that oppose his leadership will vote with the UML in a motion of no confidence. The motion of no confidence is yet to be tabled in the parliament. Moreover, the UML whose boycott of parliament has already begun after the discussions on the government programs concluded, appears to have lost partners in the RPP and the Sadbhavana who refuse to join the boycott.

Girija babu thus appears to have gained allies in the RPP and Sadbhavana who will perhaps carry the budget session through with their attendance. The UML's loss in their boycott program is the government's, read, Girija babu's gain. And so, another clear trend, the UML's boycott in the parliament to have any meaning can only mean more street activities.

For the lay public, both the government and the UML credibility are at an all time low. No amount of assurance on the part of either the government or the opposition to appease a hard-pressed public is of much meaning. The budget discussions thus appear to be of little value to the public who by now are used to dismissing government claims as mere politics and unreal.

What is real however, is the increasing number of incidence of the Maoists action where government appears merely a spectator. That these incidences have come home to Kathmandu valley threatens the very foundations of the system. The point is that the UML in the opposition would seem as much a proxy partner of the government as the government itself to the general mass in dealing with this reality.

Yet another trend readily perceived by the public is the escape that politics seeks in the recent change in the Palace. If the Maoists have blatantly targeted the new King, parliament appears as guilty in flirting with the idea. Last week saw both the congress and the opposition attempt to play Palace vulnerabilities with discussions on the role of succession. This was moreover, accompanied by a carefully timed news item on Prince Paras later denied by the Army and the defense ministry.

The strategy in a hidden agenda presumably would seem sinister. It is the strength of the traditional institution of the monarchy that allowed the nation to ride the disaster of the past month in that very apex institution. The idea apparently is to erode it further. Pressures on the new monarchy have been subtly maintained thus. Regardless of the near paralysis of governance in the country, this serves to divert public attention as much as it serves to inhibit a possible source of correction. More importantly perhaps the possibility of an overall strategy to undermine the monarchy at this very highly sensitive stage has presumably designs yet to be fully assessed.

It is not for nothing that the Maoists deliberately attack the king and the congress as one. It is not for nothing again that the congress doesn't deny King Gyanendra's alleged linkages with the Maoists. The UML on the other hand has its role in precipitating a parliamentary crisis. Given these three poles-triangles, the drama being played is surely a dangerous one for the nation.

Strip News:
Congress and UML losing credibility among the voters

Kathmandu: Even a lay man can now conclude that all was not well in the country. And if the same were to be told by the informed citizens then they would definitely have said that the nation was proceeding towards the brink.

Given the highly insensitive and irresponsible behaviors currently being exhibited by the ruling party and the opposition what becomes pretty clear is that their "declared stances" would soon push the country towards an abyss from where it would be really very difficult to bring the country back to the original track.

The manner the Opposition remains yet adamant over the voluntary resignation of the Prime Minister since four months or so and the outright rejection to their demand from the Prime Minister from the day one forces the intellectuals to conclude that the democratic system has gone in the wrong hands and that if the two set of fools were allowed to continue for long, only Almighty could be the savior.

In the process the nation has already paid both politically and economically since the beginning of the winter session this year which summarily ended up in cipher and hopefully the current session of the parliament will bag almost the same success.

The informed citizens pose questions to the congress and the opposition. Firstly, what the opposition will bag even if Koirala quits on his own? Will his ouster create an atmosphere conducive to the overall development of the nation?

In the same manner the question posed to the congress, more so to Koirala is: Why not he resigns when he fully understands that the national population possess some sort of allergy for him and his familial sort of corruption ridden rule? Why he rejects the appeal of the opposition and quits and that too in the name of consolidating and the strengthening of the system which he claims that he is the sole care-taker?

Perhaps both will not respond to these questions. However, intellectuals themselves reply on their behalf.

Firstly, the opposition has simply made a sort of prestige issue over their demand of the resignation of the nation's Premier. They fully were aware of the fact that even if Koirala is replaced by any Tom, Dick or Harry, much will not change in the country and time permitting the opposition would in all likelihood bargain with the new establishment for some monetary or political concessions. If the new government head declines to honor their requests, the same method would again be applied for his ouster.

"The Opposition demand is not a demand put forth taking national considerations. It is just a whimsical decision taken some months back by the opposition which has become a prestige issue for them at this juncture because Koirala is a tough stuff", commented a political analyst at the T.U late last week.

Some analyst even guess the continued overture of the UML with regard to the resignation of Koirala to be the handy-work of his nearest-dearest political rival that is Krishna Prasad Bhattarai. And a clever Bhattarai manages all the opposition activities against Koirala presumably through his disciple Sher Bahadur Deuba and Monsieur Madhav Nepal-the UML General Secretary.

To recall, Bhattarai and Mr. Nepal enjoy the best of their relationship.

Regarding Koirala's wish for the enhancement of the Prime Minister's post in this system, as he recently claimed, is more guided by his personal lust to stick to the chair and nothing else.

"Those who have been closely monitoring Koirala's functioning style could say that as and when his chair is threatened from within or without, he talks of "'institutionalization" of the Prime Minister's throne, added the same analyst on condition of anonymity.

Summing up, the fault lies in the system in the sense that the voters can't recall their representatives even if their men in the parliament or in government do not function and become corrupt. Save a sizeable percentage of the population possessing political affiliations to this or that political parties, the rest have become tired of the ugly, unacceptable and the non-performing leaders belonging to the Congress, the UML and the others as well.

However, a day will soon come when the voters will retaliate in a manner perhaps not in the imagination of the men ruling the nation at the moment.

It is these lacunae which persist in the system that has apparently forced the common population to sympathize with the Maoists insurgents.

Box News:
Prachanda changes his earlier soft stance

Kathmandu: Exploiting to the hilt the existing conflict ridden political atmosphere in the nation, the Maoists have of late stepped up their violent activities all aimed against at the government under Koirala and the prevailing security system.

In the process they only recently terrified the population, more so the Congressites, stating that their physical target could be the supporters of the Girija lobby of the congress.

Likewise, the Maoists insurgents made the entire population to go dumb-found when only last week they created a havoc in the nation by attacking several police posts in the western region and thereby killing almost four dozens of the security personals. Imaginably, this should have created panic in the police force as well.

To recall, the Maoists late last month had declared July 12 as Nepal bundh and reportedly the fresh actions against the police men and their posts in the districts are all aimed at making the Bundh a grand success. The sad events that unfortunately occurred in the nation and the manner the insurgents exhibited their presence almost everywhere in the Kingdom suggests that the Nepali people living under the Nepali sky were all at the mercy of the insurgents.

As if to hint the government that they had a very strong base right here in the valley, the insurgents planted a gelatin-explosive right outside the gate of the Prime Minister's official residence and that too at the early hours of that fateful morning last week.

A panicked diplomat from South Asia who luckily survived while being in his private residence just opposite to Koirala's residence described at a diplomatic reception the horror that was there after the explosion. Many Western diplomats could hear the big bang of the gelatin explosion.

Understandably when the government at the center becomes weak and remains boggled over petty personal interests and the opposition acts in a very irresponsible manner, other forces exploit the opportunities provided them through the kind courtesy of the men manning the system.

Undoubtedly, the insurgents enjoy greater sympathies from the lay men but by default. A nonfunctioning government is worth throwing in the wastebasket. However, no sensible man on earth could admire their killing of the policemen and that too en masse.

Be that as it may, the Maoists Supremo Comrade Prachanda has again reiterated that a national interim government at the center has got to be formed comprising of left forces, nationalists, progressives and people-oriented forces for the formation of a GANA-TANTRA-that is a republican state.

Talking to a vernacular weekly, Janadesh dated 10 July, Comrade Prachanda very surprisingly opines that the previous Maoists part thinking of having a national conference comprising of all the political forces of the country and thence forth forming a national government at the center has lost its meaning entirely.

"Given the new political situation unfolding after the tragic death of late King Birendra, the rationale behind convening a sort of all-part conference as suggested prior to the death of King Birendra has lost its meaning"'', said Prachanda in the interview with the said newspaper.

"'Since the fascists and the Jana-badis have come suddenly face to face, hence to repeat the old talks of convening of an all party conference would now be considered to support the Palace massacre and to give recognition to the killers"', adds Prachanda in the paper.

Analysing Prachanda's fresh comments, what could be fairly said that the Maoists and the government forces would come face to face causing further in the nation.

This means that the Bundh called by the Maoists tomorrow will perhaps be a success as usual. What, however, is suggested to the Bundh sponsors is that there should be no killings and acts that divides a Nepali from another Nepali as both were the sons of this soil.

Miscellaneous:
UML falls flat; Koirala not to resign under coercion

Kathmandu: "I will resign next minute if things come under control and that all political parties extend their full cooperation to the 14 point agenda put forth by me for arriving at a national consensus on vital national issues".

-P.M. Koirala.

" I will not resign under coercion".

-P.M. Koirala.

These are the two statements made by nation's Prime Minister at two different intervals but within a fortnight.

Encouraged by Koirala's first statement, the firebrand opposition-the UML-preferred to go in for talks with the congress under Koirala and exhibited that the party too sided with him on national issues of prime concern. However, the UML remained too confident that after the consensus Koirala would resign.

The fact is that listening to the second statement and the message contained therein, the UML has fallen flat and that too very badly politically speaking.

In effect, Koirala as a stubborn personality albeit a political one and the hope against hope of his tendering the resignation and that too voluntarily were two different issues which practically go parallel.

Analysts remain bewildered thinking of the UML leaders' poor analysing capacity of Koirala's remarks.

Koirala critics say that what he says he never does and acts what he or his family men decide or force him to act.

If this were any clue then what could be expected of Prime Minister Koirala at this critical juncture is that if he is really pushed to the wall he would preferably first convince the King to declare emergency and thus mobilize the army to contain the threats of the insurgents. If not then he might bring out one special card under his sleeve and surprise the whole set of his enemies, both in his own party and the opposition camp, by throwing the nation to yet another expensive snap polls.

However, which one will suit him politically most perhaps it is up to Prime Minister Koirala to assess and later act.

The national tragedy is that the citizens including the political parties excluding Girija congress would wish to remain far from both the options currently that might be in the brains of the Prime Minister.

The lay men would appreciate neither mid polls nor the army mobilization through declaration of emergency, commented a local intellectual.

However, one must praise the Himalayan patience of the UML and its allies who still expect the voluntary resignation from a person who would wish to continue in power even after the end of the civilization.

It has got to be watched now as to what strategies the entire opposition acquire for Koirala's ouster. In effect, the fight is already on and the UML has already begun to press Koirala through the use of boycott of the session of the parliament.

But will that be enough to bend Koirala? Perhaps not.

Long human chain against PSR enactment

Kathmandu: The majority of Nepali citizens has taken the enactment of the Public Security Regulations in a very bad taste.

Add to this the strong condemnation, which the draconian regulations has invited from the competent political parties of the nation.

Several Human Rights and pro-public organizations have already forwarded their strong criticisms against the very enactment of the regulations and have appealed the establishment to repeal the same or else prepare itself to face the consequences.

National media organizations too joined the race of condemnation and suggested the government to scrap the regulation as it ran contra to the letter and spirit of the existing constitution.

However, the fact is that the government under Koirala remains adamant and till today has not even hinted that it would give a second thought to the controversial regulations let alone scrap it in the name of democracy.

Surprising of it all is the stoic silence kept by the western democracies based in Kathmandu regarding the bringing into force the most undemocratic regulations by the Koirala regime last month.

Be that as it may, former Speaker Daman Nath Dhungana in cooperation with yet another HR activist, Padma Ratna Tuladhar on Monday indicated the government that the people had not taken the regulations in good taste and that should the people wish they can form a long human chain and encircle the entire Tundikhel in protest of the dangerous regulation.

The insensitive government remains undeterred.

A section of intellectuals' guess that some powerful forces could be well behind Koirala regime acting more or less like a shield to withstand onslaughts of any dimensions.

Perhaps this is Nepal's democracy in its most undemocratic form, which the people are told to bear with or else face penal actions and that too from the administrative head of their respective districts.

All said and done, the protests continues against the PSR and time permitting it could well become a serious headache to the government.

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