In depth Analysis

Maoists' gain amidst internal chaos!

Kathmandu: Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala's four day official visit to France is likely to be more eventful at home than France. He leaves behind a bundle of parliamentary problems with the opposition insisting on crowding the Well with demands for his resignation thereby interrupting work in parliament. He also leaves behind his political party that remains paralyzed with more than a third of his parliamentary party members insisting that the opposition demand is right to demand his resignation over the Lauda affair. Curiously, the France trip appears an attraction all its own. His predecessor poor Krishna Prasad Bhattarai a year ago was pleading that he be allowed to take up the trip to France prior to acceding to Girija babu's pressures for a resignation.

Whatever the attraction-and these deserve a serious probe-one highlighted by the Girija controlled media is the fact that Girija babu will now be on record as the lone Prime Minister from Nepal to have paid an official visit to France after SHREE TEEN MAHARAJ JUNG BAHADUR RANA. If this is a record, its achievements are somehow under played by the fact that the first Rana Prime Minister sojourned abroad on way to and upon return from England, then the lone super power and government of India, after he had set his house in order at home. Girija babu appears to have left his country in unprecedented disarray, much less his business and so questions as to the actual purposes of the trip have only naturally to be raised. Equally interesting is the fact that Girija babu should depart the day after His Majesty the King returned from a State visit to China. The King who was guest of honor at the Boao conference has made a significant response to the Chinese Asia initiative by stressing in his speech the matter of national and Asian perspectives amidst the rapid globalization of today. Here too does one see a subtle stress in approach. There is widespread feeling that Nepali national interest has been severely compromised over the decade amidst the compulsions of organizational politics in the current system. In so many ways therefore the Girija departure also epitomizes the malaise in Nepali governance.

As paralyzed as things stand Nepali concern over the creeping Maoist successes in the country become a continuous reminder that genuine national options to the crises are gradually eroding. The opposition remains adamant in its demand for the Prime Minister's resignation and both parliamentary and street politics appear preoccupied with the agenda. In effect, the Maoist problem remains merely an administrative concern of law and order with the politics of it all being removed from the national schedule. It is this that is allowing the insurgency to make headway. The bulk of the countryside is gradually sliding from both the government and the opposition grip. Indeed one source has it that particularly the UML and ML as also other minor left parties have been unable to retain their grassroots workers in the presence of options for local attractions as Maoist cadre.

With the congress grassroots virtually dependent on administrative support, the gain in the numbers of cadre by the Maoists is likely to tell on the shape of things to come.

France should have given second thought before inviting Koirala!

Kathmandu: Leaving the entire nation to the mercy of the Almighty, the "'accused" Prime Minister of Nepal, Monsieur Girija Prasad Koirala left for a four day working trip to the Fifth Republic.

Questions are being raised from all possible responsible quarters regarding Premier Koirala's decision to leave the country at such a moment when the whole nation apparently has stood against him and his establishment over the Prime Minister's alleged involvement in the Lauda air procurement procedures. As a result of this the ongoing 19th session of the parliament has not moved an inch from the point from where it started that is the whole month of its beginning the parliament has not even witnesses a minute business.

The parliament will continue to be boycotted by the entire rock-solid opposition in the days ahead as usual and will continue its one point demand and that being the summary resignation of the Prime Minister over his involvement in the Lauda air procurement.

Talking at an all party meeting convened by speaker Taranath Bhat the other day, the Prime Minister bluntly refused the opposition claim and refused to tender the resignation as demanded by the opposition since a month or so. In doing so Prime minister Koirala made it amply clear to his detractors in the opposition camp that he was a different stuff and could not be bent by pressures of the sorts currently acquired by them.

Listening to Koirala's rough and tough remarks at the meeting, the opposition camp has been forced to go in for some more effective alternatives for Koirala's ouster.

Opposition quarters have told the Telegraph that some suitable bur pretty effective measures would be devised soon to bring the Prime minister to the foot path.

"We are thinking on the lines of Nepal Bundh, torch demonstrations and off-the light to press the Prime Minister to resign", said the same source.

This means that some more Bundhs were in the pipeline.

Intellectuals, however, remain divided on Koirala's France trip.

A section of the intellectuals apparently close to congress camp say that Koirala's decision to pay a visit to France will benefit Nepal in more ways than one.

According to them, this trip will draw the attention of the host country to keep Nepal in their priority list of support. The next benefit would be that trade and commerce between the two countries will get a boost.

Thirdly and most importantly, the Koirala trip will attract the French companies to invest in Nepal in the sectors such as Telecommunication and energy sectors.

The other section of the intellectuals though agree to the above mentioned benefits for Nepal from the Prime Ministerial trip to France, however, they maintain that the trip itself has come at a time when proper home work could not be done prior to the trip. They also opine that since the host country remains completely informed of the visiting Prime Minister's shaky position back in Nepal and also understands the cause behind the whole stir.

"I can't imagine how the French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin will treat Nepal's Prime minister during the official level talks. The French Premier perhaps knows well that he is talking to a very shaky and accused Nepali Prime Minister whose resignation is being demanded by the entire opposition with full force. I pity for Lionel Jospin simply because he can't exhibit his displeasure at the talks for it is he who has invited Nepali Prime Minister at a very inappropriate time", said a political scientist from the Tribhuban University.

Yet another set of scholars ventilate their anger towards the Fifth Republic. They say that France by inviting an "accused"' Prime Minister will boost the morale of Koirala.

" The red carpet welcome extended to Prime Minister Koirala in France will only enhance the lost credibility and the legitimacy of an almost decaying set of arrangement in Nepal", commented a sociologist at the TU.

However, he also added that the fault lies not on those who invited Koirala but instead on them who wished this visit to materialize at this critical juncture caring little about the situation in the domestic front.

Be that as it may, let us hope that our bilateral ties get a real boost despite the fact that Nepal could not send a sacrosanct leader to negotiate with a very powerful country of the developed West.

Country report released by US Department of State, Feb.2001
Denial of Fair Public Trial in Nepal

Kathmandu: The US Department of State recently released country report on Nepal which created a stir in Nepal's judiciary sector.

The report has compiled various informations regarding the state of Human Rights in the country and has also touched upon the extrajudicial killings committed by the Nepali police force. The report has been released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor.

The portion of the report which drew the attention of the nation's Chief Justice is printed below-chief editor.

The Constitution provides for an independent judiciary and the Supreme Court has demonstrated independence; however, lower level courts remain vulnerable to political pressure. In addition, bribery of lower level judges and court staff is endemic.

The Supreme Court has the right to review the constitutionality of legislation passed by Parliament. It has ruled that provisions in the 1992 Labor Act and in the 1991 Nepal Citizenship Act are unconstitutional. In 1995 the Court also decided that the dissolution of the Parliament at the request of a former Prime Minister was unconstitutional, and ordered the body restored.

Appellate and district courts have become increasingly independent, although they sometimes bend to political pressure. In Rolpa, one of the districts most affected by the "People's War," human rights groups have accused the district courts of acting in complicity with CDO's in violating detainees' rights. These groups allege that arrest without a warrant, prolonged detention without trial, and police tortures occur in these areas.

The judicial system consists of three levels: District courts, appellate courts, and the Supreme Court. The King appoints judges on the recommendation of the Judicial Council, a constitutional body chaired by the Chief Justice. The Council is also responsible for the assignment of judges, disciplinary action, and other administrative matters. Judges decide cases; there is no jury system.

Delays in the administration of justice are a severe problem. According to the latest statistics, approximately 150,000 cases are active throughout the country. The Supreme Court has a backlog of approximately 15,000 cases, which it expects to take 4 years to clear. A case appealed to the Supreme Court may take more than 10 years to conclude.

The Constitution provides for the right to counsel, equal protection under the law, protection from double jeopardy, protection from retroactive application of the law, and for public trials, except in some security and customs cases. All lower court decisions, including acquittals, are subject to appeal. The Supreme Court is the court of last appeal, but the King may grant pardons. The King can also suspend, commute, or remit any sentence. On the recommendation of the Government, the King often pardons up to 12 prisoners--if they have served 75 percent of their sentence and shown good behavior--on national holidays.

Although the Constitution provides for the right to counsel, there were reports of cases in which authorities allegedly penalized attorneys involved in the defense of human rights. Amnesty International reported that on January 8, lawyer and human rights defender Rajendra Dhakal was arrested in Tanahum district; the police had reportedly obtained a warrant for his arrest because of his alleged involvement in Maoist violence. Dhakal, who was chairman of the Gorkha district bar association and a member of the local human rights organization Forum for Protection of Human Rights (FOPHUR), had been arrested repeatedly since the start of the Maoist insurgency. Dhakal reportedly has disappeared since his arrest, as has teacher, lawyer, and human rights organization member Bishnu Pukar Shrestha (see Section 1.b.). Kathmandu newspapers reported that in July four lawyers pleading for a group of detained journalist themselves were ordered detained by district judge Surendra Bir Sing Basnet as they tried to express their views on the judicial order to detain the three journalists. After other attorneys came to protest the arrests, the attorneys were released (see Section 2.a.).

Military courts adjudicate cases concerning military personnel, who are immune from prosecution in civilian courts. In 1992 the Supreme Court ruled that military courts could no longer try civilians for crimes involving the military services.

The authorities may prosecute terrorism or treason cases under the Treason Act. Specially constituted tribunals hear these trials in closed sessions. No such trials took place during the past 4 years.

There were no reports of political prisoners.

Who is afraid of whom?

Kathmandu: The Maoists insurgency led by Chairman Comrade Prachanda has exhibited its inclination for talks with the government.

This has come to the open through a statement released by the Maoists well after the party concluded their second general convention some two weeks back.

To recall, it was this convention which was tactfully utilised by Comrade Prachanda to elevate himself as the Chairman of the insurgency. However, what position the newly elected chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal alias Prachanda has offered to his compatriot Dr. Babu Ram Bhattarai is yet to be ascertained.

The left leaning leader Padma Ratna Tuladhar surprised many a brains Monday when he divulged that on that very morning he had "talks" with some of the high ranking "comrade" of the insurgency. He however did not disclose which leader he talked to.

Media reports guess that Tuladhar could have talked with the new chairman that is Prachanda himself.

According to P.R.Tuladhar, the Maoists high command was ready to go in for yet another round of talks with the establishment provided the latter heeded to their minimum "demands".

The minimum demands sought by the insurgents perhaps include the revelation of the whereabouts of their comrade-in-arms arrested by the police in the past.

An energetic Tuladhar also told the gathering that this was the best opportune moment to bring the insurgents to the table and ease the panic prevailing in the nation for well over five years or so.

On the occasion Tuladhar impressed upon the government to prepare itself for a dialogue with the insurgents.

Unconfirmed sources claim that Premier Koirala prior to his French sojourn requested Tuladhar to convince the insurgents about the seriousness of his government for a dialogue with the former. Likewise, DPM Poudel is also supposed to have repeated the same request to Tuladhar.

What is interesting to note is that both the government and the insurgents have expressed their willingness for holding talks concurrently. What does this mean?

Should the people conclude that Prachanda in his new incarnation prefers peace instead of what he is doing now? Or is it that the new chairman of the party is afraid of the formation of the Armed Police Force? Or is it a ploy to linger the government in a dilemma of a talk and collect strength for yet another major attack on the establishment?

The preference for talks with the insurgents exhibited by the Koirala regime is also puzzling in the sense that what could be that factor which pressed Koirala to go in for talks? Is it the people pressure or a Royal one? Is it that the donors have pressurized Koirala, which has become evident from various speeches and interviews made by them in the recent weeks? Or is it that he wants to regain his legitimacy to what he has loosed of late, by pleading the insurgents to release the territories under their control back to the establishment?

Keep on guessing.

Summing up, the fact is that the new overtures from both the warring quarters bode definitely well for the nation.

CFI official meets Telegraph editor

Kathmandu: Ms. Sophie Le' Bars, the Asia division chief of the Canal Francaise International paid a courtesy call on the chief editor of the Telegraph Weekly last week at its office in Dillibazar, Kathmandu.

CFI is a popular French company that buys informative, educative television good programs and sells to those television companies who wish to entertain their audience with quality programs.

During the talks with the chief editor of this weekly, Ms.Sophie dwelt at length the process on how to come in contact with the CFI and the procedures to be later acquired for receiving the programs of the CFI to be used by the local television that buys their programs.

"We also work on exchange basis", added Ms.Sophie.

According to her, Nepal Television exhibited interest in having some of the good programs from the CFI for its use in Nepal.

During her four days trip in Nepal, she met some of the media men and persons who were incharge of private television channels currently operating in Nepal.

According to Ms.Sophie, the CFI were a French TV programs provider direct to the TV stations; a free daily package delivered by satellite; a full digital telecasting and possessed a daily programming dedicated to 127 terrestrial domestic TVs in 76 countries the world over.

"The CFI telecasts 15,000 hours annually and 27,000 hours are being rebroadcast by the affiliate TVs around the world"', revealed Ms.Sophie.

A reception was thrown by the weekly in her honor, which was attended by few Nepali media men.

AF reception

Kathmandu: The Asia Foundation, Nepal office threw a reception in honor of the visiting members of the Foundation's strategic planning team last week.

The team members included Dr. Gordon Hein, Vice President for programs; Dr. William Cole, Director looking after Governance and Law; Dr. Franck Wiebe, Chief Economist and Director for Economic Reform and Development and Ms. Zhang Ye, Director for China Country Program.

The team has already left Kathmandu.

Israeli Ambassador visiting Biratnagar

Kathmandu: At the active initiation of the Biratnagar Press Club, the newly accredited Ambassador of the State of Israel, H.E. Abraham Nir is visiting Biratnagar next week.

During his stay in Nepal's second important industrial town, Ambassador Nir will visit some of the educational institutions, meet the local leaders and the intellectuals.

Plans are being charted in Biratnagar for making Ambassador Nir's trip a grand success.

According to the Biratnagar Press Club, the trip of the Israeli Ambassador will be a sort of familiarization trip which will provide the visiting diplomat with an opportunity to meet and interact with the local people and understand their culture, tradition and the likes.

Ambassador Nir is also supposed to interact with the local media men on the day he arrives in Biratnagar.

Journalist Surendra Aryal, who also looks after the office of the Telegraph weekly there is also the vice president of the Press Club, is coordinating the whole affair regarding the visit of Ambassador Nir in Biratnagar.

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