Indepth Analysis

Nepali Monarchy in focus

Kathmandu: In a strange quirk of fate, Nepali monarchy appears to have been given a new lease of life by Nepali politics. Of a sudden, public rostrum are being addressed on the indispensability of the monarchy and the elusiveness of the much-publicized Republicanism. This sudden assertion on part of mainstream politics has provided an obvious setback for the Maoists suggesting that the third round of talks between the government and the Maoists is likely to bend longstanding demands from the latter regarding the constitution and the monarchy.

More such setbacks as an outcome of this assertion must also do with the reported clampdown across the border on "Nepali terrorists" who have had to flee such shelters and operate from within Nepal. Within the country, moreover, strong and visible army-police actions on the movement and the possession of arms and the forceful use of force have been dealing a definite blow to Maoists organizational activities in public. Encouraged by this perhaps and understandably also instigated by mainstream organizations, the Maoists are facing a definite public backlash.

All these suggest that the third round of talks see a visible advantage for the Deuba government. It is not surprising therefore that the Maoists claim that they have acquiesced to government demands of a release of people held by the insurgents. Of a sudden the environment has changed to the detriments of the Maoists standpoints. Of a sudden, monarchy has once again been fashionable in mainstream politics.

But this is not enough. The international war against terrorism is hardly a ruse for politics to make such evident compromises. And, compromises they are. It is conveniently forgotten, for example, that even sitting Home Minister Khum Bahadur Khadka only last year advocated republicanism. Both the congress and the communists only state that the monarchy is required for now; suggesting that it can be dispensed with after its power among the people are made to erode. These on the other hand suggest that Nepali politics will continue to concentrate on eroding the power of the monarchy in order to make republicanism possible. In so doing the new monarchists are merely making strategic compromises. By this one may continue to expect that anti-monarchical politics will remain the forte of the congress-communist politics, as has been the case over the decade until republicanism is possible. By so doing the difference between the Maoists and the other mainstream political organizations regarding the monarchy is merely one a strategy. It is strategic to day to talk of the utility of the monarchy. It remains strategic to whip it on grounds of popular politics.

Nepal and India sharply differ on Maoists insurgency; talks this week

Kathmandu: Nepal's conspiratorial politics was given a "meaningful" twist some time back when the ruling Nepali Congress president Girija Prasad Koirala bluntly alleged the Nepali Royal Palace and the Indian establishment to have been nurturing the Nepal's Maoists insurgency.

Albeit President Koirala made these utterances after he was forced to relinquish the Prime Ministerial chair.

As if this were not enough, Madhav Nepal-the leader of the main opposition-the UML too found it opportune and hit India very hard and almost repeated the same allegation against Indian establishment.

Whether by design or otherwise, president Koirala and Madhav Nepal's allegations against India came close on the heels of Indian external affairs minister Jaswant Singh's conclusion of the official visit to Nepal.

To add to this confusion, instead of reacting to Madha-Koirala allegations, the Indian leadership came out with a surprising statement that now declares the Nepalese Maoists as "terrorists".

The confused Nepali population fails to understand the nitty-gritty's behind the Indian declaration made at this juncture when the Nepali leadership is busy in arriving at an amicable solution to the overly stretched Maoists imbroglio.

"It is really very surprising to note the Indian stance taken in the recent days towards the Nepali Maoists. They could have done so in the very early and the formative days of the insurgency. The timing of this declaration is indeed meaningful", commented a political scientist who wished anonymity.

Adds yet another political analyst: "If we carefully read the Indian declaration wherein they declare Maoists as terrorists has definitely come when the Indian foreign minister had a long chat with Nepal's new constitutional monarch which were followed by two separate but yet similar comments made by Nepal's two top political stalwarts in which both alleged India to have been supporting the insurgency".

In effect, what transpired in between the Nepali monarch and the visiting Indian dignitary is very difficult to guess. Nevertheless, political analysts do see some sort of linkages in between the meetings in Nepal and the abrupt declaration made by Jaswant Singh upon return to his country.

Two things could be analyzed in this background. Firstly, India in doing so perhaps wishes to hint the Nepali population that they were not supporting the Nepali insurgency as per the allegations made by President Koirala and UML leader Madhav Nepal. Secondly, India could have arrived at a tacit understanding with Nepalese side in sorting out the Maoists rebellion jointly and in the process penetrate into the security issues under the pretext of the known ISI paraphernalia.

The second one appears to be close to the truth. For, it is not a secret that India has ever remained annoyed with Nepal for it sees the latter as a haven for the ISI which create trouble in neighboring Indian territories.

It is in this light the fresh deployment of the Indian military men at the Nepal-India borders should be taken. In doing so, India has been able to hit two birds with one stone. Firstly, it sends signals to Nepal that henceforth the Nepalese Maoists neither can enter into nor bring in weapons to Nepal using Indian soil. Secondly and most importantly, the Indian decision to deploy the military men at the long porous border is to watch the overly blown ISI activities in Nepal and to prevent the illegal entrance of the ISI men into their territory. Could be guesswork only. Nepali intellectuals would do well if they ponder over the matter and come out with their own analyses.

These analyses apart, the fact is that the sudden Indian declaration regarding the Nepali Maoists has created panic in the insurgency. The manner the insurgents and their possible shelters in India are being searched has definitely forced the Maoists leaders to limit their activities in Nepal which in so many ways also apparently has weakened the bargaining position of the insurgents.

All put together, the September 11 events in the US and the subsequent deployment of military men at the borders by India plus the unprecedented zeal and friendship seen in the Nepal's police force and the military hint that the Maoists sooner or later will have to arrive at a compromise with the Nepalese establishment.

Fortunately enough, the third round of Maoists-Government talks are all set for this week.

Still a question remains unanswered yet. What could be the real Indian motive in declaring the Maoists as terrorists at this juncture when the government and the insurgents were all set for the third round of talks? This follows yet another question indeed. Should Nepal government continue talks with the insurgents whom the Indian side has declared as terrorists? And finally, should the Nepal government's desire to go in for talks with the insurgents mean that the Maoists insurgency continues to be a political issue that warrants dialogue and not the other way round? Does this mean that Nepali establishment rejects the Indian allegation made against the Maoists?

Confusions galore indeed. However, the fact is that some one has to answer these questions sooner or later.

Maoists must utilize government's 'rare gesture' this round of talks

Kathmandu: Whether the Maoists like it or not, the charm mixed with threat and social service together that existed in the minds of the Nepalese population for the Maoists insurgency for quite some time abruptly came to its lowest ebb when the insurgency came to the surface and began talking irrelevant and absurd things. This was coupled with the Chanda Atank, donation terror- which in effect eroded whatever positive image the population had for the insurgency knowingly or even unknowingly.

The biggest ever damage the Maoists invited for their insurgency was Krishna Bahadur Mahara's abrupt declaration that they could hit the government secretariat Singh Durbar and the Nepal's Royal Palace much in the same manner as terrorists did in Pentagon and the World Trade Center in the United States on September 11 last month.

The Nepalese citizens evidently took Mahara's immature utterances in a very distasteful manner. In doing so the common men exhibited their longing for peace which they expected could dawn in the nation from the ongoing talks. The fact is that the lay men were forced to give second thought to the entire activities of the insurgency and in the process perhaps could have concluded that Maoists insurgency could go to any length and extent should the talks fail.

In essence this boomeranged. Understandably and quite naturally, the people sided with the government and the existing position of the Maoists, analysts opine, is that they stand as a very feeble force in the nation.

However, the fresh utterances coming as it does from the government and the insurgent quarters are more than reassuring. Both the parties in talks have tentatively decided to go in for the third round of talks some where at the end of this weak. Comrade Prachanda's fresh declaration that his insurgency is all set to release the policemen currently in their custody also hints that the Maoists too consider the talks very important at least in the changed context, regionally and globally. (Here is a flash: The insurgents have released 17 policemen on Tuesday. This bespeaks of their desire to attend the talks indeed).

While Comrade Prachanda's conciliatory sort of statements amply hint at the fact that the top stalwarts of the insurgency possess some kind feelings towards the people and wish not to annoy the already annoyed population further, however, what is also visibly clear is that the second generation of the leaders in the insurgency prefer to be in the limelight by talking absurd and high sounding rhetoric.

It is here that the top rung of the insurgency leadership must concentrate their attention. Or else what would be presumed is that either the top stalwarts find it difficult now to convince their own cadre regarding the ongoing peace process or their grips over their own activists have become pretty weaker in the recent days.

Be that as it may, the Maoists must take note of the hard fact that the government is all set to sit with them and finalize peace through negotiations at a time when neighboring India has already dubbed the insurgency as a terrorist one. This amply suggests that for the Nepali establishment, the insurgency continue to be of a political nature, which could be sorted out through the dialogue process.

The message should be clear to the Maoists. The insurgents are thus advised to utilize the moment and help restore peace in the Kingdom so that their own brethren sleep in peace.

Unconfirmed reports have it that the Maoists have summarily deleted the demand for republicanism in Nepal. Their demands will now concentrate on the formation of an interim government and effecting certain changes in the existing constitution. What changes the insurgents' wish to effect in the 1990 constitution is not clear. However, Speaker Rana Bhat says that if the Maoists wish to come into the political mainstream, the constitution has got to be changed.

There are scores of other leaders who perhaps subscribe to Speaker's fresh views.

If things go as per schedule, chances were there that the Maoists side this round would be led by Dr. Babu Ram Bhattarai.

Koirala nominates yes-men in party's CC, detractors' charge

Kathmandu: President Girija Prasad Koirala has once again exhibited his special preference for his "yes men" by summarily inducting most of them into the party's central committee.

The faces freshly inducted in the CC by Koirala are considered to be more loyal to him than the party or whatsoever.

While this has already created a sort of anger mixed panic in Koirala's rival camp, schemes are being devised in order to give a befitting reply to president Koirala and his men by not including them in the would be expansion of the Deuba cabinet.

To recall, the ruling Nepali congress is a party, which invites every time a chaotic situation in the party as and when there is a minor-major shakeup in the party or even in the cabinet. As usual, the fresh induction of Koirala's men in the party's CC should be seen in this light.

That the congress thespian Krishna Prasad Bhattarai is very angry with Koirala's nominating only his men in the party's CC becomes evident from his sharp comment made in that regard.

" As is the party president, so is the nomination"', is how Bhattarai commented.

While this could be entirely an internal matter of the ruling congress, however, if past experiences were any clue then what could be fairly guessed is that the nomination episode must have by now soured Prime Minister Deuba's relation with his own party president Girija babu.

Koirala loyalists say that it should be left entirely to the president of the party whom to nominate and whom to reject.

Retorting to this claim, men in the Deuba camp guess in advance that Koirala camp will bring heaven down earth if Koirala's men do not find ample seats in Deuba's impending cabinet expansion.

Perhaps calculating this possibility, Prime Minister Deuba apparently has shifted the cabinet expansion exercise for a later date and thus avoided a direct confrontation with his bete noir president Koirala.

"Prime Minister Deuba's main concern is arriving at a solution to the Maoists issue at the earliest. Why should he waste time in trifling matters", said a Deuba loyalist.

"The nominations made by president Koirala has not come as a total surprise for us in this camp. Since we understand Koirala better and were well aware of his weaknesses and hence had predicted in advance that it would happen", added the Deuba loyalist.

Be that as it may, the nomination episode will take its toll in the party which time permitting will entertain the nation as usual.

NEFAS seminar on civic education

Kathmandu: The Nepal Foundation for Advanced Studies organized a seminar on "Educating the Young about Civic Education" for school teachers in Tansen, Palpa on September 30, last month.

The Friedrich Ebert Stiftung funded the seminar.

The Tansen teachers felt the need for civic education in their schools to remedy the perversions surfacing in the political life of the nation. Most of the attending teachers linked the degradation seen in the political arena to the lack of proper political education.

The teachers said that civic education had been in the guise of one subject or the other in the past like Nagrik Sikshya, Social Studies, or Nepal Parichaya, and they needed one today to spread the constitutional messages to the people at large.

"The need for imbibing students with civic rights and responsibilities was absolutely necessary in order to sustain democracy", they said.

Prior to the commencement of the discussion at the seminar, Professor Guna Nidhi Sharma, Economics Department, T.U, made his presentation on economics to suit the Nepalese needs while another TU teacher, Khagendra Prasai spoke on the need to contextualise political culture according to the nation's own existing value systems.

In the opening session, Dr. Diebold of the FES said that the seminar on civic education would help strengthen the democratic institutionalization process in the country.

Professor Ananda Shrestha, the director of the NEFAS, welcomed the participants.

Dev Raj Dahal highlighted the importance of the civic education wherein he said that the subject in question was being taught in almost every democratic country.

Chatraraj Shakya, a local Tansen teacher, chaired the discussion session. Altogether 50 participants including the members of civil society attended the one-day seminar.

Begum Khaleda Zia is new B'desh leader

Kathmandu: The Bangladeshi voters have preferred Begum Khaleda Zia as their new Prime Minister this round of elections held on October, 2001.

International observers including residential diplomats in Dhaka have said that the just concluded elections in Bangladesh were held in a fair and impartial manner.

Begum Zia, the chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party or otherwise the BNP has secured enough seats which now allows her to enjoy absolute majority in the new parliament.

Begum Zia enjoyed the support from other like minded political parties during the elections such as Jamat E Islami; one faction of the Jatiya Party and Islamic Okhay.

At time of the writing this news, 3.20-pm afternoon, the BNP led by Madame Zia has already secured 151 seats and is leading in other 40 seats.

The total number of seats in the Bangladesh parliament is 300.

The Awami League led by Madame Sheikh Hasina has till now bagged 40 seats and is leading in other 21 seats.

The sudden bouncing back to power of Madame Zia in neighboring Bangladesh will have its profound impact, predict Nepali political scientists, in Nepal's politics for obvious reasons.

The self-proclaimed Nepali democrats would do well if they spend some time in reading the writings on the wall which have come all along from Bangladesh.

Failing to understand the B'desh message by Nepali leaders could be disastrous time permitting, add Nepali psephologists.

The voters of South Asia are really very difficult to understand indeed. Nepali voters can't remain exception to that.

Most pleasingly, the neighboring nation now possesses a Prime Minister whose sentimental attachments towards this country needs no further explanation. Begum Zia knows Nepal and her leaders very well and hence what could be expected at this juncture is that Nepal and B'desh both would work in tandem for the well being and prosperity of the people living in this part of South Asia.

The Telegraph extends congratulations to the new leader of Bangladesh.

Splash Bar and Grill at Radisson Hotel

Kathmandu: The Radisson Hotel recently announced the opening of yet another outlet, SPLASH BAR & GRILL.

The unique aspect of this new addition, says Prerana Rai, the Public Relations officer, is that it is situated on the 6th floor offering a 189 degree beautiful panoramic view of the Kathmandu city and mountain range which includes Ganesh Himal among others.

Last Thursday, the Hotel organized a brief informal interaction with the local journalists wherein the Hotel authorities dwelt at length about the Splash Bar.

Splash also overlooks the swimming pool on the 5th floor, the venue is ideal to chill out with exotic cocktails-mocktails that are served and the food which is focused on Roll-ups with fillings of one's choice like Tenderloin, Thai Chicken, Cajun style Cottage Cheese, Vegetable Teriyaki and Grilled items like Pork Chops, Grilled Prawns, Kingfish Steaks, Bratwurst Brochettes.

AFGHANISTAN
A British journalist arrested by Taliban

Kathmandu: In a letter addressed to the Taliban Foreign Minister, Moulvi Wakil Ahmad Motawakil, Reporters Without Borders (RSF-Reporters Sans Frontières) protested against the arrest of journalist Yvonne Ridley of the British Sunday Express newspaper. "The reporter was only exercising her right to inform international public opinion about the situation inside Afghanistan", said Robert Ménard, General Secretary of RSF. The organisation urged the minister to ensure the release of the British journalist and her two guides. "Arresting reporters who are only providing first hand accounts of the situation of the Afghan people is not the best way to reassure international critics," added M. Ménard.

According to information obtained by RSF, on 28 September 2001 the Taliban militia arrested journalist Yvonne Ridley in Daur Buba district (near Jalalabad, 15 kilometres from the Pakistani border). The journalist with two "guides" of unknown nationality, was wearing a burqah, the Afghan attire and veil imposed on women by the Taliban. According to the Afghan Islamic Press agency that provided the information, the Taliban also seized a camera. The authorities accused the journalist of having entered Afghanistan "illegally". She allegedly had no passport with her. Yvonne Ridley is now detained in Jalalabad.

The news editor of the tabloid Sunday Express, Jim Murray, contacted by RSF, confirmed that Yvonne Ridley crossed the border on 26 September with two guides, one of them a driver who claimed to know the area "very well". She had not contacted the newspaper since arriving in Afghanistan, although she had a mobile phone with her. Her newspaper described Yvonne Ridley, 41, as a very experienced reporter who had covered several conflicts. She had been in Pakistan for several days, with a colleague from the Daily Express, to cover the situation in the country and at the border. Jim Murrray told RSF he had no direct information about Yvonne Ridley's current situation.

Yvonne Ridley is the first foreign journalist to have been arrested by the Taliban since the 11 September 2001. Hundreds of reporters are now in Pakistan and some of them have been trying to enter Afghanistan. Last week, a BBC crew, dressed as Afghan women, managed to get inside Afghanistan and film in villages near the border.

In the report "The taliban and the media" published in September 2000, RSF wrote: "In August 2000 the authorities introduced strict regulations to cover the work of foreign reporters and special correspondents. On arrival in Kabul, they are given a list of "21 points to be respected". The first is to give a true account of "what is really happening in Afghanistan" and not to "offend the people's feelings". Next comes a long litany of recommendations which might amount to no more than bureaucratic harassment in other countries but which testify to the Afghan authorities' distrust of the foreign press and their determination to maintain strict control of reporters on Afghan soil. A document published by the information and culture department states that foreign journalists are not allowed to "go into private houses", "interview an Afghan woman without the department's permission" or "photograph or film people". Journalists are also supposed to tell the department when they travel outside Kabul and to respect the country's "no-go areas". (Š) No penalties for the infringement of these regulations are specified in the documents issued by the authorities.

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