I n d e p t h    A n a l y s i s
Election Commission decision to define parties

Kathmandu: The Maoists have resumed their selective execution of identified political workers. The latest, that of the elder son of Hem Bahadaur Malla in Dhanusha district, exemplifies selective targeting of potential grassroots competition. It is now nearly confirm that the Maoists will continue this process in their bid to disrupt the election without their participation in the interim government they forcefully demand.

It is lost in the process of violent politicking that the constitution as such gives no body the authority of such an interim process. It is also for this reason that the enthusiasm for the elections have mellowed to the liking of the Maoists. The UML for one is said to have been shocked at the lack of response at the bottom. The congress for another and of both shades is said to have been aware of this timid popular response to any candidate they float at the grassroots.

The stalemate in simple word is constitutional. The emergency and the dissolution of the parliament is constitutionally linked to the election. The elections can't but be held to break the stalemate. The Maoists are bent to break the elections. The elections can be held only with massive security presence the emergency for their proper use. This will appear decidedly loaded to favor the ruling party. It is this that compels all other parties to oppose such elections. Here the Maoists strategy to disrupt the polls would appear linked.

To add to the problems is the very constitutional role provided to the political parties. Problems solely in one party, the ruling congress party, appear to be badly affecting, or even threatening the constitutional process as a whole. It is not surprising that the election commission is taking its time to decide upon which of the litigants should have the congress Tree and the Flag. In other democracies this would have merely meant a simple decision to impose options to litigants disrupting the election process. One has never witnessed a judicial role from the Election Commission in other democracies as yet. This is meaningful.

This somehow is lost to the political sector that has over the past 12 years, indeed over forty if one may say so, campaigned in the sole issue of political parties as democracy. In essence, political parties are regarded in a democracy merely as a functioning tool of the organization for elections. The Nepalese concept is that the political parties are independent of any other control in politics. The democratic concept is that none is beyond control in the eyes of the law. The Election Commission, strangely by setting a precedent on the decision for the election symbols is going to make a law. This is a quirk of Nepalese politics with longstanding impact on the shape of democracy in Nepal.

Will the CIAA dare to nab corrupt politicians?

Kathmandu: Nepali earth is shaken. The earth under the feet of some of the high placed Finance ministry officials appears missing. A sort of panic has gripped the rest of the finance ministry officials who have been spared this round of the CIAA raids that began at the last weekend late evening.

The Friday's raids conducted by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has been able to bag unconditional support from the lay men and the civil society members who now opine that the CIAA must continue with such raids in the future and give an impression to all and sundry that better late than never a process of bringing the corrupt officials into the net has begun.

The panic has also apparently shifted to the ranks of the HMG/N Secretaries and the Ministries that lay golden eggs. This is visible from the rush seen in the banks and the iron lockers around the banks of those who apparently now feel threatened to keep their wealth intact in the banks and lockers.

"The rush seen in the banks is simply understandable. People who consider themselves as a potential candidate for the CIAA further raids have started shifting their illegally amassed wealth into the reserves of their less known and less well-to-do near and dear relatives", said a banker over telephone to this scribe.

Our own sources in various ministries divulge that high placed officials and the ministers or for that matter their personal assistants appear shocked with the Friday's unexpected event that practically rocked the nation.

It is usually considered that the ministers and the high level bureaucrats normally do not finalize the "shady deal" but their henchmen such as the PA to the minister or some relatives of the minister and the assistant to the bureaucrat suddenly crop up into the scene and thus the unlawful deal is finalized.

The unexpected raid has sent chilling waves to the officials of the foreign ministry, local development ministry, communication ministry, transport ministry, water resource ministry and etc. The majority of the conscious citizenry and the lay men are expecting similar measures from the CIAA to the corrupt officials of these ministries. Some of the ministers in the Deuba cabinet are also being supposedly in the hit-list of the CIAA must be ready for the face the worst now, provided that the Commission is that much serious and daring.

The CIAA will do well, opine observers if it initiates actions against those who enjoyed lucrative posts after the advent of democratic system including the so called ministers, prime ministers, and parliamentarians. Otherwise, question the intellectuals what will be the use of initiating a sectoral action and leaving the other equally corrupt sectors to move scot-free? Rather, the CIAA must have already concluded, opine intellectuals, that the small fishes now under its net from the finance ministry must have not done so or amassed the illicit wealth totaling 6 billion and that too from a meager number of twenty two corrupts without the blessings of the higher political echelons? What the CIAA must do is more than obvious.

If the pending Lauda Air scam could drag G. P. Koirala then the CIAA must also take into account the shady deals finalized by the UML communists in the South China West Airlines. For the CIAA, both the scams have caused stress to the national exchequer and hence, both should get equal priority and the culprits must be brought to the book. This will not enhance the image of the CIAA but also will assure the national and international community that their tax-payers money being poured into Nepal is not going to be misused as before.

To sum up, the foot path dwellers of the recent past, the down-trodden politicians of the immediate past, the practically naked parliamentarians of not so distant past and finally the present day corporation managers who had terrible starving past must be interrogated and if found guilty should be put behind the bars without any mercy. The civil society members are thus encouraged to report to the CIAA if someone around them appears suspicious. Without the active participation of the citizenry CIAA only can not move in the direction wherein it has thankfully been moving.

Khetan explodes again: attacks politicians

Kathmandu: Noted Nepalese industrialist, Mr. Mohan Gopal Khetan, appears now to have turn apolitical. It is clearly indicated in his series of interviews given to some vernacular weeklies over the last couple of weeks and months. What is common in his practically all these expressions is that he possesses a clear and visible distaste for the manner the present day leaders have been steering the nation.

If one were to believe Khetan's statement then most of the Nepali leaders were in one way or the other corrupt ones whose sole intention were to amass wealth all in the name of politics.

The fresh sarcastic criticisms he has made against the leaders could be found in a vernacular weekly printed this Monday morning. Though he has made so many comments on so many covering practically all the facets of Nepali political paraphernalia, however due to space constraint, the following were supposedly the most scathing ones.

The second generation of politicians are more sincere in understanding the owes of the nation, the veteran businessman opines. According to him the present older generation can't perceive the Nepali sentiments for they began their political career being in India and hence, appear more influenced by the country where they grew. He, however, spares the communists and says that this lot knew Nepali sentiments for they led their struggle being in the country itself.

In a surprising revelation, he maintains that at the time of the national referendum of 1980, the then Nepali Congress received hefty donations from India to beat the then ruling system. Here again, according to him the Communists struggled with starving bowels.

In yet another surprising analysis Mr. Khetan sees conspiracy in the Congress theory that the army has got to be brought under the prime minister's office. Khetan sees in this noble Congress theory a foul smell of turning the Kingdom into a republic which is more or less the demand of the Maoists.

If done so, opines Khetan, there would be a permanent danger of turning Nepal into an another Sikkim. Mr. Khetan's analysis, if taken seriously then it is indeed a far serious matter.

Mr. Khetan possesses easy solutions to the Maoists imbroglio under his sleeve. In fact, what he says drawing examples from the Nepali history, is that the Maoists could of course be given general amnesty by the constitutional monarch like what was bestowed upon the leaders like Dr. K. I. Singh and more recently to the head-chopper communists provided that they appease the monarch in the first place and lay down their arms. Sounds rather interesting but is it that easy as uttered by Mr. Khetan?

And finally he indirectly suggests NC president G.P. Koirala to step down to keep his Congress house in order and intact. "Whenever there is a conflict in a house, peace will prevail only after the head of the house quits." This is the general principle, Khetan concludes.

Decentralization in Nepal has been put on a 'reverse gear'

Ambassador Lemp

Kathmandu: The Ambassador of Federal Republic of Germany Mr. Rudiger Lemp has said that his country's foreign policy over the recent years and decades has seen a remarkable degree of consistency which was all along backed by a fairly strong national consensus.

Ambassador Lemp made these remarks at a talk program on "Foreign policy of Germany and its implications for Nepal-German ties" organized by the Nepal Council of World Affairs Monday afternoon.

"A clear break with the totalitarian and militaristic past; initiating reconciliation with former wartime enemies more so with the country's western neighbor France; having an all-out backing for the European Integration and a position solidly anchored within the free-world that is the transatlantic community of Western nations under the leadership of the United States", were some of the hallmarks of the present day Germany, added the Ambassador.

According to Ambassador Lemp, even if the country sees a change in Government in Berlin after the elections due in September next month, the country's foreign policy will not witness any change as, said the Ambassador, the "foreign policy is not an issue" between the various contestants in the upcoming elections.

"Germany is not a super power and will never be", asserted the German envoy.

In the course of the lecture the German diplomat revealed that henceforth no EU member states can no longer negotiate bilateral trade agreements on their own but will have to be channeled through the EU Commission seated in Brussels.

He however, lamented over the lethargic pace of the UN in adapting to the present day realities and thus bringing about certain reforms in the activities of the UN Security Council.

"' A reform of the UNSC to reflect changed global realities since the founding days of the world body more than half a century ago seems to be getting nowhere", so said the Ambassador.

This expression, somehow or the other, hints Germany's silent desire to have a permanent seat at the UNSC which it says it was due to her long before.

Talking on Nepal-German ties, the German dignitary opined that Nepal continued to be one of the focal countries for German economic assistance which at the moment stood to the tune of 15 million Euros.

If on the one hand the German diplomat deplored the Maoists insurgency and the violent measures they have adopted in killing out the civilians, he however, on the other equally maintained that his country together with the EU partners can't remain "indifferent", though, to the way in which the "unavoidable" countermeasures are being carried out.

Ambassador Lemp also made it amply clear that with the absence of the local bodies back in the districts, the smoothly moving process of decentralization in Nepal has been put on a "reverse gear".

This perhaps explains that Neither Germany nor its EU partners were happy with the dissolution of the local level bodies.

Germany's desire is to support Nepal from its taxpayer's money provided the latter accepted to certain basic criteria for receiving such economic assistance which were, for example, providing of good governance; respect for human rights; providing of freedom of information and popular participation in decision making processes.

Concluding his remarks, Ambassador Lemp hoped that a free and fair elections at both the national and the local government level will bring back elected representatives of the people "as soon as this can possibly be achieved"'.

The president of the NCWA Mr. Keshav Raj Jha said that Nepal and Germany had an uninterrupted record of having excellent relations since the establishment of formal diplomatic ties on April 4, 1958.

Bridge, BRAC AND BANGLADESH

Kathmandu: Mr. Abdul-Muyeed Chowdhury, popularly known as Muyeed, and the Executive Director of BRAC (Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee) delivered on a talk program held in the capital under aegis of Centre for Development and Governance.

His lecture consisted mainly on the accomplishments of the BRAC since its inception three decades ago.

BRAC is an NGO that deals with development, education, health, nutrition and population programs. It also conducts training and research activities. BRAC is an organization whose main thrust is to address the needs of the "ultra poor" of the Bangladesh society.

Over the years, the BRAC has expanded its area of operation into all possible sectors which has led it to expand its managerial capacities. As of today, it has 67 regional offices, 433 self-financing area offices and 676 team offices which are scattered around the country. Its area of operation includes finance, farm activities, non-farm activities and human rights, legal education, services, health, nutrition and population and BRAC education program.

Though BRAC was a purely national organization with an objective of assisting the Bangladeshi populace, however, it now has earned international recognition which was proved when Afghan government invited it to help them design similar NGO in order to achieve the same level of success what the BRAC in Bangladesh has already achieved.

The CDG president Dr. B. K. Maskey opined that the BRAC experience if practiced in Nepal could do a lot in addressing the problems of the marginalized population of this ailing Himalayan Kingdom.

Nepal journalists on relay hunger-strike

Kathmandu: The Federation of Nepalese Journalists which began its agitation a month ago against the government's ill treatment meted out to the nation's journalists, more so after the imposition of the emergency, has announced Tuesday afternoon a new but more effective program to press the government to pay heed to its demands.

In the process, the FNJ is all set for staging a relay hunger strike beginning today that will continue till Friday.

The chief-editor of The Telegraph Weekly will join the aforesaid relay hunger strike on Thursday morning at 110'clock at the famous Bhadrakali temple located close to the Military headquarters.

The FNJ has invited journalists intending to join the strike by sending their names in advance.

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