I n d e p t h    A n a l y s i s
"Insurgency" is fueled by grievances of corruption, vast inequalities in opportunity and poverty
Development and security aid to Nepal to go together - United States of America

Kathmandu: The United States of America has made it abundantly clear that while on the one hand it is encouraged by the announcement of a ceasefire by the government and the Maoists rebels recently, then on the other she has also hinted that the US is pained to learn the "differences between the Palace, the interim government, and the political parties" which she thinks "threaten to undermine the chance for dialogue that the ceasefire provides".

In a statement made by the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Donald Camp, in Washington last week, the US also wishes to hint the potential political forces of the country to forge a united front to deal with the situation provided by the announcement of the ceasefire.

A close look at the statement made by Donald Camp, a few things come to the fore.

Firstly, Mr. Camp maintains that the US will have two pronged policy to continue with its policy in Nepal by simultaneously increasing the development aid in an effort to alleviate the legitimate grievances that helped give rise to the Maoists insurgency in the first place and by supplying the government with security aid inorder to enable the Royal Nepal Army to contain the maoists threat.

This means that the US will have carrot and sticks both for the Maoists. At yet another plane, the US wishes to send warning signals to the Maoists stating that it would be wise for the insurgency to make the talks with the government a positive one or else it might declare the insurgency a terrorist outfit.

Secondly, the US, better late than never, recognises that one of the root causes for the spread of insurgency in the country could be the "grievances over corruption, vast inequalities in opportunity, access to government services, and poverty" and concludes that the talks between the government and the Maoists rebels "must address these problems".

Undenyingly, the US this time appears to have gone deeper into the possible root causes that could have caused the insurgency to take a frightening dimension in a short span of seven years.

Thirdly, the US also makes it clear that the security forces too have at various intervals committed human rights abuses for which it says: " We have unfortunately seen an unacceptable abuses over the last year on both the sides". Having noted this, the US side gleefully maintains that it has convinced the RNA for the creation a Human Rights Cell which is perhaps already in existence.

Fourthly, the US clearly admits that Nepal is "one part of the world in which Indian, Chinese and American interests are in almost perfect consonance". Donald Camp however, in the statement doesn’t divulge what the American interests were in this country which were in total agreement with the interests of the Indians and those of the Chinese?

Fifthly, the US wishes to claim the present decision of the Maoists to go in for talks with the government as a "tangible demonstration of our policy success". This means that directly or even indirectly, the US must have played a major role in bringing the two warring rivals together that resulted in the announcement of a ceasefire. How the key players in Nepal will take US admission is altogether a different matter. More so, how the Maoists will react to this US claim will have to be watched. However, analysts say that the US began taking keen interest in the Maoists affairs when Ms. Christina Rocca visited Nepal last December.

Sixthly, the US gives a clean chit to this government and says the present government led by Mr. Chand was not an "unconstitutional" one as described by Koirala and Madhav Nepal but instead it was an "interim government". This perhaps should bring Koirala and Madhav Nepal to senses.

And lastly, the US doesn’t hide its concern over the statements made by the Maoists wherein they wished to replace the constitutional monarchy with an absolute communist regime which for the US amounted to be "overtly hostile". The US also appears to have taken serious note of the insurgents defending the Khmer Rouge as one indication of the kind of instability and humanitarian catastrophe that might follow a take over. If this would have materialised, predicts the US, would have made Nepal a "failed State".

Koirala hoping against hope!

Kathmandu: President of the Nepali Congress, Shri Girija Prasad Koirala is hoping against hope.

He and his party would wish the restoration of the now dissolved parliament getting a new lease of life which the monarch would perhaps never oblige.

The sad fact is that why Koirala and his party men wish the King to commit yet another constitutional blunder when they think that the King has already committed several blunders of the same dimension in the past more so at time of the formation of the Lokendra Bahadur Chand’s government.

To recall, Koirala and his party men together with the UML have already dubbed the Chand establishment as unconstitutional.

Koirala’s consideration apparently is if the King restores the parliament, it would mean that the King will not only have washed off his previous constitutional blunders but would also mean that the country’s already derailed democratic system and the constitution would be back on the track.

In effect this would mean just the otherwise say analysts.

In their opinion, if the King were allowed to revive the parliament would mean that he would yet again use his "executive powers" currently residing in Him which as per the major political parties should have been with the government. By the same token, if the King is allowed to use his residual powers, which he has not as per the 1990 constitution and according to the major political parties, for the revival of the parliament would again mean that the King is being told to act again in an unconstitutional manner for correcting a blunder that had already been considered as unconstitutional. This would further mean that the King is being told to set a sort of "precedence" which time permitting the King might bring into force as and when he so desired.

The fact is also that, Koirala and his colleagues must understand, the King will not revive the parliament for if he does so on pressure from the congress would mean a grave "challenge" to the verdict of the nation’s apex court which, to recall, has already approved the dissolution of the parliament. It becomes clear that the King would in no way challenge the court’s verdict at least to give an impression that he would wish not to intervene the independent ruling of the nation’s apex judiciary.

All said and done, what is also clear is that Koirala’s preference for the revival of the parliament is being challenged by no less a personality than Madhav Nepal who dismisses Koirala’s claims out rightly. According to Madhav, Koirala was talking absurd and that he and his party would wish the formation of an all-party government under article 128.

Koirala differs with Mr. Nepal’s views.

Lost in the process is the System and the 1990 constitution which analysts say has undergone a tremendous transformation since the day the monarch dismissed the Deuba regime and replaced that with the Chand’s one and assumed executive powers of the State.

Political scientists maintain that the triangular power balance (the King, the congress and the communists) that existed in the country since 1990 April till Deuba regime was in existence last year has now been "altered".

Nepali intellectuals describe terrorism an intl. phenomenon
A referendum to be held in Chechnya this month

-Ambassador Nazarov, Russian federation

Kathmandu: Nepal’s noted intellectuals and former diplomats together with foreign envoys have concluded that the escalation of acts of terrorism in a particular country should not be considered to be a single country’s problem but instead should be taken as an act that had global ramifications and hence a concerted efforts to curb the menace have got to be devised inorder to preserve security and enhance developmental efforts.

This was concluded at a talk program held on February 27, 2003, on the topic "International Terrorism: A threat to peace, development and security" jointly organized by the Nepal Council of World Affairs and the Russian Center of Science and Culture.

Initiating the debate on the said topic, Ambassador Yadav Kant Silwal, former SAARC Secretary General, opined that the global community became serious on the spread of terrorism in the world only when the lone Super Power was hit one and a half years ago.

"When the twin towers in the United States were hit by the terrorists, it drew the attention of the whole world which thus resulted in the creation of a global coalition", maintained Mr. Silwal. He however, lamented the absence of the global coalition in case of Iraq. IN essence, Mr. Silwal said that the Iraqi case had already split the former global alliance against terrorism.

"Any crusade against terrorism or for that matter the Iraqi case, should go through the United Nations for which we need the goodwill of the global community including the United States of America", added Mr. Silwal.

Dr. Mohan Prasad Lohani, former Ambassador to Bangladesh, opined that the United Nations were the only legal multi-lateral channel to be brought into action to press Iraq to comply with the terms and the conditions of the United Nations Security Council. According to Dr. Lohani, terrorism had already become a global concern.

The Russian Ambassador to the Nepali Court, Mr. Valery V. Nazarov dwelt at length on the spread of terrorism and acts of separatism in Chechenya.

According to Ambassador Nazarov, the Chechen issue had already been settled through Peace Talks in the early days of 1996 and that during that settlement, it had been agreed that Chechenya would enjoy defacto independent status which was later recognised. However, added the Ambassador, that some overly ambitious elements in the Chechen side misused the settlement and began exhibiting aggressive behaviours which was not acceptable to the government in Moscow.

Ambassador Nazaro on the occasion disclosed that the Chechen separatists were still in close contacts with Al-Qaeda and had been getting monetary suppost from various like-minded organizations scattered in different parts of the world.

Recollecting the emergence of the Chechen separatism at the first place, Ambassador Nazarov said that hints of such separatism in effect came to the fore in the beginning of the 19th century.

He, however, admitted that mistakes were committed by both the sides, the Chechens and the government in Moscow in tackling the issue that had taken a frightening dimension in the recent years. But then yet the Russian Federation envoy forcefully hinted that the War with the Chechens was over.

" A sort of people’s referendum is being held by the end of this month in Chechnya which will allow the people there to vote for assembly and the constitution they wish for themselves", continued the Ambassador.

The RF diplomat expressed his utter satisfaction on the convergence of views of his country and Nepal on matters of international terrorism and the manner it had got to be dealt with.

Regarding the ceasefire announcement in Nepal, the RF Ambassador said that he hoped a durable and lasting peace in this Himalayan Kingdom.

The Director at the Russian Center, Mr. Sergei, welcomed the attending participants and said that acts of terrorism had brought the countries of the globe together.

The Vice President of the NCWA, Dr. Gopal Pokhrel, opined that one had to go deep into the root causes that promote terrorism.

"Abject poverty, and suppression of feelings of a particular marginalised community for long by the State too could be one of the causes for the escalation of terrorism", added Dr. Pokhrel.

The GS of the NCWA, welcomed the guests at the beginning of the talk program.

Turn ceasefire into permanent peace

-Ambassador Malinowski

Kathmandu: The United States Ambassador to the Nepali Court, Michael E. Malinowski has said that the ceasefire that has been recently announced in Nepal has got to be transformed into a permanent peace.

Ambassador Malinowski was speaking, March 3, at the inaugural ceremony of a photo exhibition entitled "Images from Ground Zero" that began in Kirtipur TU library hall and will continue till the 14 th of this month.

Images from Ground Zero is an exhibition of photographs of the affected areas following the 9/11 suicide attack on the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City in the US.

On the occasion, the US envoy called upon all political forces to shun their political differences and work jointly for the restoration of peace in this Himalayan Kingdom.

"I wish the Nepali people worked together in the same fashion as the Americans did to construct a new America after the 9/11 attack in the United States", continued the Ambassador.

He also said that we now believe that the acts of killings and violence that had become the hallmark of the past have already become a matter of the bygone days.

This exhibition has already toured thirty countries of the world.

French people dream of Nepal

Kathmandu: The French Ambassador, Claude Ambrosini, has hoped that Nepal will now be able to invite foreign tourists in good numbers with the announcement of a ceasefire and the prevalence of peace in the country.

He was speaking at a program organized by the Nepal Mountaineering Association, NMA, Monday, to honor those who had contributed for the promotion of Nepal’s travel-trade, tourism and mountaineering activities.

The French envoy also divulged that his countrymen dreamt of Nepal because of its great culture and tradition and more specifically the great and mighty mountains.

"We hope that the tourism sector in Nepal will revive following the Mount Everest Golden Jubilee celebration and the recent efforts for the restoration of peace", concluded the French diplomat.

Policy of keeping "options" open benefits UML

Kathmandu: The UML leader, Madhav Nepal, is hitting the media headlines these days.

The reason: his dual policy which provides him space to bargain with both, the Palace and the political parties and perhaps it is this reason that he maneuvered his party’s decision at the freshly concluded party’s convention in Janakpur which said that the UML will keep all the options "open" till the country’s crises were over.

Whether the country’s problems will come to an end or not with his party’s keeping all the options open, however, what is for sure is that the UML under Madhav Nepal is playing hide and seek with the Palace and the political parties.

If on the one hand, the UML leader is sending warning signals to the Palace that the party will not take rest until the powers that currently were housed in the Palace came back to Singh Durbar, on the other, he is also sending signals to the Palace that should he be given an opportunity to serve the country through the formation of an all-party government, he would gleefully take up the challenge.

This means that should the monarch invite him for the country’s Premiership, Madhav Nepal will accept that offer in less than a second and that if the monarch did so would also mean that his party would forget the monarch’s previous acts which he himself on several occasions has termed unconstitutional.

To recall, the UML party is demanding the formation of an all-party government under article 128 and apparently wishes to head the cabinet formed under that particular article.

"I am told that the King is also in favor of an all-party government", is what Madhav Nepal is telling his party colleagues. This means that for the time being, Madhav Nepal would prefer to wait for a few days more than waging an out and out agitation against the King hoping that the latter if convinced on his party’s demand might elevate his ranks in the country.

The UML’s hidden desire appears not to irritate the monarch any more. Could be a guess work only.

Logically too, if the monarch so decides, the UML party as the largest party will be told to form the cabinet to be participated in the other political parties as well.

However, whether the Maoists will send their representative(s) to participate in such a government is hard to predict. Hopefully they will! But what is for sure is that if such an arrangement comes into existence, the congress under Girija Koirala is on record to have told that his party would not join the cabinet formed under article 128 buit would remain adamant for the restoration of the parliament.

Be that as it may, the UML is on the move thanks to its policy of keeping all the options "open".

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