NEPAL: MAOISTS ATTEND CPI-M SECRET MEET

TGW

In what has been described as a “secret meeting” in Motihari, India, the Indian Maoists have taken several major decisions to take actions against the alleged enemies of the society living in towns”, Indian media reports.

Following intelligence reports about the increasing activities of CPI (Maoists) in and around Motihari district a red alert has been sounded on the Indo-Nepal border by the local security agencies there.

According to Indian intelligence reports, a three-day long secret meeting of CPI (Maoists) and Jan Shakti Party (ultra Leftist) was recently held in Motihari town, India, recently in which 40 Red Army activists including Nepalese Maoists took part. Motihari town is close to Nepali border.

An SSB(Seems Shashatra Bal) Inspector of Haraiya camp on Indo Nepal border conceded that activities of Maoists had increased on border areas. According to Indian intelligence sources, 40,000 activists of Maoists from Nepal, Jharkhand, Orrisa and Andhra Pradesh (RED CORRIDOR) have taken shelter in North Bihar district bordering Nepal with sophisticated arms.
The Indian media reports quoting Indian Intelligence revelation indicates that the Indian Maoists are preparing for a major offensive in East and West Champaran areas. They have already launched a poster campaign in rural areas of Patahi and Madhuban in East Champaran and Sheohar to create fear pshychosis among the rural masses.

The Indian Maoists have targeted the enemies of what they call the society now living in towns. Perhaps they wish to target the Indian landlords exploiting the local poverty stricken people.
This news if true then what comes to the surface is that the Nepali Maoists still possess close links with their comrade-in-arms in India. A new headache for the Indian establishment.

Source: Telelgraph Nepal, April 23, 2007

Year after king bowed, Nepal remains at crossroads

Gopal Sharma

KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Nepal began celebrations on Monday to mark the first anniversary of the end of King Gyanendra’s absolute rule, but the political future of the Himalayan nation remains far from certain.
Analysts say confusion about the date of constituent assembly elections, a violent campaign for autonomy in the southern plains, doubts over the sincerity of the former Maoist rebels and a weak government mean Nepal is still at a crossroads.

“The initiation of the peace process was definitely a major achievement,” said Yubaraj Ghimire, editor of popular magazine Samay.
“But whether political parties, including the Maoists, will take it to a logical conclusion is something that people are curiously watching,” he said.
A year ago, there was much rejoicing in the impoverished country after King Gyanendra bowed to weeks of protests and returned power to political parties.
The new government and the Maoists who had been fighting the monarchy since 1996 signed a peace deal, ending a civil war that had killed more than 13,000 people. The former rebels are now part of an interim parliament and government.

Authorities have urged residents to illuminate their homes for three days from Monday to mark the celebrations. On Tuesday, the anniversary of the king bowing out, ailing Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala will address the nation.
Separately, human rights activists plan a rally to press for a republic.
The achievements so far have been impressive, ordinary Nepalis and analysts say. But the challenges ahead are daunting.

PEACE AND JUSTICE

When the government and the Maoists signed the peace deal in November they promised constituent assembly elections in June. The Maoists see the polls as an opportunity to achieve their goal of abolishing the monarchy.
The country’s top election body, however, says it is not prepared to hold the vote and needs time. The former rebels are fuming over the delay and friction within the interim government could lead to instability, it is feared.
“There is confusion,” one Western diplomat said. “Political parties and the government must assure the people that the election is going to be held.”
New problems have only added to their burden.

Protests by the ethnic Madhesi people demanding regional autonomy in the southern plains bordering India have left 58 people dead this year and overshadowed the peace deal.
The pact has also failed to inject confidence among investors as the former rebels continue to extort businesses. Politicians are worried that the Maoists did not submit all their weapons for U.N. monitoring and continue to intimidate people.
Analysts urged the Maoists to truly reform.
“The Maoists’ military strength is not in their weapons but in the militarization of the political process,” said Rhoderick Chalmers of the Brussels-based International Crisis Group.

He said it was crucial to encourage the Maoists to stop using fear as a political strategy.
For some ordinary Nepalis, like Prabha Khadka, wife of a man killed during last year’s anti-king protests, reconciliation also means punishing those guilty of shooting down demonstrators.
An official investigation blamed King Gyanendra — who has now been stripped of virtually all his powers — and 201 other politicians, army and police officers for ordering the crackdown in which at least 22 people were killed.
“Everyone who is guilty, including the king, must be punished,” said 27-year-old Khadka, tears trickling down her face. “There will be no lasting peace until then.”

Source: Reuters

Positive Assurance

THE last two proceedings of the legislature parliament could not move ahead smoothly because of the protests by the Maoist and Madhesi legislators regarding their demands that had not been met by the government. It is indeed serious matter that the parliament proceedings were stalled, although in a democratic set up, everyone has the right to express his or her views regarding their grievances. But the necessity is to go through the right channel in seeing that their grievances or complaints receive the due attention of the concerned people. It has to be agreed that there are some outstanding political and other issues that call for the immediate attention of the government. It has also to be remembered that the government, too, is hard pressed with the incidents that are taking place in the country in recent days. The Maoists have their own set of demands, including the immediate declaration of the constituent assembly election date, while the Madhesi legislators have raised their own issues which they want to be resolved as soon as possible. These are perplexing times, and there is all the need for the government to act fast by reviewing the situation and come up with appropriate solutions.

In this connection, Speaker Subash Chandra Nemwang met Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala Friday and apprised him of the related problems so that the stalled parliament proceedings could come back to normal. According to Speaker Nemwang, Prime Minister Koirala was positive towards taking up the issues raised by the CPN-Maoist and the Madhesi MPs in the legislature parliament and bringing them to a conclusion soon. This comes as welcome news in that the problems would be resolved before the next meeting of the legislature parliament scheduled for April 23. That Prime Minister Koirala is keenly concerned about resolving the problems is clear from the assurances that he provided. However, it is the responsibility of all the eight political parties in the government to discuss the problems and arrive at appropriate conclusions within a day or two. With everyone taking the issues seriously and urgently, the problems can be resolved. One thing that has to be remembered is that the blame game among those represented in the interim government must stop as they are a part of the government that has the responsibility to make the path smooth for the CA polls.

Source: The Rising Nepal, April 22, 2007

Reflection Time

TOMORROW, Baisakh 11, marks the first anniversary of the success of Jana Andolan II. The people's movement last year was the expression of the people's will and determination to end the authoritarian rule and establish people's supremacy and democracy. The loktantra that has been established with the great sacrifice and struggle of the people is getting stronger. The occasion is being marked with a variety of programmes highlighting the role the political leaders have to play and create an all- inclusive democracy in the better interest of the people and the country. Dwelling on the subject, Minister for Peace and Reconstruction Ram Chandra Poudel, at a compliment sharing programme organised by the Nepal Tarun Dal in Kathmandu Saturday, stressed that the leaders of the eight political parties should impart a meaningful message on the occasion of the first Loktantra Day. This, he said, was needed to assure the people that the country was heading towards achieving the goals that had been set earlier.

As regards the confusion of the Constituent Assembly election date, Minister Poudel said that it would be sorted out at the earliest. Looking back at the achievements made, they have been significant, but more is to be done to materialise the dreams and aspiration of the martyrs and the people in general. Though there may be some concerns regarding the slow pace of the political development, it can be assured that the country is heading in the right direction with the unity forged among the eight political parties. It is also necessary that the agreement and alliance of the eight parties must be kept intact while at the same time forward looking decisions are the need of the day. In this direction, the leaders of the eight political parties, the interim government and the legislature parliament must be ever vigilant so that the gains made so far remain, and further initiatives can be taken for the days to come. The need for greater vigilance from every sector of the society is necessary to thwart any attempt from regressive elements to disrupt the peaceful process that is taking the country on the path of all-inclusive democracy and lasting peace. As the people are the ultimate beneficiaries, they must also contribute from their respective walks of life to work for institutionalising loktantra.

Source: The Rising Nepal, April 23, 2007

Addressing Urban Environmental Problems

Keshab Raj Joshi

Unmanaged and unplanned urbanisation has made the cities the centre of environmental problems. The pace of urbanisation in the developing countries has accelerated greatly. Often rapid urban growth has taken place without matching expansion of the infrastructure, services and facilities necessary for a healthy urban environment and without adequate planning or regulation. This has caused deterioration in urban environmental quality and left urbanities susceptible to health hazards associated with poor environmental quality.

Sustainable cities

Today's cities are not sustainable. They are the major consumer of resources, and for their needs, they have to depend upon distant sources. Therefore, environmental problems occur not only within the cities but much beyond. Cities are often located in prime agricultural areas. Conversion of this land into urban areas cuts down on agricultural productivity and puts additional pressure on nearby areas, which may be less suitable for agriculture. Water is a key issue in urban areas.

Local supply becomes inadequate given the intensified demands. Moreover, human pressure on the existing water bodies pollutes the water due to the discharge of untreated wastewater, sewage, urban runoff as well as disposal of solid waste. Urbanisation takes a toll of the greenery in the cities. Trees as well as other vegetation that absorb air pollutants, give off oxygen, help cool the air, muffle noise, provide wildlife habitat and give aesthetic pleasure are destroyed. As a result, the local ecosystem is disturbed.Cities are where vehicles and industries are concentrated. Their concentration makes the cities vulnerable to air and noise pollution. Traffic congestion intensifies the pollution. The gaseous emission from vehicles and industries turn the urban air unfit for breathing.

Urbanisation alters the local climate also. Cities are warmer than the nearby rural areas. Vehicles, industries, light and people generate enormous amounts of heat. Tall concrete buildings and paved surfaces absorb heat and obstruct the cooling wind. Paved surfaces everywhere lead to rapid runoffs, causing flooding in the cities. Flooding also occurs because the course of the natural river is obstructed by encroachment. Cities tend to be developed on floodplains as they are flat, accessible and near the rivers. Reduced seepage of rainwater brings down the groundwater table, drying up wells. One of serious problems in the urban areas is solid waste management. Most of the cities lack landfill sites, and practices of reuse and recycling are not adopted. In the absence of landfill sites in the urban areas, cities have to depend on outer rural lands, which means waste is generated by the urbanities and its environmental cost has to be borne by the rural poor.

Urban poverty is a major issue in the discussion on urban environment. Many of the urban poor live in slums and squatter settlements where drinking water, solid waste pickup facilities and good sanitation do not exist. The emergence and expansion of squatter settlements have led to the encroachment of riverbanks, public lands, religious/cultural sites, agricultural land and forest areas. However, it is not to say that urban areas are bad due to the presence of these environmental problems. Urbanisation itself is not a problem. Urban areas are engines of growth. They play an important role in economic, political and cultural development; provide better access to education, employment and health care. They also have beneficial environmental effects. Recourse use is more efficient where people can share goods and services, which leads to greatly reduced unit cost in providing such goods and services. Less energy is spent in transportation and production when people don't have to travel too far.

Efforts are necessary to make urban areas livable and environment-friendly through good urban planning and environmental management. Urban areas must not be car-oriented; they should be people -oriented. Well planned densely populated settlements can reduce the need for land conversion, provide opportunities for energy savings and make recycling more cost effective. Urban environmental management involved increasing resource efficiency reduction in waste generation and setting recycling schemes; developing more effective waste collection systems and effective mechanisms for hazardous waste treatment; waste management through private-public partnerships; and adoption of clean and energy efficient technology by vehicles, industries and households. Improving urban infrastructure for water supply, management and conservation of water resources in urban areas through improved wastewater treatment is a must. Categorising the city into different zones is necessary. There is a need to raise awareness among the people regarding the environment, health and appropriate practices and behaviours; addressing urban poverty and the needs of the urban poor, including those of the slums and squatter settlements; and introducing "polluters pay principle". Strengthening of municipalities and local bodies and introducing clear urban development policies and a legal framework is important.

Management

Urbanisation will continue to play an important role in the economy, environment and people's lives. The challenge is to live in cooperation with urbanisation while using its benefits and making the negative impacts manageable because many of the urban environmental problems are the result of poor management and planning and absence of coherent urban policies rather than of urbanisation itself.

Source: The Rising Nepal, April 23, 2007

Political Culture Needs Improving

Dr. Trilochan Upreti

The people of this country have been fooled by the politicians time and again. The people have been told how Nepal would be transformed into a Singapore or Switzerland in a short span of time. However, no one till date has declared any policy, vision or strategy on how this formidable dream can be achieved.

Sycophancy

The then King Birendra had enunciated a national policy and plan to raise the Nepalese standard of living to Asian humanitarian standards by the end of the last century. It was never defined what that standard meant, because different countries of Asia such as Japan, the Arab world or Bangladesh have different levels of development and economic standards. Sycophants and subservient politicians of the then regime kept repeating this rhetoric, although they themselves never understood the meaning and significance of that national target. And the world laughed at the then regime's madness not because it had set an unreliable target but due to the very ambiguity of the so-called national objectives.

Later, after the restoration of democracy, the politics of the day and its key players gambled again over the fate of the Nepalese people by enunciating a policy of saying good things and doing just the reverse. They had been obsessed with the illusion that whatever they think is the national dream and plan, whatever they do is democracy and their dictation and wish is the national determination. They never bothered to be real democrats. Rather they acted as dictators within their political parties while they had ample opportunity to sit at the helm of governance.

At the time of Jana Andolan II, the leaders apologised to the people and said they would not repeat these anomalies and aberrations if the people gave them a chance to return to power in the future.One former prime minister had promised to make Nepal like Singapore if he and his party were elected. His party was indeed elected, but instead Nepal turned more like Somalia than Singapore. Again, no one understood what he exactly meant by making the country another Singapore.

Whether he meant a clean administration, a safe country in terms of law and order or learning from the Singaporean system of how to rule the country or making our living standards equivalent to Singapore. When the people were facing a dearth of drinking water in Kathmandu, our respected leader was promising to flush the streets of the capital with waters from the Melamchi.

Literally, the opposite has occurred concerning the availability of water in Kathmandu despite the fact that friendly nations and multilateral institutions had provided adequate funds for this purpose. We simply could not make this happen due to our own ineptitude and visibly corrupt activity. These incidents, along with a few others, have sufficiently proved that we cannot implement projects on our own. We did fight for the Korean labour quota, but didn't use it properly. We lost huge amounts of funds given for the development of the Arun III hydropower project due to infighting among ourselves, and we could not use the money given for other development projects as well.

We are unable to implement any development project on time and within the allocated amount of budget and cannot narrow down our differences or make a national policy for national development or welfare.We have even failed to appoint the authorities to run our universities for one entire year. Similar has been our failure to appoint diplomatic representatives, which has kept our foreign missions inactive at such a crucial period.

All this is a shame for the entire Nepali people. All in all, those ministers who were seen to be the most radical in their policy have now been seen as corrupt. For example, eight vehicles were distributed to their cadres, misutilising oil and maintenance costs. Interference by party cadres in the daily administration and pressure to provide benefits to one's party followers is common practice here.The credibility of our politicians is not as high as it is generally made out to be. Had they not been involved in corruption and filled up public posts with their own people who are normally unqualified, Nepal would, perhaps, have come closer to Singapore or Switzerland in certain aspects. How the leaders have been acting after Jana Andolan II could be a topic of research.

They have neither improved nor rectified their past mistakes. Rather, they are repeating the same corrupt and inefficient behaviour. Just see the appointments they have made during the past one year. All of them have been filled up by relatives or political sycophants! The diplomatic appointment saga has been frustrating and full of despair. Similarly, the home and defense administration has also come under huge criticism from the people at large. Ministers have never been able to act tactfully and efficiently, and they have always given importance to less important things. Even now, all the appointments and posts are being shared among the parties as if this is what Jana Andolan II was all about.

Sensitivity

Our leaders' dealing with the peace process has been appreciated both nationally and internationally, although some problems have surfaced in its implementation. However, their attitude has not improved. Until they stop appointing their cronies to lucrative posts, it is going to disappoint the common people. They need to appoint qualified, clean and suitable professionals by ignoring the recommendation of people with political inclination. They got to understand the sensitivity of the people and be aware that they are under people's scrutiny.

Source: The Rising Nepal, April 23, 2007

Empower the House

The Interim Legislature-Parliament formed on 15th of the first month of this year has already shown some traits of an inefficient and malfunctioning body. The performance of the House that has been expected to form rules and regulations to hold elections to the Constituent Assembly and ensure law and order situation in the country has been lackluster. The House's lethargy to formulate electoral legislation was also a major reason for the Election Commission to announce its inability to hold CA elections on time. However, the eight-party leaders have been least bothered to empower the House. They have converted the House simply into a rubberstamp to approve whatever document comes from the PM's quarters, signed by the leaders of the eight parties. Thankfully, some members of the parliament are showing indications of having some dignity. The Maoist, Madhesi and Janajati MPs are raising issues strongly, but their modus operandi has been quite wrong. Their protests only ruin the image and influence of the House that is already being undermined by the party leaders.

Thankfully, Speaker Subash Nembang has initiated moves to resolve the impasse in the House. The speaker's initiative to meet with Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, the Maoist leadership and the hospitalized home minister has shown a ray of hope because the leaders are responsible for their party members obstructing the proceedings. The leaders should convince the MPs that the earlier the electoral laws are passed the earlier the CA polls will be held. Their duty is to pass electoral laws, not to stall proceedings in the House. Similarly, the Madhesi parliamentarians obstructing the House demanding non-implementation of the recommendations of the Election Constituencies Delimitation Committee is also going to delay the date for CA polls. Ironically, parliamentarians are obstructing the House for demands which can be fulfilled if they expedite the proceedings.

In the meantime, the Maoists have provided training to their MPs on their roles and responsibility in the parliament. This process can be expected to improve the situation somewhat. Without the Maoist MPs knowing certain norms and agreeing to follow them, ordering the House is simply impossible. Until now the Maoist lawmakers were seemingly under the belief that the House was only a place of bourgeoisie chit-chat. Now they have to unlearn what they thought they knew. We believe the Madhesi MPs should also be more rational about their demands. If they do not agree with the constituency delimitation, they have to express it properly, in a proper system. If we believe in parliamentary democracy and consider parliament as the focal point of the people's faith and belief, we have to empower the House, and not denigrate it. In this regard, even the government has undermined the parliament by brining the common minimum program only with the signatures of the eight-party leaders, who are neither ministers nor parliamentarians. So, the onus is on all to make the House supreme.

Source: The Kathmandu Post, April 22, 2007

Constituency delimitation: No alternative to regional list system

Birendra P Mishra

It is certain that the constituent assembly (CA) election will not be held on June 20, the date stipulated by the eight parties contrary to the provision of the Interim Constitution (IC) that provides completion of the CA polls by the middle of June.
The Election Commission (EC) has asked the government for an additional 110 days-time for conducting the elections after all related laws are enacted by the Legislature-Parliament (LP).
This was a foregone conclusion on the basis of four kinds of logic. First, there was dilly-dallying by the government in placing the bills related to controversial issues like electoral system. Secondly, there was delay in getting consensus on these issues. Thirdly, there was delay in the formation of the Electoral Constituency Delimitation Commission (ECDC), which has submitted its report only last week. The ECDC’s constitution and recommendations have become the issues of controversy in the LP. And fourthly, the EC, too, did not come out openly with its constraints in holding the elections from the very beginning.
The genesis of the controversy lies, to some extent, in the adoption of the electoral system by the eight parties on November 8, 2006, and its subsequent inclusion in the IC. It provides for mixed electoral system in which First Past the Post (FPtP) system becomes a component as 50 per cent seats are to be elected through it. Moreover, when the government decides to increase the number of seats in the CA on the basis of population of Madhes and Hill areas, formation of the ECDC becomes imperative. It was constituted twice and its constriction became controversial from its very inception.
However, the decision to increase the number of seats in the Tarai has wittingly side-tracked the main issue related to the demands of Madhesis for proportional representation in the House by turning it into the issue of proportional representation in the Tarai. It overlooked the main problem and equated the problems of Tarai and Madhesis. The issues of Tarai will always be the issues of Madhesis but not vise versa as some inhabitants of the region are other than Madhesis. Hence, some of their demands cannot be the same as they differ significantly in their mother tongues, customs and traditions.
As for the FPtP system, it is prone to gerrymandering when the delimitation of constituencies comes up. The party in power will influence delimitation process in its favour to bring support votes in one constituency, which will affect the final results in favour of the party. Although, the recommendations of the ECDC have not yet been made public, there were uproarious scenes in the House and the business of the House has been stalling. If the grievances of the members of parliament (MPs) are genuine, these have to be looked into, as these will affect the legitimate rights of the MPs and other stakeholders.
Had the IC not accepted the mixed electoral system the problem would not have arisen. Now that the polling will not be held within six /seven months, there is ample time to rethink the electoral system seriously. Keeping in view the nature of the election, which is in no way similar to a parliamentary election, let there be a public debate on the electoral system that has its impact on the meaning and function of any CA and the formulation of the constitution.
There are two options — either we have to switch over to Regional List Proportional System from the mixed system or if we decide to continue the FPtP for half of the CA, we must eliminate the division or boundary of the constituencies within the districts. Those who get maximum seats will be automatically elected. This system is known as Single Non-transferable Vote system. Japan and Jordan have adopted it. In it, every voter will have only one vote irrespective of the seats to be contested in an administrative district. Through it, major segments of society will get representation. But there is one danger — the party or a community with more votes can win more seats if its voters cast their votes strategically for particular candidates calculating the number of the voters.
The only way to have a meaningful CA is to adopt the Regional List Proportional System for the entire House of 235 having 21 regions based on languages, ethnic and cultural proximity, administrative and communication facilities. Some seats can be reserved for constitutional
experts, civil society organisations including professionals, disabled, religious minorities and for those communities who cannot be elected on the strength of their numbers to make the House of 290 to 295, making it a House which will not only be proportional and inclusive
in nature but also a qualified inclusive CA in reality. It would be qualitatively inclusive by including women, Dalits and indigenous nationalities of those regions where they really inhabit.

Prof Mishra is ex-election commissioner

Source: The Himalayantimes, April 23, 2007