New Nepal - A Country Out of Whack

Sangram Singh Basnyat

The secularization of Nepal has made the ambiance quite treacherous for the holy cows of Nepal. But the predicament of the Nepali populace is even worse. With no water trickling from the spigots, irregular supply of electricity, scarcity of fuel, worsening food security, rising ethnic tensions, unabated criminalities, and nonchalant law enforcement, Nepal's plight is easily discernable. Also, no cover is adequate for security. While insecurity and inadequacies plague Nepal, the vaunted rhetoric of "New Nepal" is unfolding into a bitter irony.
The annual failed states index published by the Foreign Policy magazine had placed Nepal in the 21st seat. In the list of failed states, only 20 states were ranked worse than Nepal. In 2006, Nepal was ranked 20. When the indicators assessed a slight improvement in the overall conditions of the country, it nudged Nepal from the Red (1-20) to Orange (21- 40) category. It is to be noted however, that the 2007 rankings were the result of the data collected in 2006.
But today, if those same indicators were re-employed to calibrate Nepal's situation, it would certainly bump up Nepal 's ranking. Given the insecurity and inadequacies, it would easily position Nepal in the "Red" (Top 20) category. In just a matter of a year, Nepal's security situation has acutely deteriorated. Even at the crest of the maoist instigated violence, the overall security situation was not as bad as it is today. Today the entire country is gripped with fear and uncertainty.

From the King to the common man, no one feels secure. While the truculent government and parliament set on clipping all his royal prerogatives, the King feels the heat of abolition and even incarceration. Perhaps even execution if the maoists had their way. And recently, for the first time in history, the King has officially requested for extra security backup during his birthday bash. The King's request for security says it all.
It is not just the King however, but even the seemingly omnipotent prachanda feels threatened. Fearing an assassination attempt, he has demanded extra security. Currently there is fifty man contingent (a mix of maoists and armed police) to provide security for the maoist supremo (no other leader in Nepal has this elaborate security arrangement).
Other maoist ministers seem quite threatened too. Very recently, their paranoia of insecurity was exposed when there was a change in their personal army guards. Crying foul play, they claimed that the new Army guards were sent from the Bhairavnath battalion and Ranger battalion to assassinate them.
Not just the maoists, but the insecurity contagion has infected others top leaders and government officials as well. Surya Bahadur Thapa and Sher Bahadur Deuba recently demanded the government to provide them with extra security. Civil servants have recently halted work demanding extra security measures too. Even the VDC secretaries are staging protests demanding a secure work environment. Both the civil servant unions and union of VDC secretaries are currently launching a nationwide agitation demanding security.

Ironically, even the security forces have contracted the insecurity contagion. With the ongoing talks of integration of the maoists into the Army, the Army is jittery. Even during their clandestine stage, the maoists had threatened families of security forces. Now that the maoists are in the ruling coalition, many in the security forces fear reprisal for their involvement in counter-insurgency.
The Police force is the perhaps the most vulnerable security wing and is equally insecure. There are innumerable cases where the police force has shown absolutely no commitment in enforcing the law due to their personal insecurities. Rather, they continue to remain insouciant. The unofficial motto for the force has become "inaction is much safer than action."
If the security forces and the other big power players feel insecure, one can easily deduce the plight of the general populace. With no robust law enforcement against rising criminalities and ethnic tensions, the population feels defenseless. As the authorities and security forces lie emasculated and insouciant, a buffer between threats and society has collapsed leaving the people critically vulnerable.
On top of insecurity there are other matters of dire concern. The scarcity of water across the country is alarming. Despite being a hydro opulent nation, the spigots across the nation have barely trickled a drop of drinking water. Certain places in Katmandu have not had water for weeks now. And thanks to the bolshiness of the maosist minister yami, the Melamchi water-project is close to defunct.

Electricity too has become a rare commodity. While half of the population still lives without electricity, the other half is getting used to the darkness too. As vast swathes of land lie inundated due to the monsoon rains, the Nepal electricity authority (NEA) still claims that there is inadequate supply of water for electricity generation. So with hours of load-shedding, electricity is intermittent and utterly unreliable.
Another inadequacy is fuel shortage. Acute fuel shortages have also been a common phenomenon. Queues for fuel have been a frequent sight around Kathmandu. Laden with an unbearable debt, the Mecca of corruption and mismanagement - the Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC), is coming to a grinding halt. With losses of over 180 million dollars over the past five years and 250 million dollars of debt to Indian oil corporation (IOC) and other financial institutions, IOC may cut off supply if NOC doesn't cough up soon. Given the heavily indebted status of NOC, the future of fuel supply looks inexorably bleak.
The economy is looking grim too. GDP growth rate is estimated to be between 2.7 to 3.2 % - which is below the regional and global average (global average hovers around 4%). Inflation rate is close to 8%. Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) has recently said that the government's goal of the capping inflation at 5.5% is unattainable and unrealistic. It is further said that due to the dwindling exports, trade deficit is widening and the balance of payment surplus of 8 billion rupees is something difficult to achieve. It has further warned of dire consequences if the economy became solely reliant on remittances alone.

Another blow to the economy came recently when the World Bank (WB) threatened to suspend all assistance related to the financial sector reform project, as well as the proposed budgetary support. The Scottish consulting firm, ICCMT - that had been handling the management of troubled Nepal Bank Limited (NBL) for the last five years unilaterally terminated the management contract on July 22, citing inadequate cooperation from the central bank. The WB has demanded an immediate reinstatement of the ICCMT team.
If the WB were to suspend the assistance, it will immediately affect US$ 100 million reform projects at NBL, Rastriya Banijya Bank (RBB) and reengineering at NRB. In addition, proposed grant assistance worth US$ 30 million aimed at enhancing access to finance will be an immediate victim. Likewise, the much-needed budget support for the current fiscal year will also become uncertain. The budget for the current fiscal year has anticipated receiving up to Rs 100 million.
Investment is intangible and taking a nose dive as well. Insecurity and instability have throttled foreign investment. Much to the consternation of the national industrialists and investors, maoists have aggressively formed labour unions left and right and are making preposterous demands. Even worrisome is the unabated extortion and the abduction of the individuals involved in the business enterprise. Criminal groups have gone on a rampage abducting Marwari businessmen and their family members for ransom. Such activities are fomenting capital flight and slump in investment. Due to the volatility, a large number of businessmen have already transferred most of their capital to overseas bank accounts.

Even food supply is in a precarious condition. Last week, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) issued a joint statement raising alarm over the situation of food insecurity. Due to natural disasters and the conflict, food production has declined. Also, the frequent closure of national transportation arteries by random groups has severely hampered food supply. The most critical factor however, is the political unrest and violence in the Terai region. Considering the significance of Terai as the rice basket of Nepal, and the connecting conduit between the main supplier - India and the rest of the country, the turmoil is causing a huge distress to food production and supply.
The Terai conflict is evoking an even more hair-raising fright. Numerous violent madheshi groups have mushroomed in the past year with an array of demands. Although the demands of the different Madeshi groups are diverse, there is one unifying factor - they are all claiming to be the representatives of the Madhesi people. By identifying themselves as Madeshi people, they have distinctly separated themselves as different from the Pahades (hill-people).
Given the years of discrimination and marginalization, Madhesi demands for fair representation and opportunities may seem rational. But the violent tactics of targeting Pahades by radical groups like the JTTM Goit and Singh factions are fuelling ethnic hatreds on both sides. Till date, the ethnic melee has already cost scores of lives and appears to be heading towards a larger carnage.

During the April uprising, people rallied behind the SPAM coalition in hopes of a better future and more freedom. However, a year of SPAM reign has proved to be a damp squib. Ironically, Nepalis have lost even more freedom in the hopes of attaining more. Primarily, the basic amenities for survival like water, food and security is not only incommensurate but dwindling sharply. Hence, without much doubt it can be stated that the two main categories of freedom - freedom from fear and freedom from want are quickly vanishing. Furthermore, the banning of a song that mentions the name of the founder (Late King Prithvi Narayan Shah) of the nation accurately reflects the trend in freedom of speech.
However in contrast, other remarkable acquisitions have been made during the last fourteen months. Now Nepalis have the freedom to take ministerial oaths in denim jeans. There is freedom to amass an illimitable wealth through corruption without the fear of penalties, especially if you are the current prime minister's former associates. There is freedom to carry weapons into the parliament if you are a Member of Parliament. There is freedom to calls strikes, shut highways and roads in a whimsical manner. There is freedom to open steak houses and enjoy beef delicatessens. There is freedom to be called democratic without a democratic mandate. Practically, there is so much freedom that anyone is free to do whatever one’s heart desires. After all, the April uprising has supposedly unfettered Nepal from the manacles of feudalism and tyranny. So welcome to New Nepal - a country out of whack.

Source: American Chronicle, August 2, 2007

Election financing : Need for greater transparency

Hari Bansh Jha

Funding for election campaigns is a major issue both in democratic and non-democratic countries. Foreign contributions to political parties or candidates are normal in election time, though such funds are officially banned. During the First World War, Germany provided clandestine funds to Bolsheviks in its bid to weaken its enemy, the Russian Czars. During the Cold War, secret services of certain countries bribed client politicians, parties, interest groups, journalists and newspapers to win their favour. Religious groups and foreign corporations were also involved. However, it is difficult to regulate the inflow of political money coming from abroad, particularly when it enters the country for the purpose of “training,” “technical assistance,” “voters and civil education” or “opinion poll survey.”But this does not mean that funding for election is a necessary evil. Electoral campaign is not possible without the candidates being able to convey their messages to the voters. If the political parties (an integral part of modern democracies) lack funds for election campaigns, they cannot help people make judicious choices. The democratic process grows only when political contributions are raised and spent in a proper manner.Each political party or candidate wants to outwit and overtake the other. There is maximum misuse of the government manpower and resources during election time. Even the administrative machinery, educational institutions, policy and other security agencies are misused. It gives leverage to the haves over the have-nots. The haves, for instance, can pay for media coverage in catching the public’s eye.In Nepal, all districts have been divided into four categories for electoral purposes. A candidate can only spend below the stipulated ceiling fixed by the EC. For districts in “Ka” category, a candidate cannot exceed Rs 275,000; in districts in “Kha” category, a candidate can spend up to Rs 235,000. In “Ga,” the limit is Rs 165,000, while in category “Gha,” it is Rs 135,000. The EC fixed the limits to control illegal flow of money into campaigns. But the EC could not receive election expenses reports from all the 2,238 candidates who contested 1,999 general elections. The candidates not submitting reports could well have exceeded the spending limits.For EC’s part, there was virtually no effort to verify election expenses submitted by candidates. Maybe the ceiling prescribed by the EC was unrealistic. In fact, the ceiling fixed by EC with regard to election expenses has become a subject of mockery. Until there is complete transparency, the ceiling has no meaning. The Election Commission Act, 2063, has a provision to fine a candidate who does not submit the details of election expenditure within the prescribed time. But it is too early to comment on the effectiveness of the Act. Also, many of the candidates lack faith in the election code of conduct and by large, the whole election system. As a result, they are least bothered about producing an accurate account of expenses. This is one of the reasons for the growth in number of dummy candidates.In every country, the business community makes donations to political parties and candidates during elections. But these donations are mostly murky. Therefore, the money often ends up in the hands of wrong persons. The political parties, for their part, are also not interested in receiving donations openly. In Nepal, there is a provision whereby political parties are expected to submit the list of persons or organisations making donations over Rs 20,000, but this provision is hardly enforced.Only a strong EC can reduce election expenses. The EC should be empowered to supervise and monitor funding of parties and campaigns. During each election, EC needs to review the expense limit so as to adjust it to the market price. But care should be taken that such a ceiling does not only serve the interests of the rich, but also those of resource-deficient candidates.Transparency has to be ensured in election expenses. After the election is over, the EC should not only make its own expenses on elections public, but also make public expenses made by each candidate. The government should effectively regulate or restrict political payments by business corporations, trade unions, foreign organisations and foreign citizens. The name of the person or business donating sums over Rs 25,000 to a candidate/party should be made public.A candidate not adhering to the rules of Election Code of Conduct should be debarred from contesting elections for at least two times. Code of conduct is essential not only for the political parties, but equally for the business sector. EC should have power to investigate political parties or candidates with regard to Code of Conduct so that the candidates are well aware of severity of penalties. The provision of such penalties should be akin to possessing a nuclear weapon, which is hardly ever used but nevertheless a potent deterrent.

Source: The Himalayan Times, August 2, 2007

Nepal's Failed Unification

Rishikesh Ram Bhandari

As different Nepal and Liberia are, there exist important commonalities in regime hegemonies, state structure and social exclusivity that are crucial in understanding Nepal's current transition. Both of these relatively new states are struggling to establish their identities and cast away historical legacies that have restricted multidimensional national expression. Comparing histories from the very outset to the current day, we find some compelling parallels.ParallelsIn order to extinguish the problems of slavery by repatriation to Africa, the United States established the American Colonisation Society (ACS). The freed slaves, called Americo Liberians, started a colony, defeating numerous little kingdoms and ultimately gaining independence from the United States in 1847. On the other side of the hemisphere, a few decades earlier, Prithvinarayan Shah waged his unification campaign to create a modern Nepal. His dream took shape once he captured the three kingdoms in the Kathmandu Valley. After independence, the ACS had to consolidate a deeply divided nation. Naming itself from the Latin liberare, Liberia was confined only to capital Monrovia, which was occupied by the Americo Liberians. The indigenous Liberians had not been absorbed into the national mainstream and did not identify with this imposed 'Liberia'. The Americo Liberians made use of existing tribal chieftaincies to extend their domain. As a result, the chieftains got a fused role, both as the customary lawgiver as the local clan chief and an administrative role of the new government in Monrovia.After Prithvinarayan Shah and the subsequent Shah Kings conquered the baise and chaubise rajyas, the subjugated kingdoms' rulers were still kept in place, only to be governed from Kathmandu. Thus, the rajas became administrative functionaries of the Shah Kings, and it is through the conduit of such minor kings that the capital was able to extend its control. In this way, the minor kings maintained equilibrium between the Shah King and the subjects.When ACS created its colony, it did not do so by taking over one nation, but numerous little ethnic entities. Similarly, Prithvinarayan Shah did not usurp only one national consciousness. There was no overarching identity space that Prithvinarayan Shah had filled with his cavalry. Because of this, it was hard, ideologically, for the kingdoms to unite in expulsing the aggressors. Furthermore, as the deposed kings were still in considerable power as they were given administrative functions under the new Nepal, they lacked enough incentive to revolt and were absorbed into the ruling class. As a result, a distinct two-layered rule was created - the ruling class and the ruled. This crafted state structure allowed Prithvinarayan Shah to wield force to maintain a politically unified (yet) divided nation.In both countries, the state existed as a vacuous shell, and the diverse ethnicities never became incorporated into the mainstream. It was necessary for the ruler to exercise absolute hegemony to keep the state intact. Liberians did this by making the True Whig Party the sole party and extending membership only to Americo Liberians, hence on social lines. Indigenous Liberians were even yet to be called citizens of the state. The Shahs and the Ranas employed the same strategy by keeping the monarchy and ultimately the oligarchy intact by limiting power within the thakuri kshetriyas. The feudal land structure reinforced the Rajas' hegemony down to the village and also became a tool to further suppress the marginalised. Prithvinarayan Shah's much touted chaar jaat chhattis barna ko fulbaari (garden of four castes and thirty six sub-castes) is reduced to mere propaganda (rhetorical ploy) when we see how social cohesion was based not on an egalitarian playing field for all castes but a distinct hierarchy that subjugated identities of every ethnicity outside the maharaja's aristocracy. The scramble for Africa internally buttressed the TWP as it had to ward off imperialistic forces. Americo Liberians even used indigenous Liberians as bonded labourers to encourage investment for plantations, later on drawing the attention of the League of Nations. On the other hand, the East India Company had been sending off aggressive signals which Prithvinarayan Shah tried to counter by hastening his unification campaign to forge a strong nation. Ultimately, the Ranas used the extractive framework to gain support from the East India Company by exporting people as mercenaries for the British army. The Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 and the two world wars are prime examples. The Gurkhas were allegedly welcomed into the British troops for their bravery and valiant behaviour, but we must realise that this was a form of slave trade grounded on foreign policy objectives, repression and economic destitution, and is a form of resource plunder.After more than 150 years of hegemonic rule, an indigenous Liberian, Samuel Doe toppled the Americo Liberians' regime promising a new Liberia. However, as the state ACS-TWP crafted state structure had been so embedded that he found it easier to operate in the system rather that to bring change. The same situation resulted in Nepal when the political parties gained power. The democracy they brought in was not inclusive and participatory. It was only with the sheer force of the April movement that the ethnic minorities started to really clamp down about their rights and identities. Since King Gyanendra had been symbolically vanquished, the ethnic minorities who had been subjugated to maintain the garden of Prithvinarayan Shah started to display the deep divisions that were never dealt with since the unification process started two centuries ago. Once a hegemonic structure is toppled, the repressed identities come to surface. The ethnic issues that are being raised are a result of the improper unification process based on imposing a coercive and extractive feudal structure. LessonsLiberia is well into post conflict reconstruction and reconciliation. Nepal needs to learn an important lesson about ethnicity from Liberia. There are important lessons that Nepal can learn from Liberia. Labelling ethnic tensions as mere political propaganda of the regressive royalists shall only serve to elude us about the suppressed ethnic tension. We need to realise that ethnic tensions could not have been played up if cleavages had not existed in the first place. Therefore, all effort must be taken to create a new and inclusive participatory democracy.

Source: The Rising Nepal, August 2, 2007

50 Years Of Nepal-Egypt Relations : Present Reality And Future Prospects

Hira Bahadur Thapa

As early as 1957, Nepal had decided to establish diplomatic relations with the Arab Republic of Egypt, and as a result, we have a Nepalese embassy in Cairo functioning for half a century. Likewise, the Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt has maintained its diplomatic representation in the Nepalese capital with a full-fledged ambassador as the Head of the Mission. Their decision to maintain diplomatic representation at the higher level only suggests the importance attached by the respective governments of Nepal and Egypt to their bilateral relations. Historical perspectiveNepal's relations with the Arab Republic of Egypt in the Fifties must be viewed against the historical backdrop of the growing desire of the country to widen and diversify its diplomatic representation abroad. If history is any guide, opening of Nepal's foreign missions was precipitated by the dawn of democracy in the country in February 1951. It is obvious that Nepal had established diplomatic relations with no more than four countries till that time. The fundamental question here is to understand the rationale for the then government of Nepal to decide on maintaining diplomatic relations with a far off country located in the north of Africa, which is part of the Near East from the standpoint of geography. It may sound logical to recall and discuss a little bit about the various factors that played a crucial role in influencing the decision of Nepal to establish diplomatic relations with Egypt. We should take note of the period when newly independent developing countries in the continent of Africa and Asia were very much eager to forge a close relationship among themselves. That relationship had provided them an opportunity to work in unity for achieving common benefits by launching a joint struggle against bi-polarism which characterised the then prevailing global situation. Unfortunately, the world was divided into two rival blocs based on ideological grounds until the end of the Cold War in the Nineties. Those newly-born countries with very low level of development faced a host of problems, the most pressing of which was to safeguard their sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence. The rivalry for power represented by two differing blocs led by the West and East was basically based on political ideology. That confrontational scenario posed a serious threat to the freedom and liberty acquired by the developing countries. A majority of such countries have had to fight wars of independence lasting several years. Even the Arab Republic of Egypt has a bitter history of being ruled by various powers like the French, the British and the Ottomon Empire. One of the deciding factors that resulted in the establishment of diplomatic relations between Nepal and Egypt was the lead role taken by the Arab Republic of Egypt in the Movement of Non-alignment. Cairo even played host to the second NAM Summit Conference in 1964. Additionally, Nepal must have taken into account the emerging clout of Egypt, as an important player in Middle East diplomacy because of the latter's association with the Arab League, an organisation of 22 Arab speaking countries, and also its close relationship with the United States, a world superpower. With a significant size of population (now about 75 million), where the highest seat of Islamic studies is Al Azhar University, and also being a renowned centre of ancient civilisations like the Pyramids of Giza, among others, Egypt indeed held a lot of promises for a country like Nepal which was trying to cultivate bilateral relations with as many countries as possible. Nepal's interest in nurturing bilateral relations with such a resourceful country is obviously understandable. Relations at presentNepal-Egypt relations have always remained cordial and warm ever since the establishment of diplomatic ties on July16, 1957. Co-operation between these two countries is found in such fora as NAM and G-77, among others. As Third World countries, they have been holding identical views on many issues of concern to them. Nepal and Egypt have been in the Peacekeeping Committee of the UN General Assembly. In many UN Missions, Nepal and Egypt have been contributing to world peace by sending peacekeepers, which include civilians, police and army personnel. Coincidentally, seven Egyptian Monitors are deployed in UNMIN (UN Mission in Nepal) and are, thus, making contributions to advancing the on-going peace process in Nepal. Nepal and Egypt have also exchanged delegations at different levels on different occasions. Comparatively speaking, there has been a higher level of delegations from the Nepalese side than those from Egypt. Nepal has sent various ministerial level delegations to Egypt. Many of them are from the Agriculture Ministry. The then Foreign Minister, Prof. Krishna Raj Aryal, was the first to pay an official visit to Egypt in that capacity, who went to Egypt in 1976. Former Nepalese Foreign Minister Shailendra Kumar Upadhyaya also visited Egypt in 1989 at a time when Nepal was facing difficulties because of the no-transit regime with India. The Nepalese delegation led by then Speaker of the House of Representatives Ram Chandra Poudel had visited Egypt in September 1997 to participate in the 98th Conference of Inter-Parliamentary Union. Nepal's current Foreign Minister Sahana Pradhan very recently paid an official visit to the Arab Republic of Egypt from July 13-16.In April 1980, Dr. Boutros Boutros Ghali paid an official visit to Nepal when he was Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Egypt. More importantly Dr. Boutros Boutros Ghali was appointed the Secretary General of the United Nations, the first African national as well to assume that high post. There were some ministerial visits from Egypt to Nepal in the Nineties. In March 1996, the then Egyptian Minister for Electricity and Energy M Maher Abaza visited Nepal from December 1-2, 1998. The official visit of Dr. Ezzat Saad El Sayed, Assistant Minister for Asian Affairs in the Egyptian Foreign Ministry took place from May 19-22, 2005 at the invitation of the Government of Nepal.TradeIn today's world of globalisation, as many countries are vying for closer economic integration, economic relations between countries play an important role. Such relations obviously cover a wide range of fundamental issues like trade, investment, tourism and foreign employment that affect the lives of people. Therefore, it would not be an exaggeration to state that promotion of deeper bilateral relations of countries are very much dependent on the economic aspect. Stronger economic relationships tend to bring the countries closer to each other. Notwithstanding this fact, trade relations between Nepal and Egypt have hardly been strong, keeping in view the existing volume of trade between the two countries. Available data show that Egypt has been enjoying a trade surplus with Nepal. Taking into account the vast potentialities that exist between the two countries for a stronger trade relationship, there is no reason why the trade volume cannot go up.

Source: The Rising Nepal, August 2, 2007