Monarchy an obstacle to development: Maoist

GALKOT (Baglung), May 2: Minister for Local Development, Dev Gurung has said the institution of monarchy which has been exploiting the people for 238 years is the main obstacle to development.Inaugurating the Malma-Pandavkhani motor road, located some 15 Kosh west from Baglung Bazar, Wednesday, Minister for Local Development Gurung said nationalisation of the property usurped by the king who is better known as the 'rich king of a poor country' would alone be enough to meet the budgetary needs of the country for five years.He said both expansionist and conspiratorial designs would continue to be staged in the country until the institution of monarchy continues to exist and that this would pose a grave damage to the nationality.On the occasion, Minister Gurung pledged to extend maximum possible assistance from his side for upgrading the Baglung-Burtibang Road and construction of the road linking Burtibang via Malma-Pandavkhani.

The 11-kilometres long road was build at a total cost of Rs 4.1 million. Part of the cost was met through local voluntary labour and the financial assistance provided by the Nepali Gurkha soldiers in Singapore, Hong Kong and the U.S.A.The road will benefit the local population of 11,000 and help in the transportation of non-timber forest products, lead ore, copper ore, fruits and vegetables from the area.Nearly 12 vehicles ply on the road daily at present.At the programme, Nepali Congress Legislator Tanka Prasad Sharma Kandel said that since development is possible only with the people's participation, efforts should be made to enlist the maximum participation of the people in the development works.The programme was presided over by President of the Road Construction Committee, Chham Bahadur Kaucha.

Source: The Rising Nepal, May 3, 2007

Unity For Democracy

GENERAL Secretary of the Nepali Congress and Minister for Peace and Reconstruction Ram Chandra Poudel has said that freedom, justice and solidarity are necessary to create a new social paradigm and to strengthen democracy in Nepal. Addressing an interaction programme in Kathmandu on Tuesday, Minister Poudel called upon all the political forces and the people to extend a helping hand and work together for the common cause of the nation and the people. As observed by Minister Poudel, economic, political, social and cultural freedom is crucial for overall social change. The present situation was created by the unprecedented unity and solidarity of the eight political parties, civil society, professional groups and general people through the April uprising last year. The achievements of Jana Andolan II are yet to be institutionalised and consolidated. Thus, stronger unity is necessary until the ongoing political and peace process is complete.

The common national agenda at present is the election to a constituent assembly, which would write a new constitution and end the present political uncertainty. All the political parties are committed to holding the constituent assembly elections as early as possible. But there are certain things that need to be completed before going to the polls. Elections should be held in a free, fair and peaceful manner so that people can cast their ballot without any kind of fear, which alone would reflect the genuine feelings and will of the people. Moreover, some regressive elements are trying to obstruct and sabotage the present political process and constituent assembly elections. The conspiracies of the regressive elements can be defeated and foiled only by the meaningful and strong unity and solidarity of the eight political parties and the people. This unity must be kept intact to achieve the political goal and accomplish the mandate of Jana Andolan II. The election to a constituent assembly is the only way out for the present political crisis. For this, the political parties need to sit together and decide on the new dates for holding the polls and ensure that they are free and fair. It is not the time to blame one another. If the unity of the eight parties is broken, it would only help the reactionary and regressive elements. People want peace, stability and development, which can be ensured only through the unity and collective approach of the democratic forces. Thus, the political parties, instead of pointing fingers at each other, need to take collective responsibility. This is the spirit of a democratic and coalition culture, which alone would serve the interest of the nation and people.

Source: The Rising Nepal, May 3, 2007

Delayed Election To Constituent Assembly

Madhavji Shrestha

NOW that the proposed election to the constituent assembly has been delayed, a political quandary has set in. Indeed, it has dampened the enthusiasm for putting the democratisation process on track. Knowledgeable people have even cast doubts as to whether the eight-party coalition government will be able to agree on a date for the election. Pessimists think that the history of the early 1950s, when the much-promised election to such a constituent assembly was derailed, will revisit Nepal. In such a scenario, Nepal's democratic journey would face an insurmountable roadblock.

Blame game

Soon after realising that the elections can't be held in June, the political parties, especially the eight coalitional partners, began blaming one another for not preparing well for the democratic exercise. An understanding reached in New Delhi in November 2005 on the issue had indeed provided enormous impetus to the political parties to overthrow the authoritarian royal rule last April. At present, the same political parties don't share the same views nor do they act in unison to realise the long cherished CA polls.There was no surprise when the eight political parties held the sinister activities by the regressive forces responsible for the delay of the election. Some political parties did not lag behind in blaming foreign interference working visibly and invisibly against the election as scheduled. However, shrewd political observers have blamed the eight political partners for the omission of timely political actions and the commission of excesses, both not contributory to creating an atmosphere convenient for holding the election. They further blame the political parties for hoodwinking the people with their non-obliging acts and activities. The political parties knew well about the prevailing situation in the country and held frequent interactions among themselves. Despite having such intimate knowledge and information about the political situation, why the political parties decided on holding the polls on June 20 is anyone's guess. Immediately afterwards, this instigated the Election Commission to tell the people about the practical difficulty of holding the election. This looks like an orchestrated phoney drama to be enacted before the common people. As political co-travellers for 18 months, the political leaders of the eight parties must shoulder the responsibility for not fulfilling their promise.

However, a series of political events in the recent times appear to have led to the polarisation between the leftist political forces and the centrist-cum-rightist political groups. This, in turn, will have a visible effect on the political developments taking place in the near future, indicating competitive politics, which, if it develops into a principled stance, can contribute to the democratisation process and also toward a mature multi-party system. However, the political parties need to remain cautious and cagey to see that the polarisation stays within the limit of the modern party system. Divisive forces and unwanted elements need to be checked to foster modern democracy. Meanwhile, the stalled election process should give the political parties sufficient time and opportunity to educate the masses of Nepal about the enduring importance of the election to the constituent assembly. More than three-fourths of Nepal's population is ignorant of the historically significant functions of the constituent assembly. To translate this into reality, the political parties must gear up their mechanisms and spread their tentacles nation-wide to mingle with the grassroots people, especially in the rural areas. Well-trained cadres and material resources are badly needed to move ahead in this direction.

The delay would also enable the government and the Election Commission to prepare the requisites to hold the election in an atmosphere of peace and security. This, in turn, would attract and enable the maximum number of people to participate in the election, which will help the political parties gain greater confidence and influence in moving ahead in enacting a democratic constitution. Election to the constituent assembly should not be held in haste and under an unruly situation. Loss of a few months will not be that damaging.Postponement as far as it is done with justified reasons has indeed sent a good message to the democratic countries and the international and regional organisations like the UN and the EU, because they would have sufficient time to help and observe the election process in Nepal. Naturally they think the time would bring in a favourable condition to heal the wounds and to reduce the rancour stalking in Nepal. The above presents a positive side of the political picture. However, the other side of the picture reflects the grimmer situation in the country. Regrettably, judged by the performance of the coalition government in the past one year, there is little good to hope for. The dismal failure to maintain the much-desired law and order for peace and security has had its negative effects. To make things worse, the government never exhibited any eagerness or took any initiative to give a ray of hope for the socio-economic uplift of the poverty-grilled people.

Discontent reigns supreme in Nepal. This has reduced the popularity of the political parties and their leaders. Just a year ago, after the resounding success of the people's movement last April, their popularity with the people was at its zenith. Now it is coming down to its nadir. Their inability to guide the society towards accommodative democracy has become greatly visible. Their only indulgence in political wrangling and the rent-seeking attitudes are costing them dearly. With the visible decline of their popularity has come the question of the legitimacy of the political leaders staying at the helm. This has become a far greater dilemmatic concern for those in power and also those in frontal politics. They will, for sure, lose their moral influence and political authority to remain in power in view of their failure to deliver what the masses have expected. As a consequence, frustrations will only rise if some far-reaching improvements cannot be made to win them to their side.

Democratic destiny

If the delay in announcing the date for the CA election becomes unduly long, then it will defeat the purpose and deviate from the democratic destiny. A conducive environment must be created to elect people-oriented representatives to frame a democratic constitution that can nurture the desires and meet the demands of the people, who have long cherished to send genuinely people-serving representatives to replace the ventriloquists who are hardly able to realise what they have promised. The people need only those who can transform words into deeds. Let political ingenuity and visionary statesmanship come their way to rescue the political leaders from the thorny political impasse.

Source: The Rising Nepal, May 3, 2007

Maoist rebels infiltrate Indian cabinet meetings

Bruce Loudon, South Asia correspondent

MAOIST guerillas have infiltrated the highest level of the Indian Government, gaining access to documents from top-level cabinet meetings in a major security breach. The guerillas, who are waging an armed insurrection across 16 of India's 28 states, obtained minutes of a meeting presided over by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that discussed tactics to deal with the insurgents. According to the magazine Outlook, the documents outline the success of the Maoists, known as Naxalites, in penetrating the Government. Those at the meeting, the magazine said, included the chief ministers of all states affected by the Maoist insurgency, along with senior intelligence and security officials. With intelligence and security officials expressing alarm at "a serious security lapse", the disclosures are galling for Dr Singh.

The Prime Minister has expressed concern about the challenge posed by the Maoist insurrection, describing it as the "biggest threat to the country's internal security". The Naxalites, well-armed and disciplined, operate in a swathe of states along a so-called "Red Corridor", from the border with Nepal stretching through to Andhra Pradesh. They take their name from the village in West Bengal where they began their uprising against "capitalist classes" more than 30 years ago. The rebels have between 5000 and 10,000 armed men and women to launch attacks against rural police and administrative centres, as well as trains and factories. They have also been involved in high-profile assassinations, including the recent gunning down of an MP and an attack on a police station, which killed more than 50 officers. There is evidence that their influence is spreading to the cities and that they have joined forces with unions.

The magazine quotes a senior intelligence officer as saying: "It's clear the Maoists have access to secret information and plans ... no wonder there hasn't been much success in our operations against them." Apart from the minutes of the meeting held at Dr Singh's official residence a year ago, the minutes of a second meeting in the heart of the Home Ministry in New Delhi's North Block government offices -- which involved members of the Joint Operations Command of the security forces in a discussion about strategy and the deployment of forces -- were also obtained by the Maoists, Outlook said. The first the Government knew of the security breach was when Indian army forces stumbled on an eight-page annual report of the Maoist Communist Centre.
"An explosive part of its contents relates to the outfit's precise and detailed knowledge about what was discussed in the two closed-door and high-profile meetings," the magazine said.

Source: The Australian Defence News, April 30, 2007

Drifting aimlessly: Loktantra in doldrums

SHASHI P.B.B. MALLA & CHANDRA BAHADUR PARBATE

With celebrations marking the first anniversary of Jan Andolan II (or as some might say the end of King Gyanendra’s rule), at the beginning of this week authorities had urged residents to illuminate their homes for three days. In his message to the Nepalese people on the occasion of the first "Democracy Day", PM Koirala made the tall claim that the achievements made exactly one year back had reached record heights, "democratic practice" had been established and could "never be usurped". However, the confusion about the date of CA elections, the violent campaign for autonomy in the Terai, doubts over the sincerity of the ‘former’ Maoist rebels and a weak government result in Nepal remaining at a crossroads with many challenges ahead.
Under the present 8-party government, the country is not moving forward as expected by the people, and promised by those in power. It is day by day showing its weaknesses in all sectors. The Maoist minister for Information and Communications, Krishna Bahadur Mahara has already accused the non-Maoist led ministries of non-cooperation, and even of disruption of their regular work by the political appointees.

US ambassador, James F. Moriarty, said in Biratnagar, South-Eastern Nepal that the peace process would not be successful as long as violence and terror prevail in the country. The government has failed abjectly in making a breakthrough in the Terai/Madhesi imbroglio. Bandhs and violent clashes are the order of the day. Baluwatar (the PM’s official residence) is making no headway at all in the various crises facing the country.
In an exemplary report, the UN office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal has now held the state apparatus, the Maoists and the Madhesi People’s Rights Forum (MPRF) all responsible for the blood-bath sometime back in Gaur. In a most damaging manner, the report highlighted the weaknesses of the law enforcement agencies (the Chief District Officer, Nepal Police and the Armed Police Force) which were "grossly ill-prepared" in spite of being aware of the grave possible developments. In any other normal country, this would be reason enough for the home minister to resign. However, all the accused parties have shielded themselves behind a wall of silence.

Of course the Maoists have not stopped their intimidation, threats and acts of vandalism. The Maoists and their Young Communist League (YCL) have become a law unto themselves. Their continued extortion of businesses is counter-productive to any efforts of regaining the confidence of investors, domestic and abroad. Recently, it has been reported that they have seized assets belonging to the King to "utilize them for the benefit of the people".
The situation is even worse for law-abiding citizens. They cannot hope for justice from interior minister and Maoist sympathizer Sitaula. The Maoist strategy of weakening the state structure (previously from outside, now from within) continues unabated. The victims of the Maoists’ 11-year People’s War have not received any succor. Thousands are waiting still for the return of their looted land, property, jewellery and cash. In the meantime the interim (now probably permanent) government and the constituent political parties leave no stone unturned to honour the "martyrs" of last year’s April agitation, while the families of the 14,000 dead in the Maoists’ killing terraces remain totally forgotten. With the grievances of so many not being addressed, civic sense is rapidly dwindling away.

The so-called interim parliament is dysfunctional. Its proceedings are a travesty of democratic and parliamentary norms. There is no respect for democratic behaviour. Only last week, a Madhesi MP, Hirdayesh Tripathi and the Maoist MPs disrupted the orderly working of the legislature by raising slogans and forcefully preventing parliamentary business. At this rate, concerned citizens should be asking themselves about the necessity of such a body. It is being used by disgruntled groups and parties to vent their views in an aggressive manner, similar to people burning tyres on the streets for every little personal and group grievances.
All of these antics show that the presence of a parliament is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for democracy. Where the parliament should be promoting due democratic process, it promotes anarchy. If it fails to set an example for behaviour along democratic rules and due process of law, how can the people be expected to refrain from anarchy?, dwindling away.

The people at the top are only interested in holding on to power. Also last week, much was made of the fact that for the first time, PM Girija Prasad Koirala "made history" by receiving the credentials of new Chinese ambassador, Zheng Xiangling in the State Hall of Singha Durbar and not the King as head of state in Narayanhiti Durbar. Unfortunately, like everything that Koirala does (or the men and women behind him) there is no respect for the rule of law.
He has "abolished" the role of the monarchy through the back door, without the people’s mandate and without waiting for the results of a referendum or the decision of the Constituent Assembly (CA). His foreign policy lies in tatters, and his administration has not yet been able to appoint envoys to the still vacant embassies. Not surprisingly, our image has sunk to a new low in the international arena. All in all, Koirala is a consummate wheeler-dealer. Perhaps this is skill required in politics, but this makes him neither a statesman nor a Nepalese patriot.

At the same time, the Maoists and the other Communist parties that represent the second political force majeure are now attempting to forge an alliance. Maoist supreme Prachanda has demanded that they are in favour of only one Communist party in Nepal. Rhoderick Chalmers of the International Crisis Group opined that the Maoists’ strength was not in their weapons, but in the militarization of the political process. He continued that it was crucial to encourage the Maoists to stop using fear as a political strategy. Given that the Maoists certainly have not locked away all the weapons for UN monitoring that they have been required to lock away, the fact that these weapons are still used to intimidate people and the fact that these ‘unaccounted for’ weapons are an ace up Comrade Prachanda’s sleeve invalidates the first part of this statement in the view of the authors. That the political process has been militarized by the Maoists is a sad truth and can be seen at most sittings of the parliament. Unfortunately, the means that could have enticed the Maoists to renounce violence and fear as their main political driver have all been wasted.
For the sake of argument, even if we were to accept the violent agitation of last April with massive Maoist inputs as a so-called people’s movement (and serious and independent observers very much doubt this theory), then why are the eight governing parties keeping quiet about their inability to hold the CA-elections on time ? Were the monarchists and reactionaries so powerful, all things considered? After all, this was supposed to be a major aspect of the people’s aspirations and a principal demand of the much vaunted Jan Andolan II.

Although the country is in the throes of a major political crisis, the cancellation is now being conveniently swept under the carpet. Interior minister, Krishna Prasad Sitaula the main architect of the alliance with the Maoists has already gone on record to state that the declaration of a democratic republic by the unelected parliament is already on the anvils. Previously, it was said that this would be the case if the King "conspired" to "thwart" the CA-polls. Perhaps Pradip Giri, a leader of the Nepali Congress (Democratic) was correct when he suggested that the postponement of the CA-elections shows that these were never meant to be held at all! Such is the devious way of thinking of the ruling alliance.
Concerned and enlightened citizens must now urgently ask themselves as to how long they are willing to accept the fundamental flaws in the present political system. The time is long past where we can tolerate the grave deviations from democratic norms. It can be safely assumed that unless Nepal gets rid of "Koiralaism", and the present government/parliament is replaced by those truly committed to democratic norms and the supremacy of the people, there will be no progress in the country. A genuine people’s movement with the nation’s interests at the heart is the need of the hour.

Source: American Chronicle, April 28, 2007