The Hyatt Regency Kathmandu enlisted Best Value Hotel in South Asia
The Hyatt Regency Hotel of Kathmandu has enlisted in the best-valuable hotel lists of the Budget Travel Magazine.
The list publish in the Feb 2008 issue of the magazine ranks the hotelat number seven in Asia and the 22 in the World. The list was the Top 100 Best Value Hotels of the world, with an average nightly rate of 250 USD or less.
General Manager of Hyatt Regency said "We are so proud and pleased to receive this award, to put both Kathmandu and Nepal on the map of quality travel and excellent services in the world.
This award honors our team, their hard work and dedication, and reflects Traditional Nepali warmth and Hospitality".
Nepal is also known worldwide as its Rich Natural Resources and Nepelese are also widely known for their Warm Hospitality to Tourism who comes to Nepal.
Tags: nepal
Power Cut crisis in Nepal to worsen for next 5 years
Nepal's power distributor, Nepal electricity Authority, on Monday Feb 4, 2008 said it can do little to deal with the chronic power crisis in the country.
The country would face increasingly worse power cuts till 2012/13, when hydro-power projects in the pipelines are expected to start generating Electricity. The country will face a still worse power crisis for the next 5 years.
The only way out in power import from India. Unfortunately both demand and price of power in Indian market are rising too steeply to make this an easy option for us.
Currently Nepalese people are facing the Power-cut for 8 hours in a day and 48 Hours in a week.
Tags: nepal
Tags: nepal
Tags: nepal
Nepali Women come back, after lost her health at Kuwait
Nepalease lady who was 40 years old, Manmaya Bhattarai, had been to Kuwati to fulfill her dreams of eaning money. But after spending 11 months of miserble life there, Bhattarai is now back home lying in a hospital bed.
According to Bhattarai, she is just one among 12 others taken to Kuwait by a team that allegedly involved her own relative Kishore Adhikari neighbours Rita Maji and Santabir Rai. She added that Adhikari took Rs.12,000 from her and left her in Karkarbhitta border near India. Majhi helped her cross the border and Rai took her to Mumbai, India.
"I went through such a hellish life in Kuwait that I can not express it in words, Bhattarai said, sobbing at B.P.Koirala Health Science Aaademy. Having worked as a domestic helper, Bhattarai was verbally and physically abused through out her stay there. Swellings, scars and cuts are visible all over her body.
She was not given any salary for her work. When she could not tolerate the situation any more, she requested her employeer to send her back to Nepali." He show some mercy at that time and I could come back," Bhattarai said.
So, I want to send the message from NepalNepal.com to all others womens or their family that who are trying to go Gulf Countries for the work they must be more careful.
A youth, who allegedly violatetd the curfew on 15,2008 Friday evening was killed in
police firing Golmani of Bhaktapur. According to police, the Youth with the surname
Lageju died while being taken to TU hospital for treatment.
Democrary Day is not celebrated as before because people are suffering all the things everywhere right now. We are not able to celebrte the Democracy Day propely due to crises of petrol, dieasel, kerosian, water, electricity etc. Similarly, we use to go Tundikhel in order to celebrte the Democracy Day before. But in the Democracy Day of 2008, there are not many people in the Tundikhel due to the lack of transportation.
As there is nothing in the Capital, can you imagine that what is the situation in the out of vally?
There is no any news of 58 Democracy Day in web site of government till Prime Minister's speech till 2 PM on Democracy Day. There is only the speech of Prime Minister of the year 2063 in web site of Government. Why Government staff do not update the website of this year 2064?
We dont have electricity, petrol, koresian, gas, water, network, employment, security - as a whole notting in Nepal. Thus we are suffering all the things.
For me Old Nepal is far better than the New One. Imagine how Nepalese people are sufferring!
All industry, factory, project, school and office is shutting down due to shortage of fuel crises.
The government should bring a contingency plan to provide fuel soon, otherwise the situation of Nepal will be worse day by day.
In your opinion who is responsible of all these things?
Tags: nepal
Tharu welfare council against seperate Madesh state in Nepal
Tharu welfare council said on Feb 22,2008 that the country should, not include the settlement of Tharu community under an autonomos Madesh state in this transitional state in this transitional phase.
Claiming that the government is preparing to address the demands of agitating tarai groups, TWC Udayapur commettee strongly opposed the autonomous one Madhes state deman. ATWC statement also claimed that Tharu people are not madhesis. The council warned it would launch protest if the Government violated the sentiments of Tharu people.
Kathmandu Metropolitan Police Crime Division Hanumandhoka, launch its website from Sunday 24 Feb, 2008 .
The newly launched website can be logged on to "www.crime-div.govt.np".
Press releases, latest developments on cirme trends and other information related to crimes in Kathmandu Vally among others, will be postead in the website, according to Metropolitan Police Crime Division Chief.
Why exceedingly qualified persons leaving their own "NEPAL"???
What are the reasons, why highly qualified and educated persons such as doctors, Engineers, and professors leaving their own country (NEPAL) to US and Europe?
As Doctors, Engineers such as Aeronautical Engineer, Civil Engineer, Mechanical Engineer, Professors, and other highly qualified persons who can run any businesses, Hoteliers, etc. leaving Nepal when the country need them??
Is it Worst situating of the Country?
Or is it because unsatisfactory job and place?
Is it the Environment of the country?
Or environment of their families life
Are they Unsatisfactory of their income?
Or is it the Political situation of the country?
Or they feel no security in their life?
Or is there anything???
If the highly qualified peoples leave the county then what is the condition or future of our country?
I think our country's condition will be paralyzing soon. So, please suggest me how we can save our Motherland? And how we can develop our country without the major forces of the country?
Anyhow, we should have to make our country better.
As Late King Mahendra had told to the people that "Ma Maray pani mero desh banchee Rahoos" (Long Live my country whether I'm not alive) which I like very much and everybody should give thought about it before they leave their country.
Breast Cancer preventation in Nepal
Don't neglect health after surgery over 50 percent breast cancer patients after they go through surgery. Owing to this, Nepal does not have exact figures of the mortality rate due to breast cancer, doctors said here Feb 26, 2008.
"Without being in touch with the patient continuously for five years after surgery, it is not possible to say how many woman die of breast cancer," said Dr Prakash Sayami, while speaking at five day training on Breast Cancer Screening at Teaching Hospital of Kathmandu. Even after surgery, cancer can recure.
He also said that if the Breast Cancer diagnosed in the primary stages, 50 percent of patients can be saved. He said his analysis of the cases dealt with by hospitils shows that the trand of women visiting hospital for treatment in same among women is rural and urban parts of the country.
Making her preventation at the program organized by Department of Surgery. Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital and Rural Women Unity and Development Centre Nepal. Dr Benu Lohani of the hospital said mammography, a special kind of x-ray, would be best for women above the age of 40 to detect breast cancer in the early stages.
For women between the age of 40 to 59, mammography needs to be done once in years, and for women above 50 it needs to be done annually. Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital and B.P. Koirala Bharatpur Cancer Hospital have this facility which costs Rs.550.
Similarly, Dr Y.P. Singh said that a study of 700 women who received services from Tribhuvan University teaching Hospital shows that 60 percent of the cases were below the age of 50, while 40 percent were above 50. However, this is exactly, the opposite compared to cases in developed countries. In development countries, bresat cancer is the commonest caner affecting women.
Fuel Crunch stalls hydro project construction in Nepal
Consturnctin of Middle Marsyangdi Hydro-electricity Project has not resumed due to lack of fuel.
Work was halted 12 days ago due to shortage of petroleum products resulting from the indefinite tarai banda. A project source said the stoppage has caused loss of Rs.25 million to the Nepal Government till date.
The Government has to pay 2 to 2.2 million rupees to the contractor daily. Only about five percent of project constructin work remains.
Sunil Kumar Dhungel, deputy head of the project said construction work would most likely resume of Wednesday as Nepal Oil Corporation has assured it will supply necessary fuel. Approximately 20,000 liters of diesel is consumed by the project daily.
World Bank announces Nepal Development Marketplace 2008
Twenty-five innovative ideas and invantive partnerships from across Nepal will be awarded cash gramts of up to Rs 5 million cash to implement this ideas under the Nepal Development Marketplace 2008 program.
The World Bank said the program was aimed at promoting fresh thinking and harvesting the most innovative ideas about peace and development, expension of lovelihood opportunities and delivery of basis services of the poot.
Nepal Development Marketplace is open to anyone with a good invovative idea to share," Susan Goldmark, country representative of world Bank for Nepal, said at the launch of the program on Saturday March 1, 2008. The last date set at April 17, 2008.
The proposals reflective the them Securing Peace through Development must be in the areas of health, eduction, water and sanitation, agriculture, irrigation and food security, infractructure enercy small business mocro enterprise support, informatin and communication technologies and employemtn creation.
Interpol chief lauds Nepal Police
Secretary General of International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) Ronald Noble on Friday Feb 29, 2008 lauded the efforts made by Nepal Police in apprehending internationally notorious outlaws.
Speaking at a press meeting in the Kathmandu, Secretary General said Nepal Police investigation officials are competent and at par with international standards,"Nepal police are very able to identify, locate, and arrest those wanted, he said.
Noble said Nepal Police had successfully handled over half a dozen international cases to prove that it is equally competent with police organizations in developed countries. He said the recent arrest of the alleged kidney kingpin Dr Amit Kumar in Nepal was testimony to the fact."I am very satisfied for the great work in apprehension of Dr Amit Kumar, who was wanted internationally via Interpol red corner notice, he added.
On the occasion, Noble also informed that a Nepalese police deputed at Interpol Headquarters in France from this year."Based on the request of Inspector General of Police, Interpol has agreed for the first time to have a Nepalese police officer deputed from here to the (Interpol) General Secretariat in Fran ce he announced.
He also said Interpol is planning to create a websites that describes works of all 186 Natinal Central Bureau . "Ghe first of that Natinal Central Bureau will be Nepalese police force,"he aded.
On the occasion, Noble gave away appreciation letters on behalf of Interpol to police chief Om Bikaram Rana, AIG Keshave Prasad Baral, SSP Upendra Kanta Aryal, SP Devendra Subedi and DSP Sher Bahadur Basnet Sub Inspector Raju Khim Bhadur Tamang and constable Lila Gurung for the arrest of Dr Amit.
Businessmen organize protest
In response to rising incidents of attacks on businessmen community took to the streets, shutting down business in Kathmandu demanding security on Sunday March 2,2008.
Expressing serious concerns over the growing incident of killings, physical assauts, extortion and abduction, businessmen demanded that the government provide security and create favorable environment for business apart from bringing the culprits to justic
Business leaders flayed the government for the deteriorating law and order situation and indifeerence shown toward mounting inscurity among business perople in the country.
As a part of the protest, they are organizing a mass meeting at Basantapur of Kathmandu on Monday Feb 3, 2008.
Speaking at corner meet organized in New Road, Binod Kumar Chaudhary, President of Confederation of Nepalese Industries, complained that the government did not pay heed to the demand for security for business people.
Chandi Raj Dhakal, President of Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Surendra Bir Malakar of Nepal Chamber of Commerce flayed government apathy towards to deteriorating security situation and demanded stern action against those involved in cirminal activities.
International Women's Day Reports on South Asian women
Only 15.5 percent South Asian Women are wage earners or salaried against 24.4 percent of men in South Asia, shows a latest report by a United Nations agency.
"Those women who enter the labour market face greater risk of unemployment than men," the report made public on Friday March 08, 2008 by International Labour Organisation (ILO) on the occasion of International Women's Day.
Howerver, the 'Global Employent Trends for Women March 2008' has painted an optimistic picture stating that women's move into more productive sectors and increasing productivity can push earnings to above the proverty threshold.
South Asia has untapped femel potential and sizeable decent work deficit. Of 511 million working age women and 540 million men,only 174 million women have a job compared to 422 million men.
It also says the number of employed women grew by almost 200 million over the last decade to reach 1.2 billion in 2007 compared to 1.8 billion men across the world.
"However, the number of unemployed women also grew from 70.2 to 81.6 million over the same period," it said. Findings of the report show that female unemploymetn rate stood at 6.4 per cent compared to the male rate of 5.7 percent.
Women are more likely to get low productivity, low paid and vulnerable jobs with no social protection and basic rights.
"The burden of vulnerability is still greater for women than men, especially in the world's poorest regions," the report states. It shows that improvements in the status of the women in labour markets throughout the worlld have not substantially narrowed down gender gaps in the workplace.
Access to labour markets and to decent and productive employment is crucial in the process of creating greater equity between men and women, suggested the report.
"Send Home a friend" Program Lauched in Germany
Nepal on Saturday launched 'Send Home a friend program in Germany, which is intended to lure the Nepali diaspora aboard to send friends back home.
As part of new marketing strategy, Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Avation (MoCTCA) and Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) have implemented the program since last January, which will extend until the end of the year.
However, non-resident Nepalese said the government should promptly unveil necessary supporting measures toe make the campaign a success.
Dil Gurung, president of Non-Resident Nepali Association, Germany said despite is commitment and announcement to provide privilege card which gives discounts for tourists going to Nepal in restaurants and hotels-the government has not been able to do so yet.
"It has to coordinate with local restaurants, hotels, departmental stores, airlines and decide how much discount the privilege card holders can get and distribut the card at the earliest, "he said.
Stressing the need for effective role of Nepali diplomatic missions abroad, he said the embassy must apply economic diplomacy effectively. "Furthermore, the embassy has to set up a seperate tourism desk, recognizing its contribution to the economy," he said.
He said that air accessibility problem is creating roadblock in sending more tourists to Nepal, adding that the government must bolster the status of the troubled national flag carrier by expanding its fleet. "Europeans prefer to travel on direct flights. So, the government has to do the needful to connect Nepal directly with Europe," he said.
Ram Pratap Thapa , honorary consul of Nepal in Germany said the government has to expedite the "Send Home a Friend" campaign, saying that it has been very slow so far.
He also suggested that the government revise its visa policy. "Its visa fee for those getting it at the airport in Nepal should be the same as here in the embassy, "he said, "Moreover, the visa should be multiple and valid for at least five months." He said these are small steps but will goa long way in attracting tourists.
Thapa, who is also vice-president of NRN International Coordination Commitment that NRNs ae ready to extend support to the government by sending at the launching program, Pranchanda Shrestha, chief executive officer of NTB said NRNs could play a crucial role in boosting tourism through word of mouth.
Neplease Government Vechicles get drumped young
A Nepali Government owned Mitsubishi Lancer parked under the open sky is covered by a thick layer of dust. It has stayed immobile inside the premises of Singha Durbar, the main Government offices premises, for over a year view minor and the black Mitsubishi is corroding under heat and rain.
According to Home Ministry officials, Deputy Speaker Chitra Lekha Yadav used the luxurious car registered as BA 1 JHA 5529 in the past. For a year, she has not cared to maintain the vehicle despite receiving money for this proposes.
Mechanical Engineer said the engine of this vehicle has been badly damaged as the vehicle was used without changing engine oil for a few years.
Two expensive cars from Toyota Motors have also been dumped inside Singha Durbar for over a year now. One of the vehicles (BA4CHA 6050) was used in the past by Joint Secretary of Home Ministry and another one (Ba4Cha 7735) by the Chairman of Law Reform Commission. Both vehicles were rendered useless due to the same reason: no change of engine oil.
These vehicles only represent the tip of the iceberg though. Most government vehicles have similar problem said Puspa Shrestha, who looks after vehicles of the Home Ministry. "The government has no budget to repay all vehicles," said Laxman Bahadur Thapa, under Secretary at the ministry.
Owing to lack of timely maintenance, most government vehicles end up prematurely useless and are auctioned at the price of scrap metal.
Recently, the Home Ministry selected 30 vehicles, including Toyota Land Cruiser, Nissan, Suzuki, and Mitsubishi cars and dumped then at an open garage to auction at the market price of iron.The Ministry has almost completed the process for an auction, said Thapa.
But the selection of vehicles for auction has also come under question. Some of the vehicles have proved not entirely useless. Two of the vehicles selected for auction by the Home Ministry were recently sent outside the valley for use by government officials in Rolpa and Gorkha according to Thapa.
Even engineers of Heavy Equipment Division, Minbhawan, who recommended that the vehicles be auctioned off, have been demanding those vehicles for use by officials.
According to record of past auctions obtained by the Post, 48 expensive vehicles including Mazda, Mitsubishi, and Toyota Land Cruiser were put on auction in similar manner by the Home Ministry in 1996 BS, after being left without repair for years.
Back then, a Toyota Land cruiser (BA-A-JHA 1717), bought at the price of Rs.44 million was sold for Rs.260, 800 while another Toyota (BA-A-JHA 1153) was sold for Rs.60, 000. Similarly, a Mazda (BA-A-JHA 1153) was auctioned at Rs.58, 000 and a Benz car (BA-A-JHA 833) car Rs 50, 0000. Records say the vehicles were auctioned as they consumed too much fuel, needed engine overhaul and denting and painting. Some vehicles were auctioned off without any specific reason.
To repair old vehicles, the government needs to spend from Rs.100, 000 to Rs 200,000 said engineers. However, the ministry has been planning to buy at least 15 new vehicles instead of repairing old ones.
Thapa admitted that the ministry would buy new vehicles. When asked about the damaged vehicles, he said there wasn't sufficient budget to repair them.
In total, the home ministry has 138 vehicles. Of them, 19 are not in operation. On record, the ministry spends hug amounts on maintenance and fuel. In the last eight months, over Rs.3.6 million has been spent on fuel and over Rs.1 million on maintenance.
Black Market of Goods in Nepal
I was greatly surprised when my neighbor displayed two cylinders of cooking gas in spite of its acute shortage in the market. I asked her, "Where did you get it ?" She proudly replied, "Oh this, I bought them at a slightly higher price from our shop-keeper". She also told me that she bought the two cylinders despit having one cylinder already in stock.
This attitude of my neighbor represents the common attitude of hundreds of Nepali housewives. When goods are in short supply in the market, they tend to store extra quantity of goods which leads to further shortage. We can see the queue of vehicles in petrol pumps and people holding a number of empty gas cylinders in the gas shop. Other goods are also in shortage. In such a situation the back market is expanding.
However, we are responsible for increasing the black market because of our tendency and poor judgment. It is the main cause of black marketing. When we see a large number of vehicles queuing in petrol pumps, we join the queue whether we need it or not at the moment. When we know about the shortage of gas in market we purchase couple of gas cylinders for storing. We only store when we see the signal "No" in shop or hear the rumor of scarcity. In ordinary situation we never care.
Now, many things in the market are in shortage, expecially petroleum products. Therefore, we tend to add more gas cylinders in our stock and buy more petroleum products than we need. The trend to purchase more than required during banda has helped the black market flourish.
In this sense, we ourselves are the promoters of the black maket. No matter if we are really in need of extra stock or not, a majority of Nepalis have the tendency to spend extravagently on goods and store them for the future. This aggravates the situation when there already is shortage of goods. The common people do not have stocks at home and are obliged to buy at the price asked by shopkeepers in the wake of high demand caused by the shortage.
It is funny to see people purchasing things whenever they hear rumors of a weeklong strike, even though they possess these commodities sufficient for 2 months. It is this tendency that supports the thriving black market. Hence, as a conscious consumer, we should help prevent the black market. Let us not rush to buy extra quantities of goods which are already in high demand and short supply.
Big 3 differ on transitinal head of state in Nepal
The political parties may have decided to abolish the minarchy through the first meeting of a fdreshly elected constituent Assembly, but they are still undecided and hold divergment views on how to elect the new head of state and whether it will be a ceremonial or an executive head.
Since electing the head of state comes in the agenda immediately after the election of the constitument assembly lack of consensus on this may delay-even derail the political process.
The Post talked to three major parties-Nepali Congress, UML and Maoist to find our what their plans are for the transitional head of state. The answers when varied, to say the least.
The Maoists seem must clear-whether or not they have the right approach is altogether a different matter-about the transition and have also mentioned this in their eclection manifesto. They want the members of the consitituent assembly to elect an executive president and the prime minister. Maoist ideologue Dr Baburam Bhattarai said, "The meeting will decide the powers of the president and the prime minister on the very first day when it will also decide to abolish the monarchy."
He said the president will be head of state and have executive power, which means the prime minister will play second fiddle something like the French model. What the Maoists are proposing here is not just a change in the head of state but a total change in the form of governmet-from a prime minissterial to a presidental system.
Dr Bhattarai also claimed that the very first meeting of the CA will amend the Interim constitution, effecting change in the model of the governmet.
This, alas, is not how the NC and the UML envision the transition for the head of state.
The UML is completely silent on the issue in its election manifesto and a Nepali Congress leader involved in preparing the party's election manifesto conceded that they haven't given any thought to the issue."We may discuss it tomorrow and come up with a suggestion in the manifesto," he said, requesting to remain unnamed. Still, some senior UML and NC leaders offered their take on the issue.
ULM leader Raghu Panta said,"The first meeting of the Constituent Assembly will elect a prime minister who will serve until a new consititution is formulated and he will also function as head of state".
He also downplayed the differences amount the parties over the issue. "Since the constituent assembly is a powerful body and has authority to take decisions on any issue there should be no problem."
Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula also said the issue will be resolved amicably."The first meeting will enforece a republic, amend the constitution if required and elect a new president."
But will that be an executive president? The NC has already said it is in favor of an executive prime minister and a ceremonial president. Sitaula said, "The powers of the president and prime minister is an issue to be decided by the CA."
The question is what if there is no quick consensus on the issue and how will it play our with the king watching from Narayanhiti ? Genral Secretary Bimalendra Nidhi said," We have already agreed that we will take a decision through consensus."
Conflict will continue if Maoists lose: Dr Bhattarai
The meaning of Constituent Assembly(CA) poll will questioned if progressive forces like maoists are sidelined by the poll, a senior Maoist leader said on Friday.
"I think the decadelong confict will not find its justification if we (Maoists) are defeated in the Constituent Assimbly poll,"senior Maoist leader Dr Baburam Bhattarai said at an interaction with media poersons here.
He also claimed that conflict will continue in Nepal if the issues raised by Maoists in the past are not addressed following the CA poll.
"We (Maoists) fought for ten years for republic, constituent assembly and new ideas. We alone can address the issues, for wihich we raised arms in the past. So we must come to leadership to take the decade-long conflict to a justified conclusion, "Dr Bhattarai said, adding "Otherwise, unsatisfied forces will resume armed struggle through we don't want it.
While starting that the CA poll isn't yet free from risks, he said, "Conspiracies are being hatched to carry out big political assassinations to abort the poll,"he said.
He accused the ULM of drifting away from leftist ideology and said, "It is hight time people chose real leftists."
Common Sense in Politician of Nepal
I dont' think I would be rude in saying that the Neplease Politicians have lost their common sense. It's not the first time that they have attacked leaders and cadres of other political party, campaigning for the elections. If they had the common sense, I don't think they would repeat their activities over and over again.
Some time back, YCL leaders in Darchula attacked Nepali Congress leaders. Then it was Rastriya Janasakti Party's cadres in Dhankuta. And this time, they have injured more than a dozen ULM leders in Ramechhap. They have't stopped talking big about themselves in their election campaigns, they cannot tolerte. Is this why they are in the government then ? Not to let other parties's win people's heart? Is that why they signed the peace agreement with the Seven Party Alliance? Forget Maoism's pure thoughts, do they respect simple "democracy" that common people undrstand?
Talking about their election campaigns, the country is yet to decide the fate of monarchy and they go on sticking their leader's photographs as the first prsident of the country. Well, they could win and their leader might be the "first president" too. But let perople participate in the fair election first. Let the campaigners freely campaign first. Then only we will find out who bacomes the first president for the country that Rather than trying to monopolize every thing they could just observe how election campaigns are making the headlings across the world.
Take an exaple of Hillary Clinton and Barrack Obama, the closest competitors for the Domocratic Party in the US. They know the competition is very tough and they know that their victory could change the fate of the entire country. That is why, they are trying to win more primaries but in doing so, they don't disrupt each other's campaigns. Hillary's cadres don't beat up Obama's cadres (or vice versa) just because they think the competition is teech cleanching and they desperately need to win.
Sadly in Nepal's case, we don't even have a month for the elections, which has been postponed several times in the past. Though they ae in the government, the Maoists have not kept their promise to ensure safety in the country. They haven't yet stopped killing, abducting, and extorting people. Has Prachanda, in particular;disclosed the status of people disapperard by them? If not, why is he threatening the prime minister to disrupt electioons if the stte doesn't meet their 23 point demands? The question then arises-do they really want elections? May be they want but what is obvious is their fear.
It is our common sense to infer the chaos they are creating by disrupting election campaigns is suggestive of their lack of cofidence to win people's heart. It's high time they used their common sense. If they believe people are with them, they need not be afraid to let other parties campaign peacefully. But if they continue violating the basic norms of democracy their ballot boxes would greet then only with vacum.
Respect people Dr. Bhattarai
It is really a bad news for film makers at the Hollywood that we, Neplease, are producing the finest class of comedians here in Nepal, Dr Baburam Bhattarai, a top leader of Maosist, really made every Nepali laugh their head off when he said if the Maoists are to lost the CA Election, the revolution will continue. I really can't figure out what revolution means to him. It is shocking to know that the Maoist top brass is still not ready to face the public verdict. It is unclear who Dr. Bhattarai is referring to as the unsatisfied groups.
If he and his party are in a utopian mindset that the public sympathy and good gesture will continue forever. I can only warn these Nero of modern times to be ready for the backlash.
The economy of our country is on the backtrack and the rising prices of basic commodities are already enraging the public. Dr Bharrarai should experience the life of common people. Life at the remote hills of the west of Nepal which were most affected during his party's insurgency is beyond our imagination.
The upcoming CA polls have provided us an opprotunity to have our say and to get the justice from the state we were deprived of till now. So, everybody should come together and we should try to make the upcoming polls a grand success, whatever the results.
Those who do not respect the people are not going to get anything back. Nothing, not even conspiracies, is going to stop us now.
For what Dr. Bhattarai said on the above topic you can see it at this post
http://www.nepalnepal.com/Social/blogs.php?action=show_member_post&ownerID=19&post_id=358
Nepalese Political Parties Engaged in Blame Game before CA Election
The major constituents in the ruling seven-party alliance have accused each other of violating election Code of Conduct by disrupting their electoral programs in different parts of the country.
While the NC blamed CPN (Maoist), the CPN (UML) accused both NC and the Moists of obstructing their electrol progrms.
Issuing a statement on Friday, the NC said that at least six paty supporters have sustained injuries in Makawanpur district when Maoist cadres attacked them on the charge of attending NC's electoral campaign at Chhatiban VDC.
Denouncing the ongoing violent incidents unleashed by the Maoists, the NC said that the blatant attacks on the democratic norms and election Code were the result of a defeatist mentality.
It has also urged the government to take stern action against the perpetrators and create a conductive environment for free and fair elction by ensuring law and order situation.
Similarly, the CPN (UML) said that the Maoists cadres tried to disrupt its program at Sunkhani Yamuna of Sindhupalchowok district by attacking its party cadres, including the party candidate Arun Nepal, who is contesting the election from Sindhupalchowk-1. Due to Maoists's attacks, some UML cadres, including district committee member Ram Prasad Pyakurel, have sustained injuries.
According to a statement issued by the ULM, Maoists and NC activists have been obstructing the UML's party leders and cadres in launching electoral campaigns at Sunkhani, Lamidanda, Mali Kavre, Mirge and Sunarawati of Dolkha constituent-2 since March 16.
In Nagthana of Sunkhani, four UML's cadres were injured. In Mali, 16 Maoists caderes along with Khukuris had tired to attack our caderes. the UML statement said.
The Maoist cadres also barred UML candres and election candidates on Friday from carrying out electoral campaigns in Rameshhap-1 and Gorkha-3 the UML said.
According to the UML statement , Maoist manhandled its local cadres and seized their mike from Keureni of Khimi VDC of Rameshhap district. Likewise, the Maoists had restricted UML cadrs and candidate from Gorkha=3 Bikal Shresatha at Ramchwok of Chaupani-6 while they were going to attend election program at Bartak VDC saying that they could not enter into their "so-called" Maoist base ares.
Denouncing the ongoing incidents, the UML has urged the Maoists to stop such undermocrtic and irresponsible activities in order to create a free from fear atmosphere for the upcoming election.
Justic for The victims of the decade-long conflict in Nepal
The victims of the decade-long conflict share a common doubt that the state may not provide then justice. This seems to be genuine concern. Indeed, the politicians who think that a blanket amnesty will secure the peace process are mistaken as what they are saying is contradictory. First, a general pardon is not something that the state can grant , it is the right and choice of the victim. The state can only facilitate a reconciliation or encourage the sufferers to forgive by providing them an attractive compensation. What the victims really want, according to a recent study report, is justice, which means punishment to the perpetrators. A blanket amnesty is, of course, not acceptable. It would only promote impunity and an even stronger sense of revenage among the vicitims. This would mean continuation of the conflict. But this is waht seems to be in the offing.
The government is already heading on a risky path to amnesty. In an attempt to bypass the concerns of the victims, it formed a Truth and Reconcillation Commission (TRC) and its so-called High Level Commission for Desappeared Persons without consulting and involving the major stake-holders - the vicitims, the National Human Rights Commission and the UN, among others. Howerver, these bodies could not be established before the CA polls because of the widespread criticism for going contrary to international standards. They require that any truth commission be independent, impartial,, competent and free of government interference. The TRC was indeed nothing less thatn a purely political group. It ignored the victims' demands for justice and focused more on creating conditions that could force them and the perpetrators to reconcil. The TRC stated that those who were not ready for a reconciliation would be ineligible for compensation. There were similar weaknesses in the High Livel Commission for Dispperred Persons.
Given such a week stand of the government, the vicitims" response that they were not going to let anyone walk free is justifiable and anticipated. For instance, the recently relased report of the International Center for Transitinal Justice(ICT) shows that a majority of conflict victims do not agree with giving a genral pardon to perpetators on the pretext of making the peace process "successful". The major concern of the sufferers and those on the side of justice is that the government show a strong commitment to end impunity. Only a few bold steps will convince the victims that the governmetn is firm on delivering justice. It should form a truth commission through a wider consultative process involving the civil society, human rights bodies, the victims, the UN and other stakeholders as suggsted by the ICTJ.
Only US$ 970 for Korean Job for Neplease
A job asprient has to pay only US 970.28 before being recruited in South Korea under the Emplyment Permit System (EPS) of Korean government, the Ministry of Labour and Transport Management said on 23rd March 2008 (Sunday).
Issuing a statement, the Ministry also said the exam of Korean Language Test (KUT) would be held on March 29 and 30. A total of 31,525 job seekers have applied for the exam, which is going to be held at 20 exam centers in Kathmandu.
The ministry has cautioned job aspriants to beware of any individual making false promise of job opportunity in Korean, a lucrative labor destination for Nepali. EPS allows Korean employrs to fulfil labor deficit in domestic market by recruiting foreign workers who would be entitled to equal wages and other benefits with their Korean counterparts.
It is equally important to protect the biodiversity that exists outside national parks of Nepal!
The killing of two women and a girl in Bardia National Park last month must be yet another gruesome reminder of the deeply-entrenched practice of impunity in our security institutions .Bidhya Bhandari's callous and shameless defense of the killers aside, this criminal act should not go unpunished if there is to be any semblance of justice in new Nepal.
We should also understand that state violence such as this against people living around the protected areas have been going on for several decades now. Besides the culture of impunity in the security institutions that have become an integral part of protected area management, at the root of this violence lies the quaint conservation credos. Two are particularly powerful among them. First, conservationist assumed that biodiversity including the endangered animals could be protected only if some areas were left in pristine condition by fencing them off from the human population. Second, it was believed that the human managed landscapes such as agricultural lands, pastures and ponds were unimportant as far as biodiversity conservation was concerned.
The specific forms that conservation took in Nepal and elsewhere were solely not the result of these assumptions that international conservation agencies brought with them when they came to implement their visions in countries such as Nepal. The extant political conditions were equally important Nepal's royal family, top bureaucrats and the military and business elite found new found new opportunities for appropriating national resources - this time in the name of conservation. It is an open name of conservation. It is an open secret that military officers that are in charge of securing the protected areas have had no problem in hunting animals or cutting down trees for timber for their personal use. The business elite found in conservation new opportunities for making money through tourism. In Nepal, the political, military, business and intellectual elite all have deep ties. It does not take long to find out that a lot of the tourism business in Nepal was also controlled by those in power.
Except in a few places such as the Annapurna region where a sizable section of the local people have benefited from conservation activities,in most other places the local and among them the most marginalized have become the biggest victims- this despite the fact that most of them have the biggest stake in conservation. The elite came to grab their land cheap. The business opportunities at emerged around tourism went to those who were already powerful.
I worked with fishing communities living along the banks of the Narayani River for three years in the mid-1990s. Majhis, Mushahars and Botes had been fishing in the Narayani River for over a century. Working with them to build their organization, many of my colleagues and I realized that there had been a phenomenal decline in the fishing in the Narayani river during the last several decades. What was so remarkable about the decline was that the fishing people knew the broad time lines of these declines, and these time lines directly correlated with Nepal's tryst with bikas.
Nehruvian India went on a dam building frenzy after independence. By building now, there is not a single river inmost of South Asia that runs unimpeded into the Indian Ocean. These dams have produced dubious results. Beyond the initial bumper crops, most of the lands that these dams were to serve have faced various levels of salinization and water logging. Fish in the water bodies across Nepal have plummeted.
Until I worked with these fishing communities, I had no idea that the building of the Gandak Dam had a dramatic impact on the fish population. Many species of fish used to travel over thousand of kilometers upstream to spawn. Dams everywhere blocked these movements. I still remember one evening sitting on the river bank with several fishing people and listing species of fish that had by then become extinct. Within less than five minutes, many in the village along the bank of the Narayani listed 25 different types offish that had gone extinct during their lifetime.
The decline in the number of fish species went hand in hand with the decline in the volume of fish. Many shared with deep nostalgia how they used to catch as much fish in an hour as they were catching today during a whole day's fishing. The size of the fish had also declined. They were catching smaller and smaller fish.
I am sure dams were not the only culprits. The building of dams across the Kosi and Gandk also coincided with the promotion of agricultural modernization in Nepal. The Narayani River has almost 500 km of east-west catchment range. By the time the Narayani emerges on the plains of the Chitwan Valley, it carries water originating across almost half of Nepal's mountain ranges.
The five decades of agricultural development in Nepal has meant the spread of the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides across most of the catchment areas. Compared to other areas of high agricultural modernization, Nepali farmers do not use that much chemicals. Still, across almost all areas of Nepal, fish populations have declined precipitously. During my own lifetime, I have seen fish disappear from our own paddy fields in the mountains, streams and marshes. Fish is not the only thing that has seen a drop. Seed varieties, bird populations insects and many other animal populations have also been reduced.
As has become clear by now, a pristine environment accounts for a very small part of biodiversity management. Human-managed landscapes,such as farmlands, pastures and ponds account for the largest area where biodiversity needs to be protected. Many conservationists erroneously hold the view hat agriculture in itself leads to a decline in biodiversity. They forget that what matters is not agricultural activity per se, but the type of agriculture.
Without the vision of building an ecologically sound agricultural base in Nepal, we are going to see a further decline in our biodiversity. This decline is not just a mater of concern for conservationists. Fishing communities, for instance, have a direct stake in conserving the catchment areas. This requires a new kind of partnership for conservation that addresses the issues of ecology, justice and participation as integral parts of biodiversity conservation in Nepal. Security sector reform should definitely be a very important part of the process of ending impunity that has become deeply entrenched among those who wield killing power. It is also time to rethink deeply the very paradigm of conservation that has been promoted during the last four decades in Nepal. New Nepal definitely requires new visions for biodiversity conservation.
Tags: nepal
Nepali Cittizens "Yes", Voters "No"
Talking about the upcoming CA Election makes Govinda (a nepali citizen) feels some what put of as he is not going to be able to exercise his franchise in the once-in-history Constituent Assembly poll on April 10.
He is missing out on the epoch making election because he, along with his wife and brother, can not travel all the way back to their constituency in Sankhuwansava, a remote village of Nepal. He can not close his sole source of earnings, a cyber in Kathmandu for very long peiod.
Neither can be exercise his franchise in Kathmandu as the existing Electoral Rolls Act allows him to vote only in his own constituency.
He fells sad that he is missing the historic event since he is not allow to use my franchise right here in Kathmandu even though he is a bona fide citizen.
Like Govinda , thousands of other citizens, who are away from their respective election constituencies and can not go back there shortly, stand to be deprived of the vote.
The election law does not provide for any temporary voting list, thus denying people living away from home and who can not get back to their constituencies the right to vote. Only those who have land or other permanent property in the place of their current sojourn are registered as voters there after furnishing their migration certificates.
Besides, thousands of election observers being deployed by various organizations will also not be able to enjoy their right to vote, according to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).
"I am being deprived of the vote as I am registered as a voter in Biratnagar and can not go there since I have to work on polling day as convenor of the National Election Monitoring Alliance,"said Subodha Raj Pyakurel, a human rights activist.
Simalarly, hundreds journalists who can not go to their respective home districts because of their journalistic duties during the election, are also going to miss the opportunity to vote for the CA:
Interstingly, NHRC members also are being deprived of their right to vote in the historic elction."Since we have to go to different parts of the country for election monitoring, we are going to miss the chance to cast our own vote as the law lacks any provision for voting from any place that we reach," said NHRC member Ram Nagina Singha at a press meet on Monday. Singh and other NHRC membrs raised this issue of disfranchisement with the Election Commission (EC) on Monday, urging the EC to take the matter seriously. NHRC has maintained that the existing legal provision violates a citizen's right to vote. Even election observers have demanded that the EC make some arrangement to ensure their rights to vote according to Pyakurel.
Government officials working at diplomatic missions abroad are also going to be deprived of their vote as the EC is not going to set up polling booths there. Hira Bahadur Thapa, spokersperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affiairs, said there are about 75 officials working in Nepal's diplomatic missions abroad.
But, diplomats and officials working at such missions said they wished their voiting right would be respected."It would be better if our voice is heard and we are able to caste our votes," said Murari Raj Sharma, Nepal's ambassador to the UK, over the phone. "Personally I am feeling put off at being disfranchised ."Howerver, the EC says that it can do nothing about the disfranchised lot ." The EC can do nothing now to address the problem, "Laxman Bhattarai, spokesperson of the EC, said.
We are the luckiest generation. Just to be optimistic, we have got an opportunity to our future. If we have got an opportunity to vote for our future, if we are able to emulate the American success, we will remain a stable nation and if the fate of French repeats, we will form CA five times.
I have in my life never cast a vote, not even for Free Students Union. I have always despised politicizing education, which has crated a mess in most of the prestigious universities of Nepal. Not that I loath democratic rights of students, but what I hate are the sister organization of political parties.
However, I am fervid about this election to choose a candidate and a party to voice my concern. Indirectly, I would be formulating the county's Supreme Laws for myself. Not only me, but also all members of my family and relatives are very enthusiastic about the poll. Two candidates are our relatives but luckily we are saved from making a choice, as they belong to different constituencies.
It is not clear, where on earth, the practice of adult franchise started for the first time. The West says Greeks had devised it and Romans followed. Concrete evidence of voting is also found in Buddha's time. Kapilvastu, a city in Nepal where Lord Buddha born was in fact a republic; the king was elected from among the heads of different tribes.
The Vedas too, hint on the practice of voting in those days and the exercise of democracy and republicanism. The word ' king' in the Hinduism has multiple meanings. It is used for head of unitary or federal government; governors or president of the state. To think that these terms came to us from the West is inanity, only that we had forgotten our roots. I have used the word Hinduism not as a religion but the civilization of the Aryans and non Aryans of Indian sub-continent.
Today, voting means political affiliation also. And when a candidate wins, his/her personality factor as well the party to which he/she belongs plays a role. In the US, a candidate is the sole factor and in UK, it is the parties the British vote. But what do Nepalese vote for, when they do, is it from their conscience? I wonder. Rarely the Nepali women, especially of rural areas use their mind, as they lack education.
My mother does not have political affiliation but my father was a leftist. Later he extricates himself from this ideology as he witnessed the tumbling of the Berlin Was and collapse of the USSR. Now he believes in freedom, democracy, and market-based economy. He influences us, his children. Our education and upbringing in the modern world have played a salient part in our thinking. But my poor mother; who does she vote for? It's clear this time that she will vote for her brother-in-law, but on those past parliamentary elections whom did she vote? I'm sure my papa helped her.
The literacy rate is very low amongst Nepali women and those mascara-donning (educated) women think politics is a dirty game. But voting is not solely about politics. Let's vote it's the best privilege the state give us.
Cool it - Political Parties of Nepal
The run-up to the Constituent Assembly in Nepal pools slated for April 10 has been gradually turning violent. Incidents of killing intimidation coercion and abduction have become new tools in the election campaign. Political cadres need to exercise restraint and not go overboard in their attempts to attact voters to their party. And they should focus on the core issue that the CA pools are for drafting the country's new constitution, and that the voters are electing representatives to put their cases for leaders, especially the Maoissts, have been delivering their speeches also suggests that they are hell bent on grabbing power insssstead of genuinely seeking the people's mandaaaate to draw the country's new political course. Clashes among cadres of different political parties have virtually brought the election campaign in parts of the country to a halt.
Muscle-flexing campaigns set very unhalthy political parties. The people cannot case their votes under such circumstances. Such incidents indicate that the leaders have fialed to live up to their political cinnutnebtsm and tgat tge scgedyked polls are likely to be marred to by violence. The other day, clashes between YCL and NC workers claimed the life of the Maoist district leader in Solukhumbu. Scores of political cadres, including Bal Bahadur KC who was on an eletion campaign, were injured in the fight. Eight Maoist cadres have been killed since the government announced the election date. Canditate Kamal Prasad Adhikari from Banke was gunned down after being dragged from his house.
Punctuality not a cup of tea for Nepal Government Employee
By the time Supreme Count Justice Tahir Ali Ansari rejoined his bence on March 18, it was already 3:12 PM, or 42 minutes after the afternoon tea recess.
Taking his seat, Ansari neither apologize to Senior Advocate Ganesh Raj Sharma and other lawyers, who were waiting for him desperately, nor did he give any reason for the delay.
But Justice Ansari's is no exceptinal case. Almost all the justices fail to show up in court on time.
The Post did a reality check, with random recording of the working time of judges for one week and observation of work at the benches for a month starting from February 26.
During the study perood, this daily found that judges rarely showed up at their respective benches before 11 am although the apex count opens at 10 am. Some judges came to their bench as late as 11.54 am. On February 27, Justics Min Bahadur Rayamajhi and Kalayan Shreasha turned up at 11.54 am. After joining the bench, they postponed hearings in 21 cases, citing lack of time that particular day. Justice Rayamajhi is the senior most justice of the apex count after the Chief Justice.
Similarly, Chief Justice Kedar Prasaad Giri came to the bench at 11:52 am on February 26. As the Chief Justice entered, a lawyer who was talking to the Post outside the chamber commented, "This is judicial bureaucracy."
During the review period, this daily found that judges in general remained at their benches till 1:30 pm when the hour long tea break at the apex court begins.
As in the mornings, judges were found coming to the benches late aftet the tea break also. The judges generally do not resume hearings before 3:45 pm though the tea break is over by 2:30 pm.
Similarly, the benches generally close as ealy as 4:30 pm even though harings scheduled for a particular day are not finshed. Some judges close shop as early as 2:47 pm without finishing the day's work.
For instance, on March 27, Justices Ram Prasad Shrestha and Damodar Prasad Sharma colsed the division bench at 3:40 pm and also did not take up hearings at the single bench though that is what they were supposed to do. Shrestha was supposed take up five cases and Sharma four cases at their singly benches.
A classic case of unpunctuality was exhibited by Justices Ram Kumar Prasad Sah and Gauri Dhakal on March 2. They closed their division bench at 2:47 pm, citing lack of time. The bench deferred 14 cases, including one concerning Shova Rana.
Rana, who was in court since morning, was obviously disappointed to see her case deferred yet again. "They postponed the hearing though they had eoough time. Had they come on time in the morning, my case would have been finished,"said an infuriated Rana, whose case had already been deferred thrice.
Attempts by the Post to get a comment from the Chief Justice failed. After a long wait for an appointment, the Chief Justice replied, through Supreme Count spokesperson. Til Prasad Shrestha, that he did not want to talk to the media. Shrestha said he could not comment on the performance of the judges.
Coincidently, the performance of Supreme Court judges has been declining in recent years. According to a report of the Supreme Court, the average per judge case disposal has declined progresively since 2004. The per judge annual disposal, which was 681 cases in 2004 declined 2654 in 2005 and 601 in 2006.
The sane report has recommended that the court create more hous for processing and hearings so as to address the Suprime Court backlog of 13,476 cases. The working style of the justices amply i ndicates that the report has not been taken seriously.
Is Divorce Necessary?
A section of the female population does not have marriage as the goal in their lives. When they do get married, they want everything on their own terms and are unwilling to make any kind of compromise. In any relationship, let along marriage, mutual respect, understanding the emotional needs of the other person and a desire to make the association work, even with some compromises, is the basic ingredient for a lasting and fruitful relationship. Marriage is no different and needs the same effort.
A divorce does not bounce suddently for any couple. Liasion decline, antipathies boil without communication, one partner or the other gets constantly hurt and one day takes the final decision of going for a divorce. Steps can be taken to rectify situations before the final act if the rot has not set in too deeply. Communication and a desire to resolve the situation is often the key to a solution at this stage.
If you find your marital life is developing cracks, do not let them get wider in silence. Attempt to save your marriage, be it an arranged or a love union. Find a neutral person, a distant relative or a friend who can speak to both of you frankly and point out the errors to both of you without prejudice. If you are not lucky enough to have such a person in your social circle, while the chance of recovery of your marriage is still strong, find a good marriage counselor and attend sessions together.
It is quite possible that you still love and respect each other but a misunderstanding or imagined slight is leading to a confrontation without either of you taking the first step to resolve it.
Even family courts in Nepal are providing better counseling services now. It is amazing how issues simmer for years. Couples today spend less time together and pressures of modern life are very strong. The buffer of the joint family is gone. Often, the desire to hurt the spouse is basic reason for wanting a divorce. If couples are not emotionally involved else where, with a few sessions, they talk and are very often able to sort out their difference. That is when I find personal satisfaction in this otherwise painful job", Aarati, a conselor in the court said.
Albeit your marriage has, sadly, crossed the fence of a reclaiming likelihood, do not use it as device of punishment. Remember that prolonged battle in court is a double-edged sword, which will damage both parties. Dishonest lawyers will only fan the fire, but it will be your valuable years, and money, that will be wasted in ongoing legal altercation.
Tags: nepal
"No Vote, No Complain" if you are not cast vote in this CA Election
Voting in an election is the only legitimate way of making our voices heard. It is the only way to ensure that good candidate or a party wins over the bad ones. Many times, I have encountered people who talk big about politics and how the system is bad and every body is an idiot except him or herself and so on. When one asks them if they are going to cast a vote or not, the answer is "Oh! I am going out of the country at that time" or "Oh! Nobody is worth giving a vote to" or "Well, I don't know where my name is" and so on.
My humble request to these souls is, if you do not even exercise your rights and cast your votes for the betterment of this country, Nepal. you have no rights to comment or complain about anything political. The upcoming CA elections are not just elections; they are a way for ward for this country and our children and their generations. Please ensure that you vote in the upcoming CA elections. The elections are going to deceide on the fate of this country. Let us give our 100 percent; let us make our voices heard.
Despite the killing of electoral candidates, frequent violations of the election code of conduct, mudslinging between leaders and clashes between cadres, all the political parties are busy knocking on the doors of voters. And they have also been promising that the election would be held in a free, fair and peaceful manner.
At the same time, human rights issues have been pushed forward to occupy a prominent place, in the election campaign. All the major parties, including the Seven Parties Alliance (SPL), have pledged to sustain peace, preserve the rule of law and project human rights. The attention being given to human rights by the candidates inspires hope that the Constituent Assembly Election will take measures to remedy the pattern of grave human rights abuses.
The manifestos of all the major parties agree that the widespread human rights violations should end. They have demonstrated the crucial role of human rights in rebuilding trust among all the Nepalese. People across the country are thinking of electing their own representatives who are likely to speak up for them when drafting a new constitution.
Thanks to voter education and such other awareness campaigns, the public is quite aware that the CA election is not parliamentary election. They know that the polls will elect a fresh body to write the country's constitution.
Nevertheless, the time has come to examine the political background, capability and, most importantly, the human rights records of the candidates. The state's efforts to deal with past injustices and human rights abuses should go together with the elections. The candidates, regardless of their public position, should prove that they have never been accused, charged, convicted, or interrogated with regard to any past human rights abuses.
In order to maintain lasting peace and consolidate the concept of the rule of law, the people's inherent right to life including other fundamental rights enshrined in national and international laws must be protected. Past injustices should not be forgotten without a proper investigation being done. People who were victimized during the conflict have not yet received justice.
The voters also have a duty not to elect candidates who are known to have violated human rights so that they cannot hold office in the state administration. The contestants should be required to sign an integrity pledge stating that they have not committed any human rights abuses or acts of corruption and nor will they do so in the future.
Numbers of commissions like the Rayamajhi Commissions and the judiciary have indicated various persons for committing human rights abuses and asked the government to dismiss them from their posts and initiate action against them. Even then, these people are not only enjoying state protection, they have the nerve to stand in the election.
There is always a need for political commitment. Democracy's strength depends on the capacity of the political parties and the civil society to be effective organs of political and economic development. The issue of creating anew Nepal seems to be the prime agenda of all the political parties. But they are fighting among themselves and disrupting each other's election campaigns. They could have reached a consensus on the mater of new Nepal insisted of thrashing and killing each other. Their behavior provides opportunities for anti national forces to try to derail the peace process and the CA polls.
Efficient and fair institutions that enjoy civic trust are needed to create a new Nepal. For that to happen, candidates for the CA must be elected based on their human rights background. This will help to achieve the objective of forming an effective and legitimate transitional justice policy. If human rights violators were to be elected to the CA, it would be an endorsement of their criminal behavior.
Restoring law and order is a precondition for institutional, political, and economic development. To facilitate the move to democracy and the rule of law, people who have been proven to be responsible for human rights violations should be removed. Such action is crucial to making the constitution drafting process a success. The delay in revealing past injustices have jeopardized the endeavor to establish a new and just Nepal. And it will be great candidates.
Some days back when some women across the country observed the International Women's day some others in the rural areas found no reason to celebrate their womanhood, which for them became the source of their constant pain and suffering rather than pride. Since their childhood they face traditional stereo types so interwoven in the social fabric that there is no one to talk to girls about their own body and health. Early marriage is soon followed by deliveries one after another, even before their organs are fully matured and ready to support a new life without damaging mother's health.
General health information and services in Nepal is inadequate considering the needs of the people, but when it comes to reproductive health the issue becomes even more difficult to address as it is an uneasy topic for many. The situation has been even more complicated by the decade-long conflict not only because the improvement of the health posts was halted and those existing remained vacant but even more because the men were hiding, fleeing, or actively participating in the combat. So, it was up to their wives and children to share the remaining work load.
Most of the women in the remove areas deliver children without medical assistance and if they survive, they come back to their chores soon after delivery. This leads to a number of serious health complications, above all uterus prolapse. The pain is multiplied as the burden of physical work grows. Yet, they suffer in silence as it is not acceptable to talk openly about their pain.
If one sets up a mobile reproductive health camp in any area people walk even whole day to be admitted. It is heard to describe the relief our patients experience when they are able to talk about their condition for the first time and moreover, they learn that it is fully treatable.
Every time we succeed in guiding a woman through treatment procedures and she recovers after operation, we share her happiness but I can't help the feeling of sadness in me as the camps are only an emergency measure. Indeed, there is a dire need to address the issue in a systematic way.
If somebody keeps quiet it does not necessarily mean that she or he does not suffer. If we don't talk about something we can create an illusion that the problem does not exist but the pain felt by thousands of women is not illusory, it is very real.
The understanding signed by Prime Minister and NC President Girija Prasad Koirala, CPN (UML) General Secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal and CPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dhal on Tuesday underscores the essentially and immediacy of helping conduct a credible, peaceful, free and fair Constituent Assembly Election on April 10. While applauding the pact that will hopefully lead to an end to the daily madness we are made to witness across the country, we have no reasons to rest easy. Simply because there have been numerous such pacts in the past each of which was aimed at facilitating the first CA Election in the country. Most of them have been implemented only partially, if at all. These accords were not struck among and between the 7parties but also between the SPA Government and various agitating groups.
One really positive aspect of agreement is that the three leaders are constantly talking and trying to thrash our understanding. But it really boils down to just one thing: Implementing the agreement sincerely, honestly and in letter and spirit. Else the parties can go on signing more promises all without any meaning while the situation on the ground remains the same: fractious, divisive and bloody. It should not be lost on anyone why the agreement was necessitated. The content and tenor of the 10 point pact leaves no room for doubt, either. The CPN (Moist) refusing to accept the writing on the wall and egged on by motivated experts and analysts has been involved in nearly all the clashes reported so far. True, they have lost more people than the other parties since the CA Election was announced and we strongly demand that the government probe such killings and ensure punishment to the guilty. The Maoist leadership has an enormous responsibility and it stands to benefit immensely as well by taking the current electoral exercise to a logical conclusion.
The leaders of the other two parties whose cadres have clashed with the Maoists could help the latter in putting an end to all violence, but electoral calculations have come in the way. From the NC's Sher Bahadur Deuba and Ram Chandra Poudel to the UML's Nepal and K.P Oil, none have desisted from publicity criticizing and deriding the Maoists. That is not the way to respond to provocations from a party in panic and at a loss about the turn of events. We ask these parties to act responsibly too. Rein in your cadres, stop making inflammatory speeches, and honor the election code of conduct. We also ask the Election Commission to assert itself and start cracking its whip at code and violation. Use the public commitment of the three leaders - expressed on Monday and reiterated the following day to accept the EC's actions against transgressors. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) could help in monitoring and helping the EC to conduct a smooth election.
As poll observers start their work of monitoring the "fairness" and "freeness" of the epoch making elections, million-dollar questions like will they be impartial" and who will monitor them? Are being raised and we believed, not without reason? People affiliated to political parties are being used as election observers by different national election observation organizations. Besides reports in different media about such observers canvassing for a particular party or gracing the election program of parties as chief guest, we see people close to or members of major political parties occupying important positions in such monitoring organizations. Even the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has received many complaints that people associated with a particular party had been permitted to be election observers. Though the NHRC has already drawn the attention of the EC, the latter seems to be indifferent to this concern and has busied it in issuing passes to such observers.
One of the criteria for eligibility is that a person applying to be an election observer should not be affiliated to any political party. All the three criteria minimum age and minimum qualification being the other two have been rampantly ignored and violated. The Post is more concerned about the breach of the political affiliation criterion as these monitors' reports are sure to be questioned on grounds of impartiality. The argument that it is difficult to find people not connected to any political party is silly and hollow. How can we rely on a report by such people? What is the guarantee that their reports will be fair and objective? The question to ponder here is why did such election observation organizations employ people with a specific political party slant? Also, why did not EC give them permission to observe the elections despite some known pro-party faces gracing such bodies? Was it under pressure from the political parties? The EC needs to come clean on this.
So much for the national bodies, even international organizations have fared poorly so far. Besides poor homework and research, it is not difficult to see why it is happening. These organizations also have among them people with a specific political tilt. The Chief Election Commissioner made a pertinent point the other day when he asked these election monitoring missions not to rush to hasty conclusions. He also asked them not to link all criminal acts with election related violence. With so much at stake in the historic polls, there is reason to worry. Although a proper investigation is in order, we realize that there is hardly any time left for this. The EC has started writing to the organizations, and so far two persons have been disqualified. This is not enough. If it lacks manpower and resources to monitor such observers on its own, it must look into media reports about such bias, scrutinize them, and act. We can't allow prejudiced observers to harm the whole process.
Climate Change Impacting Human Health
Health hazard caused by climate changes range from higher risks of extreme weather events to changes in the dynamics of infectious diseases to which Nepal is not an exception, health experts said at Kathmandu on Monday.
"Compared to the past, disease burden in Tarai regions of Nepal has increased due to climatic change," warned DG of Department of Health Services at a program organized to mark World Health Day. This year's slogan is 'Protecting health from climate change".
A statement from World Health Organization (WHO) released on Monday said the earth is warming, the warming is accelerating, and human actions are responsible. If current warming trends remain uncontrolled, humanity will face more injury, disease, and death related to natural disasters and heat waves; higher rates of food-borne, water-borne, and vector-borne illnesses; and more premature deaths and diseases related to air pollution said the statement.
"Moreover, in many parts of the world, large populations will be displaced by rising sea level and affected by drought and famine. As glaciers melt, the hydrological cycle shifts and the productivity of arable land changes. We are beginning to be able to measure some of these effects on health even now, "said the statement.
Dr Saraju Kumar Baidya said "Climatic change will add to the diseases burden including diarrhea".
Here I try to write some of the problems in Nepal where we must stand on a queues and we have to face many problems during that period, some of which I try to put my thoughts, ‘
The movies are all about love, violence, romance; tickets are overcharge. People slumber under the open sky to have mobile SIM card; you may not get the person on line or send your message on time because network is not effective, the vehicles are crowded, the streets are narrower; the traffic is heavy. There is load shedding, the meter reading moves on, the taps are dry, the toilets are filthy; but they are bound to pay on time. The fuel is scarce; the prices and wheelers are increasing, the food is mixed and often spoiled; starving mouths are increasing and compelled; and for all of it, people stand to wait through out whole morning or day, and in some cases pass the nights.
But how do you feel when someone out of line drops in? Is it simply okay while you are queuing, and are dropped behind and are likely to miss schedules as a result?
Recently, I was standing in a queue in a private bank for the banking services while I heard the tip toeing of pointed heels very close, zipped past the slow moving line and went straight ahead to the from desk to be acknowledged with no sign of impenitence. This perplexed me for a moment until I realized that no one would possibly oppose this overtakes.
Earlier, on my way to this place, I queued to tank my wheelers up, and then I was stuck in a heavy traffic late by an hour and afraid that I would miss an important meeting next because of this. I look at my watch and discovered that I have only 30 minutes to go for the next schedule, in the neighbor-hood of half an hour long distance. A little displeased I pushed on to the desk to remind the intruders, be spectacled overhead and the wench at the service to think of people standing in line. Instead of apologetic reply, they both seemed unbothered, rather pleased at talking in an elite way. Like many accustomed Nepali, what could I do but wait to be served later, so I just got back to my place and watched the people ahead and back, all sighed, exchanged stoic, long suffering looks and waited.
I believe, many people queue to be served while many undergo break-in. Everyday, many people are late to get to the place or meet schedules. For many people waiting is just not a problem, but more people have no problem for breaking in. Many people set out early to avoid being late or missing something, nevertheless, they have to miss because of some ill-mannered people. Many seek ways to avoid this and many show guts to react. But, how do you take this?
Looking Back, and Moving Forward in Nepal
The last time the Nepali people voted was in May 1999. Then the armed rebellion launched by the CPN (Maoist) against the "old state" that would last from 1996-2006 was still in its infancy, although it had begun to show signs of becoming the menace that it would ultimately turn into. During this period, we saw more than a thousand deaths on average each year, the political parties' infighting, King Gyanendra's ill-advised coup, and the disaster it wrought on the country, his attempt to legitimize his rule through the fiasco of a municipal election in February 2006 and, of course, the epoch-making Jana Andolan II two months later.
It is easy to dismiss the whole election exercise, and stay home on Election Day on April 10. Excuses not to venture out and cast one's vote could vary from not-so-peaceful atmosphere (the last two general elections were also marred by violence, by the way), political parties not trying hard enough to convey the message that this is an election write a new constitution and general lethargy.
Plus, one can decide to take the side of people who want to disrupt, and discredit, the polls.
Sample this demented logic of some people: The election is taking place because India and China are fed up with the presence of non-Indian and non-Chinese foreigners and their influence on Nepal. These are the people who still like to place a "big IF" on the possibility of the election happening come this Thursday. With their attempts to save the monarchy in tatters, and their cajoling, threats, misinformation and motivated opinion polls (so easily referred to by lazy parachuting journalists, among others) failing to sway the people, these people are now making last ditch efforts and their target is the Constituent Assembly election. Having failed to foil it, they are now trying to discredit it by saying that it is not our election but some foreigners' handiwork.
By staying home on Election Day, people will play a role in consolidating the prevailing sense of uncertainty, unease and lack of direction. Chaos and movement in the reverse direction will follow. A free fall is certain, and we could lose at least several decades trying to get to the point where we are now.
But by coming out to cast their votes in large numbers, the people will be boosting the process of reversing the downhill slide of the past decade - a decade in which we lost more than 13,000 Nepali lives, saw hundreds of thousands injured and maimed for life, watched more people get displaced and suffered losses of infrastructure running into billions of rupees. More crucially, we lost a decade of opportunities and possibilities and what could have been all due to a needless war and the brutal campaign to counter it. So it is for us to create an atmosphere where the parties we entrust to make the new constitution and run the affairs will have n choice but to move forward.
As conscientious citizens, people who come out to cast their ballots will make many things happen. To begin with, one can largely wipe out the possibility of one's vote being misused. Larger crowds at the polling booths will dater the political parties' cadres from even thinking about vote rigging. One way to give a strong reply and counteract the atmosphere of intimidation is to turn out in huge numbers and vote.
If one wants to blame the parties there are many, in Kathmandu at least, who see the political parties as the source of all evils it would be worthwhile to look into what they have achieved in the past three years.
First, they succeeded in bringing an end to the mindless violence unleashed by the Maoists and exacerbated by clueless security forces. After a lackluster start, they led- ably complemented by a very powerful civil society the people's movement against the king's dictatorship. They succeeded in bringing the Maoists into mainstream multiparty competitive politics, made the polity and governance more inclusive than ever before and are about to hold the election to the Constituent Assembly that no one has been able to do since the 1950s when it was first promised by the current king's grandfather, King Tribhuvan.
Public memory is notoriously shot. The last major insurgency related violence was not so long ago on April 6, 2006 when the Maoists raided Malangawa, the Tarai reasons of Nepal, the district head quarters of Sarlahi, in which 13 persons were killed. Ten RNA soldiers who had set out to reinforce the besieged policemen in Malangawa died when the chopper they were traveling in crashed. More than 100 people were killed between March 1, 2006 (when the Maoists attacked Palpa for the second time in as many months, resulting in 30 deaths) and the Malangawa raid. Do remember that the Maoists had announced - on April 2 that year - to cease attacks in Kathmandu. We in the capital were safe; not those outside.
Should we forget how desperately we expressed a collective sigh of relief at every brief ceasefire between the government and the Maoists? It was a relief to know that the hapless people in the countryside completely at the mercy of marauding Maoists and insensitive securing personnel should be better off, that our friends (however short lived that might have been), and that some miracle would occur to persuade the rebels to shun violence.
This has happened, and now the same brute force is approaching the electorate asking for votes.
When there was opposition to the then Seven-Party Alliance's striking an agreement with CPN (Maoist) to flight the king, we had argued that not doing so would not only allow a dictator to entrench himself in the name of Mahendra/Mandala Rastrabad and national unity, it would also mean the death toll increasing, losses mounting and the clock to doom ticking loud and fast.
One day from now, there is this all-important election. Think about the past, remember all the things that went wrong if you will; but do take a step to move forward.
I can not hold back the temptation of making a suggestion. Wherever possible, choose individuals -irrespective of their party ideology - who are clean of any corruption and extortion charges, and those who you believe will work towards ending all violence, providing justice to the victims of the decade-long conflict and helping write an effective and inclusive constitution.
Kathmandu has started looking deserted, with people flocking to their villages and towns to cast their votes. This Despite the lingering threat of violence and prevalent intimidation! The capital, Kathmandu, on the other hand, is relatively peaceful despite stray bomb blasts. When you go out and stamp your mark next to the election symbol, you will be stamping your authority and rejecting all violence.
DO VOTE.
Child Labor in Nepal and World
It's common to see samll children doing labor jobs in hotels, public vecicles and construction sites ets. Recently I happened to meet one such child in a tea shop during a brief stay there. As he brought me a cup of tea his innovent eyes gazed into mine as if it was trying to express something. His fatugued look showed that he hadn't slept properly for quite a while. I couldn't resist but to ask him a few questions. He said that he was from poor family of a remote village in Nepal and had been brought by his parents to work in order to sustain their lives.
The look on this littel boy's face made me think about the situation of child labor in our ciuntry. There are thousands of other undrage children like him working either in individual's houses as servants or as laboreers in various manufacturing companies,hotels or other businesses. Even though Nepal has laws protecting underage children from chil labor, it seems that it's just limited to the books of law. It is quite clear that law and ordr has not been enforced effectively by or administration. We all are aware and have seen with our own eyes many cases of child labor. But we have never heard of single lawsuit against the poeple adopting child labor.
It 's common to see small children doing labor jobs in hotels public vehicles and construction sites etc. .with our own eyes many
There may be variuous reasons behind child labor.Some childddren voluntarily agree to work considersing his/her poor family back gorund. There are some who run away from home because they want freedom and land up working in undersiable conditions. On the other hand, there are children who are forced to work by their owners too. Whatever the reasons may be, it is apparent that their future is already at stake. The people providing those jobs may think that they have done the right thing as they pay the children's poor family which helps them to seruvive with the earnign. The however cannot justify the facet that the child is deprived of getting good education to lead a prosperous life in future. It is just a temporary solution but in the long run, these children will lack the ability to move ahead in life as they have learned no basic skills.
I am saddened by the fact that our government does not take action against such cases even though there are appropriate laws to deal with such cases. we going to see little children working as conductors in buses, tempos and doing labor jobs in other places? Shouldn't they also be provided with the basic necessities that every child should get like food, clothing and most importantly education? The need for proper implementation of laws in mandatory to protect these little kids that are waiting to shine in the furture.
Who's next Prime Minister of Nepal?
There is no question now that the Maoists have the greatest claim over the coveted position. They have become the largest single party by far? However, there was confusion initially whether Prachanda would take up the position himself or send in his second man, Babu Ram Bhattarai, for the job. As Bhattarai was also head of the Maoists' shadow government, it was thought likely he would head the real thing also. However, Prachanda has now made it clear that none but he himself would be in the driving seat. Though the CPN (Maoist) had projected their supreme commander. Puspa Kamal Dahal aka Prachanda, as the first president-to-be of the Democratic Republic of Nepal, he has now staked his claim to the position of prime minisster. This may be because the Interim Constitution confers all the executive powers on the PM. So, Prachanda seems to have decided to stop being typecast as president.
Yet, apart from a silent challenge from his own deputy, Prachanda faces many other hurdles to realizing his prime ministerial dreams. The first and foremost hurdle is to secure the unanimous support of all the other political parties. As per the Interim Constitution, the Prime Minister should be nominated unanimously, or failing that, by a two-thirds majority. As the Maoists have not even reached the 51 percent of seats in the Constituent Assembly for a simple majority, a two-thirds preponderance is out of the question. If the elected Constituent Assembly baggles over the majority issue, the Maoists will have a tough time sercuring the top job. In that case incumbent Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala or any other person supported by all the non-Maoist parties can snatch away. Prachanda's prospects (if those parties manage to cobble together such a common posistion).
We believe that the Maoists should not be denied their legitimate claim to form the government and take the their legitimate claim to form the government and take the position of PM. However, we believe they should not be handed over power without some minor changes in the present constitution requires a two-thirds majority to unsent an incumbent prime minister. As the Maoists have so far not established their domocratic credentials, the two-thirds provision should be changed to a simple majority. In that case, if the new consititution is not framed within the stipulated 24 months (plus or minus six months), the Maoist government can be brought down by a simple majority. Moreover, the other parties should not acquiesce to the Maoist ascent until they hand over or destory all their arms and disband the YCL. If the othere political parties successfully enforce these two conditions, handling over power to the Maoists should not be a big problem. But those parties should give up any uncalled -for greed for a share in the government and should not try to recover some of their electoral expenses.
Accepting New Reality in Nepal
The Kathmandu who live nervously with rumors of the Maoists taking over the capital by force overnight a few years ago have welcomed them through a different trajectory - the secret ballots. The Maoists too are stunned by the warm welcome they have received from the people here. Their urban dreams have come true without weapons, through what they have always labeled as bourgeoisie process, the elections.
The CPN (Maoist) has become a national party by garnering very significant support of the people, a mandate to work for stability, order, and peace, a corruption-free bureaucracy, freedom of expression for the 21st century. The should take their electoral gains not as psycho-political triumph over their communist compatriots the United Marxist Leninists (UML) whose middle path is interpreted as their hubris in this election.
Babu Ram Bhattarai senior leader of the CPN (M) who represents the communist ideology, he called the ULM a hybrid force, in his politically incorrect expression a 'eunuch' party. That may be a post -election victory arrogance and expression of anger with the UML for their rejection of the Maoist proposal of a united leftist front in the election. The argument cannot be that simple. The Maoists form the second day of their election victory have started the most challenging task of interpreting Nepali history and the country's socio-political and economic structure.
The Maoist leader Prachanda in the past 24 hours has met the business communities and other to alley the supposedly great fear that these communities may be harboring. Prichard's first post-election engagement thus represents the Maoists' first ever challenge of transforming a party of guerrillas into a party of responsible statement and cadres. In the decade-long warfare they had not imagined that they would be catapulted into power through a process that they always critiqued as a bourgeoisie mode of politics.
Now the people of Nepal have silenced the Maoists' guns forever by electing them to govern the country in the most important phase of history. Therefore, whatever they may be saying about the UML may not be correct, or ironically they too may be going through the same process of political transformation as the younger generation of the communists who had started their guerrilla movement from Jhapa of eastern Nepal under the influence of the Indian rural Naxalite leader Kanu Sanyal in the late sixties and who transformed themselves into the UML later on. But there is a difference. The UML made tremendous gains under the charismatic leadership of its leader Madan Bhandari who was killed in a road accident. But they did not get a clear majority to rule.
Secondly, the UML leaders showed great arrogance and had started saying that they would even use the Nepal Army and police to crush the Maoists, which was a totally unwarranted remark even by an election speech standard. But the Maoists have to encounter the new history on different fronts. Their YCL cadres are bellicose. A tired Prachanda was seen on the news before the elections calling the YCL to become Gandhian for a week. Now we can ask, is the period of the YCL's Gandhian avatar over?
Iribucakkt, does the YCL as cadres of the ruling party have any option other than adopt the Gandhian method? The CPN (M) should therefore work with a totally new alchemy and stun the world for the third time. (The first and second being the peace deal and participation in the government and CA election) That alche would be a combination of positive non-violence, honesty and a left-oriented democratic multiparty ideology to overthrow the feudal structure and take the country to prosperity. But their victory in the CA election means they must work with all the other parties old or new to write an epoch-making constitution of Nepal
We can expect a radical change in the leadership structure of the NC and UML parties. Tremors are already recorded by both parties. As for Girija Prasad Koirala he has always said the CA election will be the last goal of his life and he has accomplished the task. There is no need for him to work with a melancholic mindset. But since he is still the leader of the NC, his next triumph would be to hand over the Congress Party to the leaders of the young generation, who alone can save this party from a total collapse. The first indications were seen in the election victory of Narahari Acharya and the strong political impact made by young leaders like Gangan Thapa and others like him during the election. These youth have always been sidelined in a party dominated by the elders of feudal mindsets and those who have indulged in unfair practices of making money.
The sweeping election victory of the Maoists has surprised some and dismayed the others. Elitist discourses how a deep-seated discomfort over the results. Elites who have learnt to live with relative comfort and equanimity appear disturbed by the Maoist election victor. One argument that is being surfaced is that the main reason of the Maoist victory is the fear psychosis they created. But the huge turn our of voters and the uniformity in the voting pattern deconstructs that logic. The Maoists won because people of this country who saw them trapped in history used this occasion to open doors for other options, and the Maoists appeared to have the political will and sincerity for that. They won in a fair and peaceful election directly supervised by international observers and by no other than the former American President Jimmy Carter who was seen promenading in the ancient city of Kritipur, Prachands's constituency, to supervise the electoral process. Carter has been critiquing his administration for not recognizing the Maoists. It is clear now he will evoke this election to create leverage on the American administration for that.
Elites of the Western world and South Asia whose imaginary was/is greatly shaped by the colonial history had kept Nepal as the bottom of a list of countries that did not mater in political civilization shaped by the Western epistemology, world view and sense of enlightenment. To them, and rightly so, Nepal was a country whose bureaucrats competed to earn Nepal a position of the poorest country in the hemisphere and whose king rubbed the clichéd 'zone of peace' of a remarkable tautological significance. We were accustomed to live in an echo chamber with the age-old feudal noises repeated with the utmost monotony.
Now the election results show that three parties that subsume the seven parties always had the mandate of the people and the institution of the monarchy is finished in Nepal. Parties who have lost and those who have made tremendous gains should once again work together.
Finally, father of modern linguistics Ferdinand de Saussure said, the relationship between sign and meaning is arbitrary. The relationship between the name 'Maoist' and the CPN (M) as I see as a student of semiotics is arbitrary. The CPN (M) will be the first to realize that.
The election is finally over and there's euphoria in the air particularly after the 'revolutionary' Maoist victory. Reason Even before the new constitution of New Nepal is drafted the Red Vision already out the "Vision 10, 20 40" and so on suggesting that Nepal within a span of just 40 years will be amongst the richest countries in the world - a la Switzerland!!!
The Maoist dream deserves to be applauded in that Nepal continues to remain mired in debilitating poverty shackled by, among scores of other things, bad governance, corruption, instability, deep-rooted social inequalities, new insurgencies and, worst of all, lawlessness and the culture of impunity.
Ground Realities: Even after the historic and "peaceful" election to the Constituent Assembly that had 61 percent voters' turnout, the examples of impunity are everywhere around the country- and for all to see. An example: some 'Janata ' thrashed Current Finance Minister after his election victory in Nuwakot. Let alone pre-and post -election violence, incidents of crime are on the rise as before.
In both urban and rural centers, people are being intimidated, abducted, robbed, and even murdered thanks to political allegiances that perpetrators of such crimes often owe to parties. Against such backdrop and now that the election is over, people's expectations appear to be very high.
High Hopes: Hopes of the ruling class as well as the ruled - or, to put it in Marxist- Maoist terms, the bourgeoisie and the proletariats, the exploiters as well as the exploited are so high that the election will guarantee political stability; that it will restore lasting peace; that it will bring in investments, development and relief to the needy and that it will usher Nepal into a new era of caste- and region-based federalism and even right to self determination.
The list can be longer. But what's clear is that the newly elected CA has a Herculean task a accomplish, failing which the "empowered" people will surprise the world the same way they did on April 10; that is, if they are allowed to vote again as promised by the SPAM (six party alliance plus Maoist).
As things stand now, the first parliamentary election will be held after two-and -a-half years.
Hurdles: For now, the Maoists have emerged victorious. The former rebel leaders say they want to immediately declare Nepal republic, thereby throwing the 240-year-old institution of monarchy into the dustbin of history; lead the new transitional government and carve the destiny of the nation by writing the country's first 'truly people's constitution.
While that mission is sure to take a lot of time, probably more than expected, there are immediate existential challenges the new government must overcome. In order to survive in power, the new government must deliver and make sure that there's smooth supply of everything from petroleum fuel and gas to basic commodities such as cereals and vegetables.
And all that stuff as subsidized and affordable price.
Without any failure, the new helmsman must also make sure that the petroleum prices are not hiked as per the international market price ($107 per barrel and rising). Voters or consumers will also expect uninterrupted supply of electricity; end to frequent highway blocks; and a peaceful environment for tourism and several other indigenous industries to flourish.
Monarchy: At the first meeting of CA itself and quite interestingly without any voting whatsoever the new Maoist-led CA will bid farewell to monarchy, if top Maoist leaders' version is anything to go by. The leaders also claim that several foreign powers too have favored some kind of ' honorable exit' to monarchy.
As secret negotiations continue, there are also talks of converting Nepal into a republic with monarchy enjoying some "social, economical, and cultural privilege". Out on the streets and far-flung villages, ordinary people have been told: end of monarchy and establishment of republic will guarantee durable peace and prosperity in the country.
Again, if the newly elected politicos most of them unsurprisingly suffering from food-in-mouth disease fall to deliver on their promises even in the new republic called Nepal, things could fall apart.
Nepal Army: The last thing the new government wants to mess around with is the Nepal Army, which, until not so long ago revered the institution of monarchy as its guardian. Now guardian-less, the Army maintains it is ready to follow the orders of any government in power. Common sense would expect it to follow the orders of a popularly elected government, in this case that of the likely CPN-Maoist-led new government. The issue of integrating former Maoist combatants into the NA could be a tricky one.
But Prachanda has promised "wonders" on this front too.
Far from dictating their terms on the issue of army integration, many analysts suggest, the Maoist needs to consider other options: such as creating an industrial security force or national parks protection force.
The there's the touchy issue of what to do with the unpopular or popular? YCL, the young communist league!!
Several top SPAM (Seven parties Alliance) leaders including current Prim Minster Mr. G.P. Koirala and CPN-UML Leader Madhav Nepal have demanded that the YCL be dissolved - a demand many Maoist leaders appear to have taken with a pinch of salt.
For now, for the Comrades and the non-Reds the challenges are just multiplying. Having cast their votes, people want to see changes. But lest we forget, CA election was just another step in Nepal's peace and democratization process; it was a means not an end. Only by working together, and accommodating opposing forces, the process can mover forward.
Failing which, it always risks collapse.
Maoist Victory in CA Election - is it for a Change in Nepal?
The desire for a peaceful and prosperous Nepal was evidently so strong that despite Maoists' bloody past and their youth league's (Young Communist League YCL) continued thug-Gary, the people gave them the benefit of the doubt and the mandate to bring change. In the coming two years, public debate in Nepal will be focused on drafting of the new constitution and the performance of the Maoists-led government to herald the change. This article looks into two possible scenarios that may evolve under the Maoist government a regressive, repressive communist regime or a progressive, prosperous, peaceful democratic Nepal.
A sweeping victory in an election riding on people's wave of frustration, however understandable, does not necessarily bring a change for the good. The challenges of a legitimate leadership are just beginning for the Maoists, who carry the burden of historical disasters and failed experiments that have occurred under their ideology! They must reassure Nepal and its global partners that they will not bring more of the same. But they have promised to be a different type of communist and the nature of the change under them will depend on how different they can be and how they interpret their victory.
If they see their victory as an endorsement of their orthodox ideology and use the instruments of state power to achieve their declared core objective of establishing a Communist State, as communists have done time and again, Nepal will become a darker, repressive police state isolated from the rest of the world-hardly any better than present day North Korea or Stalinist Albania of yesteryears. Nepalese will be subject to new forms of repressions until they rise against Marxist orthodoxy and abandon it like the East Europeans and the Russians did. Indeed, given the fate of the world's experiments with communism, we have much to fear if Nepal's Maoists mean to subject Nepal to similar experiments. Although their core objective remains the same as their failed counterparts- establishment of a communist regime in Nepal - the Maoists tell us that, for the time being, they are strategically committed to the "bourgeois' system of governance, the liberal democratic, multiparty type.
One can devote another essay to parsing out the meaning behind this foggy idea of a happy marriage between communism and liberal democracy. But as long as the Maoists remain true to their commitment to a liberal democracy long enough and convince skeptical Nepalese and the world of their commitment, they may indeed be the harbinger of a prosperous, peaceful, and democratic Nepal. The people used to liberty will not accept communism or any other form of dictatorship.
Thus, the biggest challenge the Maoists will face in spearheading change will be to win the confidence of skeptics and avoid the mistakes of previous governments. To successfully accomplish these objectives, they need to govern with transparency and with accountability under the rule of law. They must, in short, set an example of good governance, commitment to law and order, and generate rapid and large-scale employment, distinguishing themselves not only from Nepal's previous leaders, but from communist leaderships in general.
The first six months of the new government will be crucial for confidence building. How they reform the civil service and respond to their opponents and the army, how they govern, will be indicative of their commitment to liberal democracy, a mixed economy, and the rule of law. For example, there is little doubt the Nepali bureaucracy needs a major shake up. In the name of reforming our bureaucracy, the Nepal Congress and the UML purged the bureaucracy to fill in the vacancies with their party minions. This resulted in a increasingly corrupt civil service, populated by "civil servants" with no sense of service. An efficient, politically-neutral civil service needs a bureaucracy based on meritocracy; bureaucrats not subservient to their political masters, but to the people they are paid to serve. The public, impatient with the behavior of previous civil servants, will watch closely.
An army managed with political neutrality is essential for the integrity of the nation. How a Maoist-led government will manage the potentially explosive issue of integrating their militia into the Nepal Army will be watched all over the world. Will they continue to use their student wing to push their political agenda, harass legitimately operating schools, disrupt education, or will they ask them to go back to their schools and colleges and be what they are, students? Will the Maoists have enough respect for their fellow citizenry, that which over-whelming voted for them and gave them a chance, to return to legal authority all of their registered and hidden arms?
Similarly, in Maoist leadership needs to reign to its YCL cadres. The YCL, giddy with the success of its mother party and schooled in violence and with no regard for the law, is in the days to come, likely to be even more unruly than it was before the election. If the Maoist government cannot control the YCL in the first sex months, their claim to democracy and the law will sound hollow. Under the peace accord with the seven parties, the Maoists are obliged to return the land they have expropriated. If they comply swiftly with this commitment it will be a significant confidence- building gesture.
Since Nepal is virtually bankrupt, large-scale employment-generation projects will require massive foreign aid in a short time. Nepal and foreign investors need to be convinced that their profit from private investment will be secure. Maoist leaders' recent assurances to the leaders of the Federation of Nepal's Chamber of Commerce and Industries "capitalist system" was a welcome first gesture; but they must go beyond sound bytes and photo ops. Foreign governments will offer generous financial help to the Maoist government only it they are convinced that the Maoists are truly committed to norms of a modern democracy. Although foreigners should not be able to dictate to us, we must be recognized under global standards of democracy if we are to secure much needed funds to support employment projects and many social-work organizations.
In a recent interview, the Maoist leaders sounded conciliatory and invited other political parties to work with a common agenda. This is certainly reassuring, but their potential partners in democracy need to be confide dent that the Maoists are sincere about their long term commitment to a multiparty system and a mixed economy. I will not have such confidence unless the Maoist leaders openly and publicly denounce the continuing harassment of the opposition by the YCL (witness recent after election excesses by the YCL), take legal action against them, and stop the doublespeak of liberal democracy and communist state.
Finally, perhaps the biggest barrier in their confidence-building effort is their hugely symbolic banner, emblazoned with the failed communist triumvirate, Stalin, Mao and Lenin. These three men may symbolize different things according to political affiliation, but surely eclipsing all is the fact that, collectively, they were instrumental in the death of over 81 million people. As a part of their confidence-building effort, will the Maoists, from here onwards, hide them from Nepal's view as they did when Americans visited them in their office?
The real face of the Maoists in the mainstream politics will emerge in the days to come. I, for one, wait with much anticipation.
Missed by Miles - CA Election Note
The Election Commission of Nepal, after days of counting, declared the final results of the CA poll the other day. The Maoists were a clear winner in that they emerged as the largest single party in the unwieldy 600 member Constituent Assembly. This scribe, who foresaw a clear majority for the part, would like to eat the humble pie and say how mistaken it was to predict a majority for the once unlawful party that professes communism but advocates- presumably practices- capitalism.
I erred on the side of the Maoists but the powers that be in Delhi apparently misread the situation in Nepal and missed the target not by a whisker but by miles.
A recent Indian media report said that Delhi that was expecting the Maoists to come out a distant third was red-faced as the results of the CA poll began to come out. According to the report, the Indian intelligence agency, RAW - that is said to have a massive presence in Nepal- goofed up and did not give a correct assessment of the situation. The same report went on to say that the Indian External Ministry's assessment of the Maoist prospects in the poll was not substantially different from that of the RAW. An official of the Indian Foreign Ministry was quoted as saying, "We did not misread Nepal". "But, said the report," the blame game Ministry and RAW blaming each other for the Nepal fiasco.
The CA poll results, though not exactly decisive for the Maoists, must have caused a little embarrassment to India's South Block. This is more so because just prior to the CA polling, India put its full support behind the present prime minister saying that India had "full faith in Prime Minister Koirala" leaving no one in any doubt that it had backed the Nepali Congress.
The Indian National Security Advisor M K Narayanan just before the CA poll, had said, "We have put a great deal of faith and our hopes on Prime Minister Koirala and the Nepali Congress. We are not sure if we can trust the Maoists." But when the tables were turned, India tried to recover from its loss of face. The Maoist chief is said to have been invited to Delhi and Indian Foreign Minister would be coming to Nepal ' as soon as an aid package" -- presumably to appease the new rulers in Nepal - was prepared. The Indian Congress President and widow of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi was reported to have sent a congratulatory message to the Maoist Chief, Madame is perhaps trying to make up for the public loss of face of India's Congress-led UPA government. And also to court the Maoists - who incidentally were never labeled 'terrorists" by Delhi - and may be to ensure that the Maoists in their quest for "new" Nepal do not deviate from the traditional Nepal policy of kowtowing to India.
That there should be so much concern in Delhi over the CA poll results is to be understood in line with the policies followed not only by successive governments in Nepal since 1951 but also by successive kings, prime ministers and leaders of political parties. Any indication that this policy or bowing down to the Delhi Durbar could change would cause more than a few ruffled feathers in Delhi. An Indian television news channel, for instance, hosted a discussion program a few days ago on the outcome of the CA poll but more interestingly focused on the demands by the Maoists tht the 1950 Nepal-India Peace and Friendship Treaty be abrogated and a new 'equal' should be drafted to take its place. The panel in the discussions came to conclusion that if Nepal wanted a revision, so be it but that Nepal should be "prepared to face any unwelcome consequences', pointing out, at the same time, the backbreaking consequences Nepal had to face following the Indian embargo in 1989.
Shayam Sharan, the foreign policy advisor to Indian prime minister Man Mohan Singh, reacting to the Maoist demand, was reported to have said that India was "ready to review" the 1950 treaty. But is this the first time that Delhi has shown its willingness to review the controversial treaty? How many times in the 1990 restoration of democracy has India said this and to what effect?
There are calls in the country, especially by those who see Koirala as a savior, not to hand over power to the Maoists who have emerged as the largest party in the CA. True, the recent election was to elect representatives to the CA whose main task would be to draw up a new constitution in the name of the people of Nepal. But the fact remains that the CA also acts like a legislative assembly in order to enable the governance of the country under democratic norms.
The largest party in the assembly, even if it does not have the requisite majority, should be asked to form or lead the government. Following the ill-advised decision by Koirala in the mid-1990 to go the poll, the UML was able to form a government even if it did not have the majority in parliament. That the calls for clinging on to power should come from those who profess full faith in democracy is more than a bit ironic. But there are also quite a few murmurs in town that the calls for Koirala to stay on top were prompted by Delhi. That may not be as far-fetched as it appears considering how the Indian intelligence and other agencies misread the pre-poll situation in Nepal and thus gave wrong predictions.
This scribe has always maintained that absence of violence on the polling day does not mean free poll. For free poll to take place there must be a free and fair chance for all to put before the people their reason for contesting the poll. When even the leaders and cadres of major political parties were unable to reach the rural areas to conduct heir election campaigns, how could the election be fair? And what other results than the one that the Election Commission formally declared could have been expected? As far as the Maoists are concerned, they would do this country a good service if it is able to close down Indian pension camps and let Nepali banks or other government agencies take up the task of pension distribution. Will they be able do to it?
Maoists & their Cadres Terror Campaign Now Unacceptable
It is a sheer violation of the people's verdict. The Maoists can not and should not continue with their terror campaign any longer. When the people have agreed to accept them as the state authority, Maoist cadres cannot take the law into their own hands. In the past, they claimed that the state was not competent enough to protect the people. Now, when they are so close to moving into the seat of power, they have no right to say so. If they still don't believe in the rule of law, there is no point in their joining the government. Earlier, they had the excuse that their cadres came from a violent background, and that it would take some time for them to change. But it's been two years since the Maoists signed the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and expressed their commitment to respect the law of the land. If they cannot change their own cadres, how can the people believe that they will be able to change the country?
A health assistant has been beaten up brutally for not honoring the order of their kangaroo count. Are they going to continue both the state count and their kangaroo court in the new Nepal? Furthermore, Maoist cadres in Rajbiraj have captured land that was being tilled by a poor person. He was being penalized for voting for the Nepali Congress by none other than the Maoist candidate from the area, Saraswati Chaudhary, who came their in the fray. In Bhojpur, they kidnapped a person in a financial case, and viciously thrashed the UML cadres who came to his rescue. What are the Maoists doing? Is it a message to Koirala to quit the government quickly, or a message to the public to ask Koirala not to step down?
Obviously, the Nepali people will rise up against any despots who try to undermine them and impose the law of the jungle. But before that, there will be massive collateral damage of both lives and property. We have to stop that. That is one reason the Nepali people put their faith in foreign representatives and organizations. They believed that our foreign friends could prevent chaos and destruction. But what we have been observing in the last few days is quite embarrassing. The so-called powerful foreign powers seem to have become minnows in front of the roaring Maoists and their ferocious leader Prachanda. Instead of heads of the global organizations are dancing to the tune of the former rebels just to protect their jobs. No matter what the others do, the media has to raise its voice against any sort of atrocity and high-handedness against anyone. Though we have welcomes the Maoists to form the government and run a lawful state, we cannot condone their atrocities and unlawful behavior.
Nepal Slashes Royalty fees for mountaineering
Nepal has drastically cut the cost of climbing Mount Everest and other Himalayan peaks to try and attract more mountaineers to the country, an official said Thursday.
"The government has approved the decision to cut the royalty fee for climbing Everest by 75 percent during winter and summer seasons and 50 per cent during the autumn season", tourism official Krishna Prasad Gyawali told AFP.
Prices for the spring season, by far Everest's busiest due to a brief summiting window before monsoon rains, will remain the same.
But the number of people allowed on a 70,000 dollar-permit will be raised to 15 from 12, the official said.
"Prices for permits on the other 326 peaks over 5,500 meters (18,250 feet) that are open for climbing have been slashed on a similar basis, "said Gyawali.
As well as the 8,848 meter (29,198 foot) Everest, Nepal has another seven of the world's 14 highest peaks. Mountaineering brings much needed hard currency into the impoverished nation sandwiched between India and China.
"To encourage mountaineering in unexplored and backward areas, the government also decided to allow mountaineering free of charge in the mid-west and far-west regions for the next five years" said Gyawali.
Litter on Everest
The greatest attraction for world travelers and the supreme symbol of Nepal's identity, Mt. Everest is at risk. And let it be noted that this is not just a national worry but a global concern. In fact, increased tourism activity on the world's highest peak is turning it into a junk-yard- a reminder that there are no safe havens from man's pollution. This is not a warning from eco-alarmists and shrill conservationists, but a fact. Everest lures thousands of thrill seekers each year. Many just trek up to the base camp while others attempt to conquer the peak. They also leave waste all along their path. As a consequence of years of unsustainable tourism practices, the Everest trail is littered with garbage which includes an interesting mix of plastics, aluminum cans, empty oxygen bottles, glass bodies. Though there have been some efforts in the past to remove non-biodegradable trash from Everest, the rest of the rubbish was left to decompose and blend into the soil. But the problem was that the frigid temperatures at that altitude kept waste from rotting and disintegrating.
A disquieting question here is why has such an important tourist destination been ignored so far in terms of waste management. Each mountaineering expedition is charged a royalty of US$ 50,000 to climb Everest. Some of that money should have been spent on cleaning up the mountain. It is time the authority concerned stopped pointing at the decade-long political insatiability as an excuse and came up with concrete plans. What Everest needs is an effective long-term plan to keep it free of rubbish- not occasional gimmicks like ferrying empty beer bottles and oxygen cylinders for the benefit of TV cameras.
What we need is a basic program to educate tourists and local residents about eco-friendly practices. The government should set strict rules and regulations for visitors, residents, and entrepreneurs. It should also intensify collection and management of waste in the Everest region. Unfortunately, a few hysterical environmentalists-insisted of asking that cleanup activities be made the main agenda - have been lobbying for a 'rest' for Everest by closing it to climbers for a period of time. But that is not the solution, given the country's weak economy which is heavily dependent on tourist dollars. It is not just the dirt along the trails that has threatened the serenity of Everest. The increasing numbers of industries, restaurants, homes, and other buildings in the Everest region and other tourism hotspots in the high Himalaya have brought acute visual pollution. What we need is a well-thought plan to keep Everest clean and beautiful.
"No" to Dowry
Early marriage, illiteracy, and lack of laws against domestic violence are adding to the woes of Nepali girls who are mercilessly tortured and harassed after marriage for not bringing lots of Dowry. Although the constitution deems dowry as being illegal, it is wrongly assumed to be an essential requirement during marriage and a matter of prestige in various parts of the country, especially in the Tarai Regions of Nepal. How many families in the Tarai get their daughters married off without a hefty dowry? Why does society restrain Nepali girls from asserting their right to a dignified life? How frantically do newly married brides struggle for respect and identity, but are tortured if they fail to satisfy the greed of their in-laws. That the ugly practice of dowry could be challenged by the bride, her family, and society alike was felt after the case of Babita Pokharel came to light.
A plus-two student studying in the local high school, Babita was returned to her maternal home for not bringing enough dowries during marriage. It was sheer good luck that the locals came to her rescue after the National Daily Newspapers carried a news story regarding the treatment meted out to her by the groom's family for mistreating the bride. Similarly, they were forced to return the items that Babita had brought with her as dowry. Babita's case reflects the plight of hundreds of Nepali girls who are married off at an early age. Nepali society prefers sons over daughters. A female child is considered to be second in line to her brothers, and lacks access to nutritious food, good health, and basic education. While sons are taught to be bold and assertive, daughters are tainted to be meek, shy, and unassertive. And, as young girls are preferred over older ones, girls are married off at an early age. Early marriage coupled with inadequate socialization and illiteracy makes women vulnerable to various social ills such as physical and mental abuse cannot satisfy the greed of the in-laws. Meanwhile, the perpetrators of the crime go free due to the absence of laws against domestic violence in general, and abuses related to dowry in particular.
Unfortunately, the state has never accepted the fact that stringent laws need to be framed to punish both givers and receivers of dowry as well as perpetrators of violence against women. Besides, the public is completely unaware that com-modifying girls in the name of giving and receiving dowry are a social crime. It is the duty of the government to ensure the rights of women before and after marriage. After all, the Interim Constitution implicitly mandates equal rights for both men and women, irrespective of their marital status, besides, social boycotting of dowry givers and takers, promoting court marriage and qualitative education for girls could minimize dowry system. Last but not the least; it is the mentality of the individuals towards dowry that must change.
Maoists's Growth Target Reachable
In the days leading up to the CA pools, all the political parties came out with their usual vote-begging election manifestos. The Maoists also published their program document. People picked out various portions that they liked the most according to their various ideological preferences. As professional economist and development practitioner, it was their 40 year economic plan with precise figures that attracted me the most.
Perhaps it was this economic vision that encouraged vast numbers of people to vote for the Maoists thereby granting them legitimacy to lead the government. Now that they are going to head the government, they have got a chance to put their plans into action and make good on their decade-old promises.
Although Dr Baburam Bhattarai, the chief architect of the document, became a Marxist political economist only later in his life, he knew the power of numbers as an engineer by formal training in his earlier academic career. I am sure that other Nepalese like me would be proud to have a prosperous, federal, inclusive, and sovereign country as envisioned by the Maoists.
Their development program envisages a threefold increase in the per capita Gross National Income (GNI) over a period of 10 years. For the uninitiated, the per capita GNI means the total annual national income divided by the population. Nepal's per capita income is estimated to be US$ 300 (300x64= Rs 19,200) in 2007. In other words, each Nepali earned, on average, RS.19,200/- last year. Dividing this by 365 days in the year, we conclude that each Nepali took home about Rs. 53 per day. Numbers may sometimes be misleading because these average figures do not reveal whether the economic pie was distributed equally.
If things were to go according to the Maoists' plan, we would be earning about Rs.192,000 (US$ 3,000) per year by the year 2018. This kind of income would provide a comfortable life, and we and our children would be enjoying three meals a day, better homes and exciting holidays. But the year 2028, our income would have ballooned more than threefold to US$ 10,000. Please manage to stay alive until then, which is only 20 years away, so that you can own a care and go on a foreign vacation every year.
Under this scenario, people who were born in poverty will almost certainly not die in poverty. Their children will be wealthy and have a higher standard of living. Besides economics, the Maoist promise to eradicate illiteracy in five years and provide basic health care will reduce other forms of human poverty. Poverty would thus become history. All thanks go to the vision of Dr Bhattarai who is likely to be one of the prominent figures in the upcoming government. He has articulated the common interests of our beloved Nepali brothers and sisters.
If Nepal were to achieve a growth rte of six percent, it would take us 85 years to reach where the Swiss are today. If the growth rate were to be revved up to 10 percent, we would be catching up with Switzerland in a mere 52 years. So, if we maintained a steady growth rte of 8-9 percent for the next 20 years, the per capita income would exceed the Maoist's projection.
Technically, their claims are legitimate - like Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea. And China and India are not far behind. I don't know how Nepali economists have calculated that we would need to attain a growth rate of 27 percent to raise the per capita income to US$ 3,000. It seems their computation was influenced by ideological leaning or methodology.
People have been encouraged by the economic policies that the Maoists have come up with. However, we have to wait and see how they govern the country in the coming days. It is certain that they won't be able to make any radical structural changes in the country. They will very likely become liberal communists within two years. They will implement good social policies to support the people devastated by the liberalization policies that were adopted haphazardly in the past.
Under this scenario, business won't have to worry; but they may have to be more socially responsible. Indeed, business as a social activity should share its profits with those who cannot make a decent living. Such policies will make the business sector more popular besides bringing down poverty and inequality. It has been argued that a society with a more equitable distribution of wealth reduces the cost of doing business and enhances social cohesion.
World Red Cross Day - Medical Emergency and Ambulances of Nepal
Picture a very recent real-life scenario. You're stuck in a horrible, typical Kathmandu traffic jam when suddenly a wailing ambulance siren draws your attention. You feel a chill in your spine and turn to look at the emergency vehicle rushing past. And what do you see inside the ambulance? A bunch of people laughing and talking their heads off! They seem to be thoroughly enjoying their good fortune to be traveling in an ambulance tearing through the traffic-choked chaos of Kathmandu. Very interestingly, there's no sign of a medical emergency, let alone a patient. What is one supposed to think after seeing such a sight? A few minutes of reflective pause!!
Honestly, doesn't that unnerving sound of an ambulance crate a sense of urgency that human lives are involved? Or should you disregard the wailing siren and tell yourself that an ambulance is just another vehicle that's trying to get ahead through the choking traffic? You read in the papers that ambulances have been seen being used for all kinds of purposes instead of carrying sick people to hospital. You may also read in the papers that lives that could otherwise have been saved have been lost for lack of an ambulance. And how may of us know the number to call if you needed an ambulance?
Even in the capital Kathmandu, health services are primitive. As there is no emergency telephone number (like 911 in US), if you need help in a hurry, you would have to look up and dial one of 30 plus ambulance services. And as there is no coordination between the assorted service providers, nobody knows what would be the quickest way to get an injured or sick person to a hospital. Considering the long turn around time, people find it more expedient to just call a taxi.
Early treatment and proper transport are key issues in improving the out-come of a medical emergency. An ambulance that is well-equipped and well-designed prevents the aggravation of the patient's condition. In Nepal, ambulances are operated by a driver with no medical training and there is no paramedic riding with him. Family members of the sick or injured are forced to provide emergency care and end up worsening the patient's condition.
According to director of Health Care Foundation Nepal, many easily preventable deaths occur in ambulances in Nepal. Therefore, people prefer to use taxi or buses or even motorcycles instead of ambulances. As a result, most ambulances remain idle during the day and don't earn enough to sustain themselves.
It may be fruitful to consider the following points as first step in reeducating ourselves and redefining ambulance services in Nepal:
DEFINITION: The term ambulance service needs to be defined more specifically by the ambulance service providers so that everyone can easily understand what it entails.
COORDINATION: As mentioned earlier, ambulances services lack a coordinating mechanism. A harmonized network with a free three-digit telephone number and a 24-hour dispatch center would make medical transport assistance more efficient. The recent spread of means of mass communication (cheaper frequency modulation radio and mobiles) can be utilized to coordinate activities to produce better ambulance coverage.
AMBULANCES: It is important to set standards for the type of vehicles to be used as ambulances. Considering the perennial traffic congestion in Kathmandu, ambulances need to be very visible and have a distinct livery. They need to be equipped with medicines and equipment like ventilator, oxygen, first aid kit and stethoscope,. Similarly, the service charge also needs to be fixed and standardized so that even low-income groups can afford to use ambulance services. There should be a rule to provide free service in case of accidents and other specific cases. The Nepal Red Cross Society provides free ambulance service during emergencies such as road accidents, violent conflicts and natural disasters. Since petrol shortages have become part of life in Nepal, appropriate arrangements should be made to ensure uninterrupted fuel supply for ambulances so that people don't have to die because they are out of gas.
PUBLIC AWARENESS: It is also important that the public is educated about ambulances and ambulance services. The public awareness program should include instruction on how ambulance services can be accessed and information about obtaining assistance during medical emergencies. The dos and don'ts inside an ambulance should be clearly outlined.
MANPOWER: Here, manpower refers to emergency medical personnel and ambulance drivers. The drivers and paramedics should be trained in first aid and emergency care. They should have valid IDs and licenses. The emergency medical personnel should have adequate experience to deal with emergencies. They should also be able to use the medical equipment in the ambulances and also know how to report and keep records about their patients and ambulance usage.
With regard to Emergency medical Services in Nepal, the numbers of tasks that need to be done are many, and the paths that need to be traveled are chaotic. But we need to work extra hard to improve ambulance services and save more lives. World Red Cross Day (May 8) is celebrated abound the world in the name of humanitarian service. It is the most appropriate occasion to pledge to get serious about humanitarianism and emergency medical care. It is also time we put an end to the misuse of ambulances and inculcated some sense into people to show the proper respect to this life- saving profession.
On Monday one Gorkha soldier died in the cross-border firing between Indian and Pakistani troops in Pooch, Kashmir. This news went virtually unnoticed because he did not die for Nepal. And for India, he was not the son of the soil. No mother wants to send her son to fight for other countries. Nor does any Nepali want to hear that a Nepali national lost his life while protecting the territory of another country. So, the issue of not letting any Nepali spill his blood in foreign soil definitely touches our hearts. We feel very sad, and loathe our poverty whenever we hear about the demise of Nepalese in war theaters of Burma, the Falkland, Kargil, Afghanistan, Iraq, and others where our country was not involved. The Maoists have certainly cashed in on the emotion of people on the Gorkha youth from joining the British or Indian Gorkha army? We have to take the issue seriously instead of being judgmental and jumping into an immature conclusion.
The basic fact of human nature is that they would not risk their lives until they were strongly motivated by poverty, ideology, or religious faith. As there is no ideology and religious faith involved in joining the foreign army, the only reason is poverty. The successive governments have miserably failed the people and instead helped poverty perpetuate. Had they created employment opportunities within the country, no sane person would have joined the foreign army to risk his life. Hence, instead of directly banning the youth from joining the British or Indian army, the government should provide them with an opportunity to serve their own nation. But for now, if the Maoists take any hasty decision of barring the youth from joining the foreign army, they will face wrath from all sections of the society. Let us hope they understand the social dynamics.
India has come up with a strong message that they would not recruit Nepali youth into the Gorkha rifles if Nepal is against it. It is but obvious that India can continue recruiting Indian Nepalese into the Gorkha rifles. If we are really serious about not letting Nepali blood spill in any foreign land, we should also stop people from going to gulf countries, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan because many more Nepalese are dying in these countries than in Indian or British territory. Furthermore, we have seen that the soldiers, who have served in British or Indian army, have changed the fate of their wards, their social habits, and manners let along the huge remittance Nepali receives every year from Gorkha soldiers. So, let us shed off jingoism and be realistic. Let us first be prosperous, and then the people themselves will refrain from joining foreign army.
Are we westernizing?
What we don't realize is that just doing all of that doesn't make us modernized. The problem is, at heart most of the so-called "hip" teenagers are downright conservative. Domestic helps, for example, are still servants to them whom they can order around and speak to them in anyway they want to. That's not what Westerners do. They respect every job: a lawyer wouldn't look down upon a waiter and a doctor wouldn't think a house-helper's job was trivial. Some of us actually dare to think that acting superior to our helpers makes us cool! It's ironic how we thin we're westernizing when we still categorize people according to what job they do.
Modernizing isn't about learning the latest fashion and knowing that skinny jeans are in. It's about learning the actual contemporary values and perspectives.
And then there is the fact that some of us think we know everything because we know what Angelina Jolie wore to the Oscars. Who cares about who won the CA polls back home? Or how many people died in the recent China earth-quake? Knowing what happened in the Heroes season finale and how many pounds Kareena Kapoor lost is just enough.
Now isn't that what we call being modern these days? It hurts to think that half the teenagers in Kathmandu will probably answer "yes". We will truly westernize when we become internationally aware and know what's happening around the world. It's not bad to know what celebrities are up to; after all they do entertain us: but it also wouldn't hurt to know that the world petroleum sources will finish in the next 42 years or that Everest might be decreasing in height.
The last slap to the word modernization is how we think anything is fine, just as long are it's who's doing it. It might be okay for us to run around a swimming pool in a bikini but if our mothers dare to keep salvaar-kurta aside for a day and wear jeans instead god help them! Now what kind of modernization is that? Either we should all wear traditional clothes or we should all wear whatever we want. Why this restriction and discrimination with age? Us teens aren't the only ones allowed to live life to the fullest. We are embarrassed if our parents do anything and we have the nerve to think we're Westernized!
I hope with time we will realize the true meaning westernization.
It seems that the most tolerant Nepalese are those who are in prison. Our jails are probably the not uncomfortable, crammed, dirty, and mismanaged ones in the world. Yet we seldom hear of prisoners protesting about their living conditions. For a brief period after the restoration of democracy in 2006, Jail inmates' were also inspired to demand mass amnesty. The demand was logical from their viewpoint because all those who were condoned after the success of the revolution were those who had raised arms to kill and engaged in extortion. The inmates were serving time for almost the same kind of crimes. However, they were pacified after being made to understand that "taking the law into their own hands in the name of political ideology" was different from personal reasons. Even if not amnesty, the prisoners have a right to proper living conditions, drinking water, health and other facilities. It is the government's responsibility to provide them these amenities.
Our tragedy is that the government never considers inmates as human beings. So who bothers about their rights? Even after the reports of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and a number of jail reform commissions were released, the government has been maintaining its uncaring character. The government's apathy is such that the Supreme Court has felt the need to step in and order it to implement the recommendations of these jail reform reports. Supreme Court has felt the need to step in and order it to implement the recommendations and reports. We hope the ministries' representatives, who will be part of the committee, will obey the SC's order, and oversee the jail reform act honestly. Let us hope it will begin from July as ordered by the SC.
During the Maoist insurgency, the state was alleged to have killed many people in custody. Though we cannot condone the inhumane behavior of the authorities at the time, it is also a fact that the unavailability of prisons and proper resources prompted such acts. We commend the NHRC, Pro-Public and other human rights organizations for taking up the human rights issues of the inmates. The government should appropriate enough money in the upcoming budget to reform the prisons. Many prisons around the country are in dilapidated conditions, besides suffering forms other deficiencies. If we fail to provide proper food, enough space, safe drinking water, and minimum health facilities to the inmates, we cannot claim to be custodians of human rights. Moreover, if we fail to convert our jails from punitive detention chambers into correction centers, we will never succeed in checking crime. Most of the convicts finish their terms within a couple of years. We have to make sure that when they get out of prison, they are better human beings.
Kin of Nepalese killed in Iraq on August 2004 to be paid
The court said the families of Budhan Bahadur Shah of Dhanusha and Mangal Bahadur Limbu of Dhankuta were disqualified for the compensation as they did not have any dependents. However, the family of Bhes Bahadur Thapa of Rolpa refused to be compensated.
"We tried to communicate with the family members of Bhes Bahadur Thapa but we found them so upset that they did not want to remember the event" Handley said.
Protect History
It is pathetic that no effort has made to protect the historical documents in the place even though only one day remains before the country is declared a republic. This state of affairs raises a serious question: Why has such a sensitive issue been ignored so far? The responsible parties and the government should have thought about this at the very time they decided to transfer the ownership of the king's property. In fact, the myriad things that need to be done along with the declaration of a republic are highly complicated and have a far reaching effect on a wide range of issues. While everyone's eyes are turned towards the possible repercussions of the historic decision, very few of us have taken note of the list of things the government has to do when a monarch is formally asked to check out of the place. Arrangements to keep safe the historical documents that have been stored inside Royal Palace for centuries should have been one of the major priorities.
A Great Day in Nepal History
The historic "First Meeting" of the Constituent Assembly is taking place in Kathmandu today. This day dawned despite hurdles, uncertainties, warnings about bogies, threats, and killings over the years. This is going to be the day of momentous significance in the life of this nation. Today 601 members of different political parties will enter the Birendra International Convention Centre (BICC) and declare the nation a Republic. After a protracted and what appeared at first an impossible thing, the major parties agreed to appoint a president albeit ceremonial and an executive prime minister. This agreement shows that the parties can work on the major political and constitutional issues of the day. An independent old Asian state Nepal has shown the world how the postcolonial history of the region has something to add to its theoretical discourses through the two phenomena of continuity and change. Nations emerged in this region in the postcolonial times after the sacrifice of millions of people. Nepal remained independent on the periphery of this dynamics. But very little had people realized that Nepal has been making all the major political achievements- from democracy, constitutional monarchy, a bloody guerrilla war to their conversion into an electoral party. A Maoist leader elected by the people will become the executive prime minister of a democratic republican Nepal. If he and his comrades realize how important this achievement is, they will enjoy the support of the people. But if they continue with their dangerous methods of violence and murder of people in detention, they will soon loose the support of the mass. But their leadership has shown tremendous political flexibilities on important political issues of the day.
A great day in history carries with it a mixed package of myth, mysticism, intimate realism, dreams, fears, tears, and memories. The major political parties will enter the assembly hall carrying different alchemies that they and their histories have concocted. The major winner of the CA election the CPN (Maoist) will enter carrying a mixed political package in history. The barrel of the gun that Chairman Mao said is necessary to win power did play a major role in the short life of the Maoist guerrillas, but when they actually entered the political process by signing peace deals with other parliamentary parties they had to reinterpret their principal ideology. Much blood was shed during the war. The guerrillas and the security forces became trigger happy on a number of occasions. But the transformations have begun. Nepali people have given all chance to do the right thing.
The CPN (M)'s victory in the election caused earthquakes inside different houses. The old house of the Nepali Congress experienced the worst hit of the tremor. The old leadership of this party rushed to interpret its loss. It called a meeting where the voice of the young and bright was muted as before. They churned out all the necessary metaphors to curse the Maoists for their grand failure. They interpreted the crack in their house as the impact of the Maoist modus operandi in the elections. the Maoists' latest gruesome murder of Ramhari Shrestha whose widow called a day of very successful strike form the epicenter of the Maoist election victory, the famous Koteswar where comrade Madhab Nepal of the CPN (UML) was defeated by a non-descript Jhakku Subedi, a visitor from Rolpa, was also used to justify the anti-Maoist logic.
The Nepali Congress party will enter the chamber following its 86 year old leader GirijaPrasad Koirala, probably the most important architect of the CA election. Many important characters of this and the United Marxist Leninist (UML) party will not appear because they have lost the elections in the hands of non-descript candidates of the CPN (M). The UML, crestfallen and somber after the election results have become an existentialist party. Its karmic wheel has brought in once again to the centre position. In political terms parties are put along the geometric lines of ideology as centre-left left or right or centre-right etc. The UML has no choice but to take a centre location, which we can see from its existential and circumstantial rounds of sahakarya with the NC and other parties in matters of sharing power with Maoists.
Kamal Thapa of the RPP (Nepal) has warned that the country is moving towards a crisis because the gap created after removing the king will be unbridgeable. This is a mere rhetoric. The last CA election has shown that people do not want the institution of monarchy any more. Many gaps suppressed by feudal aristocracy under the leadership of the monarchy so far came to light during the course of the political movements. Yawning gaps between the feudal structure and the people's actual condition, between privileged classes and the subalterns, privileged classes and the subalterns, privileged castes and dalits, privileged regions and remote and neglected terrains became visible. The reality of a so called monolithic gap after the king's departure is always already deconstructed. The country will focus seriously now on these multiple gaps for the survival and progress of the country and not on the gap created by the king's departure. But the gaps that exist among the parties about the form of a government and power sharing is still a mater a concern. The texture of the sensitivity of history will be made by what happens in the coming days.
Nepali multiparty politics will become a great democratic power not only within the country but also in the region, because the course that it has traversed to reach this stage has many things to show to political theoreticians and activists alike. The parties who made past agreements have together brought the country to this great moment of history. The country has suffered enough to earn this day. Now it is the turn of the custodians of politics to alleviate the sufferings of the people and not get perennially.
Republic at last in Nepal!!
I take joy and pleasure in congratulating all the citizens of Nepal. Turning Nepal into a republic is the biggest achievement of the people in the history of this country. Formally, from May 28, 2008 onward, We Nepalese are no longer subjects of the Shah Dynasty that fooled the innocent people for over 240 years, pretending that the king was a reincarnation of Lord Bishnu. All the kings in the past, without any exception, considered themselves the masters, despite the fact that they survived and led their luxurious lives on the money the people paid in taxes. Instead of improving the economic and social conditions of the people, the monarchy only prompted feudalism, corruption, nepotism, and favoritism. Members of the royal family and their cronies looted the country of its resources, making this one of the poorest in the whole world. So, irrespective of whether or not anyone is a republican, this is a day of joy for all Nepalese. One this joyous occasion, I can not fail to pay tribute to the known and unknown martyrs of the republican cause and of democracy.
The first and foremost credit for the republic goes to none other than the Maoists. Though the Post never agrees with the violent methods the Maoists adopted, it would be unjust not to recognize their role in bringing this day about. The role of Girija Prasad Koirala, Madhav Kumar Nepal and the other political leaders can not be underestimated at this moment. Had not the political parties agreed to the agenda of the Maoists, the latter's violent methods alone would not have been sufficient to achieve the goal. Similarly, civil society leaders, lawyers, human rights activists, journalists, academics, artistes and other members of society who whole heartedly supported the republican agenda also deserve due recognition.
However, there are many hurdles confronting the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal. The first and foremost issue would be the formation of a government. The amendment of the interim constitution is another issue that needs careful handling by all the parties concerned. Though the Maoist leadership has committed itself innumerable times to respecting pluralism and democracy, it will require a Herculean effort by the other parties to make them practice what they pledge. We have more or less settled the issue of republic but the question of a federal structure is going to bog us down bad. As a commitment has already been made to federalism, we can not escape delineating the country into a number of federated units. However, delineation of the states of the states in the federation in terms of ethnicity alone will ultimately ignite ethnic strife in the country. Let us hope that all the parties pushing for an ethnic federal structure will reconsider their stance before it is too late. Finally, the drafting of the new constitution and its endorsement by the 601 member Constituent Assembly is another challenge. But for now, we can relish the achievement of the republic. If the unity and understanding among Nepalese continue, no challenge ahead will be impossible to tackle. Let us all stay together to build a New Nepal.
Happy Republic Day to all Nepalese who stay in Nepal or abroad!!!
The 240 year old institution of monarchy has been forced out by the sheer courage of the people. Two years ago, the people rose from their slumber in the people's movement and shook the impenetrable fortress of the royal ruler and he surrendered. Did the king have any other option? Could he have suppressed the indomitable people by using more force? Could the army have taken over in a bloody coup? Could the king have made a conspiratorial pact with the armed rebels and suppressed the other political parties and started another version of dictatorship?
He did not try any other option. Perhaps he could not. He surrendered. Two years after the April revolution, the people have used their sovereign power to let the royal institution go by voting absolutely in favor of the republic in the recent CA election. The CA has exercised the people's order to oust the monarchy. Nepal has seen the first dawn of a republic. The people of Nepal deserve an unreserved salute!
It is not the first time that the people have shown their power. The 1990 people's movement was the first occasion to see the people in action. The dominant Panchayat rule was forced out by the sheer courage of the people. It has led to the restoration of multiparty democracy. The 1990 constitution had acknowledged the people to be the sovereign power of the nation. In the first general election in 1991, the people had shown maturity of political judgment by returning the Nepali Congress into majority in the parliament with a strong opposition in the form of the CPN-Unified Marxist Leninist. They had rejected the RPP which comprised the Panchayat stalwarts and was supposed to be close to the royal palace.
In the subsequent elections too, the people had used their mature judgment in rejecting parties or candidates that were cheaters or opportunists. They did not elect a single candidate from the breakaway RPP headed by Lokendra Bahadur Chand with stalwarts like Padmasundar Lawait; or the breakaway UML-ML with stalwarts like CP Mainali, Bamdev Gautam, and Sahana Pradhan.
Similarly, the people rejected regional leaders like Gajendra Narayan Singh, who played the Tarai patron for a while because he had been an addict of power and pelf. Another case of people's mature verdict is found in the rejection of ring leader Kamal Thapa because he had indulged in political prostitution for the sake of power and self-interest by joining any faction of the government under the hung parliament. People loved principles and knew how to punish the cheaters.
The people showed their indomitable will and courage during the April revolution. The people were made sleepless by the armed rebellion on the one hand and they were pushed to a primitive stage by the king by snatching their basic rights. Although they were the real sovereign in whose name the king swore, he had virtually usurped their fundamental rights by sliding away the representatives of the people, discarding the legitimate political parties and recruiting renowned thugs as his ministers and chosen officers.
When the people were pushed to the limit, they could tolerate no longer. The 19 day long revolution in April, 2006 had no parallel even in the Indian struggle for independence from the British rule or anywhere else in the world. It was acknowledged as the peerless revolution not only by observers inside Nepal but also by the international media and world leaders. It forced the king down. It brought the legitimate parties back on track. It also brought the armed rebels into the civil political fold. Another great achievement of the April revolution is the culture of coalition politics. This culture may most probably stay in Nepal for the foreseeable future.
The people have again shown their maturity of judgment in the election for the CA. The Seven Party Alliance (SPA) had sown the seed of collective politics, but it had not nurtured it to its healthy germination. There were three major parties in the SPA: the NC, UML, and the Maoist in that order. In the CA election, the people have changed that order with the Maoists on the top. Each of the parties calculated to win the majority of seats in the CA, but the people rejected it. In the informal opinion circles, the Maoists were supposed to be rejected by the people because they had abducted, extorted and killed people and there was a big list of displaced people on account of the Maoist treat and action.
But the Maoists were clear in their political agenda. The people forgot and forgave the affliction but they accepted the agenda. So, the Maoists were returned as the largest party. Although diminished in size, the NC and the UML have retained cognizable size and strength in the CA. This will guarantee the culture of collective politics. Further more the emergence of new parties in the Tarai region has also assured the trend that the age of one party rule is over.
The people have voted for change. The removal of the monarchy is the first item in the wish list. It is just the beginning. There is a large list of the restructuring of the state. That, of course, will be the final output in the form of the new constitution of the federal democratic republic of Nepal. The country will have to be federal. The geographic, demographic, cultural and resources dissimilarities do not permit the continuation of the unitary structure. The formation of the federation should be rational to satisfy the populace in each unit and it should be viable determined accordingly.
Second, it will have to be democratic. The primary feature of democracy will have to be the primacy of the people. Sovereignty of the country should rest with the people. The people should not only elect their representatives, they should also have the last option of removing their representatives if their performance goes against the wishes of the people. All the cultural, ethnic, and regional communities should be fairly represented in the national legislature. The executive will have to be fully responsible to the legislature and the legislature will have to be responsible to the people.
Third, fundamental rights should be secure in all circumstances. People should never ever be deprived on their right to life and liberty. The government should never possess the discretionary right to deprive the citizen of the fundamental rights.
Fourth, the state should always remain a secular republic. Methods should be sought and advocated for the development of harmony among the various religious groups or communities, but religious discrimination should not be allowed under any circumstances. Similarly, any attempt to revive monarchy or develop other form of autocracy should not be tolerated under any circumstances, internal or external included.
Finally, the people have given their verdict for the parties to work in collaboration as a cohesive group to achieve the goal of formulating the new constitution. The large party has no mandate to go along, nor do the minor parties have the right to stay away in the opposition. If this verdict is disobeyed, the new constitution cannot be written and a third people's movement may be the last popular option. All the parties are at the mercy of the people.
On to Act II
The country has moved from being an absolute monarchy to a republic in less than three years. The national flag has started fluttering at Narayanhiti Palace. Former King Gyanendra has been asked to vacate the palace within two weeks so that it can be converted into a museum. The royal palace has now become public property. The historical documents that have been preserved and protected there by successive monarchs should be secured immediately. The government is responsible for making the necessary arrangements for the safety of the palace property. The peaceful transfer of power that happened recently will go down in world history. However, the differences among the major political parties may create a roadblock and jeopardize the entire process of political transformation.
Institutionalization of the political transformation has taken a backseat. The political parties, who should have resolved their differences before declaring the country a republic, have failed to reach an agreement on the division of power between the President and the Prime Minister. Now the question is about direct and indirect systems of governance. If the Maoists could distinguish between direct and indirect democracies, it would become easier to delineate the division of power. But their claim to the posts of both prime minister and president- regardless of what sort of democratic system the country is going to adopt will only widen the differences. The general perception is what the Maoists still want to grab power at all costs. The unruly behavior of the YCL still poses a threat the country's democratic fabric. When no party has mustered a two thirds majority in the CA polls, can the Maoists be choosers? The Maoists have got just 38% of the total electoral votes. But they have yet to show themselves as a responsible party committed to democracy, human rights, and press freedom.
The Maoist insistence on keeping the posts of both prime minister and president obviously indicates something unthinkable. The people have given a split verdict conferring the responsibility of running the country on all the political parties. So the Maoist claim that they should get to keep both posts does not convince the people. The ultra left wing must realize that the sole authority of the Constituent Assembly is to draft a new constitution, federalize the country, demarcate the internal boundaries, and hold general election. What matters is institutionalization of the political achievements so that the country will witness a peaceful political transition. After then the time comes for the reformation of the Nepal Army, Bureaucracy, and Judiciary. There are lots of things to be done to put the country on the right track. At this critical juncture, a policy of compromise and accommodation would help to each a consensus and yield satisfactory results.
The outrageous slur against the media and other political parties by Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal during a public gathering at Tundikhel has exposed his personal mentality and that of his party. In an attempt to outshine his own colleagues by drawing more applause from his own henchmen, Dhal forgot to conceal his true self. He didn't hesitate a bit to show his hatred for the free media and democratic politics.
He descended to the level of warning the press not to write anything against his party an open and ugly display to totalitarian mentality. Interestingly, the very next day they tried to mend fences because they did not wish to unmask their undemocratic face in front of the international community as yet. Baburam Bhattarai did clarify his leader's gibe by saying that he did not mean to be rude to the media. But it was not said with conviction, so it failed to convince the media. May be Bhattarai would not mind letting his nemesis get some bad repute. Dahal himself has not yet mustered enough courage to admit the mistake.
Obviously, the Maoists will try to downplay their slur at the center, but the message from the former rebel chief will have a far-reaching impact all over the country. Local level cadres take their cue from what their leader speaks at the center. It is likely that they will now unleash a reign of terror against media people all over the country. However, it seems the Maoists already have a central policy to attack the opposition press. Even before Dahal spoke against the media, his cadres had been attacking journalists in Kailali district. Journalists Lucky Chaudhary, Hemanta Paudal have been displaced after facing murder attempts, they had written about a local temple and pond, which a local Maoist leader did not like. The situation has worsened to such an extent that over a dozen editors' form the districts have announced closure of their newspapers owing to threats and insecurity.
After Dahal issued an open treat from Tundikhel, fear has swept the minds of journalists around the country. If anything bad should happen to a single member of the press, comrade Dahal will be held responsible. During dire times such as now, we can do nothing but urge international rights organizations, press freedom organization sand all forces supportive of the freedom of expression and democracy to immediately pay heed to the worsening situation of media persons in Nepal. The diplomatic community in Nepal that has been strongly advocating support of the Maoists must tell them to stop intimidating the press. If the Nepali press fails to get national and international support, we believe our media will be gagged. We feel sorry to realize that in threatening the media, Dahal has followed the line of the infamous Tulsi Giri- chairman of the erst- while king's cabinet.
On Friday, while addressing rally, comprising mainly of his cadres, at Khulla Manch in the capital, CPM (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, could not control himself: To be fair to him, this is not a disease exclusive to Dahal or the party that he heads. Other politicians lose their bearings too in front of a large mass.
But what Dahal said in public needs close scrutiny, on at least three counts.
He threatened to turn Nepal into a communist republic if the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML did not mend their ways (opposition to Maoists heading all top posts in the government). Which is the model here, by the way? China? North Korea? Cuba? Ex-Soviet Union?
To all those who believe in the basis of popular democracy - human rights, accountability, the rule of law, freedom of speech and expression, and right to a differing opinion the time to stand up has come sooner than expected. All these ideals are alien thoughts, a kind of blasphemy in a 'communist republic' which is no different form a hereditary rule. Under monarchy, a dynasty claims divine and/or birthright to rule; in a communist republic, it's the party. We fought to overthrow one. Now we need to guard against another.
Another outburst relates to not giving top posts of president and prime minister to the NC and the UML, the "losers in the election". The Maoist chief went on accuses his two coalition partners of being power-hungry. He also accused the two major parties of trying to save ex-king and monarchy. Dahal explained his party had agreed to separation of the posts of President and Prime Minister during the marathon meeting on May 28 or as to ensure that motion on abolishing monarchy is passed in the first sitting of the elected assembly that day. On the contrary, it was the Maoists who were unwilling to institutionalize the republic by refusing to replace the (suspended) king with a president.
Even after agreeing to separation of head of state( president who would act only as per the advice of Cabinet) and head of government (executive prime minister), the Maoists now insist that there should be an all-powerful president. They demand healing both the posts. But in the very next breath, they point out that the president, by heading the national army, would make the PM headed government weak. So don't separate the two posts, they suggest. Why are they manipulating the fact that such a president cannot order deployment of army unless the Cabinet instructs him/her? Who are the Maoists trying to fool?
The Maoists keep reminding every-one that they have emerged as the single largest party after the election. Fair enough. Now let us examine those results. But first let us discard the initial assumption that the Maoists would at least have a simple majority in the elected assembly. Initial counting trend indeed point to that scenario. Although the Maoists are far short of that, it looks like many national and international folks have difficulty in accepting the reality, similar to the shocking incapacity of the Nepali Congress to accept that it has been reduced to second position behind the Maoists and difficulty in digesting that a majority of the people did vote for the ex-rebels.
Call it a beauty or a shocker, the election results forces the parties to stick together if they want a way forward. It is 38% of the Maoists (out of 575 elected seats under both the electoral systems), which means they are 29% or at lest 165 seats short of the two-thirds majority, a provision in the Interim Constitution that the Maoists are so adamant on retaining. If we look at percentage of votes, the gap is starker still: only 29% for Maoists versus the rest (71%). What's more, the NC and the UML which Dahal termed "losers" have got more popular votes than his party: 41%. Do the Maoists have a different meaning of "winner" or "loser"?
What if the Maoists and other parties (with so differing ideologies and goals) come together against the losers (NC and UML)? In this scenario it will be 362 (Maoists + Others) against NC + UML's 213. No two-thirds majority even here. The Interim Constitution is unambiguous when it comes to government formation: either through consensus or by a two-thirds majority of the members. The election results are not behind either in its unmistakable message: strike compromise.
So for this is the Maoist brand of compromise: They do not want two-thirds provision changed as asked for by four major parties; they insist on executive president despite an agreement to the contrary; they want to head both the top posts when others are suggesting that they be not headed by persons from same party; they want to head most of the important ministries; and they want others to join the 'coalition' government led by them!
A conveniently forgotten fact may perhaps help reach a compromise. The Maoists, their apologists and international backers need to remember that when the party was getting cold feet over contesting the election under first past-post-system electoral system and insisting on fully proportional electoral system, the "losers" agreed to address their concerns. Initially, when the NC and the UML refused, the Maoists even walked out of the government, and forced another postponement of the election. Then the NC and the UML agreed to increase the number and percentage of seats under the PR, from 240 to 335, leading to a jumbo sized CA of 601. That spirit of compromise is needed now. Are the Maoists capable of rising to the occasion?
In this whole fight over power-sharing, we forgot why we held the election. It was to write a constitution; the government formation-though necessary - is but secondary task. Also, this agreement is only for the transitional period.
On Friday, Dahal also warned newspapers from Kantipur Publications not to criticize his party like in the past, "because we have been elected by people".
There are two fundamentally wrong assumptions in his remark. One is, the newspapers from this publication house - the Kathmandu Post and Kantipur- are deliberately after the CPN (Maoist). Not true. The unruly, and many a time law-breaking, Maoist cadres give us plenty to write about. Instead of threatening us, it would serve the people and the party well if the chairman showed some leadership quality and controlled his men.
Second, winning an election does not provide a license to criminal acts nor does it make a party criticism-proof. This happens in a communist republic and we are yet to become one. So we will continue writing. Threats are not going to deter us.
Ex-king Shah also tired to silence the media because he believed this nation to be his property and no one residing in it had the right to criticize his actions. He disregarded opposition political parties. He wanted to impose one-man rule, mistakenly assuming he had all the solutions. Dahal appears a true copy of the former dictator. We all know the fate of dictator and the institution he headed. Nee I say more?
The so far elusive kidney transplant service in Nepal could start if an amendment to Kidney Transplant Regulations-2058 (2001) proposed by Organ Transplant Coordination Committee (OTCC) is passed.
"We have submitted the amendment proposal to the Ministry of Health and Population" said Dr Rishi Kumar Kafle, spokesperson of OTCC and executive director of National Kidney Center.
Dr Kafle said the proposed amendment to the regulations prepared for Human Organ Transplant (Regulation and Control) Act- 2055 (1998) is likely to be passed in two weeks. Once the amendment is passed, the committee will invite applications form eligible health institutions that want to begin transplant services, he said.
The OTCC, which has nine members, was set up by the government in March and it has the mandate to arrange everything to make kidney transplant possible in the country.
The proposed amendment focuses on qualifications of health workers like surgeon, nephrologists, radiologist, among others who will be involved in the transplant. Under the existing regulations, OTCC will issue licenses to transplant surgeons. The license has to be renewed every two years. But the regulations are silent regarding licensing other health workers involved in the transplant.
Until now, only Bir Hospital run by the Government had the permission to carry out such transplant. But the hospital does not provide the service anymore since the first transplant carried out by the hospital failed. The recipient's body rejected the donor's kidney. However, the recipient is alive and is on dialysis. Since then the hospital has stopped the transplant. In March, the hospital said it was waiting for a team of foreign experts to resume the service. Dr Sudha Khakurel of Bir Hospital said the foreign team has not yet informed when it would arrive in Nepal.
The amendment retains existing the provision of punishment if a kidney donor dies with in three months of donation. In that case, it provides for life imprisonment with property attachment. However, the regulation does not specify who liable for such punishment and doctors have often raised their voice against the provision. This had prevented the spread of the service, surgeons, and other health worker said.
Due to the absence of kidney transplant service in the country, people are compelled to go to India and elsewhere. In India a transplant costs somewhere between Rs. 500,000 and Rs. 1.5 million. Dr Kafle said kidney transplant would cost less than half the amount in Nepal Rs. 200,000 to 300,000.
Although unpleasant, the decision to increase the price of petroleum products was a sensible move. The price rise will slash the country's burgeoning oil losses and ease the financial burden on the state treasury, which was threatening the fiscal balance and economic stability apart from hurting development spending. The latest hike has also reduced the Nepal Oil Cooperation (NOC)'s deficit, ushering in a ray of hope improved supplies. It is true that the decision has added a financial burden on the people and created inflationary pressure. But given the extent of the losses and the way they have been dealt with previously, the prices of commodities would have gone up anyhow - it was just a matter of time. Nepali consumers understand that the era of cheap food and fuel has ended. It is just that they, like consumers anywhere in the world, are not willing to let it go away easily. Many laud the government for spreading the burden of the increased costs among all the stakeholders. The government has also reduced the important duty on oil for the time being and slashed state-sponsored fuel facilities, which are sensible steps.
We would like to caution the public that the problem of oil losses and fuel crisis has not been put to rest altogether. Diesel, Kerosene, and Cooking Gas (LPG) are still subsidized. The resulting monthly loss of NPR 1.7 billion, which at he NOC will like have to bear even with the price hike, is something disturbing. The accumulation of monthly losses in that amount every month would continue to drain the NOC's cash flow and make it difficult for it to pay for its normal imports. The government's decision to lend it an additional NPR 1 billion will ease its position for now. But the loan will not ensure fuel availability for long. Hence, the government must instantly start working on how it is going to deal with the problem in the short and medium terms. This is important because the rally in the international price of crude continues, and experts have predicted that it will touch US$ 200 in a year's time.
In such a situation, we suggest that the government unveil to the public its price adjustment plan as soon as possible. The price should not be raised in big jumps but gradually in order to insulate consumers from the extreme heat of boiling oil prices. The Nepali people's income levels should be taken into account when raising prices. The government must adopt a product-wise policy and inform the people in advance on how it is going to cover the poor and marginalized groups from the burden. The plan must be discussed at the political and technical levels, and public debates must be held. This would go a long way in depoliticizing oil prices and rendering the decision to open fuel imports and distribution to the private sector applicable decision. The government must also beef up its market inspection to avoid sensitive market manipulation and to check adulteration. Consumers should enjoy the right to get quality products when they are ready to pay what they have been asked to. The players should operate in a fair manner and there should be a mechanism to tighten the screw against wrongdoers.
It has been two months since the CA election was held in Nepal. The old government is still making crucial state decisions regardless of the fact that one strong component of the so-called Seven-Party Alliance (SPA) has pulled out, and that ministers who were defeated at the polls are still in the saddle. The party that got the most votes from the people is still being prevented from taking over the leadership on the basis of imaginary excuses. Several old commitments remain to be fulfilled and new conditions are being added from every side by contending parties - the CPN (Maoist), the NC and the UML being the major political tigers that control the present political jungle.
The CA was formed by the sovereign people to make a new constitution for the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal within a period of two years. If the leaders have not been able to form a coalition government even after the passage of two months as per the wishes of the people, it is doubtful whether they will be above to write a new constitution by the deadline. That the first session of the CA endorsed the decision of the Interim Constitution to declare Nepal a democratic republic seems a miracle as it has not moved ahead an inch after that, and the two subsequent sessions have been non-events. The CA has not elected as speaker, which is the least it could do, not has it passed the norms, and rules to be followed during the course of its two year life.
The old unelected, incomplete, illegal, and immoral government has made two decisions that go against the people's wishes. The former king, who was forced to leave the place as per decision of the people, has been given the Nagarjun Palace to live in because the ordinary citizens felt that he could not share his legitimate home in Maharajgunj with his son.
Gyanendra was very pompous and was used to making unnecessary jet trips of Africa with all expense paid by the taxpayers if a poor nation. Why not give him a rented castle in some African tourist paradise? Then he would be safe room the dangers of the patricide syndrome of his notorious son. That, of course, has been the dynastic character of the Shahdevs on the throne!
The reason given for allowing Gyanendra to stay at Nagarjun was that he had agreed to leave the Narayanhiti Palace, which was the symbolic official residence. But it is ridiculous that the same shameless government has decided to provide two houses inside the Narayanhiti grounds to the erstwhile queen mother and the queen grandmother. Narayanhiti was supposed to be turned into the national museum, but Girija Prasad Koirala is making it a royal zoo with two grand human beings seated inside the cage! Is Koirala the reincarnation of the former king? Why is he becoming so sympathetic towards the discarded monarchy? Is he intending to inherit one of the palaces for himself when he is forced out of the expired role of head of state? Are the sovereign people just pawns in the hands of the illegitimate government?
It is one thing to have a big heart and forgive the culprit. But it is quite a cowardly act to fail to do justice if the violator is a bully. Gyanendra had seized the power of the people and the right of human beings as an arbitrary monarch. He pushed the legitimate people's representatives and repressed the people with brute force. When he was asked to justify his actins by a commission formed to investigate excesses of the regime, he was defiant and refused to answer its questions even on paper. If he had any regard for the orders of the state, he would have felt it his honor to obey them. But he believes in bullying and is still bullying Koirala.
Koirala had deployed a 75 strong security force for the safety of an ordinary citizen. Now Gyanendra is bargaining to have its strength raised to 400 personnel! And poor Koirala may still oblige him. If Gyanendra Shah had the intention of living as a respectable citizen, he should have the guts to send away the security force.
My concern as a patriotic citizen is not so much that a palace and a battalion of security staff have been provided to the deposed king but that the government has committed the unforgivable fault of disobeying the order of the people. On what moral ground is Koirala still occupying the positions of head of state and government? By what authority is Koirala still refusing to hand over power to the largest legitimate party in the CA?
One of Koiralas' senior colleagues in the cabinet claimed that they could not hand over power to the party that has been refusing to follow the given laws and norms. Who gave the NC the authority to dictate eternal norms of state behavior? Didn't the NC get the popular message that it is this high handedness of theirs that the people disapproved? It is very sad to have to say that the country has one of the worst law and order situations and it is a matter of time before the country descends into complete anarchy. Who is responsible for this situation except the home ministry?
Now the NC is arguing that the constitution should have the provision of the role of opposition so that its representation could be made in the constitutional council. This is absurd. The Interim Constitution was formed with the understanding that until a new constitution was written and promulgated, there would be a consensus government. The CA election was held under this very principle. Now that the election result went against the NC, it has started talking in terms of competitive politics. The Maoists had made untenable claims that they were the sole representatives of the people and capable of subduing the rest of the parties. But they have now realized the folly of this claim and are ready to accept changes as many as may lead to a consensus government. But even they are not fulfilling their old commitments which give reason for mistrust among the partners.
The cloud of mistrust on the eve of starting a new government shows that the night will be darker, more thunderous, and stormy. There is no one to maintain the rule of law on the streets, and the highways are unsafe for peaceful use. Any element can create problems on the street. If this is not reliably settled, the problem will be replicated in the CA sessions. A thousand issues will have to be addressed in the CA in course of formulating the new constitution - issues like the federal structure, distribution of resources, distribution of power between the center and the units, form of the government, power, and method of selection of the head of state and so on. Several issues are extremely contentious. If the leadership finds it difficult to form a government even two months after the people's verdict, it will be a miracle to expect consensus on such contentious issues in two years. Stormy days and nights lie ahead.
However, let us hope the initial power conflict will wither away with the Maoists taking the lead. They were the ones to cry for the CA. Now that the people have put the CA in place, let not the old power-mongers spoil the chance to formulate the constitution. The conscientious people have put unlimited faith in the capability of the Maoists to steer the ship of state through the present impasse. Let there be a bright morning of a new constitution after the turbulent night.
A Crisis Complicated
We are used to haring about food shortages particularly in the Karnali region, a remote place of Nepal. But now we're facing something very different. The people in far and mid-western Nepal can not longer be sure that food will be available at prices they can afford - or that it will be available at all. Both availability and affordability are matters of concern. This is not a silent tsunami as some international organizations have been claiming. The World Food Programme - Nepal has said that about a quarter of a million people are facing a precarious food security situation due to significant crop failures adding up to a whopping 20-70 percent during the last harvesting season.
What the government should be concerned about now is a recurrence of the crisis in the changed global economic context. Though the seasonal food shortage in the districts of far and mid-western Nepal is not a new thing, this time it is likely to take an ugly turn in the sense that its severity has been complicated as the problem has become a global challenge. Countries across the world have gone on alert - banning food exports, stockpiling grain and initiating other safety measures. But such moves have further worsened the crisis by making food grain even more scarce, and at times, crating artificial shortages. India or any other country which possesses surplus grain would be unwilling to sell it even if an international humanitarian organization like WFP-Nepal wanted to buy some to send to Nepal's crisis-hit areas. Besides, the hike in oil prices which has impacted food prices added to the complexity. The problem for Nepal now is that not only is food hard to come by, it would be unaffordable even if there was a seller. Then there's the third and most crucial factor - inflation. Add to that the level of poverty in the country.
Given these hard facts, wishy-washy efforts aren't going to be able to handle the impending crisis. The government's response - "rapid food security assessment mission" in the food-deficit districts - is welcome, but not sufficient given the severity of the crisis. Let us not just "respond" when others warn us that we are running out of food. Along with short-term measures like allocating additional budget to supply food grains in the affected areas, we need a long-term strategy. Think of the consequences of ever rising food prices. More than 40 percent of Nepal's people are too poor to afford one decent meal a day. The only way we are going to get out of this perennial crisis is by promoting climate-friendly crops, alternate food habits, and income-generating activities like herb and fruit farming and tourism in the food deficit areas. Think of increasing the people's purchasing power, economic growth, and large-scale commercial food production.
Until recently, the Nepal Army was "Royal" because of its structure, orientation, and character. Most political analysts'' argument that the Nepal Army would hatch a coup if the king were touched or removed proved wrong. The symbiotic relationship between the institution of monarchy and the armed forces, especially the Nepal Army, has been totally broken despite the common interests of its officers and the king.
The social stratification-subjects and rulers, higher and lower classes, cultured and uncultured societies- created by the then political system hand made the general people feel that the military existed for the security of the rulers and not for the people.
Similarly, the involvement of the military in a number of coups and counter-coups, conspiracies and crimes that were common among the ruling families tarnished the image of the army. It neither got the emotional support of the people, nor did it evolve into a national army.
In 1950, the Rana oligarchy was ousted. A civilian government was installed, but a rapport between the military and the people could not be established. Army officers felt uncomfortable being under the civilian government or being commanded by their "subjects". And political leaders refused to accept the military's might to foster democratic values. So the civilian government made it a backup force of the king because of their similar class interests.
Superiority and inferiority complexes did exist within the armed forces. But the main obstacle was the government's failure to turn the military into a professional outfit in tune with the changing political situation and to orient it for tit new role and responsibilities.
Political leaders ignored the institution of the military. The army wanted better welfare schemes and it had no option but to turn to the monarch. Successive kings used the armed forces to suppress democracy and press freedom. As a result, the Nepali Congress-led elected government which had a two-thirds majority in parliament was sacked. Top leaders of most political parties, including the prime minister who also held the defense portfolio, were arrested. Parliament was dissolved and political parties were banned. Surprisingly, King Mahendra drafted the constitution in 1963, three years after he staged a coup with the help of the army.
Even after the restoration of democracy in 1990, political leaders had in the back of their minds that the Nepal Army was loyal to the institution of the monarchy.
B.P. Koirala, writing in his Atma Brintanta, regretted that one singly but major mistake he committed during his 18 months in government was his ignorance of the institution of the military. No one had given any serious thought to making the army more professional.
Instead, the king became supreme commander-in-chief of the army on the basis of tradition and the constitution. The government could not assert its power under the National Security Council, thinking that the king, as the de facto ruler, would control and command the military. The political leaders were left with no choice but to learn to live without power.
Furthermore, the political parties could not reach a consensus on the national security policy. They did mobilize the army against the Maoists who were waging the so called people's war, but the armed forces ditched the politicians and sided with the monarch.
Such a situation lasted till the April Uprising. The king worked in tandem with the army making every government formed after 1990 vulnerable to political instability. it was only after the ultra-leftists, who rendered the democratic parties" incompetent", defied the king and the army that things changed.
King Gyanendra ascended the throne after the palace massacre in June 2001. He consolidated royal power by imposing a state of emergency. However, such anti-democratic moves proved fatal for the monarchy following the April Uprising.
When the Maoists joined mainstream politics after signing a 12 point agreement with the Seven-party Alliance, the country saw the dawn of inclusive democracy. The Maoists became part and parcel of the new political development. The king was isolated, and the entire political landscape of Nepal subsequently changed.
Unexpectedly, the military kept a low profile throughout the political movement. This was contrary to the general thinking that the Nepal Army was loyal tot he king. The dramatic change in the army's attitude proved many pundits wrong. The army not only switched its loyalty but also cooperated with the government formed after the 2006 April Uprising.
When the Interim Parliament stripped the king of his powers, the army went along without any hesitation. In 1990, this same institution had pressured the then interim government and the constitution recommendation committee to invest the king with state authority, name him the supreme commander-in-chief of the armed forces and declare Nepal Hindu kingdom. But in 2006, the military reportedly ignored the palace's order "to revolt against the historical declarations of the Interim Parliament" making Nepal a secular and federal republic.
The army has now been bought under the civilian government mainly because the popular forces have unified. The blunders made by the king, who lost his credibility and relevance, questioned the monarchy's relevance and made the military realize its professional duty, responsibility, and accountability.
In addition, the interim government showed a liberal attitude towards the army top brass by not allegedly involved in suppressing the April Uprising despite the people call to punish them.
Similarly, the promotion and appointment of Roomanagud Katawal as Chief of Army Staff might have eased the transition. Katawal did convince the new rulers that the army was behind the elected civilian authority. This snapped all links with Minister G.P Koirala came Katawal's rescue when the later had left Military headquarters for "his scheduled visit to the barracks" outside Kathmandu without informing the High Level Commission" which wanted to interrogate him. It seemed that Koirala's move helped to break the tradition.
The understanding and cooperation between Koirala and Katawal is positive signal for establishing a good rapport between the civil government and the military. But such good relations should not be confined to individuals. We need to institutionalize the close ties. It should not be difficult if the unity among the major political parties remains intact, and the top leaders develop a security policy that need not be changed with a change of the political guard. Equally important is leadership with a vision for modernizing and building closer links between the military and the civilian authority.
Your work should be an act of love, not a marriage of convenience". This line from a short story by Haruki Murakami sums up why I decided to go against my parents' wish to see me as a doctor to follow my own calling.
Medicine may be a calling for many, who have dreamt of becoming doctors ever since they learnt the need to be someone when they grow up. But few can answer why exactly they want to pursue medicine. Despite the money, the prestige, and the "Dr" in front of their names, many do not know if that is what they really want to do. How many want to go through the travail of years of intense studying and hard work? How many study medicine because they actually enjoy learning it? If we reflect on our strengths, weaknesses and interest, and then choose a profession, we'll excel at it and enjoy our work but it's a pity if we let the expectations of somebody else decide the path we take in life.
It's understandable that parents want a "safe" career and a financially secure life for their children. If that's all an individual wants, well and good, but nothing can be sadder if a person sacrifices his calling in favor of a safe career. For instance, some of my friends with exceptional talent in music have refrained from taking up music professionally in favor of a safer career. I consider myself fortunate that I found my calling and have decided to follow it though. I may make a lot of money doing it, but that's too small a risk for getting to do what I love. The definition of success is not the same to everybody. Society's definition of success is not worth trading my calling for.
They say it's about fulfilling your parents' dreams. No parents want their child to struggle hard for their survival in a competitive world like this, but an individual has a mind of his own. A person is not just somebody's child. Why don't parents dream of their children being strong enough to do what they love, no matter what hardships they have to go through?
I have the utmost respect for the profession of medicine. My cousin brother who is a student of medicine, however, completely overlooks the importance of humanities - the subject of my choice. "When a person is dying of a terminal disease, he doesn't read your sociology texts; he comes to the doctor. You need science to survive. Science is way more important than whatever it is you want to study, he says. Granted! Who can deny that? But human life is not just about survival. Science saves lives but is survival enough? We are here to live. And to live we need economics, politics, sociology, art, literature, psychology, history, film, theater; we need to study humans.
If I do something I don't want to do, I'll end up being mediocre at that. I don't want to give up my calling to end up as one of the many in a horde of mere automation-like technicians.
Tags: nepal
Koirala's Mixed Legacy
Outgoing Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala formally retired from his post Monday after Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal took the oath of office as his successor. We extend sincere gratitude to the octogenarian leader who kept the country on a tight rein during the tumultuous 27 months and finally handed the charge over to a democratically elected prime minister. Despite his frail health, Koirala has successfully fulfilled the people's aspiration for a new era and made the Constituent Assembly (CA) election possible within two years of his rein. Koirala's success should be measured in abolition of the 240-year-old monarchy amid speculations, especially from the former Maoist rebels, that the regressive forces would resist and the country might plunge, again, into a vortex of conflict. Fortunately, this did not happen. Koirala's innate leadership made it possible by gradually distancing the monarchy from the national army and other cultural affiliations.
Koirala's stance for revival of the dissolved parliament played a key role in defeating the regressive force and distancing the king from the national army. Despite Maoists' pressure to attain the goal of republic through antagonistic approach, Koirala pushed the republican agenda forward step by step and finally declared the country a secular federal republic. His resistance to external pressure was praiseworthy. A leader's talent is measured by the decisions he takes during crucial hours. Koirala frequently faced difficult circumstances, especially when the Maoists walked out of the cabinet and the Madhesi problem led to the postponement of the CA election. However, he eventually overcame both the problems. He created an atmosphere for open politics though he might have taken some decisions to suit his personal interests rather than the broader interests of the people and the country.
Koirala is a personality who is both highly revered and criticized. Even the Maoists and other allies respected him until he held the CA poll. But in recent days, some Maoist leaders have openly called him a power monger. It is not a politics of tolerance that the people were expecting from the new leaders. The risk that Koirala took while meeting with the then "terrorist' leaders and his ability to bring them to negotiating table for peace and prosperity of this country are his greatest achievements. He rescued the country out of the Maoist insurgency and handed the power over to a democratically-elected leader. He fought against autocratic Ranas and Shahs for six decades. Often hard to understand and given to whims, his political contributions to this country on the final analysis are immense. His suggestions and advice would be of great value for Nepal to foster and advance a democratic political culture.
Maoist chairman Puspa Kamal Dahal has become the first prime minster of secular federal republic of Nepal. People particular from rural areas, have high expectations from the Maoist government as this party has time and again claimed that they will fight for the poor.
The present team forming the government is the most balanced one. If all the parties supporting the Maoist-led-government are honest and committed to their words, this is the right time for them to build the faith of the people.
Since the business communities are always skeptics about the economic policy of the Maoists, they have to come up with a clear-cut economic policy that would boost production and ensure sound economic growth.
If the Maoists live up to their commitment, people will always be with them. Hence, they cannot afford to waste their time bargaining for different portfolios. They must now concentrate on the economic uplift and the drafting of the constitution.
This honeymoon could become a happy one. During the transitional period starting from 2006, the government (consisting mainly of the NC the UML< and the Maoists) under Girija Prasad Koirala's leadership held the Ca poll, got rid of the monarchy, and declared the country a republic. These are great achievements. However, the country went downhill in every other area. We could summarize the state of our nation by the world "lack": lack of constant power though the monsoon has reduced the load-shedding a bit, lack of books for students, lack of fuel for vehicle-owners, lack of food for many in western Nepal, lack of security for the wealthy under treats of kidnapping for ransom, lack of travel because of frequent bandas/strikes by youth groups and pro, anti-syndicate agitations and lack of government as many bureaucrats refused to work because of treats of life. Thus PM Dahal's restoration of some normalcy in our nation would signal the beginning of a happy honeymoon.
Positively, Dahal's oath-taking in the name of the people instead of "God" indicates his desire to make Nepal a truly secular state. His award of 20 million of rupees for those afflicted by the flooding Saptakosi River gives hope to those severely affected by this unexpected natural disaster. His instruction, if truly obeyed, to Maoist parliamentarians to visit their constituencies while the CA is in recess can bring hope. We should remember that cadres of other political parties have not done this either because of lethargy or Maoist threats.
Negatively, PM Dahal hasn't been able to wave his magic want; and promptly bring about a government as expected. Both the IML and MPRF complain that the Maoists haven't kept their word in the distribution of the ministries as promised. The longer the delays in the formation of the government, the quicker will, the euphoria in the Maoist leadership subside.
Though Dr Baburam Bhattarai announce the cessation of YCL's paramilitary nature of August 15th Friday, immediately after the election of Dahal as the PM, news of Maoists looting maize belonging to UML faithful in Sankhuwasabha and YCL goons beating up a Panchthar man (not voting for the Maoists in the CA poll) came in the papers three days later. The public hardly believes that the Classes will actually turn into "cows", and Dahal should prove his intent by action.
Further, Dahal distrusts the security the Nepal Army/the Nepal Police are providing him, and relies also on PLA's protection.
Many, including this writer, didn't want a Maoist-led government. However, hopes for an alternative quickly faded as the NC fielded the jaded Sher Bahadur Deuba against Dahal. Even his RPP mother-in-law Pratibha Rana didn't vote for Deuba and many NC parliamentarians must have cast their ballots for him reluctantly. Deuba and the largest ever "jumbo " cabinet of over 40 ministers started the Pajero culture, didn't heed the 40-point Maoist demand in 1996 thus allowing the 10- year-long insurgency to start, split the Nepali Congress, surrendered our democracy of King Gyanendra in 2002, and was dubbed "incompetent" by the later. Thus, senility, not only on the part of the octogenarian Girija babu but also the NC as a whole, must have played a role in allowing him to stand for the PM's post. I had advocated that either Ram Chandra Poudel or Dr Ram Sharan Mahat should have become the candidate.
On the other hand, Deuba had demanded seniority as a price for uniting his splinter party with the NC; and after Girija babu, he had a claim to the PM's post. Whatever the internal politics, Deuba himself must have proposed some other fresh candidate in his stead. If he had done so, surprising amalgamation of parties my have formed through the night for an attractive NC hopeful.
Anyway, now that the Maoist chairman is also our PM all should wish him a happy honeymoon; and applaud his successes while bemoaning his shortcomings. This writer sees a few things Dahal should give priority to.
He should keep his promises. Let his darling YCL abandon its paramilitary nature as soon as possible. This group shouldn't come into the news again for fresh atrocities. Let the Maoists return the confiscated property as they have promised for the umpteenth time. The Maoists should also make known the conditions of those disappeared, both by them and the past governments.
Dahal shouldn't demoralize the Nepal Army (NA) by still relying on the PLA for his protection. He can hasten the integration of the PLA into the NA through agreed norms and procedure, but shouldn't maintain the parallel military outfit. Such behavior can incite jealousy if not a rebellion in the NA.
He should quickly introduce the "revolutionary" land reform. Under such a scheme, President Cory Aquino of the Philippines parted with a lot of her own land to help the poor. When BP Koirala introduced a genuine land reform program in the late 1950s, the royal and the rich were the first to object to it. King Mahendra put an end to it by ousting BP's democratic government. As long as the Maoist land reform is genuine and does not seek to augment the party's vote-bank, people will support it.
Of course, the new government's main task is to write the first, federal, democratic constitution for Nepal. Within a few weeks, Dahal should ensure that this process begins.
Happy Honeymoon!
Deputy Prime Minister of Nepal Bam Dev Gautam has made a strong commitment to improve the country's law and order situation, calling it the new Government's top priority. He has stressed that the Nepali people will see some tangible difference on that front with in a week or so. We welcome his pledge. For long the law and order situation has been on a free on a free fall; parts of the Tarai are in fact close to a state of anarchy. At least Deputy Prime Minister Gautam did not start his tenure offering a tepid and unconvincing apology, like his predecessor, Krishna Prasad Sitaula, who would routinely attribute just about every single unlawful act to politics of transition.
Still, we would like to point at a number of challenges that the deputy prime minister now faces. First, the continued existence of paramilitary structures and criminal elements masquerading as political parties; both make a mockery of the rule of law. The Maoist affiliated Young Communist League (YCL) has a very questionable track record and now the UML has formed a paramilitary force of its own. But there are a number of gun-totting groups in the Tarai whose politics is plain thuggery. Second, corruption in the police force runs deep. Many senior police officials actually pass up their unlawful incomes to their political masters while many low - and medium - ranking police personnel pay certain "fees" to senior officials to secure their positions. Third, there is a strong nexus among the corrupt political class, police personnel, local administration, and the judiciary. Such classes of people offer various excuses to cover up their short-comings. Take for example how they used an obscure 1969 Public Security Act to release criminal kingpin Deepak Manage from a jail in Kathmandu. The Supreme Court ordered the impromptu release of Manage last week "in the absence of proper law to initiate action against him".
All this suggests that the security sector has been in a desperate need of reform. The serious concern is not the violence and clashes between the two paramilitary forces - YCL and the Youth Force - but rather the absence of state to enforce the rule of law effectively. As long as the concept of the rule of law remains confined to the paper and impunity reins supreme, various agencies and parties will continue to take refuge in antiquated law and politics of transition while the law and order remains in a shambles. Minister Gautam has his task cut out.
Tags: nepal
The people voted the Maoists to power being impressed by their election slogan: "You've tried the others time and again. This time, try the Maoists. "The people were attracted to them because they had an agenda for change- a new Nepal- and they decided to let them have a go at it. The way the Maoists have come to the forefront is extraordinary. Even without power, they changed a Hindu monarchy into a secular republic, brought the king's army under civilian control, and helped to make the elections happen.
In addition to the election commitments, there are various issues the Maoists have to address without delay in order to achieve their goals. First, they should implement revolutionary land reform as promised. Land reform has remained an unresolved issue since the 1960s. King Mahendra had introduced it with a few rules and regulations at the time he dismissed democracy and adopted Panchayat. But the outcome brought no satisfaction. The big political parties have put forward land reform as their main political agenda, but they were reluctant to translate it into action even when they were in power.
Given this historical perspective and the structure and nature of the present coalition government, the Maoists will have a tough time implementing revolutionary land reform which requires everybody's agreement. They will succeed only if they are committed to it politically.
Second, the nation is facing problems with widening budget deficit. It does not seem to be a big problem now, but they will have far-reaching impacts. The budget deficit will get bigger as the coalition government is going to spend beyond its means to fulfill their commitments. Enlarging the budget the budget without indentifying extra sources of revenue will only widen the deficit and raise inflation.
Most of the country's revenue comes from excise and customs duties. The production sector that could supply goods and services for domestic consumption and export has not developed enough to contribute substantially to government revenue. Thus, the "New Nepal" should see to explore possibilities of promoting the production sector minimize the role of customs and excise duties as the major source of government income. The new agenda for the new government should be to develop and promote production as well as the tourism industry.
The third issue is rising inequalities. There is a widening gap between the rich and the poor. A few people have a very high standard of living while the rest continue to languish in abject poverty. This is a big issue that needs to be dealt with. Inequalities in the distribution of income and wealth will crate social tensions. Therefore, a proper policy should be put in place to for just and equitable distribution of resources. In this respect, progressive taxation could act as tool to reduce the gap. The state can levy a high rate of tax on the rich without having to lower their standards to make others better off. To make this possible from both aspects, more jobs should be created for the unemployed. The revenue generated from such tax schemes should be invested in the productive sector that can crate more employment opportunities for the poor.
It is not only among the people that the gap between the haves and the have-nots is widening. There is a great chance of the disparity between Maoist cadres and their leaders enlarging too. If incomes are not distributed evenly among privileged leaders and ordinary cadres, it could give rise to intra-party clashes vertically divide the party.
The forth issue is rampant corruption. The efficiency of government agencies is intimately connected with corruption. There is no control mechanism to prevent graft and bribery. If not treated as a social evil, corruption will spread like a virus and paralyze the development of the country. Experience shows that persons convicted of corruption by agencies entrusted with catching them have been given lean chits by other government institutions like the courts. This is why corruption is thriving. If we really want to change the situation, stringent corruption control mechanisms should be enforced.
The fifth issue is inflation. Nepal Rastra Bank's estimates reveal that rising prices will jump to a double-digit rate in the near future. The prices of food products have doubled within the past year making life harder for poor and marginalized people. The government's service delivery system is almost immobile. Essentials like gas, kerosene, and food are not easily available.
An ordinary Nepali who voted for the Maoists now expects them to quickly take care of good scarcity, inflation, power outage, the economy, and breakdown in law and order. The people are eagerly waiting to see how the Maoists transform their election commitments into action and how they are going to achieve double-digit growth. Political will is vital to drive economic development. Let us see how Dahal maintains high economic growth.
Integration & Rehab
Nepal's peace process has made swife progress over the past two years, and its leaders and people should be justifiably proud of this. Yet, critical aspects of the process have consistently been ignored, and if there continues to be lack of action on these aspects, the peace process may be undermined. The most critical issue that has received very little attention from the previous government is the future of Maoist combatants and the restructureing of teh Nepal Army. As the Special Representative of the Secretary General in Nepal Iam Martin pointed out in a speech at the Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction, "No peace process can be said to be complete while there are two armies in the country, and unitl the future of former combatants is decided."
Moist combatants have been languishing in cantonments for over two years now. Frustration has increased in the camps, and large numbers have left of their own volition. Many of them have spent up to a decade in warfare, and re-entry into society will most likely be very difficult for them if they are not provided proper support. The experience of other post-conflict countires that have not taken adequate measures toward the rehabilitation of bebel combatants demonstrates that once the former combatants are let loose into the larger society, they often bring with them habits and attitudes from their days in combat. The presence of large numbers of such combtants in society can lead to anarchy and violence. If the new government does not swiftly move toward rehabilitation, such disturbances may happen in Nepal as well. Over two years into the peace process, when the former rebels are leading the government, their army has been left more or less untouched. The Maoists' entr into the peace process has not diminished their capacity for violence, and they still possiss the same options that they did two years ago. This has been a cirtical failure of the peace process: Negotiations for the transformation of the Maoist combatants should hae proceeded simultaneously with other political negotiations.
Integration is a critical worry for Martin and UNMIN. Having now completed msot aspect of their mandate, UNMIN remains in Nepal solely to monitor the management of the arms and personnel of the two armies. As there has been no movement towards integration, UNMIN is concerned that the government expects it to continue its monitoring activities indefinitey. For the UN mission to conclude its work in Nepal, it is necessary to have some kind of resolution on integration. It has thus offered the government advisory support on this issue. The UN has significant experience in the transformation of armies in post -conflice environments across the world. The government should take advantage of their expertise and begin the process of integration and rehabilitation.
Tags: nepal
Returning from an inspection visit to the flood-affected Mid and Far Western Districts of Nepal last week, Home Minister Bamdev Gautam said that barrages built by India were primarily responsible for the floods this side of the border. He said after he told the Indian authorities to open the gates of the Kailashpuri Barrage, the water in the Karnali River started receding. India built the barrage over the Karnali River in 1980 to provide irrigation in Uttar Pradesh. The barrage is situated just 10 kilometers downstream from Nepal. As the gates of the barrage remained closed to prevent Indian villages from being flooded, the swollen Karnali River overflowed its banks. The 22 kilometer-long Laxmanpur Barrage built along the Rapti River downstream in India without Nepal's consent inundates a large swathe of land in Nepal every monsoon. Recent incessant rains and consequent floods have swamped more than 2,000 VDCs, and over 80,000 people have been displaced. This aside, the floods have also destroyed standing crops worth millions of rupees.
The 1997 United Nations Convention on Water Resources states that there should be "equitable and reasonable utilization of resources and participation of the concerned states". The Convention says that the "duty (of a state) is to seek consent from another state"(Article 5). The agreement is also clear on "the obligation of a state "to ensure that "no harm is caused to vital human needs "while building huge structures near any international border (Article7). In the Western region, the Rasiyawas Khurdalotan Dam constructed unilaterally by India on its territory bordering Marchabar in Rupandehi district is also a cause for concern. In 2004, the Nepal-India Joint Committee on Water Resources concluded that "the Rasiyawal Khurdalotan Dam could submerge Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Buddha."
Every year, especially during the monsoon, barrages, dams and embankments built by India close to the border result in thousands of hectares of arable land in Nepal being waterlogged. Thousands of people are forced to flee their homes. This has become a perennial problem. Ironically, people on both sides of the border have to suffer. When the Koshi burst its embankment last month, three million people in Bihar were displaced, a figure far more than 5000 this side of the border. Clearly, the problem of floods and management of water resources is a cross-boarder issue. The Power Summit held in Kathmandu last week once again reiterated the obvious: Nepal has the power, India the market. Another high level Joint Committee on Water Resources started today. But the underlying issue remains unchanged: There is a deep-seated feeling among most Nepalese that they have been given a raw deal by New Delhi in such bilateral accords as Koshi and Gandak. Every time Nepal's land is flooded due to India-built barrages as is happening in Mid and Far Western districts; they only contribute to the Nepali insecurity. We don't stand for ultra-national position on sharing of waters, which we believe has only pushed Nepal backward. These are glaring facts both Kathmandu and Delhi will do well to acknowledge.
Tags: nepal
President Ram Baran Yadav is in a dilemma over whether or not to continue the age-old tradition of dispensing Tika to the general public during Dashain, Past kings carried on the sacred tradition of putting a dab of red paste on the foreheads of well-wishers who came to receive their blessings. Now that the country has gone secular, it would be unwise to continue the practice which would give credence to the belief that the king was an incarnation of Lord Bishnu. On the day of Tika, there should be no procession of people marching to the gate of Shita Newas to receive Tika and blessings from the president.
Successive Shah Kings practiced the system of giving and receiving Tika as if they were the savior of the country and people. Various cultural experts, including the Ministry of Sports, Culture, and Education, have urged that new Nepal should end such customs. They are unanimous in their view that preserving such a tradition would only bolster feudal practices. As far back as 1958, the first democratically elected Prime Minister, B.P Koirala, had tried to end the custom of receiving Tika from the king. His protest created quite a stir, but he did not succeed in eliminating the tradition. The present debate surrounding Tika is a result of a legislative flaw. There is no definition of the roles, rights, and limitations of the president in the Interim Constitution. And since Dr. Yadav is the first president, he will be setting a precedent. Therefore, he faces a moral dilemma on whether or not to put the sacred dab.
The constitution does not require the president to observe any religious or cultural rituals, including putting Tika on the 10th day of Dashain. But doing away with such an ancient practice is not an easy task, as religious ceremonies are deeply ingrained in Nepali society. Take, for instance, the recent Indra Jatra uproar. When the government slashed state funds routinely provided to make ritual animal sacrifices at Hanuman Dhoka, the Newar people who have been practicing the tradition for centuries were offended. They took to the streets denouncing the government move. Sources close to President Yadav say he is afraid that stopping Tika may likewise offend the sentiments of the people. However, he must be tactful to make the people understand that the feudal practice of giving and receiving Tika has no place in new Nepal. Putting a formal end to the custom of Tika would also make Nepal truly secular - a country where Eid-ul-Fitr and Christmas hold as much significance as Dashain and Tihar.
Tags: nepal
Three months ago to the day, the mandate of the United Nations Mission to Nepal (UNMIN) was extended for the third time for six more months. After the completion of the Constituent Assembly (CA) elections, most aspects of UNMIN's mandate had been fulfilled, and the extension was made solely to allow it to continue monitoring the management of the arms and armies of the Maoists and the state. It was then hoped that in the new political climate after the election, the issue o integration and rehabilitation of Maoist combatants would be resolved; and that after six months, there would be no need for UNMIN to continue its monitoring role. Yet, more than six months after the CA elections, political parties have been unable to even form the special committee on integration and rehabilitation, which under Article 146 of the Interim Constitution, is meant to "supervise, integrate and rehabilitate" Maoist combatants.
To be fair, such a special committee had, in fact, been formed by the Nepali Congress-led government. But it met only once, in May 2007, and did not even begin discussions on integration and rehabilitation. This was largely due to political reasons: the Nepali Congress was unwilling to discuss the issue before the CA elections were held on April 10. Their reasoning was that the Maoists would perform so poorly at the polls that they would have to leverage left to push for mass integration of their combatants into the Nepal Army. The Maoists, on the other hand, publicly postured that they wanted integration to take place before the elections. But they too had no inclination to make this happen as they felt that the presence of a standing army would be beneficial to them during the elections.
Discussions on the formation of the special committee are now going on between the coalition partners, and it was expected that the government would announce its formation today. But political disagreements that have been holding up the formation of the committee remain unresolved. Presumably, the demand of the CPN-UML that a non-Maoist head the committee is unacceptable to the Maoists. In fact, to go beyond partisan politics, the Maoists should accept this demand. Integration is a highly sensitive issue that could potentially have disastrous consequences for the country, if handled badly. The Maoists, who have obvious partisan interests in the integration/rehabilitation of their People's Liberation Army, can not alone be trusted to focus on larger national interests. Further, it is troubling that negotiations have so far taken place between only two alliance partners the Maoists and the UML. Broad based consensus over the modalities of integration is crucial, and there is an immediate need for the opposition party, the Nepali Congress, to be involved in the negotiations. As important is for the Congress to be represented in the committee which will be eventually formed.
Respect Talent
Hundreds of social organizations have mushroomed in the busiest and the remote nooks and corners of the capital city, Kathmandu. Although most of them are meant for the promotion and protection of social justice, human rights and pro-poor development, One of my friend have a very nasty job-experience in one of the NGO's from where he quit a couple of months back.
He was delighted when an NGO offered him a job some 5-6 years back. He agreed to work for it anticipating that it would help him in career-building. Although it was on a contract basis, it did not matter much at that time as he thought an organization of international repute would not let him down. Years later, it was the same contract job that forced him and some of his friends to resign prematurely. They were said that the organization was overstaffed and that they needed to cut down on them to reduce the number of personnel.
To resign from job that was the only source of his bread and butter was not as painful as the fact that it was immediately filled by a close associate of someone at the top-level. Why is it that we, Nepalese could never abstain bad habit such as nepotism, favoritism, and cronyism? Why can not we respect pure talent? Why is family background and nata-pata given undue significance?
When it comes to misuse of power, I think Nepal is not far beyond corruption-tainted countries such as Bangladesh, India and most countries from Africa. In fact, corruption is the highest in the country when it comes to things such as development budget. Nearly half of the country's budget comes in the form of INGO fund for eradicating poverty and uplifting certain backward areas. But the misuse of fund is so rampant that the allotted money only fills the pocket of ministers, policymakers and various NGOs/INGOs.
During his job experience, what he disliked the most was the way things were misused in NGOs. The items that are misused include electronic goods such as television and computers to stationery, equipments, and sometimes vehicles as well. Most often the staffs buy goods at a cheap price but pay a duplicate VAT bill that matches the price of branded products. And as if this is not enough, they take those items home for personal use. The NGO workers are also ill-famed for conducting meeting and seminars in five star hotels despite the fact that such expensive hotels could replaced by cheaper ones which provide services at affordable cost.
Unfortunately, it is always the low-level staffs such as drivers, peons, and guards who are exploited to the maximum. They neither receive a handsome salary nor are they awarded any opportunity to better their skills. Whenever training opportunities come to the office, they are given to the relatives of the board members.
It is high time that NGOs involved themselves in issue-based advocacy, awareness raising activities, social mobilization, and campaigns to sensitize people about their rights and responsibilities rather than defaming their institutions.
Tags: nepal
Ideal Wishes
I wish Nepalese people stop inviting Ministers and other high officials to inaugurate development programs and campaigns. It's high time we realized that it hardly helps any programs deliver any better results. I also wish those ministers and high officials refused such invitations with a realization that they are merely being pawns in the hands of the media.
In the first place the question that needs to be asked is. Do we need to formally inaugurate each and every program, venture, or imitative? In fact, great programs don't need formal inauguration; they just need better planning and effective implementation. There has been hardly any established correlation between grandness of inauguration and level of success of a program. Results and long-term impact are what count, not the media attention which some-times rather turns out to be more damaging for the program.
I wish politicians, ministers and people in high places stopped clamoring for their plans, politics and views whenever they get an opportunity. It would be more impressive if they 'quietly implemented' their plans and policies.
They can easily get popular if they use the initial outcome of implementation to boast how successful they can be. There has been enough talk about plans and policies. People are waiting for effective actions, not speeches. They want to feel it, not hear it; they want results, not advice.
I wish political leaders stop using public forums to challenge or exchange dissatisfactions with each other. They should resolve their differences directly through face-to-face interactions, saving debates in the public media for the most important issues.
I wish the media stop highlighting the same circle of influential people professionals, and celebrities all the time, obviously due to their personal connection to media. Readers will be bored or irritated reading or hearing about the same personalities again and again. It creates negative impression of both, the media and the people who are highlighted. Those involved in business should understand that over publicity does more harm than good to their business.
I wish audiovisual media like TV's stop doing self-mockery by conducting stereotype public polls, with naive and leading questions; they are simply undermining public's intelligence. These polls, if not properly conducted, only devalue the channels in public eyes. The media should stop conducting such polls, if they can't do it with more seriousness and sincerity.
I wish people working in offices stopped patronizing each other, by addressing each other bhai, dai, bahini (equivalent to addressing colleagues as "bro", "sis"). However harmless they may seem, these naive gestures basically undermine and compromise professional integrity and respect, especially for woman staff. It does not help create the professional environment which is so much lacking in Nepali organizations.
I also wish that the television hosts-anchors, organizers of some popular programs stop presenting themselves as some kind of media celebrities. Their success lies in properly conducting interviews, and getting the best out of the celebrities or interviewees, not unnecessarily trying to project their own image, which irritates the audience.
Maoists shouldn't use state resources to compensate for property capture.
There are many agreements reached between political parties over the past two years that have never been properly implemented. One of these has been the agreement by the Maoists to return all the property captured by their cadre. This has been a constant source of tension between the Maoists and the Nepali Congress (NC), and there have been a number of documents co-signed by both parties that state the Maoists are committed to returning captured land. This, however, has not fully happened, and the NC again submitted a list of nine demands, which included the issue of property return, to Prime Minister Dahal on Nov.9. Two days later the Prime Minister responded in a letter that stated, among other things, that the Maoists are committed to return all captured property by mid-December, and if anyone failed to receive property back by then, the state would provide that person with compensation for the lost property.
The issue of the return of captured land and other property by the Maoist is a complicated one. In many places, captured land has been redistributed to the poor and landless, and it is both ideologically and politically difficult for the Maoists to return this land. The Maoists leadership understands that there is a danger that they will alienate both local level cadres and the poor who now occupy the land if they forcibly try to evict them and return the land to owners who, during the war, were vilified by the party as feudal oppressors. Further, land reform according to the Maoists is an important means to create more egalitarian social structure, and the return of captured property makes it seem as though the Maoists have backtracked from this agenda. Indeed, we too believe that land reform is essential to provide the poor and landless with sources of subsistence.
These are the reasons why much captured property has not been returned even two years after the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). And the PM's latest letter again demonstrates that the Maoists continue to face these difficulties. The clause in the letter that states that the state will compensate those whose property is not returned clearly indicates that the Maoists have no intention of returning captured property that still lies under their control. Insisted, they now plan to use the resources of the state to placate those whose property has been captured. This should not be allowed to happen. It was the party that was responsible for land capture, and it should be the party that should have to pay compensation if need be. To use the state's resources towards this purpose is not only to misuse its resources, but also to blur the distinction between state and party. This would be a severe breach of the norms of any democratic society.
Prepare yourself for weak sunshine, clear skies, and interminable darkness
With the month of December begins a new phase in the yearly cycle in the life of the city of Kathmandu. By now the memories of the festivities of Dashain and Tihar have faded, and the city's inhabitants have returned to sober lives of work and study. The clear skies that marked the end of the monsoon at the beginning of the festival season in October still persist, but its novelty has faded. So, the clear sky, a cause for celebration until Tihar, is far less so now; the sun sheds less warmth. The mornings and evening are now chilly. In the mornings, we stay in bed a little longer than we used to, unwilling to give up the warmth of congregate than we used to unwilling to give up the warmth of our blankets. And in the evenings, groups of people will soon congregate around makeshift fires, rubbing their hands together, exchanging gossip, and exhaling visible streams of vapor into the night air.
The onset of December every year is accompanied by increased load shedding. The rivers flowing down from the mountains have by now reduced to a trickle and do not possess the same volume and force to produce enough electricity for the nation's citizens, at a time when they perhaps need it most. The electricity authorities announce new load shedding schedules so the city's inhabitants will be able to regulate their lives according to them, or at lest be aware in advance of those hours they will be forced to spend in darkness. Long term plans for electricity generation are also announced, as are short -term plans to important electricity from India. these are public efforts by the government to somewhat assuage the resentment of the city's inhabitants at being essentially incapacitated by the government's efforts, and the long hours without access to television are spent complaining about the incapacity of the government that force all to spend interminable hours in darkness.
Some in the Kathmandu valley particularly those who are wealthy, have installed generators the new rave is the Chinese-made soundless ones). Their houses stand in the midst of the darkness as bright beacons of private prosperity. "We have the means to live outside the system", the lights seem to state. "We have the means to make us independent of the facilities the state provides us with". We Worse still are those who have invertors installed in their homes. During the daylight hours they suck off energy from the electricity grid for storage and use when the lights go off. By siphoning off a limited source of electricity for private use, the owners of these invertors do not seem to realize that they are overburdening the system and making the energy crisis worse. Their behavior is inconsiderate and parasitic; they need to be discouraged.
Winter is here. The city prepares itself for a three long months.
Brace up.
Terrorism in India and Indian Attitude for Nepal
Last month's terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India shocked everyone.
Nearly two hundred innocent men and women lost their precious lives and many more were injured. In anger over Mumbai attacks, while the nation was grieving the loss, Indian media, and politicians, as usual, tirelessly vilified and pointed the finger at Pakistan. Blaming the usual suspect, Pakistan, began even before evidences were gathered and the lone surviving terrorist was interrogated.
Although the notoriety of Pakistan's Intelligence Agency. ISI in providing aid and comfort to Islam fascists that want to inflict harm on India cannot be denied based on its past activities, India should also take responsibility for its own security lapses and failure to address issues that are fuelling the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in the Indian subcontinent. Is it because of India's rigid posture on Kashmir issues or is it due to India's inability to lift the status of millions of Muslims that are at the bottom of the pyramid, to whom, the prosperity of the last two decades has failed to bring about any real changes? What actually is it that is luring young men and women in Indian subcontinent towards radical Islam?
By attacking landmarks in the financial capital of India, Mumbai, jihadist juggernauts wanted to do two thins: expose India's vulnerabilities and slow down India's economic progress. The recent terrorist attacks in Indian subcontinent also signal shift in venue of global terrorism. Lately, South Asia has become a focal point for terrorism directed against the western nations. By targeting westerners in Mumbai, Islamic radicals wanted to send a message about shift in venue for holy jihad. It clearly shows how the trends in terrorism continue to shift from the Middle East to South Asia. With Afghanistan slipping into chaos and Nepal on freefall, jihadists have more than needed space to operate in South Asia. If terrorism is to be wiped out from South Asia, along with Pakistan, India too, has substantial homework to do.
First and foremost, India should work on its definition of "terrorism". For India, groups that are waging armed struggle for the liberation of Kashmir form Pakistani soil are terrorists, and it wants Pakistani government to go after them, but when it comes to India's turn to act, it simply looks the other way. While India blames Pakistan for providing aid and comfort to the anti-Indian elements, India's own record it not as clean as it wants others to believe. It is an open secret about where the Maoists ideologues, who raised arms against the state, and whom Indian government unilaterally branded as terrorists lived for the most part of the decade long insurgency. The Maoists movement that brought Nepal to its knees would not have been succeeded without Indian's generosity. India not only provided the Maoists a safe heaven to operate, but also forced democratic forces to bed with them, whose ugly repercussions are unfolding slowly.
India's soft corner for those that raise arms against Nepali state did not end with its generosity towards the Maoists. It continues to provide safe heaven to armed secessionist groups that want to disintegrate Nepal. How is Pakistan's support to Jihadists that want to free Kashmir different form India's turning blind eyes on groups that have raised arms to seek secession? Armed struggle in Nepal will not survive without Indian benevolence.
What India as a nation should understand is that, it can only progress the way it wants to, when South Asia as a regions is, stable and peaceful.
India cannot win the war against terrorism on its own. If it really wants to win this war, it has to stop the blame game and cooperate with its neighbors.
It cannot and will not remain insulated from the pouring in of negative externalities if its neighbors fall. It should, thus stop providing safe heaven to groups that raise arms against its neighbors. Only then, India will have moral authority to ask Pakistan to go after the groups that carry out anti-Indian activities in Pakistani soil.
If India continues to provide safe heaven to the armed groups that raise arms against Nepal, armed struggle in Nepal will never wane. Bunch of incompetent but ambitious individuals that lack patience and caliber to win the hearts and mind of Nepali people through peaceful democratic means will keep on waging wars in the name of fighting oppression. Looking at honey-moon period of the Maoist government, it becomes evident that rhetoric alone is not enough to bring changes. For change to come, the rulers should have a vision and competence. Is India ready to be held accountable, if the so called revolutionaries, to whom it provides safe heaven, fail to deliver, like the Maoists, and bring about positive changes?
The Maoists in Nepal hand an excellent opportunity bring about changes. There was no need to create rogue institution like Young Communist League (YCL). They had already crated a political spaced for themselves. The defeat of stalwarts of the United Marxist Leninist Party (UML) at the hands of the obscure Maoists figures clearly showed that the UML's grassroots operatives had mass-migrated to the Maoists Party. Instead of trying to capitalize their gains and focusing on providing services to the people, the Maoists remained glued to their red book, which states terror as a method social control.
With the honeymoon period over, the excitement generated by Maoists' revolution has dissipated. With waning of euphoria, Puspa Kamal Dahal finds himself under fire. His next step? If worst comes, steps down and wreck havoc till the next government is over-whelmed. The Nepali politics is sure to get confrontational in days to come. The way things are unfolding, it appears that, we will once again witness a bloody conflict, whereby the very same people who declared the Maoists terrorists will be at the helm of affairs, and the Maoists at offensive. Who gains from this, if this is to really happen? Not Nepali people for sure!
India, when it comes to its own security, aggressively calls for wiping out groups that act against India's national security, but when it is India's turn to reciprocate, its record has been pretty dismal. If nothing, what India can and should learn from the failure of the Maoists government in Nepal is that, there are tons of incompetent and ambitious politicians in Nepal, who are ready to wage war against the state. How do you identify true revolutionaries that can change the face of Nation from phonies, who pose as revolutionaries and wage wars against the state to forward their political agendas? And, will the justification for armed struggle ever get over if a neighbor keeps on rewarding armed insurgencies targeted at its neighbor?
There will always be complaints about injustice caused by the state. No country has ever been fully able to satisfy its citizens. But that cannot simply be the reason for armed struggle. India should force various armed groups that are waging wars against its neighbor to shut down their shops if it really wants Pakistan to go after jihadists that are waging holy war against India.
India cannot win the war against terrorism on its own. If it really eats to win this war, it has to stop the blame game and cooperate with its neighbors.
Our dear leader has promised his beloved country-men up to 18 hours of load shedding a day if the government fails to offset the power loss through new thermal plants. The proposed 200 MW plant will cost a pittance of Rs 18 billion for generation of 100 MW. If the plant is to function at full tilt, the costs will double. And Nepal is arguably the second richest country in 'hydro-electricity generation potential' behind Brazil. Ever the revolutionary, his highness also keeps threatening other parties to quit the government on various pretexts.
Is it just me or are things really taking a farcical turn in the revolutionary New Nepal? The dire power warning came days after the completion of the 70 MW Mid-Marsyangadi project. Likewise, the irony was clearly lost on the supreme leader when he blamed "some erroneous elements" that have infiltrated the party for the hooliganism at Himalmedia House on Sunday.
This must be the only country in the world where the head of the government threatens to quit if everyone else in his coalition doesn't agree to toe his line; where the completion of a mega-power project stokes, not hope, but further fears of more dark hours. Where else can the country's home minister pledge to protect journalists at the same time as policemen under his control are raining batons on unarmed scribes?
This is indeed a new Nepal, every facet of it riddled with so many contradictions it is impossible to keep track of them all.
"Toleration and liberty are the foundations of a great Republic," American architect and author Frank Lloyd Wright once said. The question arises: What makes a bad one?
It is utopian to mull a peaceful marriage between extreme left and liberty. What the Maoists are trying to do in Nepal is have it both ways, which, as things stand, is impossible.
For every Pushpa Kamal Dahal there is a Mohan Vaidya in the Maoist ranks who make reform impossible. There are even rumors, not without some foundation, that it might be the Maoist chairman himself who is goading Vaidya to spew venom.
Similarly, compromising on liberty, after the decade-long civil war that saw the loss of over 13,000 Nepalese lives, and the sacrifices Nepalese have readily made in course of Jana Andolan II and Madhesi uprising, is simply a non starter. Nepalese have spoken in no uncertain terms that they can compromise on many things, live under crushing poverty, but cannot forgo their freedom. Not surprisingly, the Maoist talk of a "disciplined democracy" jars on most ears.
The more I try to see a way through, the more lost I am in the Kafkaesque maze of Nepali politics. Everything makes so little sense. Yes, a thousand examples of how peace processes are messy affairs and the period of transition for any country the most difficult time in its existence, might be put forward to justify the snail-paced proceedings of our own country. The debacle over the formation of the Army Integration Special Committee (AISC) is the latest case in point.
But, at the same time, there is also no escaping the fact that Nepal's is a unique case. Its geo-politics, varied geography, abundance of ethnic groups and nationalities... There is no country which has undergone similar political developments under similar constraints. This makes any kind of prediction regarding the on going peace process even harder.
Another big paradox is how little things have changed post Constituent Assembly Election and formation of a "government of the people". It was "my way or the highway". It was "my way or the highway" for our erstwhile prime minister, both in his party and the government. Things are no different now. The CPN -UML plans a massive revamp of its party structure in its upcoming national convention. What will come out of it? We will have to wait and see. But what about the two largest political parties in the country; Why does every things that the Nepali Congress does reek of anti-Maoist bias and everything the comrades do smell of haughtiness and total disregard of any dissenting view?
Hope is hard to find in a land where hooligans can barge into a respected publication house and beat up journalists, mutual respect be damned. Where thousands have been deprived of their lands for holding differing political views
But hope is what Nepalese cannot afford to lose if the political developments of last 12 years are to be consolidated and the political process taken to an agreeable end. Thus, New Year at hand I can still find something to cheer about.
Amid the uncertainties, as easy as it is to spot gloom, with some effort, it is not that hard to see the glass as half full. If Nepal manages to rise phoenix like form this deep hole, ad is successful at drafting a viable constitution and resolving the peace process amicably, Nepalese will once again have looked every odd in the eye, and faced them down, one after another. No two ways about that.
Tags: nepal
THE MOISTS HAE NO OPTION BUT TO REGAIN THE TRUST OF OTHER PARTIES
In a bid to convince its main coalition partner the CPN (UML) to remain to government, the CPN (Maoist) held a meeting with some UML leaders on December 27, 2008. At the meeting, the Maoists reiterated their pledge to return property seized during the conflict, reform the paramilitary structure of the Young Communist League (YCL), evacuate YCL and other Maoist cadres from government-owned buildings they have captured and give full shape to the Army Integration Special Committee (AISC) after holding consultations with the Nepali Congress (NC). This is a welcome move. However, the Maoists have made these pledges many times in the past but made few moves towards their implementation. It is natural, therefore, that their sincerity continues to remain under question.
The political situation that currently prevails makes it important for the Maoists to keep their word. Over the past months, much disenchantment has arisen regarding Maoist behavior among their coalition partners, the UML, and the Madheshi Janaadhikar Fourm (MJF). The Maoists have displayed a penchant for taking political decisions unilaterally and using state resources to further the particular ends of their party. Their relationship with the NC has never been as poor as it is now. This breakdown in consensus has effectively stalled the peace process. Unhappy with this state of things, the UML had warned the Maoists that they needed to drastically reform their working style and reach out to other parties if they wanted the continued participation of the UML in government.
It appears that the top Maoist leadership (or at least the section that is close to Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal) is aware of the gravity f the situation and is keen on making amends. This is evident from his efforts to regain the trust of the UML and his stated desire to include the NC in future political decisions. In addition, the prime minister has made efforts to engage with Moti Kaji Sthapit, a member of the Judicial Council. It may be recalled that Law Minister Dev Gurung had demanded Sthapit's resignation. After an outcry was raised about Maoist efforts to interfere in the judiciary, the prime minister met with Sthapit and assured him that he would not be forced to resign.
This is the only option for the Maoists if they wish to continue leading the government. And indeed this is what is best for the nation. We do not want the Maoist -led government to fall. They have, through the Constituent Assembly (CA) elections, received the mandate to lead the country, and great instability will result if their government is brought down. We only hope that they, by reaching out to other parties, are able to demonstrate statesman-like behavior. And that the peace process is brought to a successful conclusion.
Tags: nepal
The hearing on a human flicking case filed against prominent U.S military contactor Kellogg. Brown and Root Inc. (KBR) operating in Iraq on behalf of families of 12 Nepalese killed in Iraq in 2004 will begin on January 12 next year at the District Court of California, Los Angeles.
The US based law firm Cohen Milstein, which has been fighting against the wrongdoings of big corporations, has filed a lawsuit on August 27 this year with the help of Buddhi Prasad Gurung as witness.
Gurung was in another car and was thus not kidnapped by an Iraqi insurgent group; while 12 others were kidnapped and subsequently killed.
Cohen Milstein Attorney Mathew K. Handley, who also worked as a peace corps volunteer in Nepal from 1997 to 1999, said on Monday that the court would decide after the hearing whether the case could be termed "human trafficking". "If the court decides the case can qualify as human trafficking, it will move ahead", he said at a press meet adding, "Otherwise, the case will be scrapped."
It is the first time citizens have sought protection of their human rights in a US court, according to him.
His law firm has claimed in its lawsuit that KBR was involved in human trafficking as the 13 men were in the process of being transported to a US military base in Iraq against their will. It has been argued in the lawsuit that they were transported to Iraq after their passports were confiscated in Jordan by its Jordan based sub-contractor Daoud and Partner before they were taken to Iraq.
However, on November 22, KBR asked the court to dismiss the complaint arguing that the Nepali men were not deceived and trafficked. Force labor and involuntary servitude are not violations of international law, according to KBR argument.
The company has also asked the court to transfer the case to Houston, Taxes, where KBR headquarters is located. Apparently, such cases are taken relatively lightly there, according to Handley.
The hearing regarding the request for dismissal of he case and its transfer will begin on December 12, KBR is a controversial company because of its political connections. Incumbent U.S Vice President Dick Cheney was chairman and chief executive officer of Halliburton, the parent company of KBR from 1995 to 2000 before he joined the Bush administration. On April 5, 2007, Halliburton broke ties with KBR.
Cohen Milstein had also been successful in making Daoud and Partner compensate through the order of the U.S Administrative Law Court for the Department of Labor on May 22 this year.
The court had ordered monthly payment of US$ 233 s compensation to each spouse and set of parents of the murdered Nepalese with an additional 75 dollars for men who had children.
Tags: nepal
A shortage of vision and commitment is responsible for today's darkness in Nepal
The word "power" is a proven anathema in the context of Nepal. After the irreparable infliction by a decade-long power struggle among mainstream political parties, the people of Nepal are now victims of a severe nationwide power crisis. During the past decade, administrations changed in harmony with the varying water level in the reservoirs; but an acute power shortage always remained in the country.
Surprisingly, the acute power shortage of the past has now transformed into a grave power crisis. The absence of a long-term energy policy with regard to the security of the power supply is the crux factor behind this undesired outcome. A shortage of vision and commitment is responsible for today's darkness in Nepal. The Nepalese energy policy has never been designed with a long-term view to deliver secure and reliable power at competitive terms. Such truth might be too bitter to be palatable, but the veracity of the claim remains as is evident from the anticipated 18-hour daily power cuts.
Nepal predominantly depends upon conventional wood and biomass for power while our energy choices are also limited - 86 percent of the power supply comes from biomass and conventional sources, 9 percent is met through petroleum products, hydro-electricity account for 2 percent and renewable sources supply 1 percent. It is necessary to mention that small-scale Pico hydropower and micro hydropower stations generating up to 100 KW are also considered to be renewable energy sources in the Nepalese context. India supplies 10 percent of the domestic electricity demand with political strings attached. Similarly, around 97 percent of the coal used in the country is imported from India. Thus, Nepal's energy security is ever vulnerable; but the growing reliance on Indian imports is what worries me the most.
It is often claimed that the new load shedding schedule is a consequence of the prime minister's visiting China first instead of India. However, the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has blamed the breakdown of the Kataiya-Duhabi 132 KV transmission line for the current power shortage and not any artificial supply restriction by India. On the other hand, Nepal is a net importer of petroleum products. Like Europe depends upon Russian natural gas and oil, Nepal has no choice but to rely on Indian supplies. While energy independence is a utopian concept under the present circumstances, ensuring a secure supply of energy is certainly achievable. However, it requires prudent actions and not just false promises.
Developing energy networks is essential in order to provide sustainable, secure, and completive energy. Energy networks are the infrastructures needed to transport electricity, gas, oil and other fuels from producers to con-summers. The wind in Jomsom is ideal for generating energy, but the lack of arteries to transport it nullifies all hopes of benefiting from such green energy. Our existing networks are also ageing and are in dire need of replacement. Aging networks lead to inefficient power transmission. As a result, the NEA lost 25.15 percent of its total capacity due to power leakage in 2007/08.
Topographical difficulties have resulted in slow expansion of the electricity grid in the country. Out of the total population, 40 percent has access to electricity with 33 percent being connected to the grid and 7 percent using alternative sources. Access to the grid is marked by regional disparities. In urban areas, 90 percent of the consumers have access to the grid as compared to 27 percent in rural areas. Thus, there is a marked need for coordinated use of renewable energy sources. On the other hand, lack of suitable network links is also a barrier to investment in renewable energy sources and decentralized power generation in Nepal.
Lack of investment in energy sources is surprising in the context of Nepal as we have a pure cost-based approach to electricity tariff determination. When investors are given a guarantee of getting full compensation of the costs incurred along with a fixed rte of return, we can expect a flurry of investments in our energy sector. However, the level of investment in the energy sector is not increasing in line with the rate of increase in the end user electricity prices.
A major reason could be that electricity prices in Nepal are demand driven. In December 2008, the country was generating only 336 MW out of a total capacity of 770 MW. Furthermore, the demand for electricity is expected to increase by 60 MW annually. However, it also signals market inefficiency as basic economics is not working; and the market is not delivering accordingly. Corruption, both in financial and political terms, coupled with world-wide investment pessimism due to the financial meltdown might have foiled planned investments in the energy sector. Nonetheless, Nepal's energy market has a lot to learn from the mistakes made as a result of its immaturity.
Moving the energy market towards, the right and desired direction requires an effective regulatory framework. The advantages of having an effective regulatory framework include investment to expand infrastructure to support changes in demand, improved service quality, lower network service costs, and competitive markets. After all, an improvement in the security of our energy supply is a step closer to energy independence.
Tags: nepal
Obstructions to garbage disposal reflect negative trends in our political culture
For the past 18 days various interest groups have been obstructing the route to the landfill site at Sisdol, where much of the Kathmandu Valley's garbage is disposed. As a result, immense mounds of garbage have accumulated with in the valley, causing unbearable stench and posing health hazards to Kathmandu's citizens.
The obstruction imposed by the Tinpiple "Citizens' Struggle Committee" is only the latest example of a negative development in Nepal's political culture that has developed over the past few years: the willingness of various political and other interest groups to hold the whole country hostage to apply pressure to fulfill their narrow demands. In the past four years-- the time period during which the Sisdol landfill site has been in operation - inhabitants of the locality around the site have obstructed the disposal of garbage 25 times. On most of these occasions, the protestors have had some legitimate ground for their protests: they have usually demanded reparations from the government for the damage caused to their locality. But never before has the obstruction lasted as long as it has now. And never before has a group obstructed the disposal of garbage of reasons totally unconnected to issue directly resulting form garbage disposal.
Beginning Sunday, the obstruction has Sbeen caused by cadres of the CPN-UML affiliated Youth Force (YF). For nearly two weeks before that another group had caused obstruction; their demands were met and they withdrew their protests. The major demand of the YF cadres is to bring to book three Young Communist League (YCL) cadres who allegedly chopped off a YF activist's leg. In addition, they have demanded that the government provide free education to his two children.
It is objectionable for a group of people to carry out activities that cause discomfort and threatens the health of hundreds of thousands of the Valley's inhabitants. It indicates the complete breakdown of civic sense among some citizens. And it is not only those currently obstructing the route to Sisdol who should be blamed, but everyone who has contributed to the creation of the existing political culture. The political parties especially those that have been in power over the previous decades, are particularly responsible for this. They have consistently ignored groups that have approached them peacefully and with reasonable requests. The government has a history of only addressing the demands of groups that stage protests involving violence or other actions that cause widespread inconvenience and suffering. The YF protestors probably felt that they had hit upon the best possible method to get the government to heed their demands. Such protests will continue until there is a fundamental change in Nepal's political culture.
What suddenly happened in the state of Nepal that threatens to deraial the process of peace and transition?
Each morning, newspapers bring very disquieting news to your door. That mood is temporarily challenged by the chorus of alien birds who pour out their repertoires from the last remaining bushes of Kathmandu giving perhaps a false sense of hope. Photographs of the upper echelons of theNepal Army (NA) dominate the front pages. I have always seen Nepali army generalsinsuch tunics on special occasionslikethe horse race. Pashupati Jatra and national days. As I spent most of my early youth under the Panchayari raj introduced and hege-monised by King Mahendra, I lerant to link the semantics of the unifrom with the power structure commanded by celebrtion and power. To me, the army did exist in a twilight world beyond the fences where I thought a lost of celebration must take place. I still love to see the young soldiers occasionally galloping onbig sturdy horses raising dust in the suburb where I live.
The soldiers' narrative changed after the second movement for the restoration of democracy in 2006. It introduced a whole seriesof ruptures into the structure that people of my generation and I had learnt to live with. Some well formed and "other" ragtage contingents of rural soldiery appered sto march in the towns and villages. They were called the people's libertion army raised by the Maoist guerrillas who fought a war with the state for a decade. During this period, we saw that the Nepal Army considered only ceremonial was ordered out of the barracks to fight these rural soldiers. The narrative of a monolith soldiery was deconstructed. National discourse then shifted from the royal army to the"Nepal Army" and the "people's army".
Never before had I appreciated . Nepali politicians more whern they struck a series of peace deals, invited the UN to oversee the process of shifting the mode of armed confronttion to a mode of interactionand the resettlement of the Maoist guerrillas. The historic Constituent Assembly (CA) elected by the people on April 10, 2008 declared Nepal a republic. A new coalition government ledby Maoist leader Prachanda was formed amid cremonieswithapromise to work for a new federalrepublican constitution. Though the oldest party the Nepali Congress (NC) did not join the government, it promised to give cirtical and creative support to the government to bring the strands together to make ti possible for writing the new constitution of this land. But new developments that process of constitution writing.
The question tht intrigues me most is what suddenly happened in the state of Nepal that has promised sto derail the process of peace and transition? Who brought the generals to the forefront to confront the civilian government and the guerrillas to confront the same civilian order by reciprocating the moves of the NA? Was the drama of peace and reconciliation a mere army camouflage donned by those who wield guns? Can anyone have the temerity to doubt even for a fraction of a second tht the mandate given by the people - the peace marchers and the martyrs - to the political parties was for reconciliation and for the creation of conditions for writing the constitution rather than for finding new grounds of power games and confrontations as we cansee now?
The front-page headlines speak of some "soft coups" and countercoupsthat might be staged by he generals who, the media reports, are split into non-Maoist and Maost camps. The qustion is who created this rupture in the command structure of the Nepal Army? Most important of all, is that story of a rupture true?
Discourses have begun about the role of the army. The writings of P.B.Koirala, the founder leader of the Nepali Congress, are being reprinted in the media. Koirala had this to say a about the historicism of the Nepl Army. Prithvinarayan Shah, who actually did not closely groom the boys into a unified force, created the army. After the Sugauli Treaty of 1816 ending a two-year war with the Baritish, the Nepal Army became a force without a job, and it became a ceremonial entity first and later it was completely used by the Rana Shah feudal aristocracy for augmenting their power. Koiralsays inhis autobi-ography that his greatest failure was to allow the kingto groom a contingentof the army inside Narayanhiti Palace now turned into a messy museum, which helped King Mahendra to stage a couple agaisnt his first elected civilian government in December 1960 and put him and his colleagues in Sundaaarijal jail for eitht long years. B.P.didnotliveto see the other turns of history and the army's role in helping the authocratic Shah kings.
Following the political events of 2006, however, we can see that the Nepal Army helped to oversee the proces ofchange smoothly. It declared its commitment to work ernestly to makethe transition of Nepali history from a feudal order dominated by the institution of the monarchy into a democratic republican order a peaceful and smooth process. It kept its promise Credit should be given to the Nepal Army for that spirit. The people's army and its commanders too abided by the agreements made under the supervision of UNMIN. The structure is still in place.
I scan the mess of events in the newspapers. The Maoists and the UML have not quite settled their dispute; the Tharu front's agitation has paralysed the country' regional groups are rearming themselves; fire is consuming 72,000 hectares of community forests andthe Nepali Congdress is disrupting the CA meetings over the issue of the army chief Katawal being asked by the Maoist government to give an explanation for his actions. The NC promises to take out a demonstration in support of the army command structure, if need be.
Even at the time of writing this essay, a Damocles sword hangs above our heads. My simple question is who created this situation ? Who reduced the entire solidly powerfulpolitical discourse of change and peace in Nepal admired by the world to such a farcical mess as suggested by these exp ressions: "Katawal is a classmate of the Indian military chief, so he is poerful; the Maoists want to install ageneral of their favourandinduct their chain of revolutionary commend into the rmy overnight; the Nepali Congress will go the whole hog to see that Katawal is not touched by the Maoists" and so on.
I feel that the political parties and their wrong moves to acquire power are more responsible than the Nepal Army for reducing Nepal 's political and government organistions into fragile makeshift entities that can be disorlented by simple injunctions from foreign governments. To say that some army discontent will cut the volume of Maoist power or that a change in the power command will establish a revolutionary Maoist authority is a miserable misereading of a dynamic history created by the people not for traumaor dissonance of a political order but for harmoney and peace.
The plethora of sensational news inthe media perhaps reflecsts the people's desire to locae their own space in this badly managed political history of this country.
Tags: nepal
Nepali women migrant workers are increasing in number, and so are their problems
The increasing number of women migrant workers shows that women are not fr behnd in cntributing to the national economy, though in most sectors their contribution is largely unaccounted. It is heartening to note that in recent years there has been a positive change in the perspective of looking towards these migrant workers. Until a few years back, women were not permitted to migrate as workers. But after the enactment of the Foreign Employment Act and Regulation 2064, wemen were officiallly permitted to migrate abroad as workers. However, especially in some Gulf countries, women migrant workers are still not allowed to work as housemaids due to various reasons, inter alia, sexual exploittionand debilitting working environment.
In a globalised and open economic scenario, restrictions on women's right to migrate abroad are definitely not a pragmatic solution. We have been striving hard for implementtion ofthe Mode4 agreement so as to ensure smooth movement of labour among counties. Moreover, there are abundant cases where restrictions have resulted in malpractices. Huan traffickingand smuggling have been on the rise even though we have stern rules and regulations to control them. Now the question is whethere prohibiting gender discrimination for migrant workers is sufficient to address the issues of women migrant workers (WMWs). As there are inborn differene between males and females, their requirements are likewise different. So the state needs to adopt specific measures to tackle them.
Certinly, there hae been some concrete meausres adopted in the existing Foreign Employment Act and Regulations to encourage women migrant workers. The prominent measures among them are provision of of women labour attaches in countries where there are more than a thousand women migrant workers , reimbursement of their orientation fee, insurance of up to Rs.500,000 and immediate relief assistnce of up to Rs. 100,000 as per the degree of their mutilation, free legal service to the victims, provision of education, healthand childcare centre facilities and safe houses for victims of foreign employment.
Public awaremess is the first and the most powerful measure to combat malpractices prevailing in this sector. With the overall literacy rate being just above 50 percent and women comprising a very little proportion of it, it really seems to be a Herculan task to educate these as piring migrant workers about the pros and cons of foreign employment. It is even more disgusting to note that exploitation of these women strt right from the beginning, at their village itself with the existence of so many layers of brokers. It has been observed that WMWs from otehr countries such as Sri Lanka and the Philippines are better equipped to t ckle hazardous situations than our Nepali WMWs. Hence, it is quite natural that they are the hardest hit by the perils of foreign employment.
Here the role of orientation programmes is also under scrutiny. Orientation programmes must be mandatory besides modifying their contents to suit the specific needs of specific countries. After all, what goodis is it for migrant workers heading for Israel to join an orienttion progrmme designed to cater to the needs Gulf countries? Moreover, preference should be given to instructors who have spent at least some time as migrant workers in the specific countries as it will be better to share real life experiences rather than depending heavilly on bookish knowledge.
Strong networking of information among major stakeholders such as embassies, ministeries, department and manpower companies is a must. It is disturbing to note that neither can we produce updated records of our migrant workers nor are we in a position to check the validity of demand papers. Web-based updated information netwworking is a must so as to reduce fraudulent activities in this sectior. Similarly, due to various reasons, such as lack of physical, financial and manpower resources, our embassies abroad are quite unable to address labour issues properly. During the rcent turbulence in Issreal, our Nepalese migrant workers hadto rely onthe mercy of other countries for their immdediate rescue . Frequent closures of the Israeli labour market for Nepali migrnt wsorkers, which is a lucrative destination for women, clearly sums up our efforst in this sector.
Effective coordination among stake-holders is yet another requirement for the welfare of migrant workers, especially WMWs. The establishement ofalabourdesk at TribhuvanInternational Airport is a good step in this regad. However, the labourofficials working there often complain about the uncooperativeattitude of other organs posted there. A labour desk is also required at the airport arrival lounge so as to have clear statistics on the number of returnees and their experiences.
In recent days, it has been observed that the tendency to send workers on an individual basis, where the concerned manpower companies have no responsibilities, is on the rise. In the fiscalyear 2064/65, altogether 12,836 workers migranted to different labour destination countries onan individual basis, whereas in the fidrst nine months of the current fiscal year, this number has already reached 34,000. It has far-reaching consequences as the number of women migrantworkers has also increased from 3,766 in the last fiscl year to 4,428 in the first nine months of the current fiscal year. These numbers do not include mgrant workers who have migrated though improper channels. Hence, concreteefforts should be taken to send workers, especially WMWs, through proper channels so as to address their probems in time.
Misuse of visit visas and use of Indian airports for unauthorised departure, especially by WMWs, must be stopped by adopting concdrete administrative, legasl and awareness generating measures. For this, all concerned stake-holders such as ministeries, departments, customs, immigration andembassies should work together. They cannot shirk their responsibilities and pass the buck to the Labour Ministry. Afetr all, it is the remittances flowing from these migrant workers which havekept our economyt afloat at times of crisis. Hence, a positive attitude along with the concrete steps will surely make WMWs an asset to the nation, otherwise they will bedestined to suffer forever.
Tags: nepal
From the hills to the plains, the nation lies strangled as endless bandhs paralyze life
Days after former rebel Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal"Prachanda" sstepped down as prime miniter - failing to muster enough support for his controversial move to sack the counmtry's army chief -- the wait for a functioning and stble government coun tinues. Even a good three weeks after taking charge, Prchanda's successor the CPN-MUL's Madhav Kumar Nepal has not been able to put together the council of ministers (as of Tuesday) laying bare the internal divisions, rifts and squabblesfor one-upmanship within the new alliance tht boasts the support of 22 out of the 24 parties in the Consituent Assembly (CA).
Prime Minister Nepal appears to be trying his best to consolidate the coalition that he leads. But parties like the Madhesi Janadhikar Form are clearly not under his control, are they? After a prolonged quarrel, and reported fisticuffs, over who should represent the party in the cabinet, the biggest force from the southern Tarai region doday stands vertically split between Bijaya Kumar Gachhedar, a fromer Nepali Congress leader, andleftist Upendra Yadav-led factions. The MJF"s fragementation, coupled with fissures within the ruling CPN-UML andthe Nepali Congress, has cast a shadow over Premier Nepal's initial honeymoon days. Dubbed "poison -tree" by Prachanda, he's already drwing flak.
Shambles
Just like the streets hit by ruthless and violent bandhs, the multiparty coalitionappers o be in a shamples. The main opposition UCPN-Maoist leders and cadres appear to be on a newhighas they press ahead with their phase-wise agitation against President Ram Baran Yadav's move reinstating Chief of Army Staff Rookmangud Katawal who was fired by former Prime Minister Prchanda. If everybody seconds the Maoist move to get rid of their former enemy Katawal, the former rebels say "civilian supremacy" will be established and they will be happy.
But the problem here is this: Not every political party is a Maoist party; not every party thinks and acts the way the Maoist party does. Serious differences persist. That's precisely why the Maoists haven't got what they wanted : Gen. Katawal replaced by their new-found sympathizer Gen. Kul Bahadur Khadka. That was not to be. And in the mess that ensured after the sudden resignation of Prachanda, chief of the biggest paty in the CA, one and half months ago, the Maoists seem to have found what they wanted-- an even bigger mess.
From the hills to the plains, the nation lies strangled as endless bandhs paralyze normal life. OnMonday, the Maoists slapped a suddenbandh in the capital to protest against the killing of the post-mortem report, died after consuming metacid, an insecticide. Did anybody really poison him? That's not clear. Yet the capitl turned into a havenfor Maoist-backed vandals. As the hooligans took the law, if any, into their own hands, even heart surgeonsand journalists on emergency duty weren't spared; they were either harassed or hurt and their motorcycles damaged.
Nepal Bandh
The same day, relatives of a missing man shut Chitwan down; memebrs of a community forest user group in Satbariya, Dang (the new home for the people who recently abandoned the "unsafe" Nepal -India border area) blocked the lifeline East-West Highway. the Maoists slapped another bandh in the far western rgiion as part of their agitation against the president's move even as inaccessibly remote Kalikot remained tense in the aftermath of the reported violent Maoist attack againt UML cadres there.
There's no match for the Maoist party here. The former rebel party boasts over 19,000 ex-combatants in several UNMIN -monitored cantonments around the country. Despite natinal and international concerns, the party continues to nurture thousands of militant-like youth under the banner of the YCL(Young Communist League). If these young men and women are made creative and construcive, they have the potential to change the face of Nepal. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be happening just yet.
So the rampage continues. Everybody appears to be taking a cue from the Maoists, especially the negative cues. So little wonder that Nepal today has the dubious distinction of being the land of bandhsand vandalism, abductions and extortion and, worse still, new armed insurgencies. When he was in power, Prachanda appeled to one and all to help end bandhs and strikes. The opposition parties at least supported his party idea. Once out of power, hisparty appers to have embraced the same tools to worsen the miseries of the new Nepal-led government the Maoist call "foreigners'puppets".
Hopes Dashed
Clearly with the burning vehicles and smashed windscreenms, the people's aspirations and hopes for a peaceful and prosperous "New Nepal" continue to go up in flames. so the big question is: Will the Nepal-led government address the myriad challenges gripping the nationin deep transition? Will it succeed in getting the Maoist party onboard to prepare and subsequently give the country its first "truly people's constitution" by May next year?
In the historic CA elections last year, Prime Minister Nepal was defeated in both Kathmandu constituency number 2 and Rautahat 6. Miraculously catapulated to power, Nepal found it difficult to ven cobble together the "35-member" council of ministers. Yet the not-so-tall man, who ws inducted into the jumbo CA by popularly elected former premier and once-feared Maoist chairman Prachanda, has managed to visit both his constituencies.
Last weekend, he got on a helicopter and visited Rauthat, his home constituency where he was defeated by Maoist candidate Devendr Patel by 2,147 votes. And this past weekend, even as the nation teetered on the brink with no full-fledged government in place to nip the growing anarchy and lawlessness, he managed some time for his second constituency, Kathmandu 1, where another Maoist newcomer Jhakku Prasad Subedi defeated him by 1,533 votes.
Way ahead
In Nanglebhare, one of Kathmandu's most removte and backward villages, about 25 km east of the city centre, the dirt road remains slippery and accident prone during the monsoon. What he spoke of his way ahead, Premier Nepal probably wasn't alluding to the Nenglebhare road. "The road ahead is slippery, "he said.
The Nepal-led coalition will have no choice but to take care of everything from dealing with a radicalized opposition to keeping the jumbo coalition intact. The way ahead isn't only slippery, it looks treacherous. As pointed out by many analysts, only a truly national government can do something. And "warrants" like the one issued recently in Benepa by YCL leder-cum-CA member Sagar won't help Nepal achieve lasting peace.
Tags: nepal
Nepal's delegation to Copenhagen was larger than China's, but the results were small!
As the global community is celebrating 2010 as the International Year of Biodiversity (IYB) with focus on conservationand sustainable use of biodiversity, Nepal can look forward to reaping rich benefits form equitable utilisation of its genetic reasources. Nepal is one of the few countries which are enviably rich in gentic resources but financially consntrained. For instance, it is a habitat for a number of rare insects. But Nepal has failed to harness its biodiversity potential.
In the opinion of UN Secretary- Geneal Ban Ki-moon, "Biodiversity is life." Inthis message to IYB, he called upon "every country and each citizen of our planet to join together in a global alliance to protect life on earth. Biodiversity is our life," Nepal should be serious about pursuing its national intersts by actively negotiating at UN-sponsored meetings to take advantage of its abundant biodiversity. Opportunities need to be seized by the countries having potentialities, and 2010 is going to be crucial in terms of advancing negotiations, leading, hopefully, to an agreement with legally-binding targets for reducing biodiversity loss.
The international community utilised the UN-sponsored Rio Conference in 1992 to come up with two valuable documents, one on the environment and the other on biodiversity. The UNFCCC (UN Framework Convention on Climate Change) was then hailed thefirst ofits kind of highlight the urgency of protcting the environment, even though it lacked targets for reducing emissions. The same conference was able to agree on the Convention on -Biological Diversity, which was signed by 193 countires. Also known as the CBD, this is an interntional treaty for conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and equitable sharing of the benefits from utilisation of genetic resources. More importantly, it seeks to address all threats to biodiversity and ecosystem services, including climate change.
Nepal failed miserably to attract the international community's attention towards its meltiong Himalayan glaciers at the recently-concluded Copenhagen Summit. The Nepali delegations's numerical strength was unprecedented, and even surpassed that of China which usually sends large delegations to internationalmeetins. However, interms of out-put, Nepal's performance was poor. Why the Nepali negotiators through the Group of 77, the bloc of developing countires, is a question that puzzles observers in Nepal.
Learning lessonsfrom the past, Nepal should plan in advance and prepare its agenda for future UN meetings on blodiversity issues. Effective coordination with Nepal's Permanent Mission to UN is inevitable, the mission delegates need to be provided timely and valuable inputs from the stake holders and the line ministries.
The interlink between climate change and biodiversity cannot be understimated. Had this not been the case, the world community would not have hastened to sign the CBD along with UNFCCC in1992.
For biodiversity conservation, no obligatory protocol has yet been signed to reduce biodiversity loss. Ten years after signing of CBD, the international community made some pledges to reduce biodiversity loss through the Johannesburg Biodiversity Summit to 2002. The seientific assessments suggest that contries have failed to meet their plegedge. Emphasising theurgencyof conserving biodiveristy, a high ranking official of the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) has aptly stated."We are joining an extinction crisis. The loss of this beautiful and complex natural diversity that underpins all life on the planet is a serious threat to human kind now and in the future."
The economics of biodiversity is studied in detail by UN-initiated studies. One such study revals that loss of biodiversity through deforestation cost the slobal economy US$ 2.5 trillion annually. Fortunately, the pace of deforesatation is decelerating, and accelerating, in Nepal. Since the UN also pushes initiatives like REDD (Reducing Emissions through Deforestation and Degradation of Forests) in its fight against climate change, it behoves Nepal toplay anactive roleat the follow-up negotiations to the Copenhagen Summit. Hopefully, there will be an agreement on a treaty on climate change by the end of this year, as the world leaders pledged last December.
Before any future negotiations, Nepali delegates should be given a wake-up call so that they pursue the country's national interests. They should be ableto impress on other national delegatins to agree to our proposals in the form of suitable paragraphs in the relevant UN documents. A golden opportunity is beffore us as the global community seems committed during this International Year of Biodiversity to direct all efforts towards finalising a protocol, with the emphasis on equitable utilisation of genetic resources of cash-strapped but biodiversity-rich countries, Nepal fits into this category nicely.
Recently, I received a wedding invitation card. It was from one of the most reputed families in the city. Moreover, the wedding ceremony was going to be held in one of the nicest five-star hotels in the country. I was wondering what gift I should give to the bride. Nevertheless, when I was nearly finished reading the invite,I also spotted a note: "Please, do not bring any gifts!" At first, I could not believe it, and thought surely it was a print mistake.
First, I wondered why they requested guests not to bring gifts. Then , I began to think of possible logical explanations. May be they wanted to uproot the "gift giving culture" or they had to go abroad right after their marriage. They even might have wanted cash instead of 'useless utensils' which can be trouble-some sometimes. However, I did not know the cause and was left undecided about what to do. Instead, I started deep introspection.
I am not a party animal. Still, I attend parties as much as possible. If am invited by the girl 's parents to their daughter's marriage ceremony, I rarely miss it. The crux is godawa (gifts or money) given to the bride on the day of her marriage. Although nothing a written,the invitees are expected to bring something in many Nepali societies. It is taboo if one attends the swoyemvar (nuptial knot tying ceremony) without any gift.
I have already attended hundreds of such auspicious ceremonies and gifted the guests of honor in accordance with my means. Frankly speaking I do not give the same gifts to all couples. For example, if the host is a villager and my kin, I have to give the bride a gagri-khad-karo (cooper pitcher and trough) and money. To other places, I take other utensils. If I'm busy, just offer some money inside an envelope. There are many occasions when I just gifted bouquets of flowers. In fever cases, I have even given saris.
I must confess this case was different than previous ones. I could not decide what to do. So I approached some of friends who claim they are smarter and more sociable than myself. Nonetheless, there I found divergence in their advice. I'm still not sure what to do, but if they really meant it, then that's praiseworthy because for the sake of gifts, people have forgotten the very sense of 'humanity' and money has done all the taking.
In the past, young people used to get married earlier. At the time of marriage,neither spouse would be independent. So to help them run their new-life, family and relatives used to give them object that would be useful in building a future together. The times have changed now.. At least in city centers, couples do not tie the not unless the are able to independently stand on their own two legs. So, if such newly wed couples request invitees don't bring gifts, perhaps it can influence society to abolish the dowry system too.
Tags: nepal
The influx of donor money means that we have been trained to expect everything to be paid by outsiders
A few week ago, while on the way to Drubar Marga from Battisputali, social scientist Hari Sharma asked me, "Who pays for your work?" I was quite puzzled as we were talking about a different subject. I remained quite puzzled as we were talking about a different subject. I remained quiet. As we had grown close over the last few years, he was well aware that I wanted to promote mental health issues in Nepal, and that ny work was paid for by no one.
Breaking the silence, Hari put forth a few more questions, "Do you believe that work that has been paid for, particularly in developing countries, is bringing desired changes? Can paid workers become real change makers?"
Before I had time to answer him, Hari, becoming a little emotional and philosophical, asked me if I had ever thought of whether anyone had paid the Buddha, gandhi, Martin Luther King, Einstein, MotherTeresa, or, currently, Obma? Still, their work has shaped or consciousness and growth through centuries.
Over the next few weeks,I became obsessed over these questions. The bleak picture of our society frequently came to my mind. I also remembered the people, institutions, and governments around the world who are paying us to bring about change. But everyday reality tells us that our society is not improving collectively. We are divided and deteriorating futher. It seems that we have failed to manage the resources that donors are generously payingsus to bring about change. Where does the money go? The answer is not easy; however, I will attempt to talk about this issue differently, but seriously.
As a donor-depentent country, we are nurturing a culture of expecttions of aid without being aware of the long term implictions, While walking aroungd and taling to people, it sounds to met that we are being trined to expect everythig to be paid for any outsiders. We feel comfrotable in nurturing our hopes in a foreign hand. It seems we can do nothing on our own; rather, we will do something only if some on else is paying for us. Can we ever count such a mind-set as a long-term loss?
Psychologically speaking, our entire society is turning to slavery by handicapping ourselves through these expectations. Tragically, we have also lost our imagination, alongwith the faith we had in ourselves. If we ask the questions- are we creating any hope for the country? What future are we leavingfor our future generations? -there are no answers; rather, only uncertainly.
Talking about donor resourees, Iseea fundamental fault in the huge portion of resources being spent in duplication of work rather than being spent on developing concerted advocacy efforts to strengthen the state and make it more accountableto guarantee basic needs and rights of its citizens. I am not against the involvementof non-government agencies and the private sector the social sector, but my concern is about the system that we are developing with donor resources? How are we helping ourselves in the long run?
We are also not making any efforts to create a responsible state that fulfills its basic responsibilities towads its citizens in geneal and towards marginalised communities in particular. The social, economic, and medical conditions of many marginalised communities, including people living with mental and physical disabilities, can betaken as an example.
In any developing country, current scenarios continue to resent an outlook where donors continue to pay and the state continues to fail to imporve is service system. Time continues to pass. Generations come and go, but the cycle continues. It is frustrating to be born in the third world. It is humilating to love with poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, disabilities, and mental illnesses. It is painful to know that at least go percent of people suffereing from mental and physical disabilities in the third world are poor, illiterate, and unemployed. what a hell of a life!
Generally, to avoid these serious questions, people usually say that there is still a long way to do go. But I don't believe in that. If we cannot show will power and commitment today, we can never go the long way. It may sound impractical, but I believe that without creating a society and a state that takes ownership of the marginalised -even in the absence of donor support -we can never expect a sustainable and equaitable development. Iam concerned that in the absence of state support and care, millions of people living with disabilities suffer permanent career, socia, and cultural damages, never aspiring to catch up to the opportunities their counterparts not living with any disability may get.
At the sametime, I don't see NGO and theprivate sector making adequated efforts to bring such issues into the larger social concern. Therefore, it is important for us to create a socially-inclusive message to motivate society to act in favour of the marginalised.
Can money alone finance our aspirations? Is donor money the only means be helping our state, society and ourselves? What about our moral valuses, mental health, and the dignity of being a Nepali? do we believe that change comes this way?
I do not believe that it is enough for us.
Tags: nepal
The 2006 Jana Andolan showed that attempts to suppress dissent backfire!!
Tuesday was the fourth anniversary of the 2006 Jana Andolan that brought down Gyanendra's regime and led to the formation of a governing alliance that included the Maoists. The event, however, went largely unmarked. In any case, there appeared to be no great enthusiasm regarding the Jana Andolan's memory among any section of the population. If the anniversary aroused commentary of any kind, it was of the negative sort.
It would, however, be wrong to dismiss the gains of the Jana Andolan so easily. While there is cause for frustration disillusionment, what with the paralysis of the state and no progress on the journey to sustained peace and prosperity, many positive things have been institutionalized over the past four years. Whereas the first Jana Andolan established multi-party democracy, which, despite all its ills, provided an unprecedented opportunity for self-expression and organization, the second Jana Andolan further strengthened the belief that there is no other system that can replace it. In addition, it deepened the concept of democracy by recognizing that various groups had been historically discriminated against by flourish in Nepal, these would have to be presented with adequate rights and recognition. This recognition was partially institutionalized in the Constituent Assembly, which remains the most representative of all Nepali political institutions to date.
Of course, there is a long way to go before all the ideals of the 2006 Jana Andolana are instituted into practice and our society becomes completely just. The process of transformation of the state and society will be protracted; and in the meantime, it may appear to some as though Nepal's various communities, through demanding rights for themselves, are only adopting an exceedingly narrow point of view and taking Nepal into conflict. This point of view, however, underestimates the resilience of our social fabric. If anything conflict will arise, not if different voices are allowed free expression, but if the state powers decide to suppress them. This is a major lesson from the 2006 Jana Andolan. King Gyanendra's chief mistake was to impose order by pushing out of the public sphere people who represented important sections of the population.
In the days to come, there will continue to be a struggle to balance the need of creating a strong state capable of decisive action and of incorporating diverse demands into the state structure. Generally, however, it will be in the best interest-of the country as well as of the politicians themselves-to err on the sided of seeping to incorporate social mobilization into state channels rather than to disregard them and impose decisions unilaterally.
Tags: nepal
Rapacious real estate entrepreneurs are killing the environment of Kathmandu!
Who doesn't cherish the memories of childhood days? Everybody does. And I'm no exception. Growing up in the rustic settings of the outskirts of Kathmandu in the 1980s, we had plenty of playing fields and breathing spaces. We saw herds of cattle grazing on the grasslands along the bans of the Bagmati and the Manohara as farmers sang As are songs. We enjoyed the sight of local and migratory birds in the open skies with a balmy, fresh air.
We witnessed local farmers taking a break from their mundane routine and enthusiastically observing their festivals and jatras- and savouring their traditional delicacies. We experienced cultures that were in perfect harmony with nature. We interacted with people who looked much happier and content.
Dying out
Outside the Gokarna forest, we still see exotic species of wildlife, hear jackals howling at night, and hear tales of marauding leopards that sneak into human settlements from the nearby Shivapuri forest. But I know, all that's soon going to be history. The reasons are all too clear and for all to see: The Bagmati and the Manohara rivers are dying out, thanks to uncontrolled sand mining and sewage discharge.
The river basins are dying out too. The green fields are gradually shrinking, and whatever is left is rapidly turning into real estate development zones. Terraced farms and rolling green hills are being flattened by massive bulldozers to make way for, again,"21st century housing ". Small paths are being widened so that bulldozers and trucks can get deeper into the villages or farmlands. The landscapes are looking uglier by the day.
My paradise is lost!
Thins weren't as bad even 10 years ago. Then, the upper Bagmati basin would look all right, with green rice paddies turning yellow with the approaching autumn season. While the green fields of the Manohara-- true to its name-- would soothe the souls of passers-by. But that was short-lived . May be because the raging conflict in the early 200s contributed to the population explosion in the valley, people started venturing out of the ring road for inexpensive pieces of land. And here we are today: The Bagmati fields have given way to a whole new township; the Manohara stretch, barely a mile away, is well on its stretch, barely a mile away, is well on its way to a whole new identity too.
THE BOOM
In the north-eastern parts of Kathmandu, such is the boom that even the sandy river banks and swampy little valleys aren't being spared by a new breed of mostly young real estate center-preneurs. I fear the worst. What would happen to the shanty towns and colonies in the event of an earthquake measuring 8 on the Richter scale, which we all know is long overdue? How would the residents of these tiny colonies on the slopes and sands cope with the drinking water and sanitation crises, if all the newly carved plots are allowed to be developed? Would the shanty towns- I am sorry, that's what they will look like -be liveable? Would they and their children have any breathing space, let along playing space, left?
Most importantly, how will the valley, a UNESCO World Heritage Site with rare historic monuments and tall tales, look from the say or from one of the many tourist hilltops that we already have? Much uglier. For, the valley town-ships are notorious for their concrete jungle identity already. The bad news is this: Such haphazard and unplanned land plotting and housing development isn't happening in Kathmandu alone. It's happening in all the major towns around the country, including Pokhara, Chitwan, Hetauda Butwal, Bhairahawa and so on.
TOO LATE
Before it's too late - and I think it's already too late - will residents, more than the government, wake up and face the reality? Will they start boy-cotting the unplanned and unscientific plots of land or housing meant primarily to mint money, more than anything else?
I doubt they will.
So somebody's got to nudge them. So unless the government carefully devises scientific and timely land use and housing policies, rules and regulations- and makes sure they are strictly enforced and followed- nothing will change. The ugly urban sprawl, the land plotting and housing boom will continue. If left unchecked, it will not just further damage our landscapes the shoddy construction will threaten our population as well. Lest we forget, and I repeat, the Himalayan foot that we are on is prone to earthquakes.
This week, we hard that the parliamentary Natural Resources and Means Committee(NRMC) has been alarmed by the rampant land plotting around the country, and that it is concerned about the possible loss of precious agricultural land, particularly in the fertile plains of the Chure- Tarai region. Subsequently, The NRMC has asked four concerned ministries to suggest why the plotting of agricultural land shouldn't banned. That's welcome move indeed.
Prior to that, the NRMC took up the issue of massive exploitation of sand and stones in the Chure-Tarai region. Even as some entrepreneurs suffered, the government banned the move. And just yesterday, fresh reports say, Minister of Commerce Rajendra Mahato single-handedly re-lifted the ban, allowing certain "License holders" to run their quarries and export construction materials to neighbouring India! That's surely going to kick up a lot of controversy, and the minister will likely land in hot soup.
SOME HOPE
So let there be action. On the regulating land plotting and housing front, too the government, along with the NRMC, really need to get serious. For everybody knows that the country's ecological diversity is really among the planet's most fragile and sensitive ones. The big question is this: Will the multi-party government (which showcased the "world's highest" cabinet meeting at Kalapatthar near Everest base camp recently) do something about it?
Will it stop the unnatural and disaster-friendly plotting of precious agricultural and forest lands? If our open spaces and open fields can be protected from irrational forces, future generations will be thankful to us., Our paradise may have lost much of its pristine charm and glory; but should the government and all of us weak up and work hard together, things may change for the better.
That will be paradise regained!
Whew!" I gave a sigh of relief. I narrowly managed to save my pending work and shut down the computer before the inverter finally gave up. Fortunately I have a back-up and was able to complete my work and avoid losing face the next day at the office.
Doesn't the current situation seem like taking a pain killer (in the form of inverters or generators) that temporarily relieves us of our pain but does not take into account the root causes of the problem? Like across the country has been paralyzed due to the lack of power with the worst hit being industries and educational institutions. Now there is good news that the government has imposed a ban on the import of any more inverters. Those who can afford to purchase such luxuries now have to either cross the border or buy it in the black market.
I do not disagree that the country is in-serious need of a new constitution and the political leaders are working towards achieving the target. However, they have to recognize the urgent needs of the people. The case of building the Upper-Karnali transmission line is one example of the huge failure of public -private partnerships. Government, on one hand, cannot provide security to the private investors and for the same reason the latter have been shying away from investing any further.
I'm not advocating that our politician abruptly shun the process of constitution-making, but they should at least realize how much addressing the burning issue of load-shedding would help the current government in gaining popularity in the end.
Load shedding has become one of the perennial problems of our country and for many there seems to be no escape . We are 'blessed' to be the second richest country when it comes to the amount of water resources available. Yet, we cannot boast any benefits of that fact today. Last time when the Maoists were in the government, Babu Ram Bhattarai, Minister for Finance invented a grandiose plan to have 10,000 mega-watts` of electricity available within ten years. We, as people are continually cheated by sham promises of each passing government to get rid of the problem in a matter of years.
As they say beggars can't be choosers, and so we are left with no choice but to continue to struggle. However, the question stands for how long? Options can be built if the government will just spread its own wings rather than waiting he called in to action by some external pressure. We will no longer be convinced with an easy answer that the solution of this current darkness, which has crippled the productivity of the nation, will come after the May flower blooms.
Tags: nepal
Excuse me! Excuse me, sister! Somebody's pleading voice struck my ears when I was rushing towards bus stop on a breezy morning a couple of days back in London. I stopped and turned to find a thin figure running towards me. Within seconds the man with sunken cheeks, cracked lips and dark circles under his eyes stood before me. I was so surprised to be called out by this unknown man. As soon as he realized that I was a Nepali, he started talking to me and helplessly said "Didi can you please give me one or two pounds? Please Didi! I have been called by an office for trial employment today, but I don't have enough money for the bus-fare. See, I have just 70 pence with me.
I was so moved when he said, "Didi, I couldn't pay even my room rent and now I'm staying with a friend." He told me that he had come to London to do an MBA but is still struggling to find a job for months. Anyone could easily read his poor condition by his troubled face. My heart too was filled with pain to see a Nepali student in the UK in such a poor condition.
Back in Nepal. The one who gets the visa is showered with sugary words like: "Wow!! London. Oh! Congratulation! You got a visa, lucky you!" I have seen crowds outside the VFS office in Nepal shouting with excitement when somebody comes out of the office holding a heavy envelope on hand. If one gets a visa, he or she through a couple of parties for friends and relatives before taking a flight. They fly in a velvety dream land for many days. But many of them face a bitter reality awaiting them in London. In the beginning itself, their dreams face a big jolt by costly room-rent and bus -fare. Some students fare lucky enough to secure a job nearby, but most have to go far, in the suburb. It's a tough job for foreign students to get job in London which always puts them under pressure. To add to this, the British government recurrently makes changes in policies regarding foreign students.
I was so touched by the painful condition of this Nepali Bhai who threw out all his pride to beg for some pounds. While leaving Nepal, he probably had never imagined such a frightening life awaiting him in London. While talking to him for a short period. I could see his fading dream in his sunken eyes. I also sadly observed his regret of coming to this strange land without much preparations as he said to me, "Didi, I will return to Nepal as soon as possible."
At the end, I could do nothing more than offer him a few words of consolation. As I was running late, I handed him two pounds and ran away with a heavy heart.
From Kathmandu Post
Tags: nepal
The Maoist gesture at consensus building should be reciprocated
We whole heartedly welcome the Maoist decision to call off their 'indefinite nationwide strike' that had brought the country to a virtual standstill for six long days. As a result of the crippling strike, children had not been able to go to their schools. Consumers faced severe shortage of essential commodities, including food. Pries had shot up. Nepalis across the country, forced to stay at home for days on end, were getting restless. Unchecked, this trend could have deepened and various interest groups used the talent public anger to instigate widespread violence.
Thankfully, such an eventuality has been averted -for the time being. But the agitation has only been 'postponed', as Maoists Chairman Pushpa Kama Dahal has been at pins to remind people time and again since the strike was called off late on Friday. As if to press his point home, Dahal, while addressing a mass rally at Tundikhel on Saturday, gave ruling parties a 'two-week ultimatum' to meet his party's demands. The call, he said, was now firmly in the court of the ruling coalition.
Some kind of reciprocal gesture on the part of the coalition partners, after making what the Maoists believe as a huge concession on theirs, we believe, is to be expected. On the other hand, if the coalition partners interpret the Maoist olive branch as a sign of their weakness or a victory for the governing coalition, it could lead to further hardening of positions on either side. Instead, this new space could be utilized to create an atmosphere of trust between the two sides. We thus call on other political parties, particularly Nepali Congress and CPN -UML, to reciprocate the Maoist gesture by coming to the negotiating table in good faith, ready to engage in meaningful give-and -take and to scope out possible points of convergence.
It is crucial that a couple of things happen to leave the door open for future compromise and consensus. First, as it is now unlikely that the new constitution will be promulgated by May 28,the interim Constitution should be amended so as prevent a constitutional vacuum. Second, there ought to be a national unity government in place, sooner rather than later. But only a day after the lifting of strike, some NC and UML leaders have been making provocative statements a that threaten to shrink the vital space created after Friday. Such statements could best be avoided.
Only the politics of convergence can provide the country a way out of the current impasse. As we went to press, there were rumors that a 'package deal' on integration, statute and power sharing could be in the offing as early as today. Such an agreement, we believe, would be a good start to reviving the spirit of consensus necessary for the waiting of new constitution and taking the peace process to its meaningful end.
(This editorial was published on The Kathmandu Post on May 09 ,2010)
Tags: nepal
We transported our sick friend over hill trails in a basket, jeep and bus to Pokhara.
I feel so much better, "he said after being administered two bottles of saline solution intravenously at a hospital in Pokhara. Our journey to that hospital involved carrying him in a basket ambulance fro about two hours, riding a jeep down to Thumsikot, and carrying him in the same basket across two suspension bridges to a bus stop another 20 minutes away. The final part involved renting a bus and taking him together with the rest of the traveling team to the hospital "Look at that , "he said to me pointing to the white bed sheet he was lying on . There sheets on nearby beds had marks of dried fluids- could be body fluids of spilled saline solution or drugs.
One of the two brothers who owned the bus we had rented from Thumsikot happened to be a medical assistant. In the bus, he told me he had seen us with our sick student. "He definitely needed saline paani", he said. I asked him why he did not tell us that earlier when we were resting at a restaurant in front of his medical store. He threw an ironic smile. "Oh I thought you had already done that, " He was also working as a health assistant for a government health post nearby.
"Which hospital should we take him? I asked him. The health assistant told us about a group of "big" doctors who had started a private medical college in Pokhara, and he thought we should go there. That's where we went.
Our sick student knew he needed to get rehydrated back in the village. Some of us were familiar with David Werner's Where There Is No Doctor. He had started having high fever around one in the morning; and by the afternoon that day., he had already lost very significant amounts of his body fluid. He also knew it could be done only intravenously. "Every time I drank, it could go right out from my bottom," he told us, his lips quivering from weakness, and his hand resting on another friend's shoulder for support.
When the other female student had suddenly fallen ill the previous night, the landlord had told us that the in-charge of the village health post had gone on a long leave. That same night when the local child care center's lady "daaktar" had come to examine the sick student, she had also brought along a bottle of saline solution thinking she might have to administer it intravenously. Therefore, we had hoped that the would come to see the student with high fever and administer the saline solution.
When she came to see this male student, it was already 2:30inthe afternoon. She came with a strip of antibiotics and anti-diarrhoeal drugs together with fever suppressants. By then, the fever had dropped to100. She carried two bottles of saline solution.
Outside, a few villagers were gathering at the village chautara. Our tour organizer was trying to arrange our move to a nearby village. It was part of the tour plan. He seemed determined not to miss that. Some of the student groups were getting deeply anxious. What should we do? Should we take him to Pokhara now? How long is the trek down to the jeep road? How long would we have to walk to get to the bus? And finally how long would be the bus ride ? We were completely new to that terrain. .Many villagers had different answers.
The lady"daaktar" was busy taking the pulse with her hand and studying the heartbeat with her stethoscope,. We saw two men heading down the trail towards the chautura. They carried a doko ambulance in their hands.
"Where are you from I asked, as soon as they rested on the chautara plate form. They looked around. Across the trail, inside the only cement roofed building in the village, they could see some one lying on the floor.
They had come back after carrying their father to a jeep. Their 75-year -old father had fallen off a tree and fractured himself. There was no way he could be treated in the village Therefore, they carried him in the doko to. The jeep stand. The trail was one and a half hours long.
"The road has had several landslides lately," They said "Therefore, the jeep could not come all the way near here." If it were winter, they said , the jeeps would come all the way to less than a half hour's trek from the village.
"How long will the jeep take to get to the bus I asked.
"Another 20 minutes".
From the jeep stop , it was another 20 minute walk across two suspension bridges and along a short river side trail to the bus stop. The bus would take two hours to reach Pokhara. Altogether, we should be in Pokhara by seven in the evening, if we start around three in the afternoon. It finally. looked feasible to carry the sick student to Pokhara that day.
Many in the traveling team thoughts time was running out and, therefore, the sooner we set out the better. A lot of consultation at times testy ones, went back and forth between those who said we had to rush him immediately away from the village and those who said the sick student needed to rest overnight so that it would be easier for him to be carried the day after. We were yet to hear the verdict from the sick student himself.
That come at around three. He said it would be very difficult for him to be carried in the state he was in, and that he was beginning to feel better with the medicine and hopefully it would be easier the next morning.
Our tour organizer was determined to transfer his group to a nearby village as part of the given travel plans. Perhaps he thought he might get less money if that did not happen. It was a business decision for him.
In the mean time, the lady doctor was try into stick the intravenous drip into the sick student's arm. After a few attempts, however, she gave up.
"It looks like it is hard to find the veins in white people (gora maanche)" she told us in Nepali . That was obviously ridiculous to all of us. By evening she was telling us to tell our sick student that it was better to take fluid orally than intravenously.
This article published in Kathmandu Post
Tags: nepal
CA extension is a temporary solution; more urgent is replacement of the present generation of political leader
Whether the CA gets a new lease of life is not so important any more. What matters most at present is to find ways to retire the incompetent leaders of the three main parties. For this game of brinkmanship has gone on too long, jacking up the blood pressure of Nepalis to a dangerous level.
True, if extended for another six months or a year, the UML-Congress-Maoists will get another chance to play with the frail psyche of the people. Given the present variables, in which the civil society stages Peace Rally only when its daily routine is interrupted and not when the long-term interest of the country is at stake, we should expert the same round of loose talk, inept action, and worthless circular movements of these intellectually and emotionally bankrupt political leaders. There will be much drama, more than one vaudeville show, but all this will signify nothing because with these political actors at the helms, what better can the country expect about such tough issues as federalism, distribution of power between the federal and state units, between the dominant and the marginalized groups, between the majority and the minorities? All these epoch-making issues require agile minds, courageous and generous hearts, and seasoned statesmanship that none of the present leaders seem to possess in their outlook, state of mind, or character. We have seen what they have done and can do.
If the CA' s life is not extended, uncertainty at best and chaos at worst will follow, may be throwing up a new Napoleon, a son of revolution who killed the revolution. May be then the front line leaders of the UML Congress-Maoists combine will be exposed for what they are - bunch of incompetent, quarrelsome, short-sighted, manipulative intellectual and emotional dotards out of sync with the times, with the regional and global geopolitics and, above all, with the aspirations and needs of the Nepali people. May bet hen a new revolt twill burst forth within each of the parties, sending the obsolete front line leaders to ignominious retirement. Or, the country at large will rise in revolt and disgust, forever distrust the ruling castes and form their own Dalit-Madhesi-Janjati coalition with a sprinkling of like minded Bahuns and Chhetries giving birth to new truly multicultural parties.
The mood of the country has soured; people' s stress level has shot up as never before; their cynicism toward politics and politicians risk turning into anger and exploding. Instead of these parties, there will be new parties, new set of fresh faces in leadership positions, new hopes and new aspirations. All this will be better than what they have now- a bad marriage that has dragged on too long, soaked in bitterness, poisoned with animosity, dipped in calumny, hatred, suspicion, slowly eating away the vitals of the country and its people.
If Dhakal-Nepal-Paudel-Koirala-Deuba think that by killing off the people's long-awaited CA, they will continue with their old ways, old cultures, old habits, old mindset, old system of marginalization, they are dreaming. These leaders may live in their party's cocoons of self-complacency but Nepal and Nepalis have come far in the past 30 years to a point of no return. They will find their way, secure their rights, throw up-new leaders and safeguard democracy and freedom.
So, even if the Ca is extended now, after so much daily rise and fall of expectations and hopes - and people's collective stress level-what can be expected from bunch of incompetent same old, same old? They will behave the same way as they have done so far - bicker, complain, blame each other endlessly, pull out one trick after another to show their personal and party's bona fides and their opponent's mala fides, work for their personal aggrandisement rather than the country's and its people's broader, long-term benefit. The culture of bickering and statement these leaders have introduced and sustained for the last 30 years is not going to go away in the next six moths or a year.
So, even if the CA is extended, there isn't much that Nepalis should expect because the drama and the main actors will be the same as before. What do you think a Dahal, or Khanal, or Nepal, or Oli, or Gautam or Deuba, or Koirala, or Paudel will do? Do you think they will ever get their act together? Old dogs don't learn new tricks. They will be have as they have been behaving, Their mind-set, limited vision and incompetence won't change overnight. So, why extend the Ca? They don't understand new Nepal- can't respond to the rising generation's aspirations. They have neither the education nor the mindset character, trained as they have been within the limited confines of their narrow doctrines and personal interests, to lead Nepal to a new future of survival, let alone prosperity, between technologically, politically and economically rising superpower neighbors.
On the other hand, what people should think now if they care about themselves, the country and the future is how to get rid of these political leaders who have been hogging the political limelight but wasting everybody's time. And how to bring in fresh faces, fresh blood, and fresh enthusiasm,. Why should these people still lead the parties and hold the country hostage even after they have flunked the test so often and so badly? Just because they have climbed the leaders ever the years under time-bound promotion and become senior leaders?
Look how David Cameron and Nick Clegg emerged as young blood in British politics, leading the Conservative and Lab Dems respectively and Barack Obama emerged in America leading the Democratic Party leadership . See how Gordon Brown t 59, after losing the parliamentary election, voluntarily retired from Labour Party leadership, making way for new blood. Then why should a Koirla ,Deuba, Paudel, Dahal Khanal, Nepal, Oli, and Gautam remain there blocking the path for other leaders to try their young, fresh talent and hand at leadership?
So, the first order of business should be to get rid of these leaders and replace them with fresh minds within these parties. For example, why not Gagan Thapa lead the Congress or some such leaders among the Maoists and the UML do so if the party workers choose them? And what happened to Bhaskar Koirala, the young scion of the Koiral clnwho wrote such a fine essay on the Maoist strike? If Prachanda has failed to deliver, why not allow somebody else in his party so lead? Why not have a national convention of these parties on a regular basis to decide their leadership based on performance and productivity? What has happened so far is that the parties have become a sort of life-long fieldom of their leaders, a zamidari; and a new feudal order blocking the path on new leadership to emerge. What I am saying is that there needs to be revolt within the parties against the obsolete, outdated, feckless leadership. It's not the age but the ability to make a difference within and without a party that counts whether a leader or leaders should lead or step aside. And mine is not personal attack in any one but matter of general principle. The way these leaders have been behaving, Nepal is going to become a truck stop for India and China in a few years.
And if the parties cannot reform from within, then they should be left to die, for they have outlived their use. And new parties with new demographic, ideological, and social configurations should emerge to take their place, just as the Liberal Party disappeared from Britain in the 1920s and the Labor Party emerged as prominent. Thee are many such examples all over the world. No individual or party has the right to hold the country's future hostage if it's become a deadwood.
So, at a time like this of high good-for-nothing drama and stress, Nepalis should think about their priorities. CA extension is a temporary solution; what is more urgent is the replacement of the present generation of political leaders with the new generation. And if that doesn't work, then the present political parties with new political parties. Today's Nepal is not the Nepal of 30 or 50 years ago. There are many more educated, capable Nepalis now, who have faced the police baton or done time, than it had 40 or 50 years ago.
Tags: nepal
Torturing women on the charge of practicing black magic has been rife in rural Nepal
They dragged me out of my room, took me into a cowshed and forced me to eat human faces and drink urine, "said Kali Biswokarma, a resident of Pyutar village, 40 km from Kathmandu. Kali was accused of making a school teacher ill by casting evil spells through the practice of witchcraft,and this was how her fellow community people decided to punish her.
Another hair-raising tale of Sehaki Teli of Sirala lately captured the attention of the local media and women's rights activists. Sebaki was beaten almost to death, also forced to eat human excreta and wear a garland of shoes after being charged of practicing black magic to kill children. She is currently being treated in a district hospital with assistance from a local women's rights organization.
There have been innumerable cases of women being brutally battered by their in-laws and community people on the charge of practicing black magic. Torturing women on the charge of witchcraft has been rife particularly in rural Nepal. According to the Nepal Police, five cases of women being tormented for practicing witchcraft have been registered in just a month's time (April-May 2010).
Every year, hundreds of rural Nepali women are forced to undergo the fellow human being induced torture like this, which is nothing more than a discriminatory practice in a brutal form of violence showcasing the unequal gender-power relation and women's subordinate position. Reports of such merciless practices attract our quick attention, and the authorities make statements time and again perpetrators would be brought to justice, but the frequency of such malpractices is escalating.
Most often, victims do not fine a case at the local police station due to the fear of being ostracized by the community and abandoned by their families. It is also commonly noted that the police prefer this kind of issue to be settle amicably by the community people themselves, resulting in their reluctance to register such cases formally. As a result, the perpetrators of such heinous crimes are hardly brought to book.
There has so far been a clear lack of comprehensive research and enough empirical evidence on the practice of witch craft in Nepal. However, reports of organization like the Forum for women, Law and Development (FWLD) and Child Workers in Nepal (CWIN) have argued the witchcraft is just a socio-cultural crime based on superstitious beliefs and prejudices. Most often, widows single women, women from the lower strata and castes are alleged to be practicing witch craft or locally called boksi This again raises the question: Are we not taking advantage of their marginalized position and is it not rather bullying?
In rural areas, there are numerous men who practices trantra manta as spiritual healers - locally known as dhami jhakris. It is common to bring sick people-even as vulnerable as newborns and the elderly -to these healers, with a visible preference over educated paramedics Despite the fact that many succumb while under their "treatments", these healers are never regarded as make witches or boksa. Rathere, they are bestowed with special respect by the community. It is obvious for anyone commanding that respect to exercise their power over vulnerable women by accusing them of practicing black magic. In a nutshell, it is just another way of victimizing women in a patriarchal society: When it comes to torture and accusations, vulnerable women are easy prey.
Women's rights activists argue that there is a legal vacuum, and thus an urgent need to introduce specific, laws to punish the prepetuators involved in abusing and assaulting women on charges of practicing witchcraft.
Nepal ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in April 1991.Also known as the Treaty for the Rights of Women, CEDAW is the most comprehensive international agreement on the basic human rights of women. As it provides an international standard for protecting and promoting women's human rights, it is often referred to as the "Bill of Rights" for women. It is the only international instrument that comprehensively addresses women's rights within political, civil, cultural, economic and social lives. As of May 2010, 186 countries have ratified CEDAW.
As CEDAW has been instrumental in opposing the effects of discrimination-which include violence, poverty, lack of legal protection, denial of inheritance and property rights, lack of access to credit and so forth-in many nations that have ratified the treaty, why should Nepal remain an exception? Almost two decades after showing our commitment on paper, why we are not being able to capitalize, on this opportunity?
Nepal's judiciary and legislature have recognized gender equality in terms of the right to privacy, by daughters, rural employment, protection from domestic violence and other discriminatory practices. However, violence against women is rampant and continues not only due to lax enforcement and ineffectiveness of regulatory bodies but also because of the prevailing deep- rooted cultural norms and rigid prejudices.
Last year, the government made a good gesture with prime ministerial declaration of 2010 as Year against Gender-Based Violence. This was followed by the announcement of the National Plan of Action(NPA) by the prime minister. The NPA has its foundation on three Ps (I.e, prosecution, protection and prevention) and focuses on better understanding of the magnitude and nature of all types of violence against women.
Officials at the Ministry of Finance claim that the government has been increasing the gender responsive budget each year to work towards achieving gender equality and inclusion. For example, compared to the allocation of Rs 32,91 billion or 13.94 percentof the total budget in the fiscal year 2008/09, the 2009/10 budget has earmarked Rs. 49,46 billionor 17,3 percent. Given the ugly trend of development expenditure falling short of the target over the past six years in a row, the government's argument of doing their bit merely by publishing these numbers is not enough. Rather than blaming the political uncertainty, delayed budget announcement and endorsement, the government needs to devise ways to implement the budgeted programmes amid this scenario as we are likely to face similar disturbances for at lest a few more years.
Robust initiatives towards empowering women -legally and socio-economically-are needed immediately. It is very critical to raise threatening practices going on in the communities. In order to ensure that women live a violence-free life with due respect -and dignity, men have to be at the core of all awareness raising initiatives. The government's plan to launch women development programmes and expand them to all the village development committees gradually is laudable. But time is running out to convince women with visible actions that they should no longer feel insecure.
Tags: nepal
Our present leaders can be called Nepal's new monarchs without the fancy headgear
Today is yet another D-Day as far as the selection (or is it election?) of a new prime minister is concerned. The third D-Day may yet go the way of the previous two D-Days, that is, nothing but glaring differences among the country's political parties would surface without giving the country a new prime minister. The three major political parties which consider it their right to hold the nation captive seem to care two figs for the interest of the country or of the people. Their diametrically opposing stands on government formation and the fundamentals of the issues to be incorporated in the new constitution and the fundamentals of the issues to be incorporated in the new constitution as well as on how the country should be divided in to federal units have cost nation dear- politically, socially and economically. The country's economy is said to be in a shambles, and as the nation's economy combined with the political situation that includes law and order and security issues are said to be the main factors for the stability of any nation, there are some who say that Nepal will soon be on its way to being placed in the category of failed states. One would be forgiven for labeling our present bunch of leaders as Nepal's new monarchs in all respects but without the customary crown.
The third time election to select a new prime minister due Monday could well go the way of the previous elections with none of the two contestants able to muster the necessary votes to become the country's chief executive. The pre-election behind the scenes horse trading might not yield the necessary result. The various Madhesi parties in the constituent Assembly that also functions as the legislative assembly have their own axe to grind and are said to hold the trump card as far as electing a new prime minister is concerned. The Maoists would need only the support of these parties to form the next government while the Maoists rival, the Nepali, Congress, would need much more; the support of the Madhesi parties and other small parties go get past the minimum required votes in the CA.
The Madhesi parties which formed a bloc to negotiate with the rivals have set forth their conditions for support, and have asked the two parties to give them a written under taking to meet their demands. The Maoists submitted their written commitment, but flatly ruled out the concept of "one Madhesi, one province which obviously forms one of the most important demands of the south-based regional parties. One of the vice chairmen of the Maoists party told news persons that the Maoists could not entertain the "one Madhes, one province" demand. The Maoists, as well as other political parties, if they consider themselves to be political, should have realized the true long-term implications of acceding to such demands. Will the Madhesi parties still vote for the Maoists given the latter's refusal to endorse the one Madhes, one province demand?
The meetings that the Nepali Congress and the Maoist leaders have been having almost every day with the Madhesi and other smaller parties for the past week since the second scheduled elections for a new prime minister and did not bear fruit were meant not merely to seek their support but also to bargain what each of the two major parties can give them to exchange for their support in the prime ministerial election. The Maoist nominee for the country's top post, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, has been telling the media that he would secure the necessary support. Not to be outdone, Nepali Congress nominee Ram Chandra Poudel and other NC leaders have also expressed their belief that the Nepali Congress candidate would secure the top post. But analysts are still doubtful as to whether the third round of elections would fare any better than the previous two.
With a responsible UML minister saying in Baglung on Saturday that his party would remain neutral during the elections on Monday and the Mathesi alliance looking at the two contesting parties to fully agree to their written demands, the prospects for a new prime minister to be elected today looks bleak even a month after Prime Minister Nepal tendered his quite notice speaks volumes about the kind of leadership we are blessed with. The top leaders in any of the three parties never tire of telling the people that they are not after power which-if you believe them - means nothing to them but a potent means to bring the never-ending space process to a" logical conclusion" and write a people -oriented constitution.
There are many who think that the peace process can only be brought to a "logical conclusion" when there is a government pf national consensus in place. The power politics that one has been witness to since the Ca election has been a direct hindrance to the writing of the writing of the constitution for which genuine national consensus is required with all the parties showing willingness to be flexible in their stands in the larger cause of the nation. It would be a mistake to believe that there would be a consensus on issues relating to the constitution once a national government is formed. The parties to bend a little this or that way in order to achieve power, but the same parties would be much more rigid when confronted with the fundamental issue to be incorporated in the constitution. For instance, one of the top Maoists leaders has gone on record assaying that his party would not accept pluralism in any form, giving rise to question as to whether the Maoists have embraced democratic ideas or are just using these ideals to further their own authoritarian goals. The constitution writing, as any-one would affirm, is the most difficult part of the whole game presently being played out by the present breed of Nepal's political leaders.
Since the prime task of the CA is writing the constitution and that of the government to take care of the day-to-day affairs of the state-that is, not to take decisions and make policies that will have a long-term impact on the country-this writer had over a year ago suggested in this very column that a neutral government should be put in place to run the affairs of state. Full concentration of the parties including their top leaders should be on constitution writing so that the fundamental differences that exist among the parties on the future constitution can be narrowed down as much as possible. It is still not too late to make amends and to take the right course. But our leaders acting like monarchs without crowns can hardly be expected to take the sensible course.
Tags: nepal
NTY 2011 is not one-off promotional event. It is a national celebration
In any discussion on tourism, Year (2011) is seldom missing these days. It has in fact become a fad of sorts to correlate events and activities related to NTY 2011 for promotional purposes. This is as good an indication of the perceived importance of NTY, which has been buttressed by a robust promotion campaign. NTY, in essence, calls for three C's - cooperation from all, consolidation of efforts and collaboration amongst stakeholders. The synthesis of these three elements while promoting the country's image for the establishment of Nepal as a popular holiday destination is the bottom -line of NTY 2011. But we need to be realistic too. NTY cannot change the country's out-look overnight. It should rather be understand as a concerted effort from all to attract visitors by offering extra affection, hospitality, service, and renewed care with some value addition in all these areas.
To better understand NTY, the most important one must understand is: what is tourism? Over the years, many people have proposed many definitions of tourism so that the term, has become incomprehensive for a lay man. But by the time we would up NTY 2011, we could have established tourism at the epicenter of Nepal's economy, with other industries revolving, around it. But for the campaign to have the desired effect, it should be supported by everyone across social and economic barriers for tourism might be one industry that is capable of alleviate widespread poverty through its trickle down effect which is seldom witnessed to other industries in Nepal . If we all take ownership of the campaign, we are likely to be reaping its benefits for long time to come.
Many people believe that NTY is a capital intensive project and hence will during its course spend millions of rupees. But NTY needs to be understood in a broader perspective. NTY is a time- bound event to arouse the interest of foreign tourists in Nepal. It brings together a wide spectrum of activities and programmes created by various sectors.
Hence, any interesting programmes or events that help trigger the interest of potential tourists could be apart of NTY. The major responsibilities of the NTY secretariat are to coordinate and facilitate the programme's success while contributing to long-term benefits of the tourism industry. In other words, any programme that triggers the interest of the tourists and make them plan their holidays in Nepal should come under NTY 2011's ambit.
Fetching one million tourists is the broad vision of NTY 2011. For any mission to proceed in the interest of all stakeholders, a goal post is mandatory. Keeping ambitious goals leaves ample room for other industry collaborators to reap the benefits. One million tourists in Nepal means more business for all industries, ranging from poultry to food productions. It is also means more employment for Nepali youth.
Our vision has accommodated the wishes of prospective international players, resulting in a continuous surge of interest from international airlines and tour operators. This has led to the rising confidence level of tourism industry, NTY indeed is a campaign directed at reviving Nepal's long-tarnished image in the post-insurgency era and the country's transition to a new republic.
The goal of one million visitors, some believe, is unrealistic. . But no one can deny that the very prospect of a million tourists opens up new opportunities for reinvestment and reinvigorated business interests of many who choose to sit on the fence during the turbulent years of insurgency. This broad vision will have to be kept in mind in the run up to the launch of NTY 2011 in January.
Running this sort of programme at the difficult political juncture is a critical test. But in order to play a bigger role in the international tourism arena, the industry has to show that it can remain immune to political disturbances. In a country like ours, politics certainly takes the spotlight away from other sectors. But getting the agreement of major political parties to discourage bandas, strikes, and other political manoeuvrings that disturbs tourists will help in this regard. One everyone agrees to shield tourists from Nepal's internal politics it will be akin to a true revival of our age old fame of treating guests as gods.
Celebrating NTY 2011 injects foreigners with renewed energy too. In inviting tourism ministers from 22Asian countries during its inauguration on Jan, 14, the event will help strengthen age-old relationships and reinforce our bilateral and multilateral relations. Nepal, being the host country, would remain the epicenter of tourism activities in this region. It will buttress the country's image as a pioneer among other countries- South Korea and Sri Lanka among them-which are also celebrating 2011 as a year of tourism.
We have wasted a great amount of time in dirty politics. People have suffered enormously in the past and nobody wants to experience those pains again. NTY could be a balm for all of them. In applying it, NTY 2011 will bridge the political divides that have been forced into the open in the after math of the 2006 revolution.
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