Democracy For Nepal: To: Prachanda, Baburam, Mahara, Badal And The Rest Of The Maoist Leadership

Thursday, March 24, 2005

To: Prachanda, Baburam, Mahara, Badal And The Rest Of The Maoist Leadership

Hello all.

I have opened up a few channels of communication with some of the leaders now exiled in Delhi. And I request the same with you. I am based in the US. I operate solo. An email address or two would do. But I would prefer a phone number or two. I have communicated to your publicly available email addresses at your website. And I read Bhattaraiji's recent article with great interest. I came to the conclusion the democrats can do business with the Maoists.

Or you could talk to them directly, if you have not already been doing so. My personal style is to express myself publicly at this blog. But I do feel the time for bilateral and multilateral dialogues has come.

Google News Search: Baburam Bhattarai

Maoists confirm Baburam Bhattarai’s expulsion Anti-Prachanda ...
Gorkhapatra, Nepal - Mar 20, 2005 The Maoists have confirmed that Dr. Baburam Bhattarai has been relieved from the responsibilities of the terrorist group following his clash with Prachanda. ....... The FM radio operated by the rebels from a secret location in Pyuthan district, quoting a statement of one of their leaders identified as Biplav, announced at 7:30 pm Saturday that the terrorist group took action against Dr. Bhattarai and his wife Hisila Yami. ...... Biplav’s statement has clearly justified and exposed internal rift in the group ...... activists of the group have protested Prachanda, taking out rallies and shouting slogans for ceasefire and peace talks at various places in the district, including Shantinagar, Baghmare, Rajpur and Bela ...... displayed banners at Satbariya against Prachanda who wants endless war. The banners read “Let’s close the base area on Chaitra 12 in protest against murder, violence, terrorism and loot.” ......
Skirmishes break out between Baburam, Prachanda factions Security ...
Gorkhapatra, Nepal - 5 hours ago ..... skirmishes between the supporters Baburam Bhattarai, the expelled leader of the Maoist group, and the Prachanda faction in Kanchanpur .... the terrorists shouted slogans like ‘Down with Prachanda Path’, ‘Stop the Violence and Killings’, and ‘Start Peace Talks Immediately’ ..... Chakra Bahadur Thapa alias Nawaraj, 36, left the Maoist group surrendered in front of him. He had worked actively as a trainer and in expanding the people’s participation within the terrorist organisation for five years ..... said that he had surrendered because the Bhattarai supporters and Prachanda supporters were ready to kill each other ...... Almost 300 Maoists are said to have fled the district after the Maoists Baburam Bhattarai and his wife Hishila were expelled from the Maoist group ..... “Now, after the rift within the Maoist group, Maoists who are against Prachanda are allowed into the village,” said a member of the resistance group.
Growing resentment against Prachanda Gorkhapatra ... the so-called active leading cadre of the terrorist group in Pyuthan district Gyan Bahadur Gharti ‘Sangin’, a Bhattarai supporter, reportedly warned that the two factions could come to a situation of shooting one another if the war continued. ..... it has been learnt that a state of dejection and desertation has surfaced in one faction of the district level leaders and cadres mobilised in Kanchanpur, Baitedi and Kailai as a result of the action taken against Baburam Bhattarai and are thinking of deserting after sharing among themselves the property looted in the past before the party breaks up ...... graffiti with slogans like ‘Blood Thirsty Prachanda Hold Peace Talks’ were traced in large numbers in the Aresh, Tewang, Sirpa, Jutungkhola, Folpi, Damri and Jumrikanda VDCs and adjoining areas located in the border between Pyuthan and Rolpa districts ..... the cadres supporting another leader Baburam Bhattarai gathered in large numbers in Kanechaur, Satferi, Tikhatar, Chamarachautara and Khatyaudi VDCs of Doti district on the night of March 17 and 18 and took out torch procession chanting slogans like ‘Down with Prachandapath’, ‘Prachanda hold Peace Talks’, ‘Stop Murder and Violence’,
Conflict-Hit Villages Hues & Colours Gorkhapatra This now has become part of life of many a villages of Nepal. Things are just beyond our wish and at the same time they are hopelessly beyond control....... The second reason behind the breaking of war is boredom. ...... If one looks at the 43 point political and socio-economic agenda which Dr. Baburam Bhattarai, the second man in the Maoist party after its supremo Prachanda, had forwarded during the second round of peace talks with the then government in 2002, one may find hardly any new things that are not included in any of the democratic government’s policies and programmes..... If they had really felt bored by policies and programmes of the ruling political parties and had waged war for total transformation why did they fail to come up with newer and arresting national agenda during the talks? ..... we are in the Middle Ages while the rest of the world is in the 21st century, Maoist insurgency is still valid here terrorizing the mankind.
Dr. Baburam Bhattarai expelled from his party Gorkhapatra, Nepal - Mar 14, 2005
Issues thrown up by Royal coup Delhi Pioneer, India - Mar 22, 2005 The King can show results in three ways: Get the Maoists to the talking table; get Royal Nepal Army (RNA) to do something spectacular like capture Prachanda or Baburam Bhattarai; and make political parties join him in fighting the Maoists..... the last thing on the King's mind is talks. ..... The RNA has shown little by way of results in the last three years, despite its modernisation and expansion by India from 50 to 83,000. There is no chance of a military victory, even after the Royal Coup when RNA was gung ho: "We can now go for the Maoists." Even the King, inadvertently, told one ambassador in Kathmandu that he had held back the RNA so far but was now ordering them to go for the Maoists. Even divine invocation will not help RNA....... As part of their disinformation campaign, RNA announced the expulsion of Baburam Bhattarai and his wife Hisila Yami from the party and caused great embarrassment to the Palace. It seems all is not well with the RNA....... There are unconfirmed reports of divisions within the Army, especially between Army Chief Gen Pyar Jung Thapa and his Number 2 and Chief in waiting, Lt Gen Ruk Mangad Katwal........ The Royal Coup should have brought a semblance of unity among political parties but that has not happened. Due to the Emergency and ban on political activity, democratic forces have been unable to forge a common minimum programme. Many of them are still talking about accommodating monarchy despite the shabby treatment of political leaders by the King since he took direct charge ...... At one stage, he asked for applications for the office of Prime Minister ...... born again monarchist Tulsi Giri had the cheek to ask political leaders to apply for a berth in the council of ministers to work for the King. His press conference was an affront to diplomatic behaviour....... There is a view that people are happy with the King's action. But there is little evidence of this claim....... "It is so scary, phones are tapped, you know Big Brother is watching, you can no longer breathe normally." It is quite eerie. This is the lull before the storm....... It is rethink time for the Maoists. In view of the Royal crackdown on democracy and political formations, they have allowed political parties space in rural areas under their control for political activity and also invited them to form a common front against the King..... The strong reaction of the international community was never anticipated by the Palace. It has shocked the King. ....... Seventy per cent of Nepal's budget comes from donor countries. ...... The strongest action was sponsored last week by the Swiss Government at the 61st session of the UNHRC in Geneva. The intention is to place Nepal on Agenda 9 status which evaluates abuse of human rights as "beyond rectification" and therefore requires international monitoring. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Asian Human Rights and others have been targetting Nepal for excesses and abuses of human rights. ...... US pointsperson on Nepal, Donald Camp told a congressional hearing on March 2, that US takes the Maoist threat very seriously. ....... The Indian Army, which has extremely warm and close ties with RNA dating back to 1950 ....... The RNA has not engaged in any sustained military operations after February 1. On the other hand, it has been preoccupied with maintaining law and order and promulgating the Emergency ..... The US gives the Maoists far greater military capacity than is due to them and is likely to blink first. It is paranoid about a communist-terrorist takeover of Nepal. Baburam Bhattarai has admitted to the serious difficulties they are facing in reaching Kathmandu and why power is eluding them. They know they do not have the military strength to defeat RNA, not now, not in the foreseeable future. He has named India and the US as the two countries which will not let them seize power....... The Maoists are short of ammunition and weapons. Only 40 per cent of their fighting cadres are armed. They no longer have easy access to medical treatment of the wounded across the border in India. But their biggest scare is the RNA helicopter gunship which is responsible for 70 per cent of the casualties. They have no defence against armed helicopters and the Tora Bora technique of the RNA...... Is the King still adamant about fight to finish or can he still be persuaded to climb down if he is given a face-saver? ...... It is also time Nepal had a new second generation of political leaders. By his recent actions, people say the King has forfeited his chance of even a constitutional monarch.
Nepal: The Royal Regression And The Question Of Democratic ... CounterCurrents.org
Sexually Exploited Women In Conflict Scoop.co.nz (press release), New Zealand - 7 hours ago
Dangerous reds Delhi Pioneer, India - Feb 23, 2005
Wave of furor against Prachanda spreading: RNA Gorkhapatra, Nepal - Mar 21, 2005 supporters of another so-called leader of the terrorists Dr. Baburam Bhattarai have distributed pamphlets and painted graffiti in Takukot, Palkhu, Panch Khuwa, Dandathok, Swara, Lakuribot, Bhanjyang, Deuraliko Khani, Barakot, Gyagi, Khuwa Deurali and Takumajh VDCs of Gorkha district
Maoists sack top leader, wife: New Kerala, India - Mar 15, 2005
RNA claims top Maoist leaders expelled, rebels deny rift
Press Trust of India, India - Mar 15, 2005
Official expelled from Maoist party TVNZ, New Zealand - Mar 15, 2005
Nepal army reports rift in rebels BBC News, UK - Mar 15, 2005
Nepal claims rift in Maoist top rung Times of India, India - Mar 15, 2005
Asia: Senior official expelled from Nepal’s Maoist party ... Keralanext, India - Mar 15, 2005
Doubts over Maoist ouster Statesman, India - Mar 15, 2005
Nepal's govt, Maoist fire verbal salvos at each other: New Kerala, India - Mar 18, 2005
CPN-Maoist terrorists expel Dr Bhattarai from party Gorkhapatra, Nepal - Mar 17, 2005
Maoists and Comprehensive Peace Scoop.co.nz (press release), New Zealand - Mar 15, 2005 ..... no negotiations can be successful if basic minimum trust can't be maintained between the negotiating parties ...... Even recently, thousands of people have held a peace march in Kathmandu. They called for lasting peace and similar marches were held elsewhere in the country...... The Maoists have put three political demands - roundtable conference, formation of an all-party government and election to the constituent assembly but there is a hot debate on the issue of constituent assembly in the Nepali politics from the centre down to the village level....... Why Nepalese leaders do not even think of democratization of the party? ..... Why politicians are still busy in political fighting? ..... Dialogue must not be confined to clerics. Dialogue must be multifaceted; different dialogue efforts should involve different constituencies and strive to achieve different ends. ..... Much of the hard work to promote peaceful coexistence must be done internally by each political parties. The Nepalese political parties, Government and Maoists should know dialogue requires a variety of capacities for self-transcendence: transcendence of one's own interests and perspectives for the sake of understanding the interests and perspectives of the other side.
Nepal's king uses media to seek edge over rebels
International Herald Tribune, France - Mar 17, 2005
Maoist deal to sideline Nepal's king Asia Times Online, Hong Kong - Mar 17, 2005
Maoists go on rampage in eastern Nepal: New Kerala, India - Mar 17, 2005
Gag on Press: Democracy the King's Way Asia Pacific Media Network, CA - Mar 17, 2005 "An independent press serves as the medium for raising the level of democratic consciousness. It plays a crucial role in the promotion of national interest," says the king proudly..... Just as their first class begins, schoolchildren and college students are seen rushing home. Office-goers turn around midway through their commute. It seems like a "tsunami" has hit the country..... it was an army officer, our virtual editor. ...... In the absence of telephone lines and the Internet, officials from the UN Office in Kathmandu, foreign diplomatic missions, political party leaders and other individuals had to rush to the media houses to hand in their statements on the latest developments in Nepal, all of whom described it as a "setback to democracy." ...... the king told them. "The Fourth Estate has a very constructive role to play in furthering democracy and strengthening our peace efforts." ..... "It’s my belief that if the press were responsible and didn’t in any way strengthen the hands of terrorism, they should be free to write anything," the king told them. "The Fourth Estate has a very constructive role to play in furthering democracy and strengthening our peace efforts." Nobody knows how much democracy has been strengthened in the wake of the royal proclamation. But one thing is sure: Press freedom and freedom of expression -- the pillars of a functioning democracy -- have been largely curtailed, not strengthened. ....... at least 1000 radio journalists are now jobless, and many print and TV journalists are suffering the same fate ..... With the "complete freedom" to write anything in favour of the king and his cabinet ......President of the Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ), Tara Nath Dahal .... Sources in the UN Headquarters in Kathmandu said he had taken refuge there for several days ...... at least eight journalists have been arrested -- five are still in custody..... On March 14, the government news agency, Rastriya Samachar Samiti, sent a news report to media houses, which read, "The Royal Nepalese Army has reported that politburo member of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) Baburam Bhattarai and his wife (also a top rebel leader) Hishila Yami have been expelled from the party." Though the report had not quoted anybody in the rebel party, most newspapers ran the story on their front pages with much prominence because it was indeed a big story if it were true. News from a responsible government news agency was to be believed, even though Maoist Spokesperson Krishna Bahadur Mahara, calls the allegation a "politics of lie" orchestrated by the government....... six months -- the Information Minister's timeframe for censorship .....one of the biggest achievements of 14 years of democracy in Nepal -- a vibrant press
Maoists have expelled Bhattarai, says RNA Himalayan Times, Nepal - Mar 14, 2005
SHORT TAKES Himalayan Times, Nepal - Mar 17, 2005
Let's meddle in Nepal Sify, India - Mar 8, 2005

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Thursday, March 24, 2005

To: Prachanda, Baburam, Mahara, Badal And The Rest Of The Maoist Leadership

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