A Royal Signal: The Parliament Could Be Revived

The king appointed "the foreign minister, the chief justice and the speaker of the lower house of parliament" to the National Human Rights Commission and got roundly criticized for that. This amazes me. He lifted the emergency and he got roundly criticized. And now he has appointed the speaker of the lower house to something and the guy is getting grilled again.

For the king to appoint the speaker to something, anything, is him saying he disagrees with Paramendra Bhagat (okay, maybe I am not a factor, I just had to put that in) and thinks the 1999 parliament is not dead yet, that it can still be revived, for there can be no speaker without a parliament. If there continues to be a speaker, then the parliament is still there. It is like in one of those sci-fi movies. They put you into a deep freezer in the year 1996 when you are 36, and then when they take you out of the deep freezer in the year 2047, you are still 36, but the rest of the world has aged and changed. I guess it is sci-fi time in Nepal. So when Deuba dissolved the parliament (why, but why!) in 2002, the parliament was three years old, one more year to go. But the dissolution was like putting it into a deep freezer. And so it can still be put on display for one year.

If reviving the parliament is an option, and if the king is willing to go for it, and if all the political parties are for it, then of course I support the move. The best news out of it will be all the fundamental rights will get restored. I think the parties need to swiftly move from street mode to dialogue mode. And I really need to emphasize this point, because I am under the impression the Girija types prefer the glamor of street demonstrations and the election campaign trail to actually getting down to business through parliamentary motions and relentless political dialogues. Just look at their pasts.

After the parliament is revived, I really hope Girija does not play bad apple and veer away from the Common Minimum Program of the seven parties. Revive parliament, form an all-party government, hold unconditional peace talks with the Maoists, and go for a Constituent Assembly if you have to. That is the agreement. I emphasize this because the last time there was a movement, the original agreement was that Madhav Nepal would be Prime Minister, but when it looked like the "movement" (don't they love the glamor of the word) might actually succeed, Girija played foul and the entire movement came crumbling down.

After the parliament is revived, Girija might get tempted to do away with the CMP, which will be a huge mistake. The country will see yet another round of civil war. So stick to the CMP until the civil war is resolved.

Plus, I take great personal delight in the release of Gagan Thapa and the free movements of Baburam Bhattarai. Both have much to offer. And Prakash Karat is a name you will hear more and more. The guy will be instrumental in erecting a non-BJP, non-Congress "third force" in India. I think it is great he met with Bhattarai. Karat is trying to get the Maoists to join the mainstream.

In The News

• Nepal: King Stifles Human Rights Commission Reuters AlertNet, UK ..... committee will now consist of the foreign minister, the chief justice and the speaker of the lower house of parliament (now dismissed by the king). All three have supported the king's takeover..... Adams said. "Instead of simply extending the term of the present commissioners, the king ignored the intent of the statute and imposed his own will." ..... Sushil Pyakurel, one of the most respected members of the commission, left Nepal and denounced the government's obstruction of the Commission's work and the king's assault on civil and political rights...... "With this move against the Commission, foreign donors should see that the king is more concerned about increasing his power than promoting the rights of the Nepali people."
• HRW criticises Nepal's King Gyanendra's control over NHRC Press Trust of India
• Nepal journalists protest move to "throttle" media Reuters AlertNet ....a plan by the royalist government to introduce fresh curbs on the media.... amend media laws to ban criticism of King Gyanendra's family members, and introduce longer prison terms or more fines for defamation...... Officials said the planned changes in media laws were to "regulate" the media...... Last week, authorities questioned Kanak Mani Dixit, a leading commentator who, in a newspaper article, had urged the king to be a ceremonial monarch.
  
• US calls for Nepal reconciliation BBC News ....the rebels appear determined to launch large-scale attacks...... the parties and the king should begin a dialogue
  
• India takes up 'Maoist tape' with Nepal army:- Webindia123
• Indian spooks host Nepal rebel Times of India, India One of Nepal's top Maoist leaders, Baburam Bhattarai, is being quietly chaperoned around here by Indian intelligence agencies, which recently organised a meeting between him and CPM general secretary Prakash Karat. The Maoist leader is learnt to have sought the support of Indian Marxists....... The meeting took place in the Capital last week ...... Although the meeting was facilitated by intelligence agencies, Karat and Bhattarai have a common link - they share their alma mater, Jawaharlal Nehru University........ When contacted, Karat confirmed the meeting ....... New Delhi could be keen to use Left's influence over the Maoists to get them to join the seven-party pro-democracy alliance in Nepal. Maoists have so far refused to join the campaign to reinstate Nepal's Parliament........ Official sources indicated that Bhattarai was, indeed, being taken around in the Capital by intelligence officials. In fact, the Maoist leader is understood to have readily agreed to come to a meeting place decided by Karat....... When the two met, Karat wanted to know how Maoists see future events unfolding in Nepal, said sources. Bhattarai talked of his belief in the democratic struggle against royalty. In the process, he is learnt to have admitted to the fast widening gulf between him and Prachanda, the supreme leader of the Nepal Maoists and a votary of armed struggle........ Bhattarai has stepped up his networking here following his split with Prachanda........ "While Bhattarai claimed to be in command and said that he along with commander Mahara and Kishan Paykural have been asked to talk to Indian authorities and other Nepali political parties, it is clear that he has lost out in the leadership struggle."
• Peace Process Needed in Nepal Scoop.co.nz (press release), New Zealand
• Madan Prasad Khanal: Nepal - Fact And Fiction Scoop.co.nz (press release) democracy was retored in Nepal after three-decades of palace-directed non-party rule, but it was still-born...... The newly empowered political parties often amply rewarded these people, inaugurating a whole new series of patron-client distortions....... The challenge before the mainstream parties is clear. If they think their reading of the public mood is correct, then they should lose no time in joining hands with the Maoists and campaign for a republican Nepal.
  
• NEPAL: FNJ, NBA to protest proposed press law Asia Pacific Media Network, CA Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ) and Nepal Bar Association (NBA), after a joint meeting, has decided to jointly fight the proposed press law.
• Nepal told to free student leader BBC News, UK judges described the detention of student leader Gagan Thapa and former minister Jaya Prakash Gupta as illegal...... The pair, caught in April after weeks on the run, must be freed by Wednesday....... "The detention is against the spirit of the constitution and against the law," the court order said...... The court also ordered the government not to re-arrest the men, which is what happened after they were released earlier this month....... it is unclear whether the men will be freed by Wednesday.
• Scribes demonstrate against proposed Press Act in Nepal Hindu, India
• Nepal releases key student leader BBC News, UK Last week, the authorities freed another prominent student leader, Rajendra Kumar Rai, of a left-wing student group following a similar court order.
• Amnesty International criticises Pakistan,Bangladesh and Nepal Outlook (subscription), India .... for targeting minority communities and for excesses committed by security forces in the name of national security....... arbitary arrests and detentions continued unabated in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and China...... In tribal areas, arbitary arrests and possible extrajudicial executions were reported during security operations ... in March 2004 in South Waziristan. .... Pakistan.... blasphemy laws continued to be used to prosecute members of minorities ..... Slamming the Bangladesh government for its "failure" to stem a "tide of violence," the report said main victims of violence were minority community members and human right defenders...... nexus between the criminals amd politicians appeared to reinforce institutionalised corruption, violence and impunity for human rights abuses ...... report also slammed the security forces for "systematically" obstructing courts and National Human Rights Commission of Nepal...... China ... serious and widespread human rights violations perpetrated across the country.
• India denies knowledge of Nepal Maoist leader's meeting:- Webindia123 The Indian embassy said Wednesday it was not aware of any meeting between a top Maoist leader from Nepal and India's communist leaders in New Delhi .... Karat had confirmed he met Bhattarai in New Delhi .....Bhattarai went underground in 2003 after peace talks between the Nepalese government and the rebels broke down. He carries a price tag on his head and is wanted by the Interpol. ..... Earlier, he had caused a similar embarrassment to the Indian government by holding a secret meeting in a hotel in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, with an influential leader of Nepal's largest communist party, the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist.
• Nepal's breakaway Maoist rebel leader meets Indian communists ... ReliefWeb (press release) ..... to discuss whether the rebels could join a pro-democracy alliance in the Himalayan kingdom .... Prachanda is considered to be a hardliner who espouses armed struggle..... New Delhi was keen to use the influence of India's leftist parties over Nepal's Maoists to get them to join the seven-party pro-democracy alliance .... India may only give Nepal "non-lethal aid" such as jeeps, night-vision goggles and bullet-proof jackets.