Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Gaur: The Organized Crime Angle


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Hamro Nepal, ANTA Press Releases On Gaur Incident
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Gaur: The Madhesi Gongabu
PM, Defense, Finance: Congress, DPM, Home: UML, DPM: Maoist
Magar Event
Mainstreaming Maoist Tendencies In The Madhesh

What happened in Gaur should never have happened. And it should not be allowed to repeat. And a thorough investigation has to be conducted. And the guilty have to be brought to book.

There is some speculation criminal gangs were involved. There is talk criminal gangs have been active in those parts of the country for a long time now, that all political parties have worked hand in glove with them, Bihari style. Such a revelation would be a good thing.

There are a few possibilities.

(1) The Maoist and the MPRF cadres clashed, and the violence was not preplanned. It was impromptu. It happened on the flash. People in the leadership could not have known.

(2) The JTMM-Jwala, JTMM-Goit, Terai Cobra, Madhesi Tigers were the ones. They acted independently, and foresaw an opportunity in the impending clash, and they cashed on it.

(3) Indian criminals were hired by royalists to make hay of the situation.

(4) Organized criminal gangs on both sides of the border worked in collusion and independent of any political organization.

(5) Local criminal gangs who were used to having their say locally went overboard and did not realize that.

(6) Crime rules in Gaur. Crime has ruled in Gaur. The uncertainty of the political transition period means the criminal elements have had much more room to play. This was the underworld's way of making its presence felt upon the local people. You kill a few, you scare many for a long, long time.

(7) Maoists refusing to act like a political party, and instead acting like a parallel state that engages in extortions and abductions has led to a climate in the country where similar acts performed by criminal elements, organized and petty, do not even make the news. They have become backgrouns noise. Those criminals came home to roost in Gaur.

All these scenarios look bad, some more so than others. But the Nepali people have a right to know what happened. The local people know, and they are willing to talk. The government has to listen.

Law and order is a fundamental responsibility of the state.

It is extremely irresponsible when a political party acts like it were a criminal gang.

It is extremely irresponsible and wrong when criminal gangs can buy off the local police and the local politicians. The state has to belong to its people.

Gaur is a symptom of a much larger underlying problem that grips the country. The law and order situation is not good at all.

Dealing With Organized Crime

Petty criminals are one thing. But organized crime is a whole different ball game. When Bobby Kennedy became Attorney General in the US, organized crime was not even recognized, although everyone knew it existed. He changed all that.

How do you tackle organized crime? You use the petty criminals. When you catch them, you don't totally focus on punishing them. Instead you use them as a way to get the big dogs. You offer leniency and possible freedom and witness protection to the petty criminals if they will help you get to the big dogs.

Cross border cooperation is also essential. And it is important to make sure there is no nexus between the criminal bosses and the political bosses. Such political bosses have to be punished just like they were criminal bosses, because that is what they are.

Maoists engaging in extortions and abductions are nothing more than criminals and they must be treated just the same.

Elections In June Will Help

The country has been in a political limbo. Elections will alleviate the uncertainty. A stronger, more legitimate govenment will be born out of an election. That government can do a better job of law and order.

On The Web

Organized crime - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia most commonly for the purpose of generating a monetary profit. ..... defines organized crime as "The unlawful activities of ... a highly organized, disciplined association...". ..... Organized crime, however defined, is characterized by a few basic qualities including durability over time, diversified interests, hierarchical structure, capital accumulation, reinvestment, access to political protection and the use of violence to protect interests.
Federal Bureau of Investigation - Organized Crime
Rick Porrello's - AmericanMafia.com - The Organized Crime and ...
Crime - crime.org
Organized Crime in the Yahoo! Directory
Criminal Justice Resources: Organized Crime
UNODC - Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice - Organized Crime
Welcome to Organized Crime Records
Nathanson Centre Organized Crime Links
Gang Land

In The News

MJF activists clash with police in Rajbiraj; over dozen arrested NepalNews The MFJ took out rallies in inner parts of Rajbiraj Municipality after the police intervention.
House passes two election-related bills
Maoists in two minds over joining interim government
Revoke the ECDC, says Sharma
Is election to Constituent Assembly possible? provision has been made in the directive principle of the interim constitution 2007 that the election will be held by mid June....... only after the elections of the constituent assembly can all other major political and social problems facing the country be solved ..... Congress, the ruling party, has become functionless ...... As the date of the constituent assembly is nearing, threats to the people are also increasing. ..... The election should have been held way back in September/October. Why it was delayed cannot be understood. Are not all eight political parties responsible for that? Even now, captured properties have not been returned. People displaced by the 12-year-long conflict have not been able to return to their homes. Thus, there is no environment of election of the constituent assembly. When no candidate can go to the people and no voter can fearlessly cast his/her vote for the party whom he/she prefers, how can we say that the election of the constituent assembly can be held in its proper time?

UML bitter over NC attitude; Mahara says alliance in difficult spot NepalNews the UML leaders accused the NC of trying to hijack the whole credit of last year's People's Movement. .... While the PM is learnt to have said that his party wants to hold defense, home and finance portfolios, the UML has said it should be given one of those. .... "The alliance has come to a difficult point. We will return to the streets if we cannot go ahead together"
EC preparing necessary directives for holding CA polls the Election Commission (EC) is drafting around two dozen directives. ..... The directives are related to duties of election officers, counting officers and others things.
Parliament passes motion condemning Gaur massacre
Four parties tussle over plum portfolios
Gaur limps back to normalcy; another suspect of Wednesday massacre held
NC-Democratic makes its finances public Nepali Congress (Democratic) became the first party to make its income-expenditure statement public and submit it to the Election Commission. The party has stated that in the fiscal year 2062/63, it earned Rs 8 million and spent Rs 7.6 million. The audited statement says that it received Rs 2.2 million as donations and the rest it earned through levies, membership fees and so on. Other parties are yet to submit their audited financial statement to the EC in accordance with the Political Parties Act.




Nepalese Americas Council
2036 S. Church St., Murfreesboro, TN 37130, USA
NAC Since 1991 Web: www.NepalCouncil.org


March 25, 2007

PRESSRELEASE CONTACT:
For immediate release Dr. Ambika Adhikari: Ambika@alum.mit.edu
Mr. Mukesh Singh: ileshsingh@gmail.com
Mr. Sagar Onta: sagar@digiwest.com



The Nepalese Americas Council (NAC) is deeply saddened by the Gaur tragedy in Nepal on March 21, 2007 where more than 29 people were killed and many more injured. NAC expresses is deepest condolences to the families of the victims and prays for the peace of the departed souls.

NAC expresses its strong condemnation for these heinous acts of violence. On behalf of all its member organizations, NAC notes with grave concern the continuing violence and loss of lives and properties in Nepal. NAC calls for an immediate and impartial investigation into the Gaur incident and to bring the perpetrators to face the full force of law.

NAC believes it is the primary responsibility of the government to promote democratic practices, protect human lives, preserve human rights, and provide security to every one, including the women, Madhesis, Dalits and Janjatis, so that they can fully exercise their democratic rights. In turn, all citizens have the responsibility to refrain from violence and respect the rule of law. NAC urges Nepal Government to remain vigilant in providing security to all its citizens, in particular, to those who are more vulnerable.

NAC appeals to all the agitating parties to fully commit to democratic ideals and process by completely renouncing violence and embracing peaceful means to advance their political agenda. While strongly supporting the ongoing peace process and the legitimate demands of all the under-represented groups including the Madhesis and Janjatis, NAC implores all the political groups including the CPM (M) and MPRF to join in negotiations with the government to reach a national consensus on critical issues like the future structure of the state, measures to address the demands of marginalized groups, and ways to hold the Constituent Assembly elections on time. NAC calls upon the Nepali Diaspora and Nepal’s friends and well wishers to support the peace process and to denounce any form of violence and injustice.


Dr. Ambika Prasad Adhikari
President, NAC
Phoenix, AZ, USA

Undersigned NAC Member Organizations

America Nepal Friendship Society (ANFS), New York
America Nepal Society (ANS), California
Association of Nepalis in the Americas (ANA)
Association of the Nepalese in the Midwest America (ANMA)
Association of Nepali Terain in America (ANTA)
Florida Nepalese Association (FNA)
Friends of Nepal – Los Angles (FON-LA), CA
Greater Boston Nepali Community ( GBNC), Boston
International Nepali Literary Society (INLS)
Kaligandaki Friendship Society (KFC), Washington, D.C.
Liberal Democracy Nepal (LDN)
Nepalese Association in South East America (NASeA)
Nepa Pasha Pucha Amerikaye (NPPA)
Nepal Cultural Society of B.C. (NCSBC)
Nepal Seattle Society (NSS)
Nepal Community Network of Canada (NCNC)
Nepal Center of North Carolina (NCNA)
Nepalese Society of Texas ( NST), Dallas
Nepalese Association of Houston (NAH, Houston)
Nepali American Public Affairs Council (NAPAC)
Nepalis and Friends Association (NAFA), Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada
Nepali Youth Organization (NYO), Washington, D.C.
Nepali Women's Global Network (NWGN)
Rocky Mountain Friends of Nepal, (RMFN) Denver
Society of Ex-Budhanilkantha Students - North America (SEBS-NA)
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