Monday, March 19, 2007

Madhesi, Janajati, Business Community






The Nepalgunj violence during the last week of December was the fuel (Madhesi Alert, Nepalgunj Pahadi Attack On Madhesi, Raw Email, Video Footage) and the Maoist killing and subsequent desecration of the dead body of the 16 year old Mahato was the fire. The result was the 21 day Madhesi Kranti. The Maoists disrupted the MPRF mass meetings in Bhairahawa and Nepalgunj during the lull after that 21 day movement. (Nepalgunj II: This Is A Repeat)

When the Janajati came out into the streets as a movement, they got beat up by the Maoists who have been pretending they are the messiah to the Janajati community.

The Maoists have also beat up cadres of and disrupted mass meetings of the RJP, the UML, the Nepali Congress.

Prachanda, after repeated denials and fabricated stories of guns that had been washed away by rivers, admitted recently that thousands of Maoists fighters and weapons are still outside the UN cantonments.

Maoist abductions, extortions, and beatings continue. The internally displaced have not yet returned to their homes. The Maoist fear is still in the air.

And now this. I am so glad the business community has decided to not take this lying down. People power was sufficient to cow down the royal dictatorship. People power is sufficient to cow down the Maoist menace.

The peace process was supposed to turn the Maoists into a political party, not let them continue with their dictatorial ways. The democrats have plenty of political options they can go for to counter the Maoists, and they must.

Under the climate of Maoist fear, free and fair elections can not be imagined.

The Maoist leadership can not pretend they don't know what is going on. They are either going to take responsibility for the behavior of their cadres, or they are going to throw them out of their party and let the law enforcement agencies take care of them. They can not have it both ways.

The Madhesi Movement cut the Maoists to size. The joint Madhesi, Janajati, Dalit Movement will do more of that. The Tharu have already broken away from the Maoists. That is their democratic right.

There is to be no compromise on the basics of democracy, especially now when Nepal is about to become a democracy of state funded political parties.

If the political parties will not take a clear stand against the Maoist menace, the people will.

Money And The Maoists

There is too much focus on the Maoist weapons, too little on their money. The interim parliament needs to pass a law that will make it mandatory for all political parties to make their book keeping transparent before they may contest the elections to the constituent assembly. Any political party that has more than 50% money to the second richest party must give all that extra money to the state.

A Federal Republic Electoral Alliance Against The Maoists Needed
Sadist Koirala, Kans Sitaula, Pol Pot Prachanda
Prachanda's Schizophrenia

In The News

Businessmen announce indefinite shutdown NepalNews they would close all industries, export and import, education institutions, banks, transport and air services from 3 pm while the protest would come into effect across the country from Tuesday..... FNCCI said the government's indifference towards the demands of the private sector became clear when the Prime Minister denied meeting to a delegation of private sector entrepreneurs. .... Finance Minister Dr. Ram Sharan Mahat while expressing sympathy over the demands raised by the business community, expressed surprise over the announcement of strike without consulting with the government.
Maoists deny hand in manhandling of businessman Saying that the business community was only targeting the Maoist party, he said the strike of the businessmen smacked of "involvement of reactionaries".
EC to start second phase of voters' registration
Internet services go down in protest of attack on businessman the Internet Service Providers Association of Nepal (ISPAN) has decided to halt all Internet services from 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM today, March 19, 2007 ..... The private sector, according to ISPAN, has repeatedly been the victim of atrocities, such as extortion, arson, abduction and brutal physical assault by members of CPN Maoist cadres .... it would be compelled to intensify protest with similar service outages in the coming days “if the government does not act responsibly”
Few Nepalis have access to formal financial institutions, says WB report
Govt, parties stress on CA polls within mid-June; EC demands laws
Parties have failed to earn their legitimacy: Dixit though Nepali people gave them the second chance to come to power through peaceful 'April uprising,' major political parties in Nepal have largely forgotten the plight of ordinary people ..... the London Chhalphal, a Nepal-facing discussion and networking forum, and SOAS ( School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London) Nepali Society. ..... displaced people are yet to return to their homes ..... "There is an almost abandonment of ordinary people by the seven party alliance and the Maoists. Whatever the development work is going on at the grassroots level, it is despite or without the government" ....... Nepal's success story in community forestry, micro-hydro and community radio has shown that sustainable development takes place only when local communities are empowered and decision-making authority is delegated to the local elected officials. ...... there were separatist scenarios in the south and threat of ethnic militancy in the hills ...... "To create jobs, you have to have right type of investment climate, but the situation is such that Nepal is facing a huge capital flight" ....... Dixit said implementation of lift irrigation project with the investment of say around 10 million dollars would help Karnali people to grow enough food for themselves ...... example of three private colleges in Khandbari in eastern hilly district of Sankhuwasabha coming together to build a 5 MW micro-hydro plant in the district. By selling power to the national grid, they have become able to sustain their colleges ....... extortion was still taking place and violence had almost become a norm .... journalists, teachers and children—who were in the frontline of the decade-old armed conflict in Nepal—were still living with the deep physical and psychological scars. "Minefields are killing more children in Nepal now than during the conflict" ........ www.london-chhalphal.org Listen to the Audio Transcription: MP3 WAV
"CA polls impossible unless our demands are met: Dr Gurung" - A NepalNews report on London Chhalphal with Mr. Om Gurung
Entrepreneurs organise sit in demanding security

Prachanda expresses sorrow over attack on hotelier, promises to punish guilty Kantipur
EC cautions parties to be serious regarding polls
India providing assistance to Nepal hydro projects
Business community announces indefinite shutdown against Maoist "excesses"
Police foil MPRF border shut down plan; forum cadres forced to flee to India Berhaiya, Rupandehi. .... around 150 cadres had gathered this afternoon to close the border check point. .... the Indian Border Security Force ( BSF) personnel had used force to drive away the MPRF cadres. ..... The forum cadres have fled to Sunauli, India after the Maoists, who had stationed themselves in the border checkpoint along with the Nepal Police personnel, did not let them enter Nepal.
Katari local escapes Maoist custody
Maoists thrash NC, UML, NC-D leaders in Humla
Foreign breeds a threat to indigenous crops
Maoist threat to blacken DEO's face sparks furor
Villagers stay in hut, use modern toilets
Seven-hour curfew clamped in Kalaiya
अन्तरिम सरकार गठनमा अझै ढिलाइ
चन्दा नपाएपछि अपहरण गरी कुटपिट
दुई घन्टा सेनाको नियन्त्रणमा
प्रजातान्त्रिकका कार्यकर्ता अपहरण
घोडेजात्रामा प्रधानमन्त्री प्रमुख अतिथि
माओवादी नेताद्वारा कार्यालय प्रमुखहरूलाई निर्देशन
राजनीतिक निर्णय
संविधानसभा अघिका चुनौती
वनमा माओवादी

Nepal business community calls for shutdown on Tuesday DailyIndia.com, FL
Nepal business, internet hit by protest against Maoist violence Monsters and Critics.com, UK
Indian debacle in World Cup busts punters' network in Nepal Malaysia Sun, Malaysia
Tibetans Hope For Improved Treatment of Refugees in Nepal Men's News Daily, CA
Tibetans Hope For Improved Treatment of Refugees in Nepal Voice of America
Nepal Outgoing Indian ambassador meets... Telegraphnepal.com, Nepal
Nepal businesses in anti-Maoist strike United Press International
India providing assistance to Nepal hydro projects Kantipur Online, Nepal
Business Community Nepal Banda: Deplorable United We Blog, Nepal
Nepal's business lobby calls for indefinite shutdown India eNews.com, India

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