Democracy For Nepal: MJF And NEFIN Must Become Political Parties

Friday, March 09, 2007

MJF And NEFIN Must Become Political Parties

Both Upendra Yadav and Om Gurung have come out saying they have no plans to become political parties. It is true that the MJF and NEFIN did not start out as political parties. But now times have changed. If they do not become political parties before the elections to the constituent assembly, they will have been a major drawback to genuine Madhesi and Janajati empowerment in the country. No matter which party wins or loses, some Bahun or the other will be president for the next 20 years. That can not be allowed to happen.

One reason they might be saying what they might be saying is because they did not start out with the intention to become political parties. And so they perhaps feel an obligation to stick to the founding principles.

Another reason they might be saying what they might be saying might be because they think if the parties in power realize that the MJF and NEFIN are going to become political parties, they will never meet the basic demands of the Madhesi Janajati Movement. Don't anger them too much. That might be the thinking. That is defeatist thinking.

The Madhesi and the Janajati are willing to go through any hardship as long as their leadership moves ahead with a clear vision. The parties in power depend on Madhesi and Janajati votes. Without them, they are nothing. I don't care if the two Congress factions come together, but if you wipe out the Congress from the Madhesh, you are going to turn the Congress in Nepal what the Congress party is in Bihar and UP today: nowhere to be seen.

Upendra Yadav and Om Gurung are in a position to engineer a paradigm shift, a tectonic shift in Nepal's power arrangements. They should not miss the chance. If they do, Madhesis and Janajatis will keep having to beg for more power and more rights from the Khas masters. That will be a major disservice.

The best option would be for the two to come together and form a party with an ethnically neutral name. I like the name Janata Dal. That would be a party that would start out with a central committee that is 20% Khas, 35% Madhesi, 35% Janajati, 10% Dalit, and 1/3rd women in each category, Upendra Yadav would be President, Om Gurung or Pasang Sherpa would be Vice President.

The Madhesi and the Janajati should stop fearing the Khas power structures. Those are but a house of cards. If the Madhesi and the Janajati masses can become martyrs to their cause, they can vote. They can get organized and they can vote, provided the leaders step up.

Right now there is still some latent confusion. There is not enough communication between the two movements. The two should come together and hammer out a common minimum program. I think it would be a three point program.

Home Minister resign.
Form a probe commission.
Proportional elections to the constituent assembly.

If the MJF and NEFIN are not going to become political parties, then what sense does it make for NEFIN to ask for proportional elections to the constituent assembly? The Madhesis do not need it any more really. They already are going to get half the seats. But the Madhesis stand by it for the Janajatis. It is a Madhesi stand to express solidarity with the Janajati Movement.

If the NEFIN is not going to become a political party, then its demand for proportional elections to the constituent assembly does not make a whole lot of sense. What does it mean? That 35% of the constituent assembly should be Janajati? How? Should there be a law saying every third name on the lists of the political parties should be a Janajati? Or what?

So maybe we want more than proportional elections. We want proportional elections with reserved seats. I have floated this formula before.

Every third name has to be female. Two of every three such names have to be Dalit, Madhesi, Janajati, with two Madhesi and Janajati names for every Dalit name.
Five out of every 10 name has to be DaMaJaMa with two Madhesi and Janajati names for every Dalit name. There can be more.

If the eight parties can agree to these five points, I guess it is possible the MJF and NEFIN do not have to become political parties.

If not the Madhesi and Janajati movements have to continue indefinitely. Like the eight parties disrupted the royal city elections, the Madhesi Janajati Movement has to disrupt Girija Bahun's elections that want to rubber stamp the status quo. Girija perhaps wants that. He wants a few more months of unelected power.

In The News

One dead in Banke clash; 13-hour long curfew imposed NepalNews Tularam Tripathi of Khajura VDC ..... Seven Armed Police Force (APF) personnel and eight MJF activists were injured in a clash near Ranjha Airport in Nepalgunj. ..... the general strike called by the MJF has affected normal life in Terai districts today, the fourth day of the strike. ..... District headquarters of Bara, Parsa and Rautahat remained closed on Friday due to the bandh. Parasi Bazaar, the district headquarters of Nawalparasi, has also been affected by the bandh. .... MJF activists have burnt the copies of the interim statute in Lahan. Traffic was regulated with police escort along the Siraha-Saptari section of the Mahendra Highway ..... A few shops opened in Biratnagar while industries and academic institutions remained completely shut. ..... Situation along the Bansbari-Duhabi section in Morang district remained tense due to the demonstrations held by the MJF activists. ..... Long distance vehicles are plying in all districts but short distance vehicles are off the road in some districts. ...... traffic in Bardiya district has returned to normal and marketplaces have opened.
MPs deplore bomb scare at civil society leaders’ residences
CA polls impossible unless our demands are met: Dr Gurung unless demands of the Madhesi, janajati, dalit and women, among others, are fulfilled. ..... in London ... major demands of his organisation were restructuring of the state and society and proportional representation in the Constituent Assembly (CA) ....... Dr. Gurung—who is associate professor at the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu—said there are a total of 101 ethnic communities in Nepal ...... German, Swiss or South African model could be very close to what they proposed for Nepal ....... "We have not been able to determine the number of federal states within the country so far. But we are close to the Maoist and Jana Morcha's proposition in this respect" ...... said NFIN's demand of federal states was different than that being proposed by the Maoists. ....... "Maoists are demanding autonomous federations on the basis of ethnicity with the right to self-determination. But we are for federations within the Nepali state with full autonomy" ....... NFIN—as of now—did not have any plan to contest elections by forming a political party in the proposed CA elections. ....... diversity would always be a source of integration and power
US embassy 'deeply concerned' over Prachanda's statement
Gurkhas to continue agitation for equal benefits to all
Rayamajhi commission does not implicate the King, says DPM Sherchan
Bomb discovered at residences of Dr. Pandey and Pahadi
Women allowed joining British Gurkhas

Bombs at Civil Society leaders’ houses Kantipur
Don’t induct Maoists into govt unless they improve their act: NC tells govt
Prachanda expresses commitment to return seized property
Int'l Women's Day: Not law, implementation is biggest challenge now
Defiance of MPRF strike continues countrywide some districts in eastern Terai remain affected by the strike.
Eight parties to meet on Saturday, will discuss polls date, interim govt the PM had expressed his commitment towards forming the interim government by March 14 in order to successfully hold the CA elections by mid-June.
‘Backchannel’ used to run TV with 100 pc FDI
डा. पाण्डे र पहाडीको निवासमा बम
राज्यका हरेक तहमा समान प्रतिनिधित्व माग
सहमति कार्यान्वयन नभई सरकारमा नलैजाऊ’
कोइराला गणतन्त्रको पक्षमा’ करिब सवा घन्टा लामो सम्बोधनमा प्रचण्ड एमाले र काग्रेसप्रति बढी आक्रामक देखिएका थिए । ... 'एमालेको नोट अफ डिसेन्ट वार्ता तोड्ने उद्देश्यले लेखेको थियो,' प्रचण्डले भने- 'अहिले पनि एमाले र कांग्रेसका केही नेतृत्व अन्तरिम सरकारमा माओवादीलाई जान नदिने र संविधानसभा निर्वाचन हुन नदिने खेल खेलिरहेका छन् ।
सुरक्षा दिई यातायात सञ्चालन मधेसी जनअधिकार फोरमको अनिश्चितकालीन मधेस बन्दको तेस्रो दिन विभिन्न स्थानमा झडप भएको छ । बा“केे, दुहवी, विराटनगरलगायतका स्थानमा भएका झडपमा केही घाइते भएका छन् । कान्तिपुरको पत्रिका वितरणमा हि“डेको गाडी र कर्मचारीमाथि समेत फोरम कार्यकर्ताले आक्रमण गरेका छन् । ..... फोरमको बा“के नेतृत्वले आन्दोलन आफ्नो नियन्त्रण बाहिर गएको जनाउ“दै सजग हुन सबैस“ग आग्रह गरेको छ । रातमा सवारी साधन तो डफोड र र्सवसाधारण लुटपाटका घटना बढेपछि फोरमलेे यो भनाइ र्सार्वजनिक गरेको हो । .... फोरमका बा“के अध्यक्ष र्सवदेव ओझाले बिहीबार विज्ञप्तिमार्फ सा“झ ७ बजेदेखि बिहान ५ बजेसम्म आन्दोलनका कुनै गतिविधि नहुने भएकाले त्यो बेलाका घटनामा आफ्नो संलग्नता नरहने बताएका छन् । 'कुटपिट र लुटपाट शान्तिपर्ूण्ा आन्दोलन बदनाम गर्ने निन्दनीय कार्य हो,' ओझाद्वारा जारी विज्ञप्तिमा छ । ....... सदरमुकाम कलैया, जितपुर, परवानीपुर, वरियारपुर, गन्जभवानीपुर, स्रि्रौनगढलगायतका प्रमुख बजारमा पसल, शिक्षण संस्था र कल कारखाना पर्ूण्ारूपले बन्द छन् । ...... फोरम कार्यकर्ताले नवलपरासीका अधिकांश सरकारी कार्यालयमा तालाबन्दी गरेका छन् । लाठीसहित निस्केको फोरमको जुलुसले जिल्ला शिक्ष्ँा, कृषि, हुलाक, मालपोत, नापी, सहकारी, भूसंरक्ष्ँणलगायतका कार्यालयमा तालाबन्दी गरेका छन् । ..... जनकपुरमा बजार बन्द गराउ“दै हि“डेका फोरम कार्यकर्ता र राजदेवी मंदिरका व्यवसायीबीच सामान्य झडप भयो । यसैबीच मोरङको रंगेलीको चोप्रहाबाट बिहीबार सा“झ फोरमले मसाल जुलुस निकाले । जुलुसले बजार परिक्रमा गरी कोणसभा गर्‍यो । ३ दिनअघि आधा दर्जन सरकारी कार्यालयमा गरेको तालबन्दी कायम राखेको छ । ...... सुरक्षासाथ लगि“दै गरेका गाडी रोक्न खोज्दा सुनसरीको दुहबीमा प्रहरीले चलाएको रबर गोली लागेर फोरमका डेढ दर्जन पर््रदर्शनकारी घाइते भएको फोरमका नेता बद्रीनारायण विश्वासले बताए । ....... घाइतेमध्ये सुरेशप्रसाद साह, दशरथ अग्रहरी र अनुपप्रसाद शाहको अवस्था चिन्ताजनक छ । उनीहरूको स्थानीय नर्सिङहोममा उपचार भइरहेको फोरमका दुहबी संयो जक राम इकवाल सिंहलेे बताए । 'हामीहरू कोणसभाको तयारी गरिरहेका थियौं,' सिंहले भने- 'एक्कासि सुरक्षाकर्मी आएर माइक खोस्दै, फोरमको झन्डा फ्या“क्न थाले ।' सुरक्षाका लागि आएका सुरक्षाकर्मी र पर््रदर्शनकारीबीच झन्डै डेढ घन्टा झडप भएको उनले बताए । ....... छुट्टै पहिचानसहितको संघीय राज्य माग गर्दै आन्दोलनरत मधेसी जनअधिकार फोरम र चुरे भावर प्रदेश एकता समाजबीच आन्दोलनलाई शान्तिपर्ूण्ा बनाउने र सद्भाव कायम राख्ने सहमति भएको छ । ...... समाजले मधेसमा गणना हुने चुरे पर्वत शृंखला, भावर र चारकोसे झाडी रहेको भूभाग समेटेर अलग पहिचानसहितको छुट्टै संघीय राज्य माग गर्दै र्सलाहीबाट आन्दोलन सुरु गरेको छ ।
प्रहरी लगाएर संस्थानको ताला खोलियो
व्यवहार नसुध्रे लगिन्न ः प्रधानमन्त्री
गणतन्त्रको प्रस्ताव दर्ता
समावेशी सरकार गठन गर्न नर्वेको आग्रह
परिवर्तनको लहर
दोस्रो अन्तर्रर्ााट्रय विमानस्थल बनाइने
From social exclusion to social cohesion .... the feeling of physical pain that accompanies the emotional pain of social rejection. .... what it feels to grow up being looked down upon from womb to tomb .... The government seems to be leading the Madhesis up the garden path again by failing to initiate talks with them
Enduring violence in silence
Politics of self-defeat
Can women unite under diversity?

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9 March