This is so ridiculous. I guess this is Nepal going the China route. Blocking websites and stuff. Trying to muzzle dialogue. When dialogue is the only way out.
Looks like it is that Information Minister guy again. That joker who routinely gets into the crosshairs with the Supreme Court.
Free speech is a sacred right. It has been violated.
My blog has not as wide a readership. And it has not gained the Minister's attention, looks like. But I personally know the people behind the two blocked sites. And I have felt a personal jolt. I am beginning to feel a small amount of what the FM Radio people and other journos must have been feeling on the ground in Nepal.
Both these sites have made tremendous contributions to the dialogue.
State repression in Nepal right now is like pushing the basketball to the bottom of a swimming pool. The deeper you push it, the stronger it comes back, greater t
he backlash. As they say, absolute power corrupts absolutely.I was reading about this RCCC guy active in Birgung. Even the CIAA officials find him offensive. Imagine that!
There Monarchists. They are not Monarchists. They are Anarchists, they are Chaos Theory people. They need to be exiled to Lake Baikal. I think.
INSN.org Blocked In Nepal INSN “No route to host: The remote host or network may be down. Please try the request again.” ..... a press conference in Kathmandu today, Army spokesperson Brigadier General Deepak Gurung answered, “Yes, they have been blocked. We might block all other web sites that encourage Maoists activities in Nepal.” ..... RNA Major Sushil Dahal .... “Don’t be confused: both sites have been blocked not by RNA but by Ministry of Information and Communication.” .... February 1st .... the official website of the CPN(M) - www.cpnm.org .... The Nepali Post (www.nepalipost.com) ... Several proxy web services have also been banned. Proxy web services allow people to access blocked sites, but if they are also blocked, then people cannot use them...... The INSN.org and Samudaya.org websites are both dedicated to expanding the civil space for dialogue toward human rights and a democratic peace. Neither site advocates for either of the armed parties in the conflict.
Samudaya.org Press Release: Samudaya.org concerned over the blocking of its website
According to United We Blog, the selective blocking of Samudaya.org and INSN.org was announced at an RNA press conference. We want to emphasize that in a time of crisis, it is every individual's right and need to stay informed for their own interest -- whether it be for safety concerns or matters that affect personal decisions. Therefore, Samudaya.org is deeply concerned with the current regime's overall authority over Nepali media, not just the recent blocking of our website.
While Samudaya.org has never taken a pro-Maoist stance as has been implied, it must be pointed out that making information available to the general public supports a culture of intellect and knowledge, whereas the suppression of it supports the opposite: a culture of
ignorance. If there is a reason -- other than the inaccurate interpretation of our content as "encouraging Maoist activities" -- we would like to request the Ministry of Information and Communication to kindly share the specifics. If the Ministry believes that we have supported the Maoists, we request the Ministry to point out where, when and how.
Samudaya.org would also like to clarify that although Nepal's current affairs has become a popular topic on the website, its main intention is to provide a platform for progressive values through discussions. As a result, our content has been critical of all parties responsible for
the downfall of Nepal, including ourselves -- the citizens. The difference between supporting the Maoists and having a progressive outlook on Nepal, therefore, seems to have been grossly misunderstood by the Ministry of Information and Communication. We are very concerned
about where Nepal as a country is headed without members of the government being able to make important distinctions such as this.
For the purpose of further clarification, Samudaya.org is not affiliated with any party nor does it have a unified political agenda among its members, and would like to express support to INSN.org for being a great educational resource.
In The News
- Clash In Arghakhanchi: Two Versions INSN Maoists and security forces clashed in Arghakhanchi district in Nepal’s western region on 25 June. According to the Royal Nepalese Army’s Western Divisional Headquarters, Pokhara, a fierce close-range gun battle between security forces and Maoists began at 11:45 a.m. and continued till 2:30 p.m. at Khandaha VDC in the district on Saturday. Army sources confirmed that six policemen and six soldiers were killed in the fighting........... According to the pro-Maoist website www.krishnasenonline.org, 19 security personnel including an officer-in-command have been killed and 30 injured in the battle. Commissar of Mangalsen first brigade, middle division Com. Sunil (he is also Central committee member) has given a statement that the Maoists have captured 18 weapons along with a two-inch mortar and thousands of bullets from the RNA. According to Sunil, two rebels among them brigade vice-commander Jwar and S.T.F. battalion vice-commander were killed in the clash, and seven cadre wounded. An STF Battalion of Mangalsen First Brigade was involved in the battle.
- Surprise Me Samudaya Whether or not I support the decisions made by our king on February 1st makes no dent to the disaster ..... You threw the bomb where civilians were around — outside a hospital, furthermore — and you are certainly not trained enough to rule out the possibilities of missing a target altogether! ..... But to be honest, until I hear a response from them, my faith in the army and dirty politics is so miniscule that I wouldn't be surprised if it was someone in the army truck itself that threw the bomb ...... what good is the army if it means that its presence — a mere passing by — poses a threat to the civilians as opposed to providing protection? ..... leave the civilians alone — do what you have to do, just don't go near them; don't ride the same bus with them..... the Maoists are as close from us as they choose to be, and that they continue to do whatever the hell they please...... I'd have to pinch myself numerous times if the army attacked Jamuna to rescue one journalist
- No Kidding Samudaya most of the Nepalis abroad in support of the king's "roadmap" are inconsequential to how events really unravel in Nepal...... whatever little beeps of pro-democracy movement we've witnessed thus far has come from within Nepal, where the common people, journalists, professors, other intellectuals, and politicians have to actually bear the consequences of the king's decisions....... the king's war against the Maoists is really a war of the elite — specifically from Kathmandu or abroad — against everyone else from Nepal...... if we are to assume that the king is serious about resolving the conflict — for ego's sake, for people's sake, or whatever the case may be — ...... His idea, it seems, is to shake and rattle the Maoists so that they finally understand their place, and then they realize there is no victory for them. Let me just make a quick point that this hasn't actually happened yet — all of the incidents so far have been attacks on the army or the police by Maoists and not the other way around. But let's assume that it happened — that the army was on full offense, out to kill the insurgents. This means old folks, normal folks, good folks, bad folks, young folks would be all equally subject to being what they call a casualty of war — a necessity for a larger good — if they happen to be in areas with a Maoist presence, which is 73 out of 75 districts. Almost all of Nepal......... it's easier for Nepalis to dismiss Maoists as useless bastards if they're away from it all (i.e. the Kathmandu region or abroad)...... they've not gone without shaking up deeply-carved notions of women and lower ethnicity people, or of the political parties and the monarch for that matter ...... One thing that we, the elite, don't want to find out is if the Maoists really mean something to a substantial number of rural Nepalis, despite the brutality...... even most of the soldiers and policemen out on the battleground are poor people. Here we have it — the best we've got to offer is poor Nepalis fighting poor Nepalis under the command and approval of the Nepali elite. Jai Nepal, indeed.
- Maoist Radio On The Rise Samudaya ... Gulmi, Arghakhanchi and Pyuthan.... London-based BBC Radio or the Maoists' Janaganatantra Nepal's broadcast ..... scouring for locations at a height in order to listen to the evening and morning news...... In addition to Gulmi, Arkhawang, Purkot, Dhurkot, Nayagaun, Arkhale and the district headquarter Tamghas, one is able to listen to Radio Janaganatantra in various locations of the eastern region....... Radio Janaganatantra has displaced the government's Radio Nepal...... On the topic of Radio Janaganatantra, a journalist from the Kathmandu-based newspaper Kantipur has said, "When an incident occurs, to obtain rightful information we have been listening to Radio Janaganatantra in Kathmandu over the phone." ...... When there is any incident, BBC Nepali service is also heard, and the people have taken it upon themselves to decide the truthfulness of any news...... India Radio or the Chinese broadcast; some watch BBC, and some CNN.
