March 4, 2005
- PeaceJournalism.com ...... Nepali democracy had not worked for sometime ..... solution should have been sought through further democratizing by addressing the problems that had been encountered in the last one and half decades ..... Until and unless major democratic political reforms are conducted, the problems Nepal has faced will not be solved. We have to address the underlying problems, not symptoms of those problems like corruption, Maoist insurgency, or even the King's intervention...... the attitudes of the cabinet, the capability of the State and the increased power concentration does not provide much hope ..... how can we establish a system whereby corrupt and irresponsible leaders are pushed aside democratically ...... the negative consequences of extreme centralization may take place at a faster rate now ..... could lead to an explosive situation ..... they do not consider a country democratic that is governed by a single party for a long time ..... support to the Maoist by some Nepalis and to the monarch by others is an indication that the Nepali people are seeking alternatives that they did not get from the political parties in them last decade and half ..... The solution is to accommodate them through institutional reforms. We must not forget that the Maoist have popular support as well ..... if genuine reforms are carried out, even if the Maoists do not agree to a settlement, their support base could erode ..... no democrat can question the issue of election for a constituent assembly ...... The king should not be too worried about the constituent assembly...... The longer he is involved directly, the more threat to the crown. The possibility of a coalition among the Maoists and the political parties increases as well...... polity should be reformed to diffuse power among different level of governments and different branches of government ...... In between the elections, other mechanisms are necessary to hold public officials accountable...... Many governments have objected to UN's mediation because they perceive that it could lead to the formal recognition of the rebels. In such cases, other international agencies or countries have mediated...... a substantial section of the Nepalis support them ..... a substantial population is not happy with the status quo of extreme inequality and discrimination they are facing and would even support groups that promise radical transformation through violent means ..... the Nepali mainstream media has totally failed to represent the perspectives of the marginalized groups like the indigenous nationalities, dalit, madhesi, Muslim, and women
- India firm on Nepal democracy Calcutta Telegraph, India .....India was in touch with the international community over the developments in Nepal in an effort to evolve a coordinated response
- Nepal tightens grip, extends detention of Opposition leaders Economic Times, India .....
- Nepal regime cracks down on college teachers: New Kerala, India ..... Security forces Thursday marched inside the campus of Kathmandu's Trichandra College where about 20 to 25 college teachers had assembled at the office of Nepal Professors' Association to celebrate the release of fellow lecturer Shoubhagyajan Karki......being released Thursday after his family moved the district court.....They made some of the teachers sit in the van for nearly half an hour and then allowed them to go."It was a naked show of might to intimidate teachers," the association said...... the administration is trying to harass teachers ..... 58-year-old mathematics teacher Man Bahadur Bishwakarma, still continues to be detained in a prison in Bhaktapur
- Nepal army flushing out rebels: New Kerala, India ..... track down rebels who escaped following a major battle with government troops ...... 70 rebels and four members of the security forces died ..... Bloodshed in Nepal has continued, despite King Gyanendra's takeover of direct power a month ago, which he said would help contain violence.
- Crackdown on rebels in Nepal continues
Times of India Information and Communications Minister Tanka Dhakal defended the action and called on the media to restrain itself. "This measure is not censorship," he said - US, India working together to restore democracy in Nepal Malayala Manorama, India "India, in our view, plays an absolutely critical role. As far as Nepal is concerned India is a major power. The United States is far away. India is right next door" ....."India has been very, very firm in its conviction that the King must move very quickly." New Delhi has taken the position, like the US has, that what the King has done is "not in the interests of Nepal," he added.
- US may suspend military assistance to Nepal:
New Kerala ..... the Feb. 1 dismissal of Nepal's government by King Gyanendra was a "serious setback" for democracy and risks eroding Kathmandu's ability to fight the Maoist insurgency ..... US Faces Dilemma Over Nepal Security Aid -Official Reuters ..... the king "probably emboldened the Maoists and made it more likely that the Maoists have a stronger position than they did before February 1." ..... New York-based Human Rights Watch said this week that many of the hundreds of Nepalis who have disappeared since the insurgency began in 1996 were probably victims of extrajudicial execution by security forces...... The United States was thinking seriously about whether to push for censure of Nepal by the U.N. Commission on Human RightsUS ambassador prevented from meeting detained Nepal leader Daily Times, Pakistan Moriarty had sought a meeting with Nepal Congress president and ex-prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala at his house in Maharajgunj, on the outskirts of Kathmandu ..... the second time Moriarty has been denied access to Koirala - Nepal prevents US envoy from meeting Koirala:
New Kerala ..... several envoys, including Moriarty and Shiv Shankar Mukherjee, India's ambassador to Nepal, had tried to meet Koirala but had been turned away .....The refusal comes even as the US State Department released its reports on human rights practices in nearly 200 countries, including Nepal. The report on Nepal called the Nepalese government's human rights record poor with continuation of serious abuses...... It also came down on the Maoist insurgents, saying they have continued their campaign of torturing, killing and forcibly conscripting children. New Nepal rebels brutalize old friends Seattle Post Intelligencer ......Armed with guns, iron rods and carpenters' tools, militants swarmed through a Nepalese village and banged at one door. Inside, they threw a woman to the floor, beat her and drilled holes into her legs...... They beat 40-year-old Pun with iron rods for hours, kicked her and attacked her with a hand-powered drill. Then they fled, leaving her to die...... "The only cure for fear is to not to fear" .....in 1996, the ragtag Maoist rebels began their armed campaign. They began to sweep through the country, taking control of vast swaths of remote terrain where there had been no roads or government presence, setting up kangaroo courts and instilling fear among poor villagers...... In August, Thapa met the Maoist top brass when they came to Katmandu for peace talks with the government...... some 70 rebels raided their home and broke open the door. The women fighters said: "Take off her clothes!" ..... Naked from the waist down, Pun was beaten and tortured until she fainted. Electrical wires from a solar power panel were rigged to her arms...... Today, she lives in constant pain, able to walk only with assistance. - ADB distances itself from reports on Nepal aid: New Kerala, India Contrary to government-run media reports that the ADB had pledged to continue its assistance to Nepal, Rahman said: "In view of the recent political and security developments in Nepal, ADB is reviewing the implications for its operation in Nepal." ..... Newly appointed Nepalese Finance Minister Madhukar Shumshere J.B. Rana last month confronted reports of aid suspensions by saying though bilateral donors could be influenced by political considerations, global donors like the ADB and the World Bank were likely to continue assistance.
- Nepal official denies reports of secret mission: New Kerala, India ......The present regime has been trying to woo the support of New Delhi, saying it should support the king since the Communist insurgency is a problem shared by both India and Nepal. ..... Sharad Chandra Shaha ...... Shaha, who was advisor to the previous government headed by Lokendra Bahadur Chand and was considered close to the present king's father, late king Mahendra, said he had gone to India to attend a two-day conclave hosted by India Today.
- Censorship in Nepal enters second phase
Statesman ....asking journalists to write only what the security forces told them about the Maoists or face punishment Fidel Castro supports Nepal king Times of India, India ..... After China, Russia and Pakistan, a fourth country has expressed support for Nepal's beleaguered King Gyanendra - Cuba.
- Nepal's king under pressure inside and out The Japan Times
- Nepal royal takeover raises risk of disappearancesReuters India, India ....."Even before the coup, the army was more likely to terrorise Nepali civilians rather than fight the Maoists. They had complete impunity," Saman Zarifi, Human Rights Watch's Asia deputy director, told Reuters. "After the coup, there's even less accountability for the army. The fear is that the army is going to go on the rampage."
- NEPAL: Focus on the impact of the conflict on rural healthReuters AlertNet, UK ..... Health facilities in rural Nepal have been contracting as the nine-year rebellion has left up to 80 percent of the country in the hands of the Maoists. Most government-employed health workers are afraid to make field visits to regions controlled by the rebels in case they are abducted and forced to work for the insurgents. If they do offer health care in Maoist regions, they are at risk of being targeted by security forces and accused of "helping the terrorists"...... An estimated 48,000 female health care volunteers (FHCVs) play a key role in reaching out to people in the rural areas. But most of them are now reluctant to go to the villages ..... pressure from both sides of the conflict made the work impossible
- Nepal rebels vow to keep up resistanceTaipei Times, Taiwan ..... lifted the blockade but are now threatening a military campaign and a`mass movement of the people' against the king ..... "We are lifting the indefinite blockade of transportation to show our deep responsibility toward the people" ..... The monarch, who says he was forced to act because of the insurgency, has ignored repeated calls from the international community that he restore democracy
- Declaration by the European Union on the situation in NepalReliefWeb (press release), Switzerland ..... the action taken by the King is a serious setback to the prospects for a negotiated and democratically based solution to the conflict in Nepal .....
- Nepal Maoists find support in ChhattisgarhIndo-Asian News Service, India ..... "In February, the Maoists have held over 35 rallies and more than 72 meetings in Dantewada district of Bastar that borders Andhra Pradesh" ..... the Maoists had flooded the rural areas of Dantewada with banners and posters pledging support to the rebels in Nepal ..... some of the banners vowed to hit government installations in Bastar as what they called a "punishment for the Indian government for not acting tough against the Nepal king
- Nepal: The King Says Terrorism No Longer AcceptedScoop.co.nz (press release), New Zealand ..... King Gyanendra said ... we are fighting for democracy and against terrorism..... "When we have chosen to uphold democracy and fight against terrorism, why are they shying away from helping us? I can see one thing clearly emerging out of it. Our objectives are the same. We are going to meet somewhere. But we have chosen may be different paths in attaining that objective" ..... "They must say what they must say and we must do what we must do" ..... "There is so much work to be done and that work has to be done together"
- 5 Nepal parties to launch stir from Mar.8:- Webindia123 ..... protest meetings, flag demonstrations ..... Balbahadur Rai of Nepali Congress, Jhalanath Khanal of CPN-UML, Bijaya Kumar Gachhadar of NC (Democratic), Chitra Bahadur Ale of Janamorcha Nepal and Bharat Bimal Yadav of Nepal Sadbhavana Party (A).
- King’s man in Delhi, says Nepal wants more time Indian Express
