Hi friends,
The arrest of Gagan Thapa and other students at 3:00 in the morning from their house has disturbed me very much. The police have also confiscated the camera of Ajay Shivakoti, parts of whose footage we have used in the andolan jaari chha.. Ajay is a COCAP volunteer.
All these people are very close to me, personally and in the pro-democracy movement. How can we help them? If Gyanendra is allowed to have his way, Gagan will be the first person he'l want to rot insiode prison.
I have posted an appeal at insn. Please visit it and start doing something.
Regards,
Dinesh, April 26Gagan Thapa's arrest has to be marked as a major turning point. The Monazis, formerly known as Monarchists, arrested a score of other student leaders around the same time. They destroyed a few cameras. Masked policemen in civilian clothes stormed the office of the largest party in the country.
These came around the hoax "April 25 11 AM" tentative date and time for the beginning of a massive protest, something I had alerted Gagan Thapa about over email a few weeks back. I am beginning to wonder if elements of the regime have been reading this blog.
It is important to maintain perspective and not exaggerate one's standing or contribution. I am just a blogger with some participation in some offline activities. I have kept it all transparent at this blog itself. My attempt all along has been to contribute to creating a democratic platform and becoming a small part of it.
But Gagan Thapa's arrest has had reverberations all the way to the Dinesh Prasain US Speaking Tour. And there is much concern. What are our options? What can we do? Emails have been floating around.
I would like to suggest team members and others study these two events:
I would like to propose we design a non-violent version of the French revolution. The new generation will have to step up to the plate. It is possible to design a takeover by the people in their 20s and 30s.
So far my attempt has been to work with the three players, the Monazis, the Maoists and the political parties. Maybe it is time to decide those three are the reason why Nepal is where it is today. Maybe we should float a new political party from scratch. That might be the quicker way to get to where we want to go.
Janata Dal. It will operate on the principle of total, transparent democracy.
The goal is to install this constitution by taking over the country through massive protests. We need to beat the regime through superior organization. I can see me being the Movie Director, and Dinesh as the lead Actor. But for this I need Dinesh to agree. It is at this blog that he himself will be seeing this proposal for the first time. Yes, basically the idea is that he will become Prime Minister. We will take the lead. Other parties that come along will get berths in the interim adminstration that will put the constitution to a referendum within two months of taking over.
His tour has been going on very well. It has exceeded expectations.
I would like to go into the details later on. I just wanted to present the outline here. Let me know what you all think. If we decide to do it, it will help that I expect to have moved to New York City by the end of June, or early July should I decide to attend the ANA convention in Dallas where I have been invited to hold a discussion on this topic.
After the move, I will be in a position to engage in some major fund-raising, in both the private and the public sectors, with organizations like the Open Society Institute and the State Department. And I will be thinking up strategy all along. And I am not worried about the Maoists fishing in the murky waters. I have very good ideas about snuffing out any such possibility.
Dinesh, give me organization, and I will give you full democracy! I guess this is a poor imitation of the famous Subhash Chandra Bose line, Tum Mujhe Khoon Do, Main Tumhe Ajadee Doonga.
First Gear: If the regime treats non-violent demonstrators with human respect, they will do fine after we take over. The king will retain all his property. There will be no mass purge of the army top brass, only some downsizing and reorganization.
Second Gear: If there is abuse of demonstrators, most of the king's property will get nationalized. A commission will investigate and punish key people in the police and the army who gave the orders for the abuse.
Third Gear: The king gets sent into exile if the demonstrators are put through cruelty.
I call this approach non-violent militancy. You stay non-violent. But within that limit you make the most of all political tools available, like sophisticated organization, massive use of communications technology, and the state apparatus, once taking over. The approach takes the best of Mahatma Gandhi and Subhash Chandra Bose.
In The News
- Nepal's Ex-PM Defies Corruption Panel Monsters and Critics, UK ...... Deuba was taken from his home Wednesday by about 50 police officers
- Nepal emergency expires Saturday - what will king do next?:-
Webindia123 ..... the king can lift emergency for a short period, even a day, and re-impose it on his own....... "There is no provision for him to head the government. Emergency can be imposed only on the recommendation of the prime minister who then has to get it endorsed by parliament. But the king imposed emergency after dismissing the prime minister." ....... A lawyer Thursday filed a second petition, asking for the convening of the upper house to decide on emergency. However, the court rejected the petition, saying the state of emergency had yet not run its course. - UN appoints Human Rights Commisioner for Nepal
Press Trust of India Ian Martin .... with 30 years experience in the field of human rights, also served as the Secretary General of Amnesty International from 1986 to 1992 and Human Rights director of the UN in Haiti in 1993-95. He is presently the Vice-president of the New York based human rights NGO, the International Centre for Transitional Justice...... "breaking the cycle of serious and systematic abuses will be the first essential step toward achieving peace and reconciliation in Nepal." Rebels lift Nepal school threat BBC News, UK ..... the rebel change of tack followed appeals from the international community and human rights groups...... - Delhi bares Nepal fangs
Calcutta Telegraph India, miffed at King Gyanendra re-arresting former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, today hinted at the “leverages” it has against Nepal but has not used so far....... the king had assured Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of “unwinding” the emergency....... The CPM and other Left parties, who have 63 MPs and whose support is crucial for the United Progressive Alliancea regime in Kathmandu that “is going berserk”......
government’s survival, have strongly opposed the possible resumption of arms supply to Nepal....... Restore democracy now, Annan urges Nepal Hindu, India - UN sending Human Rights team to Nepal: Annan
Hindustan Times "as UN, we discourage transfer of arms" to any conflict area ..... Nepal troops in Sudan as vanguard for UN force Radio Australia, Australia A small group of Nepalese troops has been deployed in Sudan -- the first contingent of what's expected to be a 10-thousand strong UN peacekeeping mission. - Nepal told to focus on reforms to benefit from WTO Gorkhapatra, Nepal the WTO had been providing technical assistance to the developing nations to train their people so that they have a better understanding of the WTO agreements and negotiations....... the WTO chief called on the Nepalese government to speed up the reform process so that it can be better equipped to tackle the challenges posed following its entrance into the world trade regime. .... “Nepal must focus on reforms, facilitate and include the private sector in trade and development activities, besides strengthening its infrastructure,” Dr. Panitchpakdi told The Rising Nepal.
- MIDDLE: A Plan for Gyan Times of India, India Last week, India agreed to lift an arms embargo to Kathmandu. Gleeful at the prospect of more guns, the king threw the leaders of all parties in jail. ...... In Kashmir, 500,000 Indian soldiers and paramilitary have grappled with militants for 16 years. Even today, there are an estimated 2,000 insurgents at work there. The king has about 150,000 troops trying to control about 2,000 active Maoist fighters and probably 10 times that many sleepers who carry out stealth attacks...... Gyanendra ..lacks any democratic instincts whatso-ever ....... Here's his economics, or what passes for that: Export more Nepalese workers to boost remittances, export hydro-electricity to India and boost tourism. Since February, tourist arrivals are rec-koned to have fallen about 50%; foreign aid, which funds approximately 70% of development spending has crashed as donors shrink from his regime; garment exports are down about 40% and Kath- mandu's official projections say that the economy might grow a measly 3% this year, compared to 7% for neighbouring Bhutan. ....... Nepal is in the clutches of a bumbling and dangerous despot. It is futile to expect Gyanendra to restore democracy, the rule of law and institutions.
- Nepalese troops, helicopters track Maoist rebels: Officer
Zee News Over 1,400 army security forces are being mobilized in Rolpa and are narrowing the circle on the Maoists in the course of the offensive operation .... Nepal Situation: Briefing influential ones in the US United We Blog, Nepal Indira Karki, Bina Baidya, Puru Subedi, Dr. Shyam Karki, Congressman James Walsh, Dr. Maheswor Baidya, Suman Timsina and Anand Bista....... Walsh recently sent a letter to the King of Nepal signed by 11 fellow congressmen..... team met officials from the offices of three Senators: Senator Paul (MD), Senator Rick Santorum (PA), and Senator Arlen Specter (PA)...... Senator Santorum has recently written a strong letter to Secretary Rice asking to look into military aid ..... a Peace rally planned by Nepali Diaspora on May 15th, 2005 in Washington, DC ..... - Nepal King Returns Home United We Blog, Nepal stopping a vibrant democratic process ..... I am talking about these students (pic), who are standing on the roadside, in a rainy and cold day, to welcome the monarch home. ..... We have a tradition of vacating the road for very very important personalities to ensure their safe and hitch less travel. ...... Are those public just meaningless creatures wandering around the footpath? Does that road solely belong to those VVIPs? ...... people were stranded and schoolgirls soaked, raindrops trickling from their hair and they were shivering from sudden cold ..... So what is the way-out so that both side win. My suggestion is: use helicopter. Take VVIPs directly from the international airport to their destination (in this case the royal palace)...... no students have get soaked in a cold evening sparing their time that they could have used by studying and doing homework....... I sometimes wonder the King learned much from masoists or masoists learned from nepal’s kings or both of these terrorists learned from somebody else. they use the same technique: indoctrinate school-kids from every possible way.
- Indian couple held in Nepal for alleged conversions:- Webindia123, India
- Nepal’s Entry Into WTO Getting Nowhere Gorkhapatra, Nepal Neither has the government made any attempt to fulfill its commitment in the WTO, nor have the private sectors developed their confidence. The process of introducing and amending more than 37 laws has been disturbed due to political instability ..... not a single step seems to have been taken to bolster the country’s trade and economy at the government level. .... The overall trend of foreign direct investment is not favourable. ....... “Instead of reaping opportunities, Nepal’s entry into the WTO has swelled up its liabilities.”
- Maoists Attack Leave 15 Injured In Nepal SouthAsia Network, Asia Maoist rebels attacked civilians with knives, stones and iron rods in northern Nepal leaving 15 people injured including a two-year-old child.
- Bandung II: Long on Rhetoric, Short on Reality Navhind Times, India Bandung II was primarily an extravaganza. It was long on rhetoric and short on reality..... platitudes and cliches are the lifeblood of international diplomacy .... the solemn talk about a ‘New Asia Africa Strategic Partnership’ (NAASP) makes little sense ..... Japan’s refusal to face up to its history of deplorable tyranny on its neighbours before and during the World War II..... Its recent decision to join the United States in promising to defend Taiwan from any invasion has infuriated the Chinese .... in this age of globalisation, every country is trying to make a deal with the dominant power, the US, to protect its own interests ...... the three main objectives of first Bandung Conference — end of colonialism, end of the scourge of apartheid, and the end of the Cold War — were achieved by 1990. But, sadly, the organisers of the 1955 Bandung Conference and those that had signed its 10-point declaration had nothing to do with this...... the recommendation that if a country cannot or does not protect the human rights of its citizens, the international community should have a right to intervene...... what took place on the sidelines of the Bandung celebrations was more important than the main proceedings ...... reports that the Royal Nepal Army was running dangerously short of essential wherewithal to take on the Maoists who seem rather well supplied ..... there is nothing to show yet that China wants to fish in Nepal’s troubled waters....
- Need Of The Hour: People’s Rule Gorkhapatra, Nepal. unnecessary interferences from others in the internal affairs .... post-1990’s borrowed model of multiparty democracy..... Nepal needs compatible democratic practice that can address the multi dimensional Nepalese circumstances. ........ we had one of the World’s best and the most liberal democratic constitutions ...... the ‘rule by the people, for the people and to the people’ .... after dissolving the House of Representatives with written consensus amongst all political parties, they continued the drama in the street of Kathmandu and other district headquarters in the name of anti-regression campaign ...... Constitutional provisions are not the prerogative of the political parties and their cadres alone. Every Nepali citizen is equal. We have seen many borrowed ‘Ideologies and Isms.’ Why not make fresh start with ‘Nepalism’?
- Nepalese Reality Why It Is Misunderstood
Gorkhapatra Many tourists, despite their strong desire to visit Nepal, are forced to cancel their trip as various countries have issued security alerts which, however, are not based on the actual situation of Nepal. Those who managed to visit Nepal have returned home with first-hand positive impression..... Some of them have even gone to an extreme by asking economic blockade against Nepal....... It is the “Information Age.” Whosoever uses this tool effectively certainly gets the upper-hand...... All major parties have been in power since the Maoists movement started. But they all failed miserably. If they are criticizing the Royal move, it is just for the sake of doing so. When the people of Nepal are willing to sacrifice themselves in the war against terrorism, why do the political parties shy from supporting the King on this noble cause? ....... Even for Maoists, this could be the right time for them to safe land People Regaining Confidence Gorkhapatra Suspicion, fear and deceit are pervasive. This all happened due to short-sightedness and inaction of the political parties who governed the country after 1991....... The Sher Bahadur Deuba government, instead of finding political solution within the House of Representatives, recommended the dissolution of the House and asked for the fresh mandate of the people. The government failed to hold the election as well as failed to hold dialogue with the insurgents..... The local elected bodies were dismissed ..... Instead of working together with the King, parties preferred to stage protest in the street, further weakening the democratic values........ Those who have shown doubt over the Royal action have little knowledge about the Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal and the strong bonds between the King and the people. According to the Constitution, House of Representatives, National Assembly and His Majesty jointly constitute the Parliament........Peace & Democracy The Ultimate Goal Gorkhapatra Whenever there is anarchy in the nation, monarchy comes in the forefront to deal with it and brings peace. As the monarchy restores peace, the nation and the people of Nepal gradually aspire for democracy and bring it. In case, if this restored democracy fails and turns into anarchy, then again the monarchy comes into the picture. ....... First two cycles of this model were tried between 1951-1961 and 1990-2005. .... the third cycle has begun. It is hard to say how many of these cycles would it take before we have a vibrant democracy in Nepal......... Even the ruling and opposition agreed on benefits such as vehicle import tax exemption, salary and allowances for their legislators........ purchasing votes by cash, rice, clothes and false assurances ..... In fear of terrorism their activities were confined in urban areas ...... When hundreds of their party workers were killed in villages they could do nothing except showing crocodile tears and a formality of condolence from the safe urban centres....... Even professors, lawyers, doctors and engineers joined the protest programmes of different political parties. Students behaved like the fighters of the political party ....... Our security forces were in the barracks for hundreds of years. ...... Even the US and UK, the prophets of democracy, while they invaded Iraq have not complied a hundred per cent human rights as we hear frequently in the media. But similar nations are threatening of aid sanctions to Nepal on these impractical grounds......- Don’t link corruption with politics: Dhakal Gorkhapatra, Nepal Minister Dhakal said the arrest of former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and former minister Prakash Man Singh had been lawfully carried out....... Minister Dhakal recalled the warning given by the donor nations at the donor’s meeting for Nepal held in 2002 that they would discontinue financial assistance if Nepalese authorities did not curb corruption....... He said that nobody had the right to undermine and make fun of the rule of law when a commission issues summons ..... the Royal Proclamation of February 1 was made under Article 127 of the Constitution of Nepal 1990 and that a state of emergency had been declared under Article 115 (7). ...... Dhakal expressed regrets over the media hype related to the police raid carried out at the CPN (UML) party office a few days back. ...... regrets over the exaggeration of a simple incident
- Deuba put under 7-day police custody Press Trust of India, India was arrested from his house in a pre-dawn raid
- India blinks, but Gyanendra doesn't ANALYSIS / NEPAL Bangkok Post, Thailand Not only did Kathmandu not make public any roadmap that it promised in Jakarta, it went a step back and launched a fresh offensive on political parties, leaving India red-faced. This perhaps forced New Delhi to do another u-turn.......
- Nepal Confronts Growing Insurgency The Washington Diplomat Nepalese Ambassador Kedar Shrestha has a message for the international community: “You will have to bear with us.” ...... “It’s not as if tanks rolled into a functioning parliament and put everybody under house arrest or started killing people” ...... Once we have peace, then we can talk about other things, like democracy and human rights....... he has pledged to hold elections within three years. So far, however, no clear roadmap for reaching that goal has been annunciated. What is clear is that Nepal’s Maoist insurgency, launched in 1996, is getting more powerful...... Camp said. “The Maoists have made clear their intention to impose a one-party ‘people’s republic,’ collectivize agriculture, ‘re-educate’ class enemies, and export their revolution to neighboring states. The humanitarian ramifications of such a regime would be immense, reminiscent of the nightmare brought upon Cambodia by Pol Pot.” ...... an estimated 5,000 to 6,000 “hardcore” rebels, plus about 12,000 to 15,000 “militia” ...... “They hit and run,” he says. “They have this advantage of surprise and assimilation. They surprise you in the dark of the night and then they disappear and immediately mix in with the common people. They are just not there.” ....... rebels attacked with rocket launchers and mortars .... “It’s not likely that they’ll seize power, but their influence could grow if we do not address this problem squarely.” ...... “Poverty alleviation has been one of the major thrusts of our economic planning. We want to give the basic necessities of life, like food and shelter, education, health, transportation. To do all of that, we need peace first.” ...... U.S. security aid to Nepal this fiscal year is about $2 million—one-twentieth the amount the United States gives to the country in economic and social aid...... Shrestha says such steps would prove counterproductive, although they won’t cripple Nepal’s armed forces. ...... Deuba and Girija Prasad Koirala, under house arrest .. the move was ordered to prevent an outburst of political violence in the streets. “It was also for their own safety,” he adds. “When violence starts, you never know how it will end up.” ........ Shrestha says most are released shortly after their arrest. “It’s big news after we arrest them, but when we release them after a couple of hours or a couple of days, the news doesn’t get that much publicity.” ....... “Sometimes there are exaggerations in the press [that] are not entirely helpful.” The ambassador says controls have been greatly relaxed since the days immediately following Feb. 1 and that the media is now “lively and critical of the government.” ...... “[Supportive] groups are not well organized, so you do not hear their voices as much as you hear the opposition’s voice ....... if the issue wasn’t consuming most of his energy now, his priorities would be increasing trade between Nepal and the United States, and bringing more U.S. investment and tourists to Nepal. ......
- Nepal King Impressed By Indian Prime Minister
United We Blog we can see king Gyanendra is watched by his son Crown Prince Paras as he addresses media representatives at Tribhuvan International Airport ...... “Nepal is ready to be transit point for both the neighboring countries.” .... Look he is talking to media, a rare act by a Nepali monarch. ..... So, he is no different than a political leader......
