Friday, June 17, 2005

Seeking Common Ground


The Maoists made the rounds in Delhi. Then Girija and Bamdev did. Now Surya Bahadur Thapa is on his way.

The Maoists did interact in Delhi. What was the interaction like?

The three camps are so busy working on their internal cohesion, that actually prevents dialogue among the groups.

The seven parties have already come around to the idea of a constituent assembly. So there has emerged some common ground between the seven parties and the Maoists.

The king has repeatedly said he will not revive the 1999 parliament. But if the Maoists and the parties were to agree to hold elections to a new parliament, the king is on record saying he will go for it.

Is that an option?

The Maoists and the seven parties agree to come together to hold elections for a new parliament. After the elections, executive powers get wrested away from the king. The parties form an all-party government, hold peace talks with the Maoists, and go for a Constituent Assembly. Is this too convoluted?

I mean, I am looking at it this way. The seven parties have a four point program: (1) revive parliament, (2) form an all-party government, (3) peace talks with the Maoists, and (4) constituent assembly.

It was a big leap of faith for Girija and his party to come around to number 4, but they did come around to it. But they stuck to number 1. That was the give and take.

Now what is the harm in monkeying around with number 1 so as to get numbers 2,3 and 4?

But for that, there has to emerge a mature understanding between the parties and the Maoists.

The line that says no talks with the Maoists unless they cease violence is the line that says the Maoists are to be defeated militarily. On the other hand, if you seek a political solution to the crisis, you seek dialogue with the Maoists.

All parties including the Maoists, without disarming, could participate in elections to a new parliament. The understanding would be to form an all-party government to lead to a constituent assembly.

If the goal is a constituent assembly, does it matter that the route has to be altered a little?

The process of give and take has to happen. Like the seven parties finally came around to the Maoist idea of a constituent assembly, maybe they should also give some thought to the king's idea of elections to a new parliament instead of reviving the old one.

The current logjam has to be broken. Political dialogue can do what street demonstrations can not. Especially the parties have to show some flexibility to achieve the long term goals.

June 17
  • Chinese arms 'supplied to Nepal' BBC News, UK China has supplied Nepal with five armoured personnel carriers
  • Tough questions for Nepal's Maoists BBC News, UK ..... their wooing of mainstream parties has largely gone unheeded ...... the worrying spectre of leaders who are not in control...... the deeds of a diehard Maoist faction uninterested in any compromise ..... The rebels' military position is hard to gauge...... They have sustained heavy casualties in their recent attacks, barely denting army defences.... There is some speculation that Chitwan was an attempt to show they are still active.... Nepal's elected but weakened politicians can only stare from the sidelines.
  • Nepal parties stage a poor show in Kathmandu United We Blog, Nepal ..... seven pro-democratic Nepali parties organized a rally from Sundhara that was attended by less then 25 hundred people, almost all of them hardcore cadres of the agitating political organizations ...... parties still seem to give benefit of doubt to the king ..... Party cadres were busy talking about themselves and some petty things like district politcal equation ..... We journalists also take out rallies demanding democracy in Nepal and our rallies are far better than what you guys are organizing ..... slogans were a bit strong. Murti Chor… Desh Chod could be an example..... NP Saud from NC and Rameshwor Phuyal from CPN UML spoke about the necessity of democracy in the country.
  • King sacked govt prior to poll schedule announcement Hindustan Times, India preparations were in final stage to announce Parliamentary polls .... "The King has no intention to hold elections and he is also not in favour of holding talks or negotiations with political parties" .... "The way the King formed the controversial Royal anti-graft body and revived zonal administrative units, which were dissolved after the restoration of democracy in 1990, clearly shows that he is not ready to give up power or compromise with parliamentary forces," Nidhi said.
  • [Opinion] Nepal's Maoists have made life hell for thousands; peace ... OhmyNews International, South Korea Kamala Sarup ... The Maoist war has entered a stage of genocide... Nepal will surely become another Cambodia, Afghanistan, Bosnia or Rwanda. ..... The Maoists, who began their "People's War" in 1996, are attempting to preserve their killing culture from "contamination." If history is any guide, then they will refuse to come to the negotiating table. They simply buy time to reorganize their ragtag, hit-and-run fighters for the next wave of violence and destruction of public infrastructure..... Thousands are now coming to Kathmandu from the southern plains, called the Terai, and the hills for security. Horror stories of Maoists capturing people and literally hacking them to pieces with knives are commonplace...... Maoists are one of the most dangerous groups on Earth.....
June 16
  • Nepal needs constitutional changes: ICG Kathmandu Post, Nepal
  • Nepal king asks for funds at Doha summit Hindustan Times, India the fear of slashed foreign aid looming over Nepal .... the G-77 Summit .... attended by heads of state and senior officials from 132 countries .... "A state of debt is a state of positive misery, and the sufferer is as one haunted by an evil spirit," the 59-year-old monarch said appealing for international aid. "His heart can know neither rest nor peace till it is cast out." "Mountain societies provide a vast scope for the contribution of traditional medicines towards securing the Millennium Development Goals' health targets" ..... "We envision a landlocked Nepal as a transit economy between China and India and are willing to extend all possible assistance to facilitate and further this process" ..... "Poor governance, rampant corruption and non-delivery by various governments in the last decade and a half have been exploited by terrorists to fulfil their own agenda" ... Three of these governments were handpicked by the king himself.
  • Nepal: Military assistance contributing to grave human rights ... ReliefWeb (press release), Switzerland India, the United States of America (USA) and the United Kingdom (UK), have provided substantial levels of arms, training and other military assistance to Nepal throughout this period. The assistance increased after November 2001, when the Royal Nepal Army (RNA) became directly involved in the conflict. In Amnesty International's view, such assistance has enabled an increase in grave violations of international humanitarian and human rights law...... training provided to the security forces of Nepal, including at places such as the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, UK; the Military Academy at Dehra Dun, India; and the Command and General Staff College at Leavenworth, Kansas, USA. In addition, the report addresses briefly the supply of arms by private companies and the role these three governments and others play in providing export licences for such sales....... part of a wider campaign by Amnesty International, Oxfam and other organizations (3) urging G8 countries to exercise the highest degree of responsibility in international arms transfers and, specifically, to develop and adopt an Arms Trade Treaty covering the international transfer of all conventional arms with standards based on relevant principles of international law, including international human rights and humanitarian law.
  • Amnesty International - Foreign arms fuel Nepal violence Politics.co.uk "With the conflict poised to escalate, any further military assistance would be highly irresponsible....... * The export of 25,000 5.56mm infantry rifles (INSAS) to Nepal from India, despite evidence of their use in grave human rights violations such as the murder of 19 unarmed Maoist suspects by Nepalese security forces in August 2003 * The supply by India of Lancer helicopter gunships, produced under license from the French company Eurocopter, which have been used by the RNA to attack mass meetings called by the Maoists in villages often resulting in the killing of civilians * The transfer of 20,000 M16 automatic assault rifles to Nepalese security forces by the US along with over US$29 million in military funding since 2001 * Inconsistent application of the EU Code of Conduct for Arms Exports with the sale by Belgium of 5,000 Minimi Light Machine Guns to Nepal in 2002, despite an earlier German refusal to supply similar weapons on human rights grounds * Training provided to Nepalese security forces by the US, UK and India with unclear or non-existent vetting procedures to screen out those reasonably suspected of gross human rights violations * The supply of military communications equipment to Nepal from South Africa in 2003 * A failure by the UN to independently vet members of the RNA sent to take part in UN military missions despite reports that the Nepalese government rewards soldiers who "kill the most Maoists" with UN deployments Amnesty International is calling for the suspension of all arms supplies and military assistance to Nepal until the government takes clear steps to halt human rights violations and bring those responsible to justice. Specifically, the Nepalese government must implement April 2005 recommendations of the UN Commission on Human Rights. These include an end to arbitrary arrests and "disappearances", clarification of the fate of all "disappeared", the amendment of security legislation, the institution of prompt, independent and impartial investigations of all alleged violations of human rights and the prosecution of all those responsible.
  • Agitating radio journalists begin talks with government in Nepal Press Trust of India, India
  • Nepali king urges cutting off terrorist funding Xinhua
  • FMs defy ban, air news Kathmandu Post
  • South summit opens in Doha: Call to remove rich, poor gap The New Nation, Bangladesh
  • Nepal king urges international community to curb terrorist funding Monsters and Critics.com, UK
  • Sultan holds bilateral meetings with Nepal King, Benin President Borneo Bulletin, Brunei Darussalam
  • Royal address given wide coverage Gorkhapatra
  • G-77 Summit concludes with Doha Declaration Gorkhapatra
  • FMs air news of King’s Doha visit Kantipur Online
  • Democratic expression Kathmandu Post, Nepal
  • ‘Agreement with king impossible’ Kathmandu Post, Nepal "The king is neither willing for a negotiated settlement on the Maoist problem nor is he ready to hold elections," Bimalendra Nidhi, leader of Nepali Congress (Democratic) said. "Until the king gives up the attempt to make us follow his roadmap, dialogue, collaboration and consensus are a far cry." ...... Nidhi revealed that the erstwhile Sher Bahadur Deuba government was dismissed because the king knew about its final homework to announce parliamentary election dates. "We were finalizing on whether to declare polls or recommend reinstatement of the House of Representatives," added Nidhi, a senior member in the Deuba cabinet.He also revealed that even the Election Commission was "used" to prevent the announcement of election dates..... Dr Ram Baran Yadav of Nepali Congress said the king was gambling with monarchy by openly politicking. "We, the parties, have not yet decided to abolish monarchy, but the king's moves may require us to think otherwise," Dr Yadav said.
  • Constituent assembly only solution: PFN Kathmandu Post, Nepal "If the king wants peace, he must accept constituent assembly; he cannot establish peace by pushing the country to the 18th century."
  • Nepal contravening comitments to UN: Bloomfield Kathmandu Post, Nepal suspension of civil liberties post-February 1, contravenes Nepal's commitments to the UN..... There is a school of thought in Nepal which espouses that "...democracy and human rights will find its place only after terrorism is contained", he said. "But we don't believe in this." ...... the post-February 1 situation "has no reference in the constitution". The constitution says the king has to be within the framework of the constitution..... a constitutional body like the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority has been challenged by the Royal Commission for Corruption Control (RCCC)....there would be serious problems ahead should the current call of polarization by the government and the Maoists materialize
  • State failure & Maoist madness Kathmandu Post, Nepal The death figure of Jestha exposes two things at once: The hollowness of the royal regime's claim of improving security situation in the country and the gradual drift of the Maoist insurgency towards senseless crime...... In the first 100 days of the king's rule, 599 people died. Of the dead, 443 were killed by the state and 156 by the rebels...... "Mao: The untold story" by Jung Chang and Jon Halliday reveals a shocking truth about the revered communist icon. The authors make a compelling case that Mao killed 70 million Chinese and exported food to Stalin's Russia in a weapons-technology-for-food program while the Russians were dying of hunger. When reminded of the famine, Mao reportedly said, "Half of China may well have to die" for the cause of making his country a military superpower....... Dr Babu Ram Bhatarai once said that as many as 200,000 people may have to die by the time their revolution kisses success..... You have to involve in a lot of psychological violence against yourself to kill others. .... As of 1996, three times more Vietnam veterans died of suicide after the war compared to the number that died from enemy action during the war, and this number is increasing every year.
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Wednesday, June 15, 2005

From The Blogosphere


This blog of mine has been linked to and quoted. Not surprised. The search engines make it so easy for the curious.
  • News Out Of Nepal Robert Mayer, Publius Pundit 2/22/5 (Here I get quoted extensively. Looks like the entire blog entry is an elaborate quote of one of my articles.)
June 15
  • Stop arming Nepal: Amnesty Rediff, India ..... until it stops what the group alleges are widespread killings and torture ..... the aid is facilitating the killing, torture and disappearance of thousands of civilians since 2001 ..... Amnesty also asked the rebels to end all attacks on civilians, quit recruitment of children and investigate any abuses by its cadres and ensure that culprits are removed from their posts....... Both army troops and police officers are now required to receive training in protecting peoples' rights...... Forty-eight officers have been jailed on various charges and disciplinary action has been taken against 68, Gurung said. One soldier is facing rape charges, and several other cases are being investigated ..... the Nepalese government must stop extrajudicial killings, all forms of sexual violence, arbitrary arrests, illegal detentions as well as torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment ...... wants donor nations to suspend any military and security assistance, including non-lethal and dual-use equipment that that could be used for military purposes
  • British arms supplies fuelling abuses in Nepal, says Amnesty Guardian Unlimited Britain is among international arms suppliers fuelling serious human rights abuses in Nepal ..... Countries that have supplied arms and weapons systems to Nepal include Britain, India, France, South Africa and Belgium...... a number of senior Nepalese army officers, including the commander in chief, were trained at Sandhurst...... Amnesty said yesterday it was concerned that he was signalling a resumption of arms supplies to Nepal.
  • Private radio in Nepal defy government ban to broadcast news Malaysia Star, Malaysia The broadcasts Tuesday night were the first since the ban was introduced after Gyanendra seized absolute control in February ..... The Information Ministry issued a warning to the radio stations Tuesday, saying a violation of the government order would result in the station losing its permit or a possible jail term for offenders. ... A number of newspapers have been forced to close because of government censorship.
  • Nepal frees journalists who protested Boston Globe Police officials said they had received orders from the top to free all journalists detained during Monday's rally...... "We call for the immediate release of our colleagues," said Ann Cooper of the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists. "The government of Nepal should respond to media protests by restoring press freedom, not arresting journalists." ..... "The authorities are clearly stepping up their crackdown, using large numbers of well organized anti-riot and plainclothes police," it said in a statement. "The way these protests are being crushed shows the authorities are ready to use brute force against those who want democracy." ..... a proposed law they say will further tighten media control...... Last week, the Vienna-based International Press Institute told the king in a statement that "the best antidote to the present situation in the country is more speech and greater discussion."
  • Nepal Arrests Reporters in Protest Guardian Unlimited Police bundled them into buses, and the detainees shattered some bus windows as they were driven away. Some protesters were injured in the scuffles. ..... Many of the protesters ``were manhandled and injured by the police' ..... ``We will continue our protests even while we are in detention,'' Nisthuri vowed. ..... Government officials were not available for comment Monday despite repeated phone calls.
  • Nepal has to stand on its own feet: Koirala tells India Indian Express, India “This is my last attempt to fulfill my dream of democracy in Nepal,” he said at a press conference, before leaving for Kathmandu...... criticised the international community for what he said was its hypocrisy. “They first suggested that the Nepal crisis required a political solution and then created a “hue and cry” when the Maoists were approached for talks” ..... On reports of split in Maoist groups, Koirala said, “It might be their strategy. One section is liberal and the other hardline. Both are projected as the situation demands.” He added a major effort to bring Maoists into the mainstream could start only after democracy is in place...... said he was grateful for New Delhi’s support to democracy in Nepal, but added, “Nepal has to stand on its own feet.”
  • India's military supplies to Nepal will upset democratic forces Islamic Republic News Agency G P Koirala, who is also the leader of the democracy movement in his country .... the Indian leadership said it fully backed Koirala's position...... "We do not want to interfere in the government of India's policy. But whatever policy they formulate, they should keep in mind whether that encourages democratic forces or dictatorial forces." ..... He said the political combine would now set up its anti-king or pro-democracy movement..... was willing to talk to Maoist leaders ...... "Whoever wants to settle the issue of Maoists should talk to them."
  • Towards a Lasting Peace in Nepal: The Constitutional Issues International Crisis Group, Belgium the 1990 Constitution .... the nine-year-old Maoist insurgency has cruelly exposed the inherent weaknesses in that settlement, and the royal coup of 1 February 2005 has dealt it a near fatal blow. ..... The conflict's root causes can only be addressed by structural change in the state and its governance system....... There are various possible mainstream entities -- such as an all-party government -- that could eventually negotiate a transition but there are also Maoist and royal roadmaps ..... Amendment of the current constitution by parliament or through referendum has been proposed but debate now centres on a constitutional assembly, a central Maoist demand which is now backed by mainstream parties and analysts......... The Maoists have called for radical restructuring of the state ....... The mainstream political parties opposed fundamental revision of the constitution until recently but are now willing to envisage greater change, although their policies are still a subject of debate....... the 1990 Constitution had been undermined by the May 2002 dissolution of parliament and King Gyanendra's repeated dismissals of prime ministers. Subsequent governments had little chance of conducting successful negotiations with the Maoists as long as real power rested with the palace....... The re-introduction of democratic institutions remains central to establishing a government that can negotiate with the Maoists and initiate a consensual process for constitutional change. But the palace is more concerned with consolidating royal rule, while a broader alliance of Kathmandu-centred interests has long opposed a more equitable distribution of power....... an all-party government without a parliament: the royal coup has increased the previously slim likelihood that the mainstream political parties might manage to form such a government. But if it is constituted by royal fiat, it would lack the legitimacy and authority to negotiate effectively with the Maoists ....... a government formed after new parliamentary elections: the Deuba government was tasked to hold parliamentary elections but this was never realistic. The king has announced municipal elections by April 2006 but there is no clear prospect of a general election ....... a government formed after restoration of the parliament elected in 1999: the king or the Supreme Court could restore parliament, although neither seems willing. This option was seen as a partisan measure that brings no guarantees of effective governance but it has now been endorsed by a coalition of mainstream parties. A parliament restored with the limited mandate to negotiate with the Maoists on constitutional change might advance the peace process........ In Nepal, constitutional amendment is typically understood to preclude consideration of the role of the monarchy, while a constitutional assembly is equated with republicanism....... a referendum on constitutional issues would likely destabilise the state, rather than identify an acceptable political compromise..... Any viable tripartite process would need to allow the Maoists to argue to their cadres that republicanism was at least on the table and permit the king to feel confident the monarchy was sufficiently secure. A process in which key stakeholders have already reached critical informal agreements may be a way of delivering constitutional change peacefully, although it would have to be balanced with the need for transparency and accountability. Allowing for easy subsequent amendment would enable future adjustments....... For the time being, however, the royal roadmap -- thinly disguised by the rhetoric of "protecting the 1990 Constitution" -- appears to be one of systematically dismantling multi-party democracy while pursuing a purely military strategy against the Maoists. The options for democratically negotiated change are severely constricted........ the Maoist roadmap of an interim government, ceasefire and freely elected constitutional assembly is likely to become the focus of increased attention
  • Concern Grows Over Nepal's Child Fighters Canton Repository (subscription)
  • Maoists kill six civilians in Nepal Sify Maoist rebels in Nepal have killed six relatives of members of the Armed Police Force, including a baby ..... "Three wives of the security personnel and two of their family members, including a one-year-old child, were killed by the Maoists in the nearby jungle"
  • Concern Grows Over Nepal's Child Fighters Washington Post Suraj Damai, 14 .... Brandishing homemade bombs, they announced that the time had come for Damai to "do something for the revolution" ...... Damai's brief career as a revolutionary, which ended with his capture by the army last summer ..... the insurgents' routine and apparently widespread use of child soldiers, many of whom are snatched from their villages against their will...... the Maoists often focus their recruitment efforts on "untouchables," who by some estimates account for nearly a fifth of Nepal's 27 million...... As a result, government security forces tend to treat most untouchables, or dalits , with suspicion, increasing their vulnerability to various forms of discrimination and abuse ...... Nepali security forces for employing children as spies or informants; Damai, for example, was ordered to help identify former comrades before he was finally released after two months in army custody ..... accused the Maoists of "abduction and forcible conscription of children . . . for political indoctrination and for use as combatants, informants, cooks or porters, and as human shields." ..... anachronistic "people's war" against the now 237-year-old monarchy ..... Gyanendra defended his power grab on grounds that it would give him a freer hand to deal with the Maoists, but so far there is little evidence of progress...... "We strike out some place. We manage to neutralize them, and they pop out somewhere else. We are not in sufficient numbers to completely strike them out."..... a mop of straight black hair that looks as though it was trimmed with a machete ..... a dalit who accidentally touches the communal water pump while a higher-caste villager is filling his jug risks a public scolding or worse. Even now, Damai remains so conscious of his status that when a stranger offers him a package of potato chips, he shakes his head in refusal, lest his touch contaminate the contents; chips passed by hand are hungrily devoured...... to this day, Khadka Damai, 49, said he was not sure if his son was abducted by the Maoists or went with them willingly...... a base for about 500 Maoists, many of them dalits and perhaps 200 of them children..... "I never tried to run away from the Maoists. I learned that we are dalits and everyone is discriminating against us, so I felt that to be a Maoist was good." ..... He still has fond memories of the Maoists' commander, a man of about 40 who was one of the few guerrillas in the group to carry a Kalashnikov assault rifle...... assigning him to an army checkpoint every day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in hopes that he would identify former comrades. ..They turned him over to his father with a chilling warning. "If you son goes to the Maoists again," Damai recalled one of the soldiers saying, "he will be killed."
  • Nepal rebels kill baby Calcutta Telegraph, India Gurung said the RNA had recently received “non-lethal” military assistance from the US. The US government was also helping in providing “human rights” training to the RNA officials..... the RNA would initiate action against commanders under whose orders soldiers have been found to travel in public vehicles with arms.
  • Nepalese soldiers ordered not to use public transport ReliefWeb (press release) Gurung said that the soldiers had been off-duty but were carrying weapons. "Though technically off-duty they were on their way to a security camp to drop off the weapons"..... "But the Maoists are facing huge casualties and are becoming weaker by the day," Gurung added.
  • Order not to use public vehicles violated at times: RNA Kantipur Online a military court had court-martialled two security men—Ratna Thapa and Indra Narayan Giri—for involving in extortion from public posing as Maoists..... Thapa had asked for Rs.2 million from the Suzuki showroom in Tripureshwor while Giri had asked for Rs.400,000 from a shop in the same area..... the army is conducting investigation over 44 security personnel over the cases of human rights abuses. He also said that 48 security personnel have been imprisoned, 34 dismissed from the job, 12 demoted, 9 barred from promotion and that of five grades withheld till today..... five district-level Maoist leaders, including a woman, who had surrendered before the Army were presented in the press conference today. The Army said that they had extorted a total amount of over Rs.75.5 million from the business community and individuals from various places in Nepal, including Kathmandu.
  • Movement for democracy in Nepal should be accelerated United We Blog, Nepal .... the so-called peace in Kathmandu is rather phony ..... The airing of news about royal visit in Doha has pushed ultra royalists in Kathmandu in difficult corner. I know they will try to close down FMs if they start telling people’s news. But FMs have to do that......Government freed two prominent leftist leaders Amik Serchan and Lilamani Pokharel ...... strongly condemn the re-arrest of another leftist leader Nabaraj Subedi..... I am amazed that doctors and engineers are mute over the whole issue.
June 13
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