Ram Chandra Poudel And The Supreme Court Judges

What has Ram Chandra Poudel got to do with the Supreme Court Judges? Not much personally, but a lot symbolically. Like that first guy on the moon said, "A small step for a man, a big step for mankind."

Activist Judges Could Save The Day

I think these Supreme Court judges should similarly go after the Chief District Officers in Kathmandu valley who basically turned the lifting of the emergency at the end of April into a major league farce and postponed possibilities of national reconciliation. And they should go after the inappropriately named Information Ministry so as to facilitate freedom of press. And they should also address the grievances of the lawyers, their professional kith and kin.

If the Supreme Court justices could thus ensure the basic freedoms and rule of law, they will end up doing more for national reconciliation than any international player could hope to do, and I am talking the major world powers here.

The Supreme Court has to come to the realization that stretching Article 127 like it were a rubber band is not constitutional. Restricting basic freedoms when the country is no longer under emergency rule can not possibly be constitutional. That is precisely why emergencies come with automatic term limits.

P.S Donald Camp, a man whose official title is not a word, not a phrase, but an entire sentence, a run-on one too: the United States' Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs.

In The News

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Nepal releases former deputy PM from detention Sify, India Former deputy prime minister and senior Nepali Congress party leader Ram Chandra Paudel was released from a detention centre in western Nepal on Tuesday on a Supreme Court order .... Paudel, 62, had been held since King Gyanendra sacked the government and seized power on February 1...... He was released in Damauli Tuesday evening by the local court following a Supreme Court order in Kathmandu earlier in the afternoon
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Paudel freed after 5 months Kathmandu Post, Nepal
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Nepal's former deputy PM released from detention Radio Australia, Australia
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Nepal's Former Deputy PM Released SouthAsia Network, Asia
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SC quashes petition against ordinances Kathmandu Post, Nepal .... pronounced that promulgation of an ordinance time and again is "constitutional" in the absence of a functioning parliament...... quashed a writ petition that sought the court to issue an order to the government to stop promulgating ordinances repeatedly to end the present rule through ordinances. The writ petition had also sought nullification of all the ordinances in existence
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NC leader for sweeping reforms Kantipur Narahari Acharya .... on democracy, monarchy, restructuring of the state and internal democracy in the party..... a six-page letter .... "The party must opt for constituent assembly elections, express clear commitment toward federal restructuring of the state, detach its relations with the monarchy and ensure internal democracy in the party" ..... has been in detention since February 1 .... called for statutory changes in the party so as to make it move forward as an absolute democratic political force..... defended his refusal to file a habeas corpus writ at the Supreme Court saying, "The process of releasing political detainees through court orders is part of a conspiracy to legitimize all autocratic decisions made since February 1."
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Return to Pre-1990 unacceptable: US Kantipur Donald Camp .... talking to journalists at a press conference in the capital, prior to the audience with King Gyanendra. .... we continue to see curbs on political freedom and other civil liberties, he said..... "Giving security priority over democracy gives us neither... Democracy is the only idea powerful enough to overcome division, hatred and violence." .... didn't urge Koirala to participate in the municipal elections..... the king should respond to their (parties') initiatives and reach out to them .... "The ruthless violence and terrorism they sow offers nothing to Nepal but destruction and sorrow"
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US delays Nepal arms Calcutta Telegraph, India
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US issues plea on Nepal democracy BBC News
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US urges Nepal's communist rebels to give up violence, join peace ... PeaceJournalism.com
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US Delays Shipment of M-16 Rifles to Nepal to Protest Royal ... DefenseNews.com (subscription)
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Anti-govt guerrillas most serious threat to Nepal: US official People's Daily Online, China
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Centre dispatches Buta to Madhuban Indian Express
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Maoist bomb wounds 16 in western Nepal Reuters AlertNet, UK
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RJD-Congress Responsible for Naxal Menace in Bihar: BJP Patna Daily, India
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Int'l press mission to visit Nepal People's Daily Online, China
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Nepal’s Neighbors: A Study In Contrast Scoop.co.nz (press release), New Zealand ....

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Is US containing China? Kathmandu Post, Nepal
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Maoist movement and identity Kathmandu Post, Nepal
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You are reading: The Kathmandu Post >> Editorial Kathmandu Post, Nepal
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NBA should not play into foreign hands: Lawyers Gorkhapatra, Nepal
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Join the Naxal dots PeaceJournalism.com, Nepal
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Police, Maoists exchange fire Times of India, India
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Join the Naxal dots Indian Express, India
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Freedom under absolute monarchy? Economic Times, India
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Indignation as government restricts advertising to "nationalist" ... Reporters without borders, France

40% Of Americans Can't Point Out The Pacific On A Map

And the Pacific just so happens to be the biggest thing on the map.

Why do I point this out? For four reasons.

One, like it or not, the US is a large power and stands to play a major role in various corners of the planet. Nepal is one such corner.

Two, the "ignorance" of the movers and shakers amazes me. Being well read can only go on to reenforce the ignorance paradigm.

Three, the US is not really preparing for the realignments that will take place as globalization spreads its wings.

Four, ultimately, Nepal's civil war is for the Nepalis to resolve. The three forces could do it on their own. Or the international players could help bring the three forces together to do it on their own. As in, even if there is external involvement in peace negotiations, the hard work will still have to be done by the three warring factions of the polity. If they can get there sooner rather than later, it will show they do care about the country.

The average American is someone who has never heard of Nepal. The most heinous acts of violence in Nepal do not make news at this end. An average American listens to the FM radio.

Did I just say FM? That should ring a lot of bells in Nepal.

Nepal’s Neighbors: A Study In Contrast Scoop.co.nz (press release), New Zealand ..... revelation in a recent survey that communist China is viewed more favorably than the United States by much of the world ..... 16 countries ..... almost two-thirds of Britons saw China favorably, compared with 55 percent who held a positive view of the United States. In France, 58 percent had an upbeat view of China, compared with 43 percent who felt that way about the United States. The results were nearly the same in Spain and the Netherlands...... U.S. favorability rating was lowest among three Muslim nations which are also American allies - Turkey, Pakistan and Jordan - where only about one-fifth of those polled viewed the US in a positive light......