Wednesday, January 18, 2006

Audio Video


Mero Sansar, Blogger Nepal

Mero Sansar Video
Mero Sansar Audio
Mero Sansar Photos
Blogger Nepal Podcast

Narahari Acharya

Diaspora Needs To Pitch In: Gagan Thapa
Pradeep Nepal, Highlights, Full
Krishna Prasad Bhattarai

Seven Party Rally, Baneshwar, Page 1, Page 2
Civic Society Fast
Tulsi Giri
Reaction To Tulsi Giri
Gagan Thapa

Blogger Assaulted

Nagarkot
Baneshwor Highlights

Shambhu Thapa
Human Rights Day
Human Rights Day Rally
Umesh Shrestha, Metro FM Interview
Police Suppression
Slogans

Minendra Rijal, Part 1, Part 2

Other

Dinesh Wagle

Podcasts


December 6, 2005 (15 minutes) The movement for democracy itself has to be democratic. The disapora has to extend both moral and logistical support. Specific projects have been designed, five in all. The book keeping has to be kept transparent and online in near real time. My personal focus is on political work. This movement in Nepal is fast shaping my career. This regime should not see February. Have you contributed your $100 yet?

December 7, 2005 (15 minutes) There are more than 50,000 Nepalis in the US. More than 90% support democracy, about 20% might want to actively contribute. We should offer a more sophisticated organization than the Monarchists and the Maoists. Our underground FM radio station would be a litmus test for that. Less than 0.1% will be very actively involved. We have to identify and organize them. From my part there is going to be zero tolerance on the issue of Madhesi equality within the movement. As to why the seven parties are not more united, more clear, more functional, the dynamics within the Nepali diaspora help me understand. We want to prepare for the worst so it does not happen. But if it happens, we are prepared.

December 8, 2005 (15 minutes) Peace, democracy and social justice have to go together. Social justice issues of the DaMaJaMa are at the center of this democracy movement. They cannot be avoided.

December 13, 2005 (15 minutes) My participation at the Nepal Democracy Forum online has made me much more understanding of and patient with the leaders of the seven party coalition in Kathmandu. The group made an important leap from the idea of moral support only to the idea of moral as well as logistical support. Then five specific projects were identified. There are people working on each. But the speed is so slow. Taking two weeks to compose a one page letter is not revolutionary work. Ego, ethnic prejudice, jealousy and primitive group dynamics come into play and slow down efforts.

December 31, 2005 (15 minutes) The king has refused to reciprocate the ceasefire. That is extremely unreasonable. Monarchism is an archaic ideology. And if he is an exceptially smart guy, that actually is a case for a republic. If the Maoists go back to violence, that hurts the democracy movement. The king is losing even the RPP. Non-violence is more effective. The diaspora needs to rise above petty territoriality and elitism and express solidarity in large numbers through large scale moral and logistical support.

January 17, 2006 (7 minutes) I was on the phone with Bamdev Gautam. You can hear my voice, but not his though. I have not had the equipment. It is not like I did not visit the local Radio Shack. They did not have it either. Gautam said the January 20 protest rally will go on.

January 17, 2006 (8 minutes) My message to the Nashville gathering through Shyam Karki. Please donate $1500 for the pamphleteering project. The idea is to reach all wadas in the country.

Mero Sansar

Decemer 2 Rally In Baneshwar
Madhav Nepal's Challenge
Dillibazar To New Baneshwar
Rubin Gandharva Song
The Wrongfully Arrested
Indian Leader
Madhav Nepal Reacts To Vandalism Threat (Audio)
Speeches

November 2005

Part 1: House revival stance blocking all progress. Constituent Assembly the only common meeting point for the three forces, the Maoists, the Democrats and the Monarchists.
Part 2:
Part 3: If the three forces are like the three primary colors, my Proposed Constitution is the color white.
Part 4: Pyramid Of 10 In Kathmandu, Fundraising Among Nepalis In The US: Pyramid Of 10, Movement Taken To Online Video.
Part 5: There is disunity among the democrats. The common minimum program concept is how you build unity. There is a lack of clarity of vision. Too many Bahuns are hung up on Bahunbad. Do you want Bahunbad or democracy? Make your choice. I have the best ideas of anyone in the movement.
Part 6: There has to be a two word vision like there was for the 1990 movement. Then it was multi-party democracy. Now it has to be either a constituent assembly or a democratic republic. Girija Koirala Supreme Leader, Madhav Nepal Prime Minister, Ram Chandra Poudel Deputy Prime Minister.
Part 7: The seven parties do not have a common minimum program. The NC and the UML do not agree on the House revival through Article 127 idea. A repeat of a 1990 like movement will not work this time. We have to go one step further. It is technically possible to send Girija to the moon, but it is not possible to revive the House.
Part 8: There is a lot the Nepalis in the US can do for the movement in Nepal. We have to extend both moral and logistical support. Money, message, organization. Video blogging the movement on a large scale will reduce chances of repression. This movement is the chance for the DaMaJaMa to achieve social justice.
Part 9: The mini Nepals in the US reflect the social reality in Nepal to an extent. The Nepalis in the US need to take the lead on social justice. The ANTA (Association of Nepali Teraian in America) has generated a lot of hope among the Madhesis in Kathmandu. If the Madhesis do not seize the opportunity this movement provides, then Madhesi rights could get postponed by a generation. We have to build a major pressure for federalism.
Part 10: This movement is fast defining my career. I seek to become part of the US presidential campaign in 2008. I would like to contribute to a global spread of democracy.

Nepal Study Center

Ram Sharan Mahat

Mero Sansar

Audio, Video.
Deepak Khadka Gazal
Arjun Parajuli Poems
Civic Society demonstration, Part 1, Part 2.

New York City

Smita Narula, video clip.
Rajeev Goyal, video clip.
Chinnaiah Jangan, video clip.
Sanjaya Parajuli, video clip.
Krishna Pahadi, Video clip 1, Video clip 2, Video clip 3, Video clip 4, Video clip 5, Video clip 6, Video clip 7, Video clip 8, Video clip 9.
Gagan Thapa, Video Clip 1, Video Clip 2.
Ram Sharan Mahat, video clip.
Jhala Nath Khanal, video clip.
Kunda Dixit, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6.

INSN

Krishna Pahadi In Boston 1
Krishna Pahadi In Boston 2
Pahadi Boston Discussion
Anil Jha
Gagan Thapa In Boston, Audio, Video

Samudaya: Audio Video

Gagan Thapa In New York
NSU Pokhara Convention
Kunda Dixit
Sushil Pyakurel
Shambhu Thapa
Gopal Siwakoti

July 2005: Video

Part 1
Part 2: Monsoon is time for homework ... The 1990 constitution is dead.
Part 3: A king who might ruthlessly suppress the movement will have to seen an exit.
Part 4: Logistical support to the movement in Nepal from the west. There should be a democratic government in power by 2006.
Part 5: The Maoists have to disarm before the country goes to a Constituent Assembly.
Part 6: Democracy, for the very first time.
Part 7: This movement is also to establish democracy inside political parties, also a movement against corruption, also a movement for federalism.
Part 8: Make it fun. From NYC to Nepal.
Part 9: It took the seven parties months after 2/1 to come up with a common minimum program. That is a travesty.
Part 10: I have no plans to go to Delhi or Kathmandu. I can be very fully involved from this end. This is the globalization and the internet era, that's why.
Part 11: The democrats need to snatch away the initiative from the Maoists and the Monarchists. Got to become proactive, not stay reactive.
Part 12: I have proposed a new constitution that can be found at my blog. I have not yet seen a better meeting ground for the three warring factions in the country. My document can be a great starting point for dialogue among the three.
Part 13: The real sexy stuff: the race for rapid economic growth after democracy.
Part 14: I have never been more politically involved before.
Part 15: The king is an obstacle to the democrat Bahuns, those Bahuns are an obstacle to the DaMaJaMa.
Part 16: (Hindi and Maithili) What can the Madhesis do for Madhesi rights?
Part 17: (Maithili) Madhesi hum lenge sau mein pachas.
Part 18: (Maithili) The Sadbhavana is a litmust test for the Madhesis who have made it.
Part 19: (Maithili) At the global level, even the king is a "Madhesi," politically speaking.
Part 20: (Maithili) India shold work to abolish the veto at the UN.
Part 21: My personal story.
Part 22: I do not see myself a political person. My primary interests are elsewhere.

June 2005: Audio Reflections

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

Bamdev Gautam: January 20 On Schedule


I got to talk to Bamdev Gautam a few hours back for the first time. He said he was on his way to the bathroom for a bath, but he made time anyway. He was generous with his time.

He has an obvious political presence. He is articulate, he is fearless, he is staunch. He has been controversial in the past, like when he told the Russian ambassador in Delhi he was going to bury any and all in the same ditch. That was ages ago. And of course he split the UML at one point. That is past, and now the two are reunited and stronger than ever before.

I am so impressed with the UML right now. They seem to have this amazing ability to bring people out in large numbers. Political activists and leaders in America would envy these UML stalwarts. When someone brings 100,000 people to Washington DC, that is news for months, sometimes years.

The UML is a cadre-based party, and the democrat in me greatly admires that. And I like their practice of internal democracy. They will debate issues endlessly before some body like the central committee comes to a decision. I wish the Nepali Congress had that kind of a culture at the central level.

And of course I am settled on the Madhav Nepal name for Interim Prime Minister. It is a simple democratic arithmetic on my part. A Nepali Congress that has been vertically split is no longer the largest party in the country. And the UML sure has the momentum. And they are also best positioned to make sure the worst fears about the Maoists do not come true.

Bamdev Gautam though gives a clear impression some day he is going to be Prime Minister or President or Governor, some day he is going to be Commander In Chief. I think he is made for the executive branch. He had quite a stint as Home Minister.

Basically we talked about January 20. He said the Maoists have never infiltrated any rally, and they will not do it on January 20. And if the king and the army were to send RNA people to pose as Maoists, they will get exposed by the people. And that the rally will be in Durbar Marg, not in Baneshwar. The most restricted space is to be invaded.

He said the goal was to disrupt the February 8 polls. Toppling the regime was not an immediate goal.

He said it was not true Madhav Nepal said in Janakpur that the monarchy will come to an end in February.

I thanked him and his party for the clarity they have offered with their two words: democratic republic. And I thanked him for the huge UML rallies over the past so many weeks.

And then I went online to look for photos of Bamdev Gautam and found an interesting one where Shambhu Thapa and Gautam are in the same shot. I thought that was greatly interesting because these two remind me of each other. Both will be crucial to the success of this movement for a democratic republic.

प्रहार गरिहालौं

Podcasts

January 17, 2006 (7 minutes) I was on the phone with Bamdev Gautam. You can hear my voice, but not his though. I have not had the equipment. It is not like I did not visit the local Radio Shack. They did not have it either. Gautam said the January 20 protest rally will go on.

January 17, 2006 (8 minutes) My message to the Nashville gathering through Shyam Karki. Please donate $1500 for the pamphleteering project. The idea is to reach all wadas in the country.

In The News

Govt’s claims are baseless: Prachanda NepalNews ..... Prachanda, has dismissed government’s claim that the CPN Maoist guerrillas are planning to infiltrate Friday’s mass meeting being organized by the seven party opposition alliance...... has expressed commitment that his party will not indulge in activities including use of force, infiltration or any other provocative activities during Friday’s mass meet organized by the seven party opposition alliance...... The Maoist supremo has also termed the government’s ban on all type of meetings and rallies in the capital as “defeated mentality” of the government.....Prachanda’s statement has come hours after Home Minister Kamal Thapa claimed that the government had credible evidence that the Maoists were going to `infiltrate’ on Friday’s mass meeting..... Ian Martin, regretted the government’s decision to impose ban on peaceful assembly in Kathmandu and also sought clarification from the government in this regard. Govt. bars civil servants from taking leave till municipal polls "Of course, no civil servants and their family members want to take part in the conflict-prone municipal polls but the government is trying to force us. We have either to quit the job or obey the circular. We have been victimized," the report quoted a government official as saying.

Visitors

17 January16:58OARnet, Columbus, United States
17 January17:56Car Net, Croatia (Hrvatska)
17 January18:50State University of New Jersey, United States
17 January19:50Equant, France
17 January22:30Tarrant County College District, United States
17 January23:04United States Army, United States
17 January23:05United States Army, United States
17 January23:11United States Army, United States
17 January23:25United States Army, United States
17 January23:46York University, North York, Canada
18 January00:49Mercantile Communications Pvt. Ltd., Nepal