Wednesday, March 08, 2006

Surya Subedi, Not A Democrat


So far, despite repeated attempts, I have not been able to get published at NepalNews.com, Kantipur or The Kathmandu Post. And the honchos at the Nepal Democracy Google Group kicked me out of that self-styled Skulls And Bones Society in December: diaspora Bahuns/Pahadis on overdrive.

Why do I bring this up?

I don't need NepalNews or the Post: my blog works just fine. It gets read by many key people. It is like one of those insider Wall Street newsletters. On the other hand, if things I say carry weight with the likes of Madhav Nepal, perhaps Kantipur is not right in acting like I did not exist. I just feel the urge to take offense on behalf of the 13 million Madhesis in Nepal. It is not about me. I am beyond the reach of any Pahadi.

My blog's Google group is six times larger than the Nepal Democracy Google group. I expect it to have become 15 times larger in a few months. I think it is just fine that that group is exclusive. But they should have the guts to go public with the archives. As in only members may post, but anyone may read. Or they should change their name from Nepal Democracy to Nepal Plutocracy, or Nepal Bahuncracy, or Nepal Pahadicracy. These guys don't get social justice, they don't get free speech half the time. By extension they don't get democracy.

What are my credentials? I am the only Nepali in the diaspora doing Nepal work full time. I am the only Nepali in New York City who gave some time to the mayoral election in New York City a few months back. My blog on US politics gets page hits from the US Senate, but to these Pahadis/Bahuns, I am invisible.

And there comes along Surya Subedi. I can't believe this guy was ever a student leader. Student leader of what? Nepal Bidyarthi Mandal? This guy has his Bahun blinders on.

Nepal in a state of legal and constitutional anarchy Surya Subedi, NepalNews

Subedi Surya, Not Surya Subedi 24 Jan 2006


Subedi is proof no amount of education can cure you of your ethnic and caste prejudices.

Subedi, how hard is it for you to understand that only the Nepali people may write their constitution? That that is what democracy means? That that is what sovereignty means? That the idea of a constituent assembly was first talked about in Nepal more than 50 years ago? That it is that idea in Iraq for which the US has spent more than $200 billion, 2,200 American lives and 30,000 Irqi lives? How hard is it for you?

Subedi is one of those people who initially became happy when the king took over.
Well, it would have been good if he had been able to do what the country expected him to do. But even on that count he has failed miserably.
After the coup, what if the king had delivered? What if inflation had gone down? What if the happiness index in the country had gone up? What if the Maoists had surrendered, Phulan Devi style? If the king had delivered, Subedi would have been happy. But he is sad that the king did not do what he said he will do. This sentiment is flawed at several levels at once. The king is illegitimate, his rule in illegitimate. He was wrong as soon as he decided upon the coup. And it is no surprise that he has not delivered. Autocracies don't deliver, democracies do. Nepal never had democracy.

He talks of five options.
The first is an outright revolution to overthrow the monarchy and to tame the feudal class..... Option number two is to revive the old parliament...... The third option championed by the Maoists and supported mainly by another main political party, the UML (United Marxist Leninist), and a large section of the intellectual community in Nepal is holding elections for a constituent assembly to write a new constitution....... The fourth option that the Maoists and some left-leaning intellectuals have talked about is forming some sort of a parallel government, which would unite the Maoists and the seven-political parties to challenge the King head on...... The fifth option, which I personally have advanced, is amending the present constitution in order to complete the unfinished job of the people's movement of 1990.
The only good thing about this analysis is that he has managed to show that the Congress' heart is not yet into the idea of a constituent assembly. If it was, it would not be so stuck on the idea of House revival. And then Subedi goes on to diss the idea of a constituent assembly himself. Makes me think he might be a Congressia.
.....if one were to accept the principle of peaceful coexistence of all political forces within the country, and take into account the ground realities in existence today, the constitution that may be written by the constituent assembly may not be very different from the present constitution. This is because people representing all political spectrums, including the monarchy, may get elected and if the majority were to write a constitution in complete disregard for others it would create more problems. The constituent assembly may very well open up a Pandora's Box in the country and create even ethnic and religious tensions of protracted nature in such a precariously balanced diverse society.
Subedi is among those people who think they know everyone who is worth knowing in Nepal, many of them are friends and relatives. 27 million people are at best background noise. Either you accept Bahun hegemony, or there is going to be chaos. It is people like Subedi who help you understand why the Maoist insurgency might have erupted in the first place. This guy has no idea, not the slightest inkling as to why a constituent assembly is needed for Nepal, how that is the one and only way out of the present situation. Subedi is part of that tribe that claims the king is the symbol of unity in Nepal whereas the truth is precisely the opposite. The ethnic prejudice in Nepal is so fundamentally airtight and suffocating, no wonder the Newars and the Bahuns in Indianapolis do not talk to each other, that finally the Sheraps, Gurungs and Tamangs of New York City have organized themselves along ethnic lines. They have to come tens of thousands of miles away to finally be able to assert themselves.

These Bahunds don't change. They can go to England, America. Heck, they could go to the moon and they will still not change. It is this thick headedness that makes the oppressed feel there is no point reasoning with them. And that is what gives rise to violence. The Subedi school of thought drives the oppressed desperate. Equality, social justice and the like are recipe for chaos in Subedi's world. 27 million people in Nepal can not be trusted. The fundamental law of the land can only be written by some small clique behind closed doors. These chosen ones are god.

Subedi is wrong, patronizing and prejudiced. Subedi is dangerous.

If divesity is such gunpowder as Subedi describes, New York City would be under a permanent civil war. Instead it is the capital city of the world. The 1990 constitution is crap. Even if the Maoists were to magically disappear, there is no going back to that crap. I am for a constituent assembly with or without the Maoists. I challenge Subedi to come up with a few intelligent arguments as to why not. So far he has only offered a few stupid ones.

This Inadequate, Improper, Insufficient 1990 Constitution (April 4)

In The News

His Majesty grants audience to Camp NepalNews
Senior US official renews call for dialogue between King and parties
Two security personnel killed in Bharatpur
96th International Women’s Day being celebrated: Women demand equal participation
Over 300 students abducted in Okhaldhunga

Visitors


8 March12:01United States (pa.us)
8 March12:29University of Massachusetts, Amherst, United States
8 March13:20Jackson State University, Jackson, United States
8 March13:33National Internet Backbone, India
8 March13:34Rockefeller University, New York, United States
8 March14:02Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, United States
8 March14:07Mannesmann Arcor Telecommunications AG & Co, Germany
8 March14:39Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., United States
8 March15:06Google Inc., Mountain View, United States
8 March15:19United States General Accounting Office, Washington, D.C., United States
8 March17:12Vanderbilt University, Nashville, United States
8 March17:12University of Missouri, Columbia, United States

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March 8 Event At The UN

In The News

UNIFEM Calls for Global Coalition of Women Economic Decision ... Voice of America
NEPAL: Impact of the conflict on women Reuters AlertNet, UK
Nepali women bear brunt of civil war - UN envoy Reuters AlertNet, UK
From its Headquarters to its furthest field work, UN marks Women ... UN News Centre
Women primary victim of conflict: Kahane Gorkhapatra, Nepal
96th International Women’s Day being celebrated: Women demand ... Nepalnews.com, Nepal
Nepal’s women prime victim of war: UN Nepalnews.com, Nepal
Nepal’s women bear brunt of war - UN appeals for protection of ... ReliefWeb (press release), Switzerland

Info. about Cora Weiss:

CORA WEISS, President, Hague Appeal for Peace, 777 United Nations Plaza

Cora Weiss, President of the Hague Appeal for Peace, has been well known as a peace activist since the early ‘60’s, when she was a co-founder of Women Strike for Peace which played a major role in bringing about the end of nuclear testing in the atmosphere. She was a leader in the anti-Vietnam war movement, organized demonstrations, including the largest one on November 15, 1969 in Washington, DC. As Co-Chair and Director of the Committee of Liaison with Families of Prisoners Detained in Vietnam, she organized the exchange of mail between families and POW’s in Vietnam which revealed and names of those alive and arranged for and accompanied some returning POW pilots. For ten years Ms Weiss was a volunteer teacher in the NY City public school system.

As a Trustee of Hampshire College, she started the campus campaign to divest stocks in companies doing business in South Africa. She has a long record of support for the United Nations, starting in the 1950’s when she hosted colonized Africans who were petitioning for the independence of their countries. She has devoted most of her life to the peace movement, the movement for the advancement of women, and the civil rights movement.

Among Ms. Weiss’ many awards are the Peace Studies Medal of Manhattan College and the George F. Kennan Award of the New Jersey Peace Action. In May of 1998 she and William Sloane Coffin were honored at The Riverside Church of New York on the 20th anniversary of their founding of the Riverside Disarmament Program which she directed for 10 years. In 1999 she was honored by the Phelps Stokes Fund for her work in the ‘50s and ‘60’s on Africa.

She is President of the International Peace Bureau, (Nobel Laureate 1910). Ms. Weiss participated in the Nobel Centennial Symposium held in Oslo, Norway in December 2001. She is also Joint-Principal of the Peace Boat’s Global University, an Advisory Board Member of Peace Child International’s Millennium Action Fund, and Honorary Patron of the Committee on Teaching About the United Nations. As President of the Hague Appeal for Peace, she is leading a campaign dedicated to the abolition of war. It seeks to re-focus our minds on the vision of a world in which violent conflict is publicly acknowledged as illegitimate, illegal, and fundamentally unjust. To implement that vision, the Hague Appeal for Peace has launched a Global Peace Education Campaign.

CORA WEISS

777 United Nations Plaza Tel: 212-697-8945
New York, New York 10027 Fax: 212-682-0886
cweiss@igc.org

HAGUE APPEAL FOR PEACE, President, 1996-present.

INTERNATIONAL PEACE BUREAU, Geneva. President, 2000 -, Representative to U.N. with ECOSOC status.

NOBEL CENTENNIAL SYMPOSIUM, Oslo, Norway. December 2001. Speaker.

PEACE BOAT’S GLOBAL UNIVERSITY, Tokyo. Joint-Principal, 1999-present.

PEACE ACTION, (Formerly SANE/Freeze). Chaired Commission to merge SANE and Freeze; Co-founder, SANE/Freeze; Board Member, 1986-2000; International Representative, 1988-2000; Member, Executive Committee, 1986-1994.

UNITED NATIONS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INFORMATION, NON- GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH THE UN, New York. Member, Executive Committee, 1997-2000; Planning Committee Annual DPI/NGO Conference, 2000.

PEACE CHILD INTERNATIONAL’S MILLENNIUM ACTION FUND,U.K. Advisory Board Member, 2000-present.

COMMITTEE ON TEACHING ABOUT THE UNITED NATIONS, New York. Honorary Patron, 2000.

WOMEN’S PEACE PETITION TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE UNITED NATIONS, New York. Co-initiator, 1997

NGO WORKING GROUP ON WOMEN, PEACE & SECURITY, New York. 1999 – present. Monitors Security Council Res. 1325.

CITIZEN’S MISSION ON NATO EXPANSION, London, Brussels, Moscow. Co-leader. June, 1997.

MISSION TO OSCE, Vienna and Moscow, September ’97. Re: NATO alternatives.

EXPERT GROUP MEETING ON POLITICAL DECISION-MAKING AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION, U.N. DAW/PRIO, Santo Domingo. October 1996. Participant.

FIRST PALESTINIAN ELECTIONS, West Bank and Gaza Strip, January 1996. Election Observer.

COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS, New York. Member, 1989-present.

WOMEN’S FOREIGN POLICY GROUP. Member, 1996-present.

UNITED NATIONS ASSOCIATION-USA. Member, 1996-present.

WOMEN IN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY. Member, 1989-present.

NGO COMMITTEE ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN. Member, 1989-present

NGO WOMEN’S FORUM ’95, FOURTH WORLD CONFERENCE ON WOMEN, Beijing, China, 1995. Delegate, International Peace Bureau, Delegate, Peace Action.

INTERLEGAL, U.S.A. Board Member and Chair, Executive Committee. 1990-1997.

US-NIS WOMEN’S CONSORTIUM. Board Member, 1993-2000.

DOWNTOWN COMMUNITY TELEVISION, New York City. Board Member, 1987-present.

GAIA WOMEN’S CENTER, Moscow. U.S. Advisory Board. WOMEN AND THE MARKET ECONOMY CONFERENCE, Moscow. Speaker. September, 1992.

"WOMEN’S PEACE PLATFORM FOR THE 21ST CENTURY", Spring 1995. Author.

SOVIET-AMERICAN WOMEN’S SUMMIT. Co-chair, 1989-1990.

WOMEN FOR MEANINGFUL SUMMITS. Member, Board of Directors and Executive Committee, 1985-1991; Summit Meeting of President Reagan and Secretary Gorbachev, Geneva, November, 1985. Delegate. Moscow Women’s Conference, June, 1987. Delegate.

"CHRISTIANITY & CRISIS". Board Member, 1991-1992.

PEACE CHILD FOUNDATION. Board Member, 1989.

HAMPSHIRE COLLEGE, Amherst, Mass. Trustee, 1978-1991; Trustee Emerita, 1991-present.

THE RIVERSIDE CHURCH DISARMAMENT PROGRAM, New York. Founder and Director, 1978-1988.

CHURCH WORLD SERVICE. Director, shipment of 10,000 tons of wheat to Vietnam, 1978.

NOBEL PEACE PRIZE CEREMONY, Oslo. Invited guest, 1987, 1995, 2001.

FIVE CONTINENT PEACE INITIATIVE, Stockholm. Eminent person, 1988.

DECADE FOR WOMEN. Delegate of World Council of Churches to Nairobi Conference, 1985. Third World Conference on Women.

A LEADER OF THE ONE MILLION PEOPLE ANTI-NUCLEAR DEMONSTRATION, Central Park, New York City. June 12, 1982.

WOMEN STRIKE FOR PEACE. National Board, 1961-1973.

NATIONAL MOBILIZATION TO END THE WAR IN VIETNAM. National co-chair for November 15, 1969, Washington D.C. Rally.

"CORA WEISS COMMENTS: A MICROPHONE FOR WOMEN." WRVR-FM, New York, radio commentator, 1974-1978.

COMMITTEE OF LIAISON WITH FAMILIES OF PRISONERS DETAINED IN VIETNAM. Co-chair and Director, 1969-1973

FRIENDSHIPMENT, coalition providing post-war relief and rehabilitation to Vietnam war victims. Executive Director, 1975-1978.

AFRICAN-AMERICAN STUDENTS FOUNDATION. Executive Director and Board Member, 1959-1963. Airlift for students from East Africa to the U.S.

GANDHI SOCIETY FOR HUMAN RIGHTS. Treasurer, 1960-1967.

SCHOOL VOLUNTEER, New York City. 1958-1968.

ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER - PAST

Alternative Security Council, Institute for Defense and Disarmament Studies.

Resolving Conflict Creatively Program, New York City Board of Education.

Pacem in Terris Institute, Manhattan College, New York City.

National Abortion Rights Action League, National Advisory Committee.

Committee on Common Security.

United Nations Amendment Conference on the Nuclear Test Ban. Testified, 1991.

RECIPIENT:

Nominee, Nobel Peace Prize, 2000, 2001

Peace Caucus U.N. Award, New York City. September 1999.

Aggrey Award of the Phelps Stokes Fund for work with African students and liberation movements during anti-colonial years, New York City. June 1998.

Leadership Award, West Side Peace Action, New York City. January 1998.

Kairos Peace Award. Long Island Alliance for Peaceful Alternatives, New York. November 1997

Peace Studies Medal, Manhattan College, New York. April 1997

George F. Kennan Award, New Jersey Peace Action. April 1996.

Joseph C. Wilson Award. Rochester Association for the United Nations.

October 24, 1995. 50th Anniversary of the United Nations.

Lifetime Achievement Award, Peace Action National Congress. 1992

Olive Branch Award. Juror 1991

UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN AT MADISON 1952-1956, BA

HUNTER COLLEGE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK 1956-1958

PERSONALIA: Married to Peter Weiss, Attorney; 3 children, 5 grandchildren