Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Hands Off The Madhesi Activists

सत्ताधारीदलद्वारा पहिलो पल्ट संसद वहिष्कार
मधेश
ी सांसदहरुद्धारा संसदको वहिष्कार

प्रदर्शन हस्तक्षेपको आलोचना
मधेसीको प्रदर्शनमा लाठी प्रहार
Over a dozen protestors injured in police action
MPs flay police intervention
Probe excesses, MPs demand



मधेसीको प्रदर्शनमा लाठी प्रहार

अतुल मिश्र

काठमाडौं, भदौ २६ - प्रहरीले मधेसी समुदायको शान्तिपूर्ण प्रदर्शनमा सोमबार लाठी प्रहार गर्दा ५० जना घाइते भएका छन् ।

बृहत् लोकतान्त्रिक मधेसी मोर्चाको आह्वानमा संविधान सभाअघि नागरिकता, जनसंख्याको आधारमा संविधानसभाको निर्वाचन क्षेत्र निर्धारण, राज्यको सम्पूर्ण संरचनामा मधेसीको सामानुपातिक सहभागिता लगायतका माग गर्दै भद्रकालीबाट निस्केको करिब तीन सयको जुलुसमाथि प्रहरीले बिनाकुनै चेतावनी लठ्ठी प्रहार गरेको थियो ।

'प्रहरीले एक्कासि बिनाकुनै चेतावनीको टाउको ताकेर नै सबैलाई प्रहार गरे,' जुलुसमा सहभागी पंकज जालानले भने ।

प्रदर्शनकारीलाई प्रहरीले खेदेर भृकुटीमण्डपको बजारसम्म पुर्‍याएका थिए । शान्तिपूर्ण विरोध गरिरहेका मधेसीप्रति राज्यले अमानवीय व्यवहार गरिनु निन्दनीय रहेको सद्भावना -आनन्दीदेवी) का महासचिव राजेन्द्र महतोले बताए ।

महतोले लोकतन्त्रमा समेत आफ्नो माग शान्तिपूर्ण रूपमा राख्दा दमन गरिनु लोकतन्त्रकै उपहास र मधेसी समस्याप्रति बेवास्ता रहेको बताए ।

जनआन्दोलनबाट स्थापित संसद्, सरकार, सात राजनीतिक दल, माओवादी, मानव अधिकारवादी संघसंस्था र नागरिक समाजसमेतले मधेस र मधेसी समुदायप्रति जारी शोषण, दमन र उत्पीडनविरुद्घ आफूहरूलाई उभ्याउन नसकेको आरोप मोर्चाको छ ।

नेपाल सद्भावना पार्टीका दुवै समूहले सोमबार प्रेस विज्ञप्ति जारी गरी शान्तिपूर्ण जुलुसमा गरिएको अन्धाधुन्ध लठ्ठी प्रहारको भत्र्सना गरेका छन् । यस घटनाले सरकारको मधेसीप्रतिको नीति स्पष्ट भएको जनाएको छ ।

मोर्चाको माग पूरा गर्न आग्रह गर्दै दुवै पार्टीले शान्तिपूर्ण जुलुसमा सरकारी दमनले घाइते भएकालाई उचित क्षतिपूर्ति दिन सरकारलाई भनेको छ ।

Girija, Resign
Stop Arresting The Disabled
Andolan Again
In Solidarity With The Kamaiya Movement
Why Were The Women Beat Up?
Gongabu Massacre

This act of blunt police brutality that seriously injured 50 of the 300 Madhesi activists has to be condemned in no uncertain terms. It was the Madhesis who launched the April Revolution on January 12 in Janakpur. Is this what a grateful nation does to that community? The April Revolution might not have earned the Madhesis total equality yet, but it sure earned them the right to peacefully protest.

When the Maoists peacefully protest, they do not get beat up like this. But when peaceful Madhesi political activists come out into the streets, they are subjected to violence. It is hard to believe this is the act of a so-called democratic government born out of the April Revolution. This incident proves this is a government of people who stayed home during the April Revolution. How could they be so not in tune with the April Revolution?

If the two Congress parties can think of coming together, why can't the Sadbhavana? This incident should push the two factions to come together all over again. This is time for the Madhesis to think in terms of real power. The state structure has to reflect the Madhesi share of the national population. Anything less in unacceptable. And that can only happen if the Madhesi political consciousness attains heights never before achieved.

Embrace Hindi, Embrace Sadbhavana

Pride in Maithili is all good, pride in Bhojpuri is all good, but it is Hindi that brings the Madhesi identity together.

Madhesis in the Congress are fine as are the Madhesis in the UML, or the RPP and the Maobadi party. But all of them will have to admit they are token Madhesis. They are one or two where they ought to be 20 in number. They are members of parties that have long denied Madhesis their due equality.

Power flows through the ballot box. It is time for the Madhesis to take the final step and embrace the Sadbhavana. Mahi magne dhungro lukaune kam garna bhayena.

The Sadbhavana has to be united, and it has to be embraced so that it grows like the BJP grew in India, by leaps and bounds. The Sadbhavana should be made to grow from two to 100 MPs. That has to be the goal of the constituent assembly elections.

There has to be a 50-50 chance of a Madhesi becoming President, Speaker, Chief Justice, Commander In Chief, Chief of Police.

It is high time Madhesis all over the world stopped apologizing for being Madhesi. The iron is hot. This is the time to strike. Mitti geela hai. A month of work before the constituent assembly elections is worth five years of work after. Let's roll.

The Sadbhavana is the only party in the seven party alliance that has a map for federalism. It has had it since its inception. The Sadbhavana has talked of a constituent assembly since its inception. It has talked of the citizenship issue, of federalism, of language rights since its inception. The Sadbhavana has talked of Janajati rights since its inception. The Sadbhavana is well positioned to also grow in the hills and mountains. It will grow by leaps and bounds.

No wonder the seven party Bahuns have been dragging their feet on the constituent assembly question, on issues of social justice.

March In Janakpur, March In Biratnagar, Birgunj, March In Bhairahawa, Nepalgunj

The march has to spread like wildfire. Kathmandu is not entirely enough. Organize, organize, organize. Nothing has been earned in April. All that will be earned has yet to be earned.

Bindeshwar Prasad Yadav: Prachanda On Madhesi
Madhesi Self Hate
Hari Bansh Jha: Inclusion Of The Excluded Madhesis
Madhesi Mahila (MaMa) Gathering In Ridgewood, NY
Dr. Ram Prakash Yadav: Facts And Figures On Madhesi Marginalization
Madhesi Caucus In Interim Parliament Needed
Hindi Is At The Core Of The Madhesi Identity
Madhesis, Social Justice, And The DaMaJaMa Equation In Nepal
June 17 Madhesi Gathering In New York City
Madhesi Gathering Photos 2
Madhesi Gathering Photos
June 7 Madhesi Rally In Janakpur
No Short Cuts: Madhesis Will Have To March
Madhesi Rights: Total Equality
My Most Controversial Blog Post To Date: On Madhesi Issue
Time For Madhesi Militancy Is Now
Madhesi
Madhesi Hum Lenge Sau Mein Pachas
Madhesi Rights: Abhi Nahin To Kabhi Nahin
Tibetans And Madhesis

Girija Prachanda Brinkmanship


Walk And Chew Gum At The Same Time

It is not one or the other. It is not arms management or the political issues. Both have to happen at once. The two could agree on a political roadmap which would be implemented as soon as the arms management starts.

The worst case scenario is to go back to war. But I don't think that is what we are looking at since both sides have already agreed on a constituent assembly.

But the current political paralysis is damage enough. The local populations are being subjected to extortions. The law and order situation has been deteriorating because of the political confusion.

The seven party Bahuns are dragging their feet on social justice issues.

Girija's lack of intellectual curiosity is also a major handicap the peace process is having to live with.

The Maoists are deep to the neck with their misdeeds at the local levels. The extortions are not taxation by a parallel state. They are looting money.

No To Royal Dictatorship, No To Maoist Dictatorship
Arguing With The Maoists
Need To Revive The 12 Point Agreement Spirit
The Maoists Have A Right To Peaceful Assembly, Peacefully Protest
Deciding Now On Monarchy And Army
All Members To The Constituent Assembly Must Be Directly Elected
Prachanda, Madhav, Devendra
100,000 Maoist Militia Must Disarm
China
How To Avoid An October Revolution
Arms Management, Money Management
How To Conduct A Meeting
Reform Is Hard To Push Through

Dishanirdesh: Prachanda Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

On The Web

Russian roulette - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia the practice of placing a single round in a revolver, spinning the cylinder and closing it into the firearm without looking, aiming the revolver at one's own head in a suicidal fashion, and pulling the trigger. The number of rounds placed in the revolver can vary, though as a rule there will always be at least one empty chamber.
Brinkmanship - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia involving the threat of use of the policy or practice of pushing a dangerous situation to the brink of disaster in order to achieve the most advantageous outcome. It occurs in international politics and foreign policy, and in contemporary settings is a military strategynuclear weapons. This maneuver of pushing a situation to the brink succeeds by forcing the opposition to back down and make concessions. This might be achieved through diplomatic maneuvers by creating the impression that one is willing to use extreme methods rather than concede. ........ The dangers of brinkmanship as a political or diplomatic tool can be understood as a slippery slope: In order for brinkmanship to be effective, the threats used are continuously elevated. However, a threat is not worth anything unless it is credible; at some point, the aggressive party may have to back up their claim to prove their commitment to action. The further one goes, the greater the chance of things sliding out of control.
Nuclear Brinkmanship
brinkmanship: Definition and Much More From Answers.com
North Korea's Missile Tests: Malign Neglect Meets Brinkmanship
brinkmanship - definition of brinkmanship by the Free Online ...
The cuban missile crisis - Brinkmanship
Understanding Kim Jong Il - Salon
BBC NEWS | World | Asia-Pacific | China-US: Beijing's brinkmanship
Definition of brinkmanship - Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary the art or practice of pushing a dangerous situation or confrontation to the limit of safety especially to force a desired outcome


An Elaborate Conversation With Homraj Acharya, Sanjaya Parajuli




After the Neelam event, there was a small coffee break with the likes of Shailesh Shrestha, Mridula Koirala and Anand Bist at a nearby Dunkin Donuts. Then Hom, and I headed over to Sanjaya's place nearby. We got there around nine and were up until past two in the morning, talking Nepali politics. Somewhere along the way, we had dinner. I got ready to leave around midnight, but got dragged back into the conversation.

It was a fruitful conversation. I wish I had my equipment with me. It would have been great to record much of it. Some very interesting thoughts came forward.

We first discussed the immediate, the impending peace talks. There were personal stories to tell.

Then there was a long conversation on Hindi. I see both of these as Pahadi Bahuns. But they claim they are both Madhesi. Their homes are in the Terai. I get this often. To me the term Teraiwasi is geographical. Anyone living in the Terai is a Teraiwasi. But a Bahun is a Bahun. The terms Pahadi and Madhesi are cultural. Madhesis who have been living in Kathmandu for decades have not ended up being Pahadi, although some of them have tried.

I argued Hindi is the link language between the Maithili, Bhojpuri, Awadhi, Tharu and Urdu speakers in the Terai. Nepali was imposed by Mahendra. Down with Mahendra Path.

Towards the end there was this interesting proposal. All MPs get to speak in the parliament in their first language. What they speak gets translated into every other language spoken in the parliament. If this can be implemented, it is an interesting proposal.

Language Policy

There was also talk of a mixed system where you have direct elections, but you also have the proportional representation system.

In The News

PM, Indian envoy discuss peace process, Congress unification NepalNews
Probe commission grills two junior ministers, others
Govt. appoints Ghimire NAC chairman
IOM office opens in Kathmandu
US envoy to inspect Flood Relief and Conflict Mitigation program in far West
Govt. to publicize whereabouts of missing people after the Maoists do so: PM Koirala In a meeting with the families of the disappeared people by the state held at the Prime Minister’s official residence in Baluwatar ......
NHRC tells Maoists to send details of disappearance
Army will not back King: Dr. Mahat
Police arrest mastermind behind 8 major robberies in the capital
Nepal’s Maoists Out-of-Sync with Rest of Nation - By Bhupal Lamichhaney the present state of confusion and mistrust. ..... We continue to see the actions of Hezbollah and Hammas in Lebanon and Palestine. It may not be fully justified to compare the Maoists of Nepal with them, but one can find similarities too. Hezbollah is a state within a state as the Maoists claim for them. .....
Tourism organizations rue forced donations, unionization
Katawal’s appointment challenged at SC
Maoist not abiding by code of conduct; continuing forceful extortions

Nepali gov't forms committee to tackle protests People's Daily a 6-member committee including five ministers under the coordination of Deputy Prime and Health Minister Amik Sherchan to tackle the ongoing protests and sit-ins and other problems crippling the nation ..... the rising tide of gheraos and sit-ins at various ministries and even at the Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala's residence ...... the deteriorating situation of law and order and decided to mobilize the security forces to control the lootings and robberies on the highways and other parts of the country. ..... Gopal Man Shrestha proposed the king be appointed as the "Interim President." ..... the meeting also directed the government talks team to expedite the homework for the next round of summit talks between the government and the guerrillas.
Troops sent to Nepal village to stop clashes NDTV.com, India
India provides grant to Nepal People's Daily Online, China
Peace process fails to take speed in Nepal People's Daily Online, China engaged in accusing each other for not abiding by the previous agreements. ..... Yubaraj Ghimire, editor of "Samaya" .. Ghimire said the people's movement could not be ruled out against the Seven Party Alliance and the guerrillas if they failed to reach into consensus. ADB grants 55.2 mln USD to Nepal for road project People's Daily Online, China this is the first time the bank has provided a grant to the country. ..... 490 km of road will be constructed over the period of six years.
Nepal wants share in Gandhi legacy, invites Indian ‘socialists ... Indian Express, India leaders of the Seven Party Alliance in Nepal have invited a delegation of Indian “socialists” — headed by Janata Dal(U) president Sharad Yadav ..... JD(U) secretary-general K.C. Tyagi, Bihar water resources minister Ramashray Prasad Singh, JNU professor Dr Anand Kumar and former student activist and general-secretary of the South Asian Forum for People’s Initiviatives Sudheendra Bhadhoria. ..... The two-day conference on September 16 and 17 is being hosted by the Mahendra Nidhi Memorial Foundation. .... even the Maoists might send a representative ..... Top socialist leaders Jayaprakash Narayan and Ram Manohar Lohia had escaped to Nepal after their Hazaribagh jailbreak in 1942 and were given shelter by Nepali Congress leaders. Similarly, B.P. Koirala and many of his colleagues found support and sympathy from various socialist leaders in India during their years fighting for democracy in Nepal. ...... on a recent visit to Kathmandu, K.C. Tyagi met both Prachanda and Baburam Bhattarai and the two Maoist leaders may meet Yadav this time. ....
UN presses Nepal rebels on human rights abuses Reuters AlertNet, UK
Moriarty on 4-day Tour of Far West Nepal Himalayan Times, Nepal
Nepal & NAM Gorkhapatra, Nepal KP Sharma Oli, the otherday, left for Havana, the capital city of Cuba, to take part in the 14th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement to be held from September 13.

House to amend its proclamation Kantipur Publications after the amendment of the proclamation, the process of appointing ambassadors as well as officials to various constitutional bodies will begin.
MPs flay police intervention
Maoist extortion cripples travel trade the unexpectedly intensifying 'extortion' ..... ranging as high as ten million rupees. Adding to the woe, there are reports that different organizations allied to the ruling political parties are following suit. ...... Nepal Association of Tour Operators (NATO), HAN, PATA-Nepal Chapter, Nepal Mountaineering Association, Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA), and Board of Airlines Representatives in Nepal ...... “The activists of the Maoist affiliated organizations are staying at different hotels in groups of 10 to 15 persons, not paying a single penny,” said a Thamel hotelier. .....
ADB grants US$ 55 m to Nepal road construction to help expand and rehabilitate the feeder road system in Nepal. ..... roads to three district headquarters that are not currently connected, and upgrade existing connection roads to all weather condition in 17 of the country’s 75 districts ......
आन्दोलन अध्ययन गर्न उच्चस्तरीय टोली
कांग्रेस एकीकरणको सहमति
लोकतन्त्रपछि १४ अर्ब अनुदान
प्रदर्शनकारीप्रति कडा व्यवहार’
मधेसीको प्रदर्शनमा लाठी प्रहार ५० जना घाइते भएका छन् । ..... बृहत् लोकतान्त्रिक मधेसी मोर्चाको आह्वानमा संविधान सभाअघि नागरिकता, जनसंख्याको आधारमा संविधानसभाको निर्वाचन क्षेत्र निर्धारण, राज्यको सम्पूर्ण संरचनामा मधेसीको सामानुपातिक सहभागिता लगायतका माग.... करिब तीन सयको जुलुसमाथि प्रहरीले बिनाकुनै चेतावनी लठ्ठी प्रहार गरेको थियो । ..... 'प्रहरीले एक्कासि बिनाकुनै चेतावनीको टाउको ताकेर नै सबैलाई प्रहार गरे,' जुलुसमा सहभागी पंकज जालानले भने । ...... शान्तिपूर्ण विरोध गरिरहेका मधेसीप्रति राज्यले अमानवीय व्यवहार गरिनु निन्दनीय रहेको सद्भावना -आनन्दीदेवी) का महासचिव राजेन्द्र महतोले बताए । ....... जनआन्दोलनबाट स्थापित संसद्, सरकार, सात राजनीतिक दल, माओवादी, मानव अधिकारवादी संघसंस्था र नागरिक समाजसमेतले मधेस र मधेसी समुदायप्रति जारी शोषण, दमन र उत्पीडनविरुद्घ आफूहरूलाई उभ्याउन नसकेको आरोप मोर्चाको छ । ..... नेपाल सद्भावना पार्टीका दुवै समूहले सोमबार प्रेस विज्ञप्ति जारी गरी शान्तिपूर्ण जुलुसमा गरिएको अन्धाधुन्ध लठ्ठी प्रहारको भत्र्सना गरेका छन् । यस घटनाले सरकारको मधेसीप्रतिको नीति स्पष्ट भएको जनाएको छ । ...... मोर्चाको माग पूरा गर्न आग्रह गर्दै दुवै पार्टीले शान्तिपूर्ण जुलुसमा सरकारी दमनले घाइते भएकालाई उचित क्षतिपूर्ति दिन सरकारलाई भनेको छ ।
माओवादी ज्यादतीविरुद्ध जनमोर्चा
मानसिक यातना र चन्दा आतंक तीव्र
सुरक्षाको चिन्ता
चन्दा र युनियन गठनको दबाव बन्द गर्न माग

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