Model 1: Girija Is To Be Blamed

The NC was in power more than most during the 90s, and Girija was Prime Minister more than most. But instead of consolidating the democracy, the Girijas of the world became the new establishment. Massive corruption was institutionalized. The aspiratinos of the Madhesis, the Janajatis, the Dalits, the women, the poor were not given proper channels. Things fall apart when the center can not hold.

Girija's inflexibility that served so well in his quest for democracy became his bane post-democracy. A party with a clear majority going for mid-term elections is ridiculous. Girija does not know how to save face: he only knows how to corner his opponents into desperation. He does not understand compromise and coalition building is the name of the game in a democratic framework.

Because the moderate center did not perform, the left and the right came in to fill the vacuum.

Model 2: King G Is To Be Blamed

The king gets neither democracy nor constitutional monarchy, or he would not talk of being a "constructive monarch." He has acted a mirror image of the Maoists in trying to fill the vacuum left by the political parties. That might be cunning, and possible in the murky waters of today, but it is not magananimous. The king patronizingly refers to the country as his family. That shows a lack of gut-feel for basic premises in democracy.

King G got Chand to almost double the royal budget. That is NC style brahmaloot many times over.

Model 3: Deuba Is To Be Blamed

Why get rid of the parliament, bro! In the first place....

Model 4: The Maoists Are To Be Blamed

Not even the Chinese are Maoists anymore. The haat bazar in a remote village in Nepal is the market economy in action. The ancient Buddhist republics were democracies in action. Those twins are the necessary engines for growth. Gorbachev knows more about communist theory than Prachanda or Baburam, and he has said the market is it.

The LTTE have been far more lethal than the Maoists can ever hope to be, militarily. And the LTTE were not able to take over Colombo even after 20 vicious years. So the military option is out.

It is laughable of the Maoists to think the king will willingly give over power. Not this king. If anything King G will want to expand his role.

The dictatorship of the proletariat is not about to happen. Instead it is a game of who will blink first, and the two extreme sides do not care if the commoners suffer in the interim.

Supermodel 1: Panchayat II

There is a very real possibility the king decides he has had enough of it, and he plain takes over. Which will be the final blow of the right to the rest of the political spectrum. But such a move will, by definition, engineer a massive backlash. And more than Maoists will rally behind an all-out call for a republic.

Supermodel 2: "Jana Sarkar"

That does not exist in the rural areas either. It is more statelessness, lawlessness. And the urban centers hold strong. It can not be imagined Kathmandu can be taken over by the Maoists.

Not going to happen.

Supermodel 3: Constituent Assembly

This is the only option for quickie peace. But one suspects those now in power will not go for it. Instead they will wait and wait and wait. For the Maoists to possibly tire out. In the mean time, the people be damned.

Iraq will soon have elections for such a thing. And they will do fine for it.

Let the people decide.

But such a move will have to be simultaneous a total disarming of the Maoists.

Supermodel 4: Inflexibility

That Giriaj disease pervades the entire political spectrum. Mero goru ko barhai takka. This more than anything else is holding progress back.

But what can a constituent assembly resolve?

I hadn't read this thread in a while. Great discussion going on here.
But, GP crawls in here too with his borrowed "intelligence."

I do not think there will be an election. Election card is just being used to isolate Deupa and claim moral high ground.

I think both palace and Maoists want the present political situation to linger for few more months if not years. Both sides might have good reasons to claim that they are maintaining upper hand militarily as well as politically. Most visible achievement of theirs (ironically the same) is to have reduced the status of Makune and Girija as mere clowns of currently featured political circus in Kathmandu. Major political parties, which still represent, at least in theoretical terms, political aspiration of large majority of Nepalese people are now increasingly becoming irrelevant for major political decisions and their leaders? public utility is not more than being subjects of political satires and newspapers? cartoons. Very unfortunate development for a democratic Nepal !

I think for Makune and Girija (and their party by extension), it is right time to take POLITICAL LEAVE for couple of years. Just declare that, ?OK you two Gun-Lovers settle your big questions first, we will deal with the winner afterward?. Just imagine, if they had taken such leave two years back, their political legitimacy would not have been so much undermined. If needed, they can give it political plating declaring it as a SATYAGRAHA (but without any julus or dharna, stay home and watch Mahabharat). As GITA says: AKARMA (no activity) is better than KUKARMA (bad activity). And acting as clowns in such a clumsy political circus is Maha-Kukarma.

Nispaksha

(1) Deuba in saying he will only talk within the parameters of constitutional monarchy and multi-party democracy is basically not inviting the Maoists for talks but is asking them to surrender, which they have refused to do.
(2) The invitation should be an open one, saying all options are on the table.
(3) Agree to the idea on an all-party government, that also includes the Maoists, and the idea of elections for a Constituent Assembly, but only if the Maoists disarm.
(4) To that the Maoists might say, integrate our cadres into the Army. Reply: okay, but not as separate Maoists battalions. Instead they will have to apply as individuals, and at least 75% will be inducted on merit, and integrated but not en masse.
(5) And make the Maoists promise they will accept the outcome of the Constituent Assembly. At that point Deuba may say he and his party are going to campaign for a constitutional monarcy, and the Maoists are free to campaign for a republic if they might so choose. Each party will have a similar choise.

This might be the way out, not an attempt to rub the Maoist nose in the ground.

"The king has the chief executive authority now, so it will be easier for the rebels to come for peace talks. It is what they have been wanting."

Nepal's Home Minister Dan Bahadur Shahi

- http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=63914

There is an all round international condemnation. UN, US, UK, India, you name it. Indian Prime Minister cancels his trip to the SAARC summit. That is a major act of protest.

The leaders under arrest. Are their second level leaders around the country capable of organizing a counter move? That is to be seen.

Is it just the Congress and the UML leaders, or is it also those from the smaller parties? Anyone jailed? Or is it a blanket house arrest?

Will the Maoists come for talks? Even if they might know the king will not give an inch. The 1991 constitution is the best he will offer.

It is now like a direct confrontation between the Maoists and the Monarchists for now. One hopes there is not too much bloodshed. More likely the people are in for another round of authoritarianism. Militarization with all its repurcussions for the conscious and the thinking. A further deterioration in the human rights situation will be the sad part.

"....Nepal's mountainous terrain makes it highly unlikely that there will ever be a military solution to the war with the Maoist rebels, who have an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 fighters and control large parts of the countryside...........He has a 78,000-member army under his command, and said that he would "restore democracy and law and order in the country in the next three years."..."

"..King Gyanendra said, ?They (politicians) were only after power and neglected peoples? interest.?.."

Look who is talking!

"..The King had also called upon the Maoists to surrender by laying down arms and promised to grant amnesty to those who do so..."

- http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=63885

- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4226039.stm (Rabindra Mishra)

".. If the king fails, there is a possibility that the political parties might establish some sort of working relationship with the Maoists and try to get rid of the king himself .."

"..But Mr Deuba had been telling many journalists off the record that the king himself did not, in fact, want the elections to be held..."

- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4228309.stm

"..Spokesman Krishna Bahadur Mahra told the BBC Nepali service that the king had closed the door to any possibility of dialogue..."

This is a call from both sides for a military solution to the stalemate. Not good.

"As the monarch's ambitions and the Maoist grand strategy became ever more transparent, the fractious political parties in Nepal remained feckless.....the Nepali establishment to take on board much of the Maoist political and social agenda and initiate significant reforms...."

- http://www.todayonline.com/articles/33850.asp

"..cutting the country off from the rest of the world in spectacular tin-pot dictator style..."As for the three-year timeline he has given for restoring democracy, believe me, people are already planning massive protests that will continue over the next few weeks.".....The king and his son, Paras, are extremely unpopular among the Nepalese. .....declaration came a few days after Nepal shut down the Dalai Lama's offices......the King has also brought himself into direct confrontation with his enemies ? the Maoists....."The King needs to be forced to restore the dissolved Parliament ? irrespective of any constitutional niceties that might obstruct that move ? Nepal is well beyond constitutional niceties at this stage anyway."......."

"...Gyanendra, best known before he became king for the nighclub antics of his errant son Paras who is now crown prince, missed the 2001 massacre because he was away. Paras was present but escaped unscathed... At his coronation, crowds chanted slogans against him and tried to block the motorcade to the palace. ... Some observers have compared Gyanendra's style to that of his autocratic father, King Mahendra. ..."

- http://news.ft.com/cms/s/7d6e7afc-7475-11d9-a769-00000e2511c8.html

"...The king is likely to seek direct talks with the Maoists, without having to consult what he sees as Kathmandu's incorrigibly venal political class....Many among Nepal's mainstream population will see Gyanendra?s move as a transparent attempt to aggrandise power for its own sake....."It doesn't matter whether the conspiracy theory is true or not - and there is not much evidence to support it," says S.D. Muni, an academic of modern Nepal, based in New Delhi. "What matters is how many people believe it - Gyanendra and his son are deeply disliked among large sections of Nepalis."....The monarch?s dwindling popularity has not been assisted by the antics of Paras, his only son and official heir, whose reputation for drunken thuggery is undisputed. "The Most Feared Man in Nepal", is the cover story headline on this month's issue of one magazine in New Delhi..............But Nepal's media, which, during the reign of King Birendra, had been reluctant to indulge in any criticism of the monarchy, has published regular accounts of incidents in which Paras has allegedly beaten up people in Kathmandu nightclubs and, in one case, killed a motorcyclist in a drink-driving accident.
.............As a royal, Paras can only be prosecuted by consent of the king. "Paras is a bad apple, plain and simple," said a Nepalese businessman close to the family. "He has done incalculable damage to the royal family."................According to tradition, Nepal's king is seen as an incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu - the preserver. After yesterday, some will jest Gyanendra would be a more fitting avatar of Shiva - the destroyer............ "

- http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1007552.cms

".. "Whether the king can find a solution to the country's problems is very, very doubtful. The tide is against him because of various problems - economic, political and the Maoists."...."

- http://www.tribuneindia.com/2005/20050203/main3.htm

"...FOR all those following the developments in Nepal, the King?s coup, has not come as a surprise. Notable, however, is the sweep and sting of the King?s action...........has put all other political party leaders under house arrest..........Gyanendra has always been nursing political ambitions..........He never politically approved of his brother, the late King Birendra?s attempts to adjust with the constraints of Constitutional Monarchy and parliamentary governance..........During the past six months, there have been carefully prompted statements asking for direct intervention of the King, aimed at creating the right atmosphere for this take over..........An important aspect of the King?s takeover has been his lauding of the role of the security forces. He has even accused the political party leaders of not appreciating the sacrifices made by the security forces in the fight against ?terrorism?; and has promised to give more powers to the Royal Nepal Army............Even on earlier occasions, under King Gyanendra, the Army Generals have been openly criticising the political parties and their leaders. ..........However, everyone knows that the Royal Nepal Army has so far given no assuring indications that it is capable of dealing with the Maoist challenge. Any excessive use of force and oppression may in fact bring the Maoists and the political parties closer to each other. .........No one can say how the Monarchy as an institution would emerge out of this chaos. ........There is also an option for the King to tactically open negotiations with the Maoists to diffuse the international and internal pressures on him. However, it is unlikely that any viable solution will emerge out of such talks unless the King is willing to curb his own powers. If that was possible, he would not have staged a coup...........India?s reaction to the King?s coup has been strong and immediate........Gynandra has already indicated his desire and willingness to use the China card in support of his action. .........Three days before his coup, he closed down the Dalai Lama?s offices in Nepal to please the Chinese. He did not care about the US displeasure......It is only through the mobilisation of popular and democratic forces that the Maoists movement can be soft-landed and the King can be shown his place..."

- www.cpnm.org
- http://www.centralchronicle.com/20050203/0302008.htm

".. "Nepalese masses that have shown their identity through the mass struggle of 1990 and 9 years' of people's war are capable to fulfill their historic task of establishing a republic," he said...."

- http://newsfromrussia.com/world/2005/02/02/58035.html

"..The new king thought his brother was mistaken in handing over power to the government...."

".....Prachanda, or "the fierce one", denounced Gyanendra as a "national betrayer" and urged citizens to "shut down Nepal" from Wednesday to Friday. Witnesses in Kathmandu said life was going on as normal with shops, schools and businesses open and streets jammed with traffic....."

- http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050202/asp/nation/story_4326997.asp

"..Many Nepalis say the portly, severe man, usually dressed in narrow daura-suruwal trousers and a knee-length shirt, is the reason their country is in crisis...Gyanendra?s popularity has steadily fallen in the last three years and his performance had some Nepalis talking about what would once have been blasphemy: turning the world?s only Hindu kingdom into a republic...........He is said to be scornful of most politicians, who have been locked in interminable squabbles since democracy was introduced in 1991. ?Gyanendra is not very enthusiastic about democracy. His brother, the former king, promoted democracy,? said Kalim Bahadur, a South Asian political analyst in Delhi........"

- http://www.satribune.com/archives/feb05/P1_arun.htm

"..Nepalese Maoists and insurgent leaders have crossed over into India.........In a strongly worded statement, India said the move would bring the monarchy and mainstream parties into direct confrontation and would strengthen the Maoists......Indian officials said they had received reports that senior Maoist leaders had crossed over into India shortly after the crackdown. These officials say that one of the most wanted Maoist leader, Baburam Bhattarai, is reportedly hiding in Bihar......Likewise Ram Bahadur Thapa, (who has Badal, Lakhan, Bhimsen and Prem as aliases) and who is also a ?Politburo and Standing Committee? member and incharge of special central command has also entered India. Krishna Bahadur Mahara alias Amar Singh, who acts as the Maoists? spokesperson and is incharge of the ?Foreign Section (India)? may also cross over to India......Other top-level commanders of the insurgents include among others, Yan Prasad Gautarri alias Alok, Chitranarayan Shrestha, Shashi Shrestha, Hisila Yani, Man Bahadur Mahara, Santhosh Bura, Lekhraj Bhatt, CP Gajurel......In the political wing, the important Maoist leaders include Comrade Parvati (a nom de guerre of Baburam Bhattarai?s wife Hsila Yemi), Matrika Yadav, Deb Bahadur Gurung, Krishna Dhoj Khadka, Rekha Sharma, Rabindra Shrestha, Bamdev Chhetri and Mumaram Khanal are among the Wanted List. All of them are soon expected to enter Bihar or the Terai region of Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal......Nepalese Maoists have made their bases in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal......Nepalese Maoists come here, they stay here, get arms and ammunitions from their counterparts and return to their original bases in Nepal....Baburam Bhattarai heads the political wing of the Maoists called the United People?s Front. Bhattari also has many aliases including Lal Singh, Jitbir, Mukti Manab.....In the Central Committee meeting of the Maoists in September 2004, he was given the charge of the mid central command......The Maoists are infiltrating India mainly through border areas in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, West Bengal and Sikkim. Recently, arrested militants have disclosed that arms training are being conducted in the forests of Bagha in the West Champaran district of India......the Maoists of Nepal have well-established linkages with Indian left-wing extremist organizations, primarily with the People?s War Group (PWG) and Maoist Communist Centre (MCC). ....they began the process of laying a corridor, which is now widely referred to as the Revolutionary Corridor (RC) extending from Nepal to across six Indian States, including Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh. This entire area has been identified in Maoist literature as the Compact Revolutionary Zone (CRZ). Now Uttaranchal has been added to it.....It is a co-signatory, along with 41 other left-wing extremist groups ranging from South America to South East Asia, to a resolution that ?condemned and opposed the malpractice of the fascist state of Nepal?............................But Yubraj Ghimare, Editor of the Nepalese Kantipur Times has a different story to narrate. Talking to the South Asia Tribune from Kathmandu on telephone, he said: ?It is simply a step to undermine the democratic set up of the country. People, including Maoists, are in favor of democracy. They want royalty to go, and they want to establish full and complete democracy in Nepal?.....?Now the King will initiate action against the Maoist forces and their sympathizers who are fighting for the lawful and democratic rights of the people?, he added.................according to rough estimates there were approximately 5,500 combatants, 8,000 militia, 4,500 cadres, 33,000 hard core followers, and 200,000 sympathizers of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) in early 2004..........?The main fighting and support forces consist of Magars, Tharus, Janjatis (Gurungs, Rais, Limbus, Tamangs, Dalits, Brahmins and Chhetris, the last two also providing the political and military leadership)?...........about 60 per cent are deployed in the mid-west and west in their strongholds. Another 10 per cent are in the far west with around 10 per cent in Gorkha, the rest is located in Kathmandu valley and east of it. All of them want democracy in Nepal,?..........The guerrillas operate to varying degrees in 68 of the 75 districts.........."

- http://news.ft.com/cms/s/09092ff0-74bf-11d9-a769-00000e2511c8.html
Maoists likely to profit

"...Gyanendra announced he was suspending democracy in order to save it...."

- http://www.keralanext.com/news/indexread.asp?id=104210

"..For all practical purposes, the Government of Nepal's adversarial interaction with the rebel Maoists will continue, and now more than ever, it seems apparent that the country's political fate is most likely to be settled on the battlefield....

- http://www.gorkhapatra.org.np/pageloader.php?file=2005/01/24/topstories/main4
Speaker Ranabhat .........was speaking at the third memorial function of the founder president of Nepal Sadbhawana Party Gajendra Narayan Singh organised by Nepal Sadbhawana Party (Anandidevi)......Former Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa argued that all problems could be addressed only after resolving the issues raised by minority and ethnic groups and the Terai people......Tripathy of Nepal Sadbhawana Party (Anandidevi), reiterated their parties common stance of restoring the House of Representatives and restructuring the political system as the only option to resolve the present problem.........

Scenario 1: The stalemate continues. Sporadic violence. Mostly not much. Severe violation of human rights. The military-royal complex strengthens its grips on Kathmandu life. King G's government lasts for a year. Achievements not that different from Deuba's. No talks. No peace. No development. No hope.

Scenario 2: Violent confrontation between the Maoists and the Monarchists. Both attempt to go on the offensive agains the other.

Scenario 3: The second rung leaders of the parties spread across the country manage to organize a counter current of protest. Slowly a call for a republic takes hold. Gains strength as the G government chugs along Deuba style.

Scenario 4: Failed state. Widespread lawlessness.

None of the scenarios look that good. A sad phase for the country.

Constituent Assembly elections after a disarming of the Maoists come as the only meeting ground for the three forces. But King G is nowhere close to that option in his mind. Neither are the parties. So expect deadlock to continue.

Scenario 5: An all-party government minus the Maoists due to intense international pressure and a revived parliament with a one-point mandate to seek peace with the Maoists by keeping all options on the table. This might be King G's second best option, but I doubt he will take it.

Scenario 6) Prachandra and other key leaders are captured and party falls into pieces like shining path of Peru.
Scenario 7) Maoist talks to King after major blows from Army.
Scenario 8) Prachandra or Baburam accepts the offer from King to act as Prime minister under his direct rule.

Scenario nth: King G gives a date for next election. Encourages Prachanda and his henchmen to come out and take part. Army moves in quickly and captures the two Maoists and throws them in Nakkhu. They will be tried, and convicted. They will be executed swifly and mercifully (perhaps a bullet on the forehead) and the king grandly annouces he is resigning from his King post and takes the 'sanyas.' The elected parliament will immediately ask India to rule them forever and peacefully as they have been governing themselves after the British rule. And every Nepali will train to be "IT Person." It will be heaven.

Sorry Paramendra could not help it.

NK! The NK!

Where have you been?

:-)

- http://www.sajha.com/sajha/html/openThread.cfm?forum=2&ThreadID=19243

"It is a considerable headache for the West. Two months ago, Britain, the US and India warned King Gyanendra not to sack the government and take absolute power. Now he has called their bluff, trying to present himself as the only bulwark against the Maoists. That leaves the West with a dilemma: back Gyanendra, and his assault on human rights, or let Nepal fall into the hands of the Maoists, whom the West has condemned as "terrorists". For the West, either choice is unacceptable. "
- http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/story.jsp?story=607554

It is amazing how much badmouthing "democracy" is getting at Sajha. I would guess most of those doing the badmouthing are in America, and America is what it is because it is the world's oldest democracy. Many Nepalis have gone thorugh hell and high water to come to America. What for? If you so love autocracy, now might be your chance: go to Nepal!

I would be the first to criticize the ineptitude of the leaders during the 1990s. And to decry the corrutpion. But just look at two things:

(1) The royal budget got doubled after Deuba was sacked. Is that not brahmaloot? Is that not corrution? Misuse of taxpayers' money? Which Congress leader was corrupt at such a large scale?

(2) Nepal saw more development work during the 10 years of multi party democracy than during the 30 years of Panchayat. It worked, damnit!

People raise two issues when they try to discredit the democratic experiment in Nepal.

(1) The cacophony of democracy. Leaders supposedly fighting amongst themselves.

Response: Democracy, by definition, is a cacophony. It is no symphony. It is through such dialectics that progress is made. Raging debates are a good thing.

(2) Leaders getting accused of being power-hungry. Of wanting to become Prime Minister.

Response: Heck, that is a good thing! It is a good thing Bill Gates wants to be rich. We all end up with Windows. It is a good thing Bill Clinton works over a lifetime to become president. Similary it is a good thing if Girija and Deuba and MaKuNe compete to become Prime Minister. The country benefits from the competition.

King G's speech. It reads as follows:

(1) My ancestor Prithvi created Nepal so this country is my family property.
(2) But this is the 21st century so I guess I will allow some democracy. Times have changed.
(3) Democracy is fine, but we could not get a single good leader duing the 1990s. Good system, bad players.
(4) I sacked Deuba twice, giving him less than a year each time to hold elecitons. He is inept. I will give myself three years to do the same.
(5) Yo Prachande le nihu nai khojya ho ta? La ta au aba direct guff garam.

When was the last time a country, any country on the planet got similary blacked out? No phone, no internet, no nothing. This is primitive.

The Constituent Assembly idea is the only meeting point for the three forces in the country. On that more here:

- http://www.sajha.com/sajha/html/OpenThread.cfm?forum=2&ThreadID=18493

(2) Agree to the Constituent Assembly talk, but only if the Maoists disarm. To that the Maoists will say, no, instead we want to merge into the Nepali Army. Deuba says, fine, but all of your cadres will have to apply individually. Like new recruits. And all those who pass the "entrance" requirements will be taken in at the level of their qualification, but not en masse, not in "Maoist battalions."

(3) Then hold elections. The new elected body drafts a new constitution that is put to a referendum. If the referendum accepts the constitution, the elected body stays on as parliament. Or new elections are held. Two elections will be cheaper than the ongoing civil war and paralysis.

(4) There is a strong possibility the monarchy might come back. The people might decide to keep it. Most important the Maoists will be disarmed. The Maoists are the weaker party. But it would be a bad idea to try to rub their nose in the dust. Better to help them save face. True, they are theoretically Maoists. 70 years back they would have been Stalinists. But then 20 years back the UML were communists. 30 years back Koirala hijacked a plane. 70 years back the Shahas did what the Ranas asked them to do. The Maoists are a protest movement. They are not communists in the old fashioned way. Most of their grievances have been Janajati grievances. That is more ethnic than industrial labor stuff.

- http://www.sajha.com/sajha/html/OpenThread.cfm?forum=2&ThreadID=19243#113436

You are absolutely right, Paramendra. So, why are people constantly saying "democracy bad - corrupt politicians - kill politicians - put them in jail." And in the same breath "King good - king capable, etc."

Doesn't this smack of rightist propaganda to you? Just a thought.

"Nepal saw more development work during the 10 years of multi party democracy than during the 30 years of Panchayat. It worked, damnit!"

My response: Nepal saw more violence and killings during 10 years of multi party democracy than during the 30 years of panchayat. It didn?t work. Damnit!

Leaders getting accused of being power-hungry. Of wanting to become Prime Minister.

Response: Heck, that is a good thing! It is a good thing Bill Gates wants to be rich. We all end up with Windows. It is a good thing Bill Clinton works over a lifetime to become president. Similary it is a good thing if Girija and Deuba and MaKuNe compete to become Prime Minister. The country benefits from the competition.

My Response: Heck, this is really bad thing. It is bad because Girija earned more money than he could?ve imagined. Dhamija, Lauda scandals are to name a few.
Can we come up with any leader who is not corrupt?


The cacophony of democracy. Leaders supposedly fighting amongst themselves.
Response: Democracy, by definition, is a cacophony. It is no symphony. It is through such dialectics that progress is made. Raging debates are a good thing.

My response: I do agree that democracy is a synonymous of cacophony but fighting amongst each other just for "kurchy" not for Nepal is never acceptable.

Some articles of interest----------


- http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1405637,00.html
"...Neither coups nor crackdowns will save Nepal's king or its rapacious upper class from the Maoist rebellion ...The Maoists' people's war, waged with an estimated 8,000 troops and up to 40,000 militia, has made steady progress against the larger and better-armed Nepali army and police...."

- http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-oe-norris4feb04,1,6614906.story
"...Just 10 days after President Bush boldly proclaimed Washington's "ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world," he was presented with a fascinating test case ? not in Iraq but in the Himalayan kingdom of Nepal...Across much of Nepal, neither the government nor the Maoists are fully in control, and basic services such as health and education have largely collapsed....the nation's deep social and class divisions. .... First, there is no easy military solution....The Maoists are well organized, and Nepal's terrain makes it hard to stamp out a guerrilla movement....King Gyanendra and his advisors frequently cite Pakistan as a model ? a nation where the military government of Gen. Pervez Musharraf continues to shun democracy with full backing from Washington.
....."

- http://www.economist.com/agenda/displayStory.cfm?story_id=3621675
"..... its slide towards becoming a failed state threatens to spread unrest, and even terror, across South Asia ...Some observers suspect that, after reluctantly giving Mr Deuba his job back, the king deliberately set him up to fail......the king announced a new cabinet of cronies, chancers and nobodies.....He seems to think he can defeat the rebels militarily, though this is unlikely. Indeed, there is a small but growing possibility that the rebels could defeat the government.....some subjects now regard him as one of the main obstacles to ending the conflict?and talk of replacing the monarchy with a republic....International condemnation of the Nepalese king's coup has been stronger than he might have expected. ...India has a spreading Maoist insurgency of its own, now affecting around a quarter of India?s nearly 600 administrative districts. India says Nepal?s Maoists have formed links with the 20-odd Indian Maoist insurgent groups, known as ?Naxalites?, and with some of the vicious groups fighting secessionist wars in India?s north-east.....the Nepalese Maoists .. have even started trench- and tunnel-digging in some areas to prepare for Indian bombing.....The Maoists? main demand is for an elected assembly to draft a new constitution, something that many of the country?s political parties may now accept. But the king will not, for he realises that the likely outcome would be a republic. To prevent a complete collapse of Nepal, followed perhaps by a regional conflagration, some sort of international mediation?possibly involving a United Nations peacekeeping mission?is needed. Unfortunately, India is not keen on this as it would set a precedent for Kashmir, a disputed territory over which Indian and Pakistani forces have been trading blows for decades.."


Nepal in chaos
Dec 2nd 2004
From The Economist print edition
PROSPECTS for peace to calm Nepal's nine-year-old Maoist rebellion look as bleak as ever. The government has set a deadline of January 13th for the Maoists to enter talks. If they refuse, it says it will step up its military campaign and?bizarre threat?hold an election.?

Nepal: a failing state
Dec 2nd 2004
From The Economist print edition
LIKE a severely disturbed individual, a failed state is a danger not just to itself but to those around it and beyond. That was a lesson indelibly learned on September 11th 2001. After 20 years of war, Afghanistan had become such a state, no longer functioning in any conventional sense.?



Those who oppose the Maoists paint scenarios of autocracy, of one party communist rule. Well, the king now has done what the Maoists would never have been able to do. Those anti-Maoists should now be rallying agains the king, right?

It is pathetic how much suppor the king's move has been getting here at Sajha. I guess that proves Sajha's audience is primarily people who are part of the elite 5% in Kathmandu, socially, culturally and economically, that class that believes it wields power no matter who comes to power or not.

Read King G's speech. The guy is Mahendra Part II.

The way to steal the Maoists' thunder is to eat their social and political lunch. So as to defang their military wing. The Maoists are no Al Qaeda.

"It is pathetic how much suppor the king's move has been getting here at Sajha. I guess that proves Sajha's audience is primarily people who are part of the elite 5% in Kathmandu, socially, culturally and economically, that class that believes it wields power no matter who comes to power or not. "

Basic Fundamentals of democracy
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hehe. riight.

More press coverage:



Coverage woes for censored press in Nepal
Seattle Post Intelligencer, WA ............"....."They say they need to do this to crack down on the Maoists," said a senior editor at another newspaper, who also spoke on condition of anonymity. "But so far they've only cracked down on the press."..........So some media outlets have chosen to run the blandest news possible, while others hide their opinions in puns and metaphors..........And at least one has found another way..........Bimarsha Weekly put out its latest edition Friday. Its main news page was completely blank........"

- http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1010798.cms
- http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1406468,00.html
"....There he found 60 other protesters who had dared challenge the king of Nepal's state of emergency.....Poked repeatedly with the barrel of a gun, Dhruv's right eye remains bruised and half-opened.....Seen as "clever and intellectual," King Gyanendra has never hidden his disdain for political parties....Nepal will simply end up with a monarchy propped up by an army....The civil war has already seen defence spending in the country spiral...."The king does not understand that political parties are necessarily messy institutions," said Kanak Mani Dixit, publisher of Himal magazine. "Instead we may now get an expensive and coercive army which will stymie the development of the people..........."It will be a mistake to think we can win the war this way. Nepal is a combination of Afghanistan's ravines and Vietnam's foliage and you cannot defeat a guerrilla army in such conditions." ......"

- http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050205/asp/nation/story_4340473.asp
"....?I knew the king would make a telecast on February 1 morning. I thought he would make an announcement about the Samvidhan Sabha elections. I never imagined he would go this far. I anticipated my arrest and immediately started moving towards India,? said Kushwaha, a minister in the earlier Sher Bahadur Deuba government......Gyanendra is a dictator by nature......"

- http://www.theage.com.au/news/World/No-warning-from-king-but-signs-were-there/2005/02/04/1107476799560.html
"... He spoke for 35 minutes, endorsing multi-party democracy, then dissolved the government, committed to uphold human rights. He said: "it would be unfair to put the state and the terrorists on the same footing", applauded the independent press and then imposed a six-month blackout on discussion of this week's events. During his speech, the phone grid was shut down.......A Western observer said: "They (monarchists) underestimate the vibrancy of Nepal's 14 years of democratic experience. "Ultimately they will fail, but will it be in three months or three years?"....."

- http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=7&id=326858
- http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0502/S00139.htm

- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4237445.stm
".. No plans for elections in Nepal....The government of Nepal has said it will not restore multi-party democracy and allow elections until it has defeated Maoist rebels......"

- http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1012058.cms
Face-Off: Monarch Vs Maoists
"...It's a direct fight between Gyanendra and Prachanda..... Till Tuesday, the rough and tumble of multi-party politics acted as a buffer between the palace and the rebels..... people are not fully convinced that the 78,000-strong Royal Nepal Army can effectively take on the Maoists who are increasingly turning brutal. The Maoists themselves have planned ?centralised action' in March-April by their three ?operational commands' in western, central and eastern Nepal.......Though their hardcore cadre is limited to 8,000, they can bank on another 18,000 militia, as per an estimate. ...."

Nepali army to step up anti-guerrilla offensive
Fri Feb 4, 2005 12:32 PM ET ....".... both sides have ground to a strategic stalemate where neither can win on the battlefield......Nepal's giant neighbour and major military backer, India, which has criticised the king's move, said it doubted the military could make significant progress against the rebels......"The present Nepal government has no reach beyond Kathmandu. The Maoists control a majority of the Himalayan kingdom," Indian Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee said. ..."

- http://news.newkerala.com/india-news/?action=fullnews&id=68536
- http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/GB05Df09.html




Dui dhunga beech ko tarul = Nepali janata.
Euta dhunga: Raja, arko: Maobadi.