February 21, 2005
This is the first time I am reading news on Tripathy. I guess he is in Delhi with Mahato. I am glad he is not under house arrest like Girija and MaKuNe and others.
- Nepal leaders seek India's support in fight for democracy: New Kerala, India ......political leaders today demanded elections for a constituent assembly in the Himalayan Kingdom and holding of talks to resolve the Maoist menace...... Observing that the reasons behind the Maoist resurgence were political, economic and social, Nepal Sadbhavna Party (A) leader Rajendra Mahto said the insurgency problem could be solved only through talks and not military action........Mahto's colleague Hridayesh Tripathi said "the King did not want to get rid of the Maoist problem but wants to keep it going to get foreign aid." Claiming that King Gyanendra was "inspired" by Pakistan President Gen Pervez Musharraf, he said "the monarch may spring up a new constitution for the Himalayan Kingdom under the garb of development."...... Dictatorship in Nepal would be "bad" for India, said Sujata, the daughter of former Premier Girija Prasad Koirala, who fled her country earlier this week......."We want an elected constituent assembly which should have the powers to decide the future of Nepal," she said adding abolition of monarchy should be the goal of any political movement.
- Former Nepalese PM's life under threat: daughter:
New Kerala .... he was being slow-poisoned ..... ....Chitrabahadur Keshi of the Nepalese Communist Party (Jan Morcha) favoured a common front with everyone including the Maoist guerrillas ....
The heat is on. There is news of some direct clashes between the Maoists and the army. And it is interesting the Chinese do not refer to the Maoists as Maoists. The king's 100 days talk is given new color. It is not 100 days to a restoration of rights, but 100 days to producing a "plan" to deal with the Maoists and to bring back democracy down the line.
Okay, so he does not have Burma in mind. He is constantly responding to the western donors. But does he have Musharraf in mind? Pakistan never got its democracy back. There can be elections and still no democracy if a Gyane/Musharraf can fire Prime Ministers at will, for the sake of "national interest."
- 8 more guerrillas killed by southern Nepal locals Xinhua, China
- Rebels in Nepalese road terror The South African Star Maoist rebels have blocked a key highway leading to Nepal's capital, planting bombs and firing at motorists.
- Maoist attacks turn Kathmandu road into gauntlet of fire Times of India, India "We were travelling on the top of the bus, when they started firing from both sides of the road. The bus stopped and we quickly got inside, but more bullets came through the window," said Krishna Poudel, 18.
- The emperor wears no clothes Indian Express, India It has been evident for some years now that Nepal’s present monarch has no use for constitutions and that he and multi-democracy cannot co-exist .... King Gyanendra has destroyed Nepal’s fledgling democratic process; the spirit of the 1990 democracy movement ..... He has taken Nepal back to the draconian days of Rana rule, when regular curfew was imposed on all the towns and people could be jailed for circulating even popular Hindu religious texts...... even during the reign of his brother, King Birendra, had displayed a distinct instinct for power brokering and palace intrigue...... He is also believed to have been behind the attempts of the palace to scuttle the drafting of the new constitution of 1990 that rendered the king a constitutional monarch rather than an absolute ruler...... the regicide that shook the Himalayan kingdom in June 2001 and which King Gyanendra himself famously described as a “sudden burst of fire” ..... Here is a king, then, who has thrived behind the numerous screens of opacity that has shrouded Nepal’s royalty, only to emerge as an utterly ruthless and despotic figure. ..... Sustained military operations with all the weaponry that India and the world have made available to the king have only seen the red brigades extend and consolidate their presence...... Today, the writ of the Maoists runs almost across the entire country with the partial exception of the Kathmandu Valley ..... The resources of the hills and mountains have gone to service Kathmandu and its elites under a stultifying tributory system where family oligarchies deftly extracted wealth but never thought to invest in or develop the hinterland...... It follows from this that the King and Maoism are, in fact, inseparable twins, conjoined by a rigid feudal order, an extractive economy and a political system that has no use for human rights...... has the potential to generate 83,000 megawatts of hydro-electricity but currently generates only 319 megawatts — with only 15 per cent of its population having access to electricity. If Nepal had been fortunate enough to have a more equitable, democratic social order and an enlightened, progressive leadership, if it had not been harnessed to the palace for well over two centuries, it may have been able to convert its jala shakti into a jana shakti and emerged a powerhouse....... Since 2001, India has handed over Rs 360 crore in arms and ammunition to the RNA in order to defeat the Maoists. That is unlikely to happen. What is far more likely is that the army will shape up into a fine repressive instrument to keep Nepal at the royal heel. The king has already used his men in uniform to gag the media, guard the palace, tail political leaders, crack down on student protestors. They will increasingly function as the extension of the palace as the king consolidates his totalitarian hold on a nation, which in Manjushree Thapa’s evocative words, has been turned into a “kingdom of fear”.
- Rebels fake wedding procession, attack Nepalese police, killing ...
Khaleej Times A 30-minute gunbattle ensued ..... - Prices rise in Kathmandu as Maoists cut supply chain
Economic Times Maoists had set ablaze at least 13 trucks carrying supplies, including two that were carrying buffaloes ..... 58 buffaloes that were burnt alive ..... The price of foodstuff, vegetables and fruit continued to rise in Kathmandu by 15-30%...... The state media, meanwhile, continued to ignore the indefinite blockade the Maoists had declared from February 13 and its fallout and stepped up its anti-Maoist propaganda. Nepal's King Defends Crackdown, Fights Protest Washington Post .... political workers were detained and telephone lines cut in a bid to scuttle protests against the king ..... The king's actions have drawn mixed reactions in Nepal ..... The army and police are believed to be solidly behind him, and analysts say the military planned the power grab. ..... India, Britain and the United States, which have given Nepal military supplies to fight the Maoists, have strongly condemned Gyanendra's move.US Warns Nepal Palace Putsch Could Risk Aid Washington Post .....make "fast progress" in producing a plan to restore democracy and tackle a Maoist insurgency ..... Gyanendra and his government vowed to deliver a plan within 100 days to restore democratic freedoms and tackle a rural rebellion ..... Failure to perform would put U.S. military aid at risk, embitter the Nepali public and fuel the insurgency ..... Security aid was $4 million in 2004 and $1.5 million has been budgeted for this year ..... A Maoist takeover would result in the monarch and politicians "either sitting in India or executed" ..... Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch called the rights situation grave ..... Human rights groups have urged Western governments and international financial institutions to focus on support programs that aid Nepalis but bypass the palace .....
Looks like the King does not have the Burma option in mind. He has been quite sensitive to pressures from Delhi, London and Washington. Perhaps such a thing as the China card does not exist. The global reality today is far too different from that in 1960. Just look at the North Korea situation. China and the US seem to be on the same side on that one. So it is highly unlikely China will be on King G's side when India, US, and UK are not.
I think it is best if the political parties keep organizing, and do whatever they can now, and go full blast once the rights are reinstalled, as promised by King G to Washington.
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- Gyanendra on Friday justified his decision to take over the power and said that the country's democracy and sovereignty was at stake .....
- Nepal: Democracy is No Slave to Monarchy
Navhind Times At first, the three major democracies had conveyed their message to the king by simultaneously recalling their ambassadors from Kathmandu — the European Union did so a little later — but now the gloves are off ..... the meeting between Mr Singh and the Nepalese ambassador had taken place at the latter’s request ..... the triangular convergence of views between Delhi, Washington and London is much deeper today than at time since the three started coordinating their policies on Nepal more than a year ago ..... (Manmohan Singh) not only Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee and Mr L K Advani, who lead the principal opposition in Parliament, but also Mr V P Singh and Mr Inder Kumar Gujral ..... The second argument of the king’s apologists has been that the priority in Nepal should be given to fighting the Maoists, not the monarch. This proposition is also absurd. Political parties — though often irresponsible and incompetent in the past — would never have stood in the way of the king’s crackdown on Maoists if he had initiated one. - Police arrest 57 anti-king protesters in Nepal
Khaleej Times Eight people were arrested in Katmandu, at least 36 in Janakpur and 13 in the Himalayan resort town of Pokhara, police said ..... SAFTA meet cancelled due to Nepal situation Times of India A key meeting on the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) pact, which is to come into effect by 2006, has been cancelled ..... Koirala's rough ride to freedom Nepal king makes first public appearance - Another Koirala sneaks into India
Resurgent Maoists push India into corner Over 100 opposition workers arrested in Nepal Chennai Online
1 comment:
India want their puppet like Girija, Madhav Nepal in power in Nepal. Not the king who is doing good to the people. so this is no news only the indian views.
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