Saturday, May 14, 2005

Laying The Grounds For A Weak Movement


The seven dwarfs have come up with the following:

1. No extremism - follow democratic path
2. An end of the autocratic rule of the king –the need of the day
3. Reinstatement of the house of representatives for the rule by the people’s representatives
4. Some main agenda for resolving national crisis
a. Formation of all party government answerable to the parliament
b. Management of violent conflict and establishment of sustaining peace
c. Commitment to progressive and forwarding moving programs
d. Fixing of constitutional questions
5. The constitution of the kingdom of Nepal 1990 as the basis of progressing ahead
6. National election schedule

(Source: Forum Asia)

This could lead to a restoration of the funamental rights of the people, which would be great, but this is no formula for lasting peace in the country. The number 3, reinstating the House of Representatives, is problematic. The parties need to make clear as to who will do it. I think it is implicit the king is supposed to. So your entire strategy rests on a possible act by the king. And if that be the case, the parties need to suggest as to what article and sub-article in the 1990 constitution the king may lawfully use to perform the act. Is it Article 127? Article 36? Some other article? What article will the king invoke to suggest reviving parliament is a constitutional act? Or is he to keep stretching Article 127 beyond recognition, as he has shown the propensity to do?

Point number 5 is the most problematic. The Pahadi Bahuns are nowhere close to seeing the 1990 constitution has to go. That is the only way out of the impasse. As a Madhesi, my pesonal disgust with the 1990 document is total.

The social regressives of the Congress and the UML seem to have bullied their smaller partners into signing into this document.

The 1990 constitution can not be merely tinkered with. It has to go. Something new has to come up.

These Bahuns think they are going to (1) get people out in the streets, (2) pressure the king into using his divine powers to resurrent the term-expired House, (3) talk the Maoists into working within the 1990 constitution by adding a few sweeteners, a few programs here and there, perhaps a Nepali version of the Jawahar Rojgar Yojana they have in India.

These are three big Ifs, progressively harder. I think (3) is impossible. And if that not be an option, the rest do not matter.

  • THE NEW YORK TIMES (NYT) ON PERU ..... the insurgency is making a comeback ..... the military offensives of the People's Army of Liberation, which have continued unabated after the capture of President Gonzalo...... why have states of emergency and military curfews continued in most of the country since the capture of President Gonzalo in 1992? Why do the masked judges continue to exist? Why have psychological operations like the endless "capture of terrorists" publicized by the regime been intensified from 1992 to the present? ....... "Experts on terrorism said that the attacks were the most successful the Shining Path has undertaken since its top leaders were captured three years ago. The arrests were considered a turning point in a civil war that has killed more than 35,000 people and cost $25 billion in damages since 1980"...... The PCP has never had a single individual as leader, nor has it ever functioned on the will of any individual; therefore the capture of President Gonzalo may have temporarily disrupted the leadership, but it did not mean at all that the Party was "crippled" much less "decapitated." President Gonzalo himself described his capture simply as a "bend in the road."....... the SIN/CIA disinformation campaign as part of their psychological warfare...... 558 arrests every day as an average! ..... Shining Path guerrillas also attacked a construction company in the highlands, destroying equipment and property....... the destruction of imperialist equipment and property used to exploit the workers and plunder the resources of the country is a legitimate action of the revolution...... There is only one leadership of the Peruvian revolution: The PCP Central Committee. The "split" of the Party exists only in the obsessed mind of the imperialists....... Many of those expelled from the Party in the 70s and just before the initiation of the People's War, later participated in the elections for the Constitutional Assembly under military dictator Morales Bermudez, or have fled the country......
  • Peru Fears Reemergence of Violent Rebels .....the stirrings of a dormant guerrilla
    organization ..... a spike in drug cultivation in these eastern forests and a surge in guerrilla activity...... the movement, which had declined rapidly after the arrest almost a decade ago of its ideological founder, Abimael Guzman, was resurfacing as a threat..... the Shining Path is regrouping with far stronger ties than in the past to the drug trade, particularly the lucrative commerce in opium poppies..... Gonzalo, was arrested two years after then-President Alberto Fujimori took office on a pledge to end the movement. Guzman said Peru's social order had to be destroyed to make way for a new one, a plan that called for killing 10 percent of the civilian population...... The investigation had safe houses and senior leaders under surveillance..... difficult to determine whether the Shining Path is resurfacing as an ideological movement or a drug gang working for Colombian sponsors, who supply the cash, seeds and technological know-how...... Numbering roughly 600 soldiers, the movement has lost its ideological leadership, and only two commanders have anything approaching national name recognition...... Last year, 70 percent of the heroin seized on the U.S. eastern seaboard came from Latin America, the vast majority from Peru and Colombia..... narco-traffickers and the Shining Path. Here they are the same
  • Sendero File - Capture of Abimael Guzman - October 1992 / gci 275 .....an elite unit of the National Directorate Against Terrorism (DINCOTE) raided a residence in the middle-class neighborhood of Surco, suspecting that the residence operating as a dance studio was really a SL safehouse. On the second floor, policemen found a bearded, casually dressed man with a distinct air of a university professor. It was Abimael Guzmán, 57, Sendero's supreme leader and the most wanted man in Peru for more than a decade....... DINCOTE units also fell on two other safehouses, arresting 30 more people. The raids obtained a cache of documents, notes and computer disks. In the following days, police units swept up the national coordinator responsible for liaisons with the regional committees and the coordinator of the northern Lima zone........ To guarantee the secrecy of the operation, not even President Fujimori was notified. Credit was due to DINCOTE, the most consistently effective counter- terrorist unit and its commander, General Antonio Vidal...... a sterling example of nuts-and-bolts intelligence and surveillance work, police professionalism, and respect for human rights ...... "The psychological bubble was burst" ..... From 1 a.m. to 6 a.m., almost daily operations employing more than 1,000 army and police troops combed SL hotbeds in Lima's shantytowns, like Huaycán and Pachacamac (a new section of Villa El Salvador), though most arrests were of people not carrying identification documents. During the late morning hours, security forces carried out civic action programs, providing breakfasts, primary health care and even haircuts. Shantytown residents also used the police presence to reap a dividend for neighborhood safety by turning in thugs and drug addicts. There were also reports of residents identifying local SL cadres...... The government has also tried to exploit the psychological blow by portraying Guzmán as a crazed psychopath and common criminal.......those SL rank and file who turn themselves in will get lenient treatment, including a period of special military service and then a return to civilian life...... Guzmán is being represented by Alfredo Crespo, a lawyer belonging to the Asociación de Abogados Democráticos (Democratic Lawyers Association - AAD), a SL front organization. Crespo said that Guzmán considers himself a "prisoner of war."...... Currently, about 42 percent of national territory and 47 percent of Peru's 22.6 million inhabitants are under emergency military control....... Guzmán's capture is a huge setback for SL and comes when the organization was planning an unprecedented offensive to demonstrate the government's vulnerability. Guzmán himself has been laying the groundwork over the past eight years for SL to make a dramatic leap in striking power that was to be revealed in full in October this year....... For nearly 30 years, Guzmán has been the founder, ideologue and supreme strategist of Sendero Luminoso....... the instigator of a personality cult and the arbitrator of internal disputes, playing a role which no other party member could fill...... The capture compromises Sendero's whole organization from the top down..... SL ideology is a compact, coherent piece of circular logic which can appeal in a fragmented, dysfunctional society...... ideological message is packaged in easily digestible capsules...... the party, with its People's Guerrilla Army and satellite organizations, into a nationwide network with a decentralized command structure, tactical initiative and defined objectives...... demonstrate what the party claims as "strategic parity" against government forces. ... fighting force range from 5,000 to 10,000. SL retains its military apparatus intact and operative... as many as 50,000 militants provide logistical support..... a broad, multi-faceted and multifront strategy strikingly matched with an organization to carry it out..... In a country where few organizations work efficiently, Sendero does...... lines of action: propaganda; recruitment and training; education; infiltration, neutralization and seizure of competing organizations; logistical support and communication for its clandestine network, its operating units and its command structure; intelligence gathering and processing; and strategic planning at a national, regional and local level....... Guzmán oversaw a Senderista penetration in urban areas, a risky transition for any guerrilla movement, but a prerequisite for taking power..... engaged in urban activities which were unimaginable five years ago...... as the organization has grown and diversified, Guzmán was becoming more of a chairman of the board than a hands-on field general, and had to rely on competent subordinates with tactical autonomy and command authority..... The intelligence haul at the safehouses and any additional information that can be obtained from those captured is of a transitory nature, tactically speaking, but will have great usefulness in piecing together an understanding of how SL functioned...... Perhaps, as much as 70 percent of the national territory lies outside the permanent reach of the State...... The underlying causes of the insurgency and the setting of social and political decay have not changed with Guzmán's capture. The historical motherlode of ethnic and class hatred is still there to be mined. The economic recession is still grinding up scores of companies and spewing out massive unemployment. Narco- trafficking and corruption are undermining institutions already weakened by the impact of 15 years of crisis. The government has failed to provide minimum public services, especially in the areas of health, education and justice. The political system is fragmented and in upheaval, facing a crisis which predates the April 5 coup and will continue for the foreseeable future....... For an organization which has planned each step to the last detail, it is unimaginable that it has not planned for the possibility of Guzmán's capture....... the "shield of fear" which protects its cadres from being fingered...hostage taking, car bombs, massive sabotage or a spectacular attack........ the time line for revolution. Guzmán himself has already told the party to proceed with current plans...... Guzmán never designated a successor...... regional and military commands have, for the most part, been unscathed....... the Huallaga command which controls the party's purse strings; and the Lima metropolitan committee which will have to take the blame for Guzmán's capture....... Over the years, Guzmán has overseen internal tensions, instigated debates and channeled the friction into almost ritualistic purges of the upper tiers of the party, without permitting the organization to spin out of control...... Maoist guerrilla groups have generally fizzled after the loss of their founder, but fundamentalist movements, with which Sendero has strong similarities, have weathered the transition better...... Sendero's appeal has been its rigid ideological stance and dogmatic refusal to enter into political alliances....... Fujimori has skillfully shifted public debate to a `with me or with Sendero' polarity and there is precious little habitable middle ground for more sophisticated discussion .... there are still congressional sanctions attributable to the Fujimori coup...... it was premature to call Guzmán's capture a deathblow. "In this kind of war you can only measure substantial progress by the number of people and amount of territory that has been brought back to a viable democratic life."..... an internationally acceptable counterinsurgency campaign....... Sendero has begun political work in Ecuador, opening up a second international corridor to back up its toehold in Bolivia...... SL, however, failed repeatedly to gain a foothold in the lowland communities and urban areas of Piura..... On the Ecuador side of the border, SL has set up reception bases for incoming cadres to support them in changing identities, planning and travel...... In Bolivia, the collaboration between Sendero and the Tupac Katari movement has led Tupac Katari rank and file to shift their loyalties directly to SL, leaving the Bolivian leaders stranded...... provincial correspondents tend to misinform about, misinterpret or even invent incidents to fill their news quotas..... as SL grew and the military widened its area of authority, large sections of the country were no longer open for independent journalists to investigate........ the military institution has largely designed and implemented counterinsurgency strategy, leaving civilian policy makers aside in the decision-making process. What is more important, military officials have remained largely unaccountable for their decisions due to the lack of any civilian oversight capacity or alternative strategies....... Sendero's appeal to women and why they play leading roles in the organization..... the teacher who taught us open and secret work...... Guzmán went to China during the Cultural Revolution and met many of the battle-hardened cadres who fought against Japan and the Kuomintang. From their pragmatic lessons and from reading Mao's writings, he acquired the foundations of military thinking...... another influence on Guzmán, Sun Tzu and his monumental text The Art of War ..... Mao frequently paraphrased Sun Tzu in his writing and his instructions to his subordinates...... spent two decades studying the military tactics and strategies used in the Andes for four centuries...... SL's practices, its reliance on intelligence gathering, assessing the enemy's strengths and weaknesses, studying and choosing adequate terrain and climate and exploiting the unexpected and deception..... Sun Tzu: "Thus, those skilled in war subdue the enemy's army without battle. They capture his cities without assaulting them and overthrow his state without protracted operations."
  • 'Superman' Meets Shining Path: Story of a CIA Success At 8:45 p.m. on Sept. 12, 1992, a special Peruvian police undercover unit captured Abimael Guzman, leader of the fanatical Maoist guerrilla group known as Shining Path, in his hideout on a quiet, middle-class street in Lima...... an astonishing achievement for Peru's police. "Superman" helped too..... "Superman" was the cops' nickname for a tall, dark-haired American who, they thought, resembled actor Christopher Reeve, and who served as their main contact in the Central Intelligence Agency..... When the cops needed cars, the CIA paid for them; when they found a Shining Path document in English, Superman translated...... the U.S. government found out before Peru's then-president, Alberto Fujimori, or his intelligence chief, Vladimiro Montesinos, did....... Helping catch Guzman, these sources concurred, was a CIA triumph.....Publicly, Fujimori praised the CIA-trained police who caught Guzman. Behind the scenes, Montesinos saw them as disloyal and later purged them..... the group shattered Peru's infrastructure and massacred villages. It controlled large parts of the countryside, including cocaine-producing regions, and was moving on Lima.....Brutality by Peru's army against civilians considered sympathetic to the guerrillas created almost as much terror as Shining Path itself..... Some DINCOTE agents even posed as terrorists and kidnapped civilians for ransom... ..... The situation disgusted an idealist in DINCOTE ranks, Maj. Benedicto Jimenez. The son of an Afro Peruvian father and a Greek immigrant mother, he had trained not only as a detective but also as an army commando.......For two years in the late 1980s, he had worked on joint operations with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. He read Ralph Waldo Emerson and the ancient Chinese military theorist Sun Tzu................ In March 1990, Jimenez asked to form a unit whose goal would be to capture the leaders of Shining Path. Jimenez proposed to accomplish this seemingly impossible task the old-fashioned way: tailing suspects, cultivating informants, poring over captured documents. Torture would be eschewed on both principled and pragmatic grounds....... "Sun Tzu used to say that you have to capture the enemy alive, because he's no good to you dead," Jimenez said...... Jimenez was given four agents, a tiny office and almost no budget. Most at DINCOTE were hostile or derisive........ By early 1991, senior officials in the Bush administration were fretting that Peru might succumb to the guerrillas. Among U.S. intelligence analysts, said one former official, "it was essentially a competition game as to when Shining Path would be taking over. Some said three years, some said five." ...... Hundreds of peasants had been forced to watch as a teenage female guerrilla put a bullet in an Australian nun's neck. Other guerrillas gouged out the eyes of a village leader....... Jan. 31, 1991, when it seized Shining Path documents, including proof that Guzman was still alive--a video of the guerrilla chief dancing at a party....... Jimenez's group also identified Shining Path's logistics and financial chief for Lima. Tailed by the cops, he unwittingly led them to other cadres....... needed help not only gaining information but also making sense of the data they had...... CIA officers showed the detectives how to analyze, cross reference and classify documents. Together with an expert from Britain's Scotland Yard, CIA personnel also taught the detectives how to conduct surveillance in disguise...... hired Peruvian actors to help undercover officers play the part of, say, a street vendor or homeless schizophrenic ..... CIA gave Jimenez's detectives spy gear: telephoto cameras, listening devices, night-vision goggles and a video camera that could be concealed in a briefcase. And the agency rented cars so police could follow suspects from a variety of vehicles....... Occasionally, CIA officers stood behind two-way mirrors watching the police question suspects, then advised the Peruvians on their techniques...... Jimenez, believing more could be gained by interviewing suspects than by beating them, wanted an interrogation room where they might feel at ease. At his request, the CIA furnished it with living room furniture...... Police videotape of the interrogation of Guzman and other Shining Path leaders shows them sitting at a round, wooden table; they chat with detectives dressed in white sweat shirts and blue jeans who politely serve coffee and cigarettes....... CIA provided cash to buy meals for undersalaried detectives who frequently worked 12- or 15-hour shifts. By the time of the Guzman raid, the agency was
    supplying about $5,000 per month...With such support, the police unit expanded to 82 members by the time of the arrest....... In February of that year, Jimenez had asked for aid, letting Montesinos see the video of Guzman partying and other juicy intelligence. Montesinos agreed to give Jimenez's unit $500 a month, two video cameras and two cars...... The Colina Group was the antithesis of Jimenez's unit. The group was heavily funded and amply equipped, and its purpose was to kill Shining Path leaders.......It never managed to do that. But it did commit assassinations, including the massacre of 15 civilians in a Lima neighborhood in November 1991 and the slaying of
    nine students and a professor at La Cantuta University in July 1992........ The attempt to infiltrate Jimenez's unit was aimed at selecting targets for the death squad....... February 1992, Shining Path had bombed the U.S. ambassador's residence in Lima, killing three police officers, and assassinated a popular left-wing mayor......June 22, 1992, Jimenez decided to arrest the Shining Path logistics and financial chief.
    Confronted in the CIA-furnished interrogation room with surveillance photos and videotapes, the man gave police a detailed confession, including two key facts: He
    had recently seen Guzman in Lima, and he knew of a house just rented for Shining Path leaders....... With the newly identified safehouse under surveillance, police officers disguised as sanitation workers began picking up the garbage left outside...... A male architect and female dance instructor were the home's only visible occupants. The trash, though, told a different story...... five different kinds of discarded hair....... One day's trash yielded a medicine package Superman helped identify as a Swedish ointment for psoriasis, from which Guzman was known to suffer........ Also, Superman identified a part of a label from a bottle of Absolut vodka, known to be Guzman's brand...... Then came empty cartons of Winston Lights, Guzman's favorite smokes, and fish bones, evidence that someone in the house ate a low-fat diet like the one Guzman followed, notwithstanding his taste for tobacco and alcohol...... When Superman and another American confronted him, Jimenez explained his decision with a line from Emerson: "Trust thyself."....... U.S. Embassy feared a murder would make a martyr of "Presidente Gonzalo." It could also have besmirched the CIA....... resisted pressure to hand the Shining Path chief to the Montesinos-controlled army. Today, Guzman remains jailed for life on a Peruvian naval base....... In police videotape of the Guzman arrest, the small, bespectacled Vidal appears serenely advising the Shining Path boss of his legal rights. Jimenez, for security reasons, stayed out of camera range...... When those images hit Peruvian TV, Vidal became a national hero. To this day, Jimenez and other members of the unit contend he has gotten undue credit....... After Vidal and Jimenez's men had split the $1 million reward, Montesinos set to work destroying their careers....... Jimenez wound up at the Peruvian Embassy in Panama as a police attache. Another key figure in the unit was shipped to Bolivia. Jimenez says one of his best CIA-trained agents now works as a jail guard......
  • CNN - Peruvian army captures Shining Path leader - July 14, 1999 A 1,500-strong army sweep tracked down Ramirez, who went by the name Feliciano, after a two-week manhunt through jungle-cloaked gorges ...... Political analysts predicted during the ongoing search that the rebel leader's capture would effectively signal the death knell for his Shining Path rebels..... secretive Ramirez symbolized the dogmatism and relentless violence of the rebel movement...... Intelligence service officials had closed to within about 300 yards of the rebel leader on Tuesday, but the balding 46- year-old escaped across a river and disappeared into the jungle bush, guarded by a few rebels...... Using fighter jets, helicopters, ground and river troops, an increasingly strong combined force of military and police pinned Ramirez down in a remote area where the Amazon jungle merges with the eastern slopes of the Andes...... formed concentric circles around where they believed Ramirez was hiding and conducted house-by-house searches in tiny villages in the area....... security forces battled and overpowered two 20-strong columns of Shining Path rebels, who rushed to the zone to protect their leader....... Later in the day they captured three women who escorted Ramirez in his escape, leaving the rebel leader with only five guards...... Ramirez, the son of a retired army general, took control of the guerrilla movement after its founder and leader Abimael Guzman, known as "Presidente Gonzalo," was captured in 1992
  • [PDF] LEADERSHIP AND POLITICAL PROCESSES IN PERU
  • [PDF] Social Exclusion in Peru: An Invisible Wall

Comrade Gonzalo Of Peru: A Profile


There are "realists" who claim Nepali Maoists have to be seen for who they are, and one has to simply look at their Cambodian and Peruvian counterparts to understand where they are coming from and where they are headed. After the Maoists take over, they will be even more immune to international pressure than the Monarchists have been. The only option will be foreign military intervention. The Maoists will butcher 5 million Nepalis - "class enemies" - or more. Compare 12,ooo lives to 5,000,000 lives. Does not even compare.

I call this the cliff theory. As in, you have to stay away from the cliff, because, once you fall, you can not pull back half way down. The Maoists taking over is the country falling over a cliff.

The Americans lead this "realism" camp. And I am glad for it. The Americans will do anything, even resume arms supplies regardless of the king's autocratic moves, to make sure the Maoists do not take over. So the realists are like an umbrealla, a safety valve. And thank you. But because that umbrella does exist, that gives the rest of us more room to seek political solutions to the civil war. We can be confident the Maoists are not in any position to "use" the democrats to further their nefarious ends.

I am against a military takeover of the country by any group, Maoist or Monarchist.

But the question I ask is why did the political parties and the king not go for the UN-mediation, Constituent Assembly option a few years back? That is the question the Monarchists and the democrats have been evading. Even now the democrats are not speaking with one voice on the Constituent Assembly question.

True, the Maoists have to be seen for who they are. Since 2/1, the hardliners seem to have gained the upper hand. When you humiliate the moderates during the "peace process," you end up dealing with the hardliners.

But then also the Monarchists have to be seen for who they are. Does this king want peace? Will he face the reality that there really is no military solution? Prachanda might get captured, and the insurgency will still go on. A few Maoist strongholds might get dismantled, and the insurgency will still go on. The king gives no evidence he is trying to cure the insurgency. Ever since he ascended the throne, he has exhibited a singular determination to expand his personal power base.

But I have seriously revised my thoughts on the king after he lifted the emergency. At least he is not trying to reenact the Panchayat. He is stretching the 1990 constitution but he is at least pretending to stay within it.

It is in the nature of the leaders of dictatorial outfits like that of the Maoists and the Monarchists that their leaders exhibit little flexibility. Saddam never changed his mind. He could have compromised and saved his regime. But he never changed his mind. He went down rather.

Peruvian Maoists have talked of those among them who went for the Constituent Assembly option as traitors. But the Nepali Maoists have consistently sought the Constituent Assembly option. That is an important distinction. And it has to be noted. And both Prachanda and Baburam have been for it.

If we are to fear a Maoist dictatorship, we already have a Monarchist dictatorship. If we are to fear a Maoist military takeover, we already have a Monarchist military takeover.

I looked around for information on Gonzalo of Peru. I have been particularly interested in the circumstances of his capture.

Chances are Prachanda is hiding in a forest somewhere, but more likely he is in a comfortable setting in India. But he maintains communication. So he must have access to facilities. But I don't get the impression the Monarchists are even trying to capture the Maoist leaders. I guess they do not want to get targeted themselves.

Some of the things I learned from the Gonzalo experience from my online research:
  1. You are not fighting a traditional war with the Maoists. I have seen pictures of RNA folks combing through Rolpa and Rukum, rank and file, marching. That strategy might not be the best one.
  2. For a dictatorial outfit like the Maoists are, Prachanda is everything. Prachanda's capture could be the only way to cause a serious setback to them.
  3. This is an intelligence war. Can you find out where he is? It can be found out. But the thing is no major attempts have been made.
But then, even if you capture Prachanda, a big if, you will still need a political solution to the insurgency. But if you go straight for the political solution, things stay less complicated.
In The News
  • The Daring of Revolution, The Shoots of the Future by Li Onesto Revolution #1, May 1, 2005 ..... For the first time women had the right to own land and get a divorce, land was being redistributed, and peasants mercilessly cheated by usurers had torn up debt papers.... April 2005. A friend sends me a video, not yet available in the U.S., “Eight Glorious Years of People’s War”—hours of amazing footage from the liberated base areas, shot and edited by the Central Cultural De- partment of the CPN (Maoist)...... a massive rally where the Magar people, an oppressed nationality, are celebrating the declaration of the new Magrat Autonomous Government..... a binocular-like survey of a human procession that snakes across the steep mountainside for miles..... Nepotism and injustice are eliminated in villages ..... Caste and untouchability are eradicated ..... how women in Nepal are suffocated by feudal tradition. Not allowed to go to school, subjected to arranged marriages and polygamy, lives crushed by the thriving sex traffic..... This old state is tiring..... Let’s seize the central power.....
  • 100 Days of Fascism in Nepal D. Michael Van De Veer — Pokhara, Nepal www.scoop.co.nz, May 11, 2005 .....
  • Nepal: One Hundred Days After Royal Takeover and Human Rights Crisis Deepens, February 1 - May 11, 200
  • To Aid A Rogue Regime Manjushree Thapa, published in Asian Age, May 9, 2005 ....the king had deployed half the Royal Nepal Army to arrest, detain and intimidate left/liberal political activists, journalists, and human rights workers ..... even as the state of emergency was lifted, the Kathmandu District Administration Office outlawed most civil liberties..... the monarchy, a medieval and usurious institution...... He is not, after all, constitutionally legitimate-despite all the articles and clauses that he is fond of quoting, the constitution does not anywhere allow him to do what he has done. He is, additionally, roundly unpopular: long before they (baselessly) maligned him for fratricide, the Nepali people (baselessly) maligned him for drug and idol smuggling. Were it not for the army-or a royalist clique in the army-this king would enjoy no prestige at all....... were it not for this king, the army’s royalist clique would itself enjoy little prestige....... by some accounts, the monarchy is merely a puppet manipulated by a few hawkish generals whose ultimate goal is to establish military rule, Pakistan-style ..... to avoid military rule, one must contain the monarchy...... Forging a three-way settlement now is almost the only option before Nepal-if we are not to keep hemorrhaging pointlessly...... Since February 2005, the Maoists have shown some willingness to negotiate down to a democratic platform, and the centrist political parties have come around to the Maoists’ basic demands. Only the king and his royalist generals remain inflexible.......
  • Slogans for the Pro-Democracy Rally, Washington D.C., 15 May INSN
  • Weed Out The Corrupt Before Launching The Andolan United We Blog “Monarchs relinquish power only under popular pressure”.
  • Jan Andolan From May 26 United We Blog ...... All Party Jana Andolan Central Coordination Committee .... From June 15 (Asar 1), all professional organizations, youths and students wings of all parties will come up with combined programs.
  • Attending A Semi-Underground Press Meet In Nepal United We Blog When Jeetendra, sporting a short hair and clean shaved face .....
  • Madam Rocca Is Bit Happy, Bit So-So United We Blog We continue to urge the government of Nepal to release all political detainees, restore civil liberties, and reach out in a pro-active manner to the political parties...... Their recent announcement of a untied front is an encouraging first step in this process ..... Our total development assistance over the years amounts to 400 million dollars. Our security assistance over the past four years, including a one-time appropriation of 12 million dollars in 2002, amounts to 22 million dollars overall..... The Maoists have made clear their intention to impose a one-party “people’s republic,” collectivize agriculture, “reeducate” so-called class enemies, and export their revolution to neighboring states....... the longstanding political impasse ..... While we welcome the steps taken by His Majesty’s Government to lift the Sate of Emergency and release political leaders, we remain concerned about the reports of continuing repression of civil liberties and additional arrests. We continue to urge the government of Nepal to release all political detainees, restore civil liberties, and reach out in a pro-active manner to the political parties...... We have made it clear to the Government that we expect to see appropriate, timely and transparent investigations of any credible allegations of abuse...... elections at the earliest possible time.

Friday, May 13, 2005

The Maoists Have Been Reading My Emails, Blog Entries


This article at INSN is the first clear hint I am getting the Maoists have been getting and reading my emails as well as blog entries directed at them.

I also get the impression they are operating out of India. The mention of a "park" shows that. The leaders are not in some jungle somewhere in remote Nepal. They have always had internet access. That could not have been possible in Thawang.

The article explicitly says Mahara met the reporter outside of Nepal. If that be the case, I seriously doubt Mahara crossed the border just for the purpose. It makes safety sense for him to not engage in too many border crossings.

Plus, it is not that hard for a well-funded organization to find safehouses in India.

I can imagine why they might not want to give out phone numbers. They probably think I work for the CIA which will use satellite technology to track them down should they get on the phone with me. I don't blame them. The technology does exist. Everytime I get on my cellphone, my cellphone company knows exactly where I am at. This is used for emergency situations. If I were in an emergency, all I would have to do is call 911, and not even know where I am at, and they will know my exact location.

I am not really trying to get the Maoist leaders physically assaulted. My communication is at the level of ideology. I do not have any affiliation with any element of the US government. I am only participating as a concerned Nepali who just so happens to be based out of the US.

Mahara could actually be in Delhi. My guess. Because Delhi has many parks. Small Indian towns don't have parks. And it might also be easier to stay anonymous in a big city.

.... -
first a multiparty democratic republic..... then we would work for the peaceful transformation of the state......

...... We want a 21st-century democracy in which the people supervise the state so that people with money cannot control the elections. We want transparency and equal opportunities for all parties......

The King and Mao

By Isabel Hilton, May 13, 2005
Financial Times

The man came walking along the path. He was slightly chubby, unassuming. He wore a short- sleeved shirt, Chinos and sunglasses, and carried a small black briefcase. He seemed relaxed as he approached, as though simply out for a stroll in the park. He could have passed for an insurance clerk - or the teacher he used to be before he dropped out of normal life and went underground.

There was nothing to suggest that this was one of South Asia’s most wanted men: Comrade Krishna Bahadur Mahara, as his colleagues in the movement know him, who ranks number two in the politburo of the Maoist Communist Party of Nepal, second only to “Prachanda”, the party’s founder and the most elusive of the Maoist leaders.

My meeting with Mahara took place outside the state of Nepal; I had to promise not to disclose exactly where. We sat on the grass in a large park, a space open enough that anyone who tried to sit too close would be conspicuous.

Comrade Mahara was keen to discuss the way forward for Nepal’s Maoists in the wake of the coup; exactly what it would mean for Nepal if the Maoists were to take power was now an urgent question.

Since the Nepalese constitution prohibits the prosecution of the king, Nepal now has a head of government who is above the law. “Suddenly,” one human rights monitor remarked, “we are in the 14th century.”

Seated cross-legged on the grass, Mahara laid out the Maoist analysis in the wake of the king’s coup. What had been a triangular struggle for power between the constitutional politicians, the king and the Maoists had now become a simpler two-way contest....... The coup, Mahara told me, was the product of Maoist success.

(A senior British diplomat had put it in similar terms two weeks earlier. “The king,” he said, “is telling us we must choose between him and the Maoists. He is convinced that faced with that choice we will have to back him. Personally, I’m not so sure.”)

His hope, he said, was that the constitutional politicians would see the wisdom of backing the Maoists’ demand for a new constitution to rid Nepal of its monarchy and the entrenched ruling class. The constitution they envisaged, Mahara insisted, would set up a republic with a multiparty democracy.

It did not sound like a revolutionary platform. Mao himself, in the early days of the People’s Republic of China, had offered a tactical alliance with other political parties but his alliances were short-lived. For non-Maoist politicians and the anxious bystanders, the unanswerable question was: would Prachanda’s Maoists keep their promises?

Mahara told me that the Nepalese Maoists had learned the lessons of history - that dogma does not offer a lasting political future. Prachanda recently spoke of a 21st-century democracy in which the new state “will be under the observation, control and hegemony of the general masses”. There would be “free competition among political parties”, he said, as long as they “oppose feudalism and imperialism and work for the service of the masses”.

Mahara’s version of the plan was less jargon-ridden: “If we are to forge an alliance with the other parties,” he said, “we have to be flexible. We envisage a two-step revolution - first a multiparty democratic republic. If it was a genuine democracy, then we would work for the peaceful transformation of the state.” It did not sound like classic Maoism, though it did imply that the Maoists in power might move to ensure they never lost it. Mahara smiled.

“We haven’t given up Marx, Lenin and Mao but we don’t want to take it as dogma. We want a 21st-century democracy in which the people supervise the state so that people with money cannot control the elections. We want transparency and equal opportunities for all parties.”

He spoke with the apparent sincerity of a social democrat arguing the virtues of universal suffrage. ..... Mahara, though, was arguing the necessity for alliances. The most important objective now, he said, was to persuade the other political parties to side with them.

...... the rhetoric of the movement had softened. It was, said Mahara, unrealistic to suppose that a small state such as Nepal could survive if it had too many powerful enemies. For the Maoists, that meant neighbouring India and China, neither of which would be keen to see the triumph of millenarian revolutionary ideology. Perhaps as they draw closer to power, the Maoists have begun to think of strategic survival.

When we met, Mahara had declined to predict how long it might take the Maoists to win power, though he laid out possible ways the Maoists might prevail militarily. The movement had good relations with the junior ranks of the army who had no real stomach for the fight, and he considered a mass defection of junior officers a serious possibility. Blockades of the cities and military campaigns, he said, were preparation for a final offensive. The Maoists believe the end game has begun.

As he spoke, Mahara’s manner became watchful and the tone of his conversation changed. A group of young men had chosen to sit quite close by. I could see Mahara grow tense and alert. He rose to his feet, shook hands and walked away - briskly but without obvious haste. At the edge of the park he paused, then disappeared, apparently unremarked, into the crowd in the street.

Dinesh Prasain Tour: Report


MEETING/EVENT NOTES
17 - 22 April 2005 Washington, DC

Drafted by Andrew Miller (Peace Brigades International Nepal Project)
Additional comments by Mendi Njonjo (Advocacy Project)

As the initial stage of his tour of several cities on the East Coast, Dinesh spent a full week in Washington, DC speaking with Nepal-interested individuals, offices, and audiences. The objectives of these meetings varied, but included maintaining the conflict in Nepal as a foreign policy priority in DC, infusing a leading voice of civil society into the discussion, and reinforcing the other advocacy efforts being carried out by both concerned Nepalis and international human rights groups here in DC. This tour takes place in the broader context of campaigns being carried by groups such as Amnesty, Human Rights Watch, and Crisis Group, in addition to other recent visits by Nepali human rights defenders such as Dilli Chaudhary (BASE) and Sushil Pyakurel (Nepali National Human Rights Commission).

The events and meetings were primarily arranged by colleagues at the Advocacy Project and myself. For organization’s sake, I will describe interactions by category of audience or institution.

NGOs: Dinesh had direct meetings with such groups as Advocacy Project, Human Rights First, Human Rights Watch, Institute for Multi-Track Diplomacy and Peace Brigades International USA. He also met with representatives of Search for Common Ground and the Academy for Educational Development, both of which are likely to have future projects in Nepal and were eager to exchange information with Dinesh.

Amnesty International USA hosted an NGO briefing that included roughly 15 participants from the International Committee of the Red Cross, World Vision, and the Mennonite Central Committee, among others.

He met with Amb. McDonald of the Institute for Multi-Track Diplomacy and follow up on this meeting includes looking at possibly meeting high level officials (for Asia) at the State Department.

U.S. CONGRESS: By and large, meetings were limited to several offices with a previous interest in Nepal. A number of other offices were contacted but either did not respond or were unable to fit a meeting into our schedule. Beyond a concern about the message sent by any additional military assistance sent to the RNA, one concrete “talking point” raised was the re-establishment of a Nepali service of the Voice of America.

In the House of Representatives, we met with Matt Sparkes, assistant to Rep. Jim Walsh (Republican – NY). Rep. Walsh was a Peace Corps worker in Nepal and maintains an active interest in the political situation there. The office is in regular contact with the Nepali Embassy, and had seen the Ambassador twice in the previous week. We also met with Jeremy Sharp, aide to Rep. Lois Capps (Democrat – CA), to speak about my imminent trip to Nepal and offer background on the conflict.

Future House meetings should include a broader range of offices that sit on the Appropriations Committee, Foreign Operations Subcommittee (especially because the budget will be worked on in the coming months) and the International Relations Committee, Asia Pacific Subcommittee.

In the Senate, we first met with Rich Harper, assistant to Sen. Diane Feinstein (Democrat – CA). Sen. Feinstein is interested in Nepal through her husband, who runs the American Himalayan Foundation and knows the King. Their office has been in touch with the Nepali Ambassador, who assures them that everything is going well in Nepal. They sent a letter to the King post 1 Feb. but have not received a response. The Senator has not called for a ban on military assistance to Nepal but sees rising pressure to do so from her colleagues. Rich made a number of suggestions for other key Senate staff people who are interested in Nepal.

We also spoke with Tim Reiser, the lead Democratic staff person for the Senate Appropriations Committee Foreign Operations Subcommittee. Tim went to Nepal in December and has been following the case closely since then. Re weapons transfers, the U.S. gov’t has to make a decision about a shipment of M-16 rifles in the next several months. Tim views the transfer as unlikely unless the King take dramatic steps in the right direction.

In general terms, a lot more should be done to familiarize Members of Congress with the situation in Congress. Ideally such a campaign would include such elements as a) grassroots interest from constituents, b) media attention on Nepal, and c) a capacity to brief key staff members here in DC. Increased congressional interest, in theory, could help keep Nepal as a mid-level foreign policy priority for the Administration.

U.S. ADMINISTRATION: Our meeting with National Security Council representatives (Mike Green, Senior Director for Asian Affairs and Xenia Dormandy, Director for South Asia) was a good exchange and left us feeling cautiously encouraged about the U.S. position. We were told that the King was under a lot of pressure from the U.S., and that the U.S. was also pressuring other countries (China, for example) to not support the King’s moves. Dinesh offered his ideas of what a legitimate and realistic roadmap might look like, including moving the military under civilian control.

We also met with two Nepal specialists at the State Department: Kristen Needler (Nepal desk officer, South Asian Affairs) and Saba Ghori (Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor). They asked detailed questions for an hour and 15 minutes. Dinesh suggested that the international community should support a roadmap developed by the political parties, instead of the king.

Saba phoned the next day to see if we could arrange additional meetings at the State Dept, one with others in her department and another with folks higher up in the hierarchy. Other Administration meetings could be with functionaries at U.S. AID and the Department of Defense.

INT’L FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS: First we met with Brent Dark, the Deputy Resident Director of the Asian Development Bank’s North America office. Dinesh outlined how development aid can have negative implications for the conflict. Brent said we all have the same concerns but that they didn’t want to cut off programs that helped the poor. He said they were looking for a strategic engagement that would allow them to carry out their programs while pressuring the King. He suggested future connections with Hafiz Ramen, the Nepal country director and Bart Edes, the NGO liaison staff person, based in Manila.

Additionally, we met with several representatives of the World Bank: Debbie Bateman, the DC-based Program Coordinator for Nepal and a Nepali economist from their Kathmandu office, Roshan. The conversation was somewhat contentious, as we are clearly coming from a different paradigm than them. They still maintained that the Bank’s mandate doesn’t allow it to directly take human rights concerns into account (though Roshan did admit that the economical was the political). According to them, the Nepali government is dedicating a greater amount of money to “pro-poor” spending than in the past and the budget is more transparent, now available in 7 languages. The loans that were held up in February, however, were because the Nepalis hadn’t complied with some conditions of the funding. Overall, WB funding for Nepal has increased in recent years and very well might continue increasing, as long as the government adheres to budgetary conditions placed by the Bank.

In terms of follow-up, Veena at Human Rights Watch has been working to educate and advocate at the level of the member-state missions, which vote on the loans. Assuming Dinesh has more time in DC, we could ask Veena to arrange some of these meetings. Also, we could visit the IMF.

MEDIA: Dinesh met with several key media representatives and offered interviews to various outlets. He met with Peter Eisner, the Deputy Foreign Editor for the Washington Post. Peter is interested in Nepal and regularly speaks with correspondent John Lankaster (based in Delhi) about it. Specifically, he mentioned an interest in recent reports of civilian militias. Dinesh mentioned the idea of potentially writing a guest opinion piece and Peter suggested he speak with Jackson Diehl. He also mentioned Nora Boustany, the Post’s foreign affairs and diplomacy correspondent.

Dinesh gave interviews to the Voice of America (Hindi Service). This interview will be broadcast in the coming weeks (date will be communicated when we get it). It will be broadcast outside the US but they’ll also have it on the website for a US audience. He spoke to the Asia Department on how importantn the Voice of America news service was.

Dinesh also gave an interview to the Washington Spark- an independent media paper in DC. The article they did on him will probably run in the next issue.

AP put out a press release on Dinesh’s tour and that’s on the AP website http://www.advocacynet.org/pr_view/pr_40.html

Follow-up interviews will likely happen with USA Today, Chitra Tiwari (Washington Times) and NepaliPost.com.

GRASSROOTS: Such outreach was limited to several engagements on the Georgetown University campus. Dinesh talked at Iain’s class (human rights) at Georgetown where they examined the similarities between the structural inequalities faced by the Dalits in Nepal and the Roma in Europe. It was also noted that these two ethnic groups were on the final action plan adopted at the World Conference on Racism in 2000 for combating racism. Dinesh also addressed a crowd of students and the general public (including some people from NGOs and the State Department) at the Georgetown Auditorium later on that evening. He showed the movie Andoulan Jhari Chha and introduced them to the events in Nepal and also some background information.

Additional student and community level (including the Nepali American community) outreach should be carried out during Dinesh’s return to DC. For maximum impact, it would be good if in planning grassroots events representatives from the Amnesty International local chapters or other university/ church etc. grassroots groups were present as these groups have the institutional capacity to start, circulate and follow up on any petitions.

23 - 25 April 2005
Ithaca, NY

Comments by Laurie Vasily: “The Ithaca, NY event was a public event with an attendance of about 30 people. First, we showed the “Schools in the Crossfire Film” by Dhurba Basnet. This was followed directly by Dinesh’s showing of the “Andolan Jaari Chha” video and Dinesh’s remarks. A discussion ensued, mostly driven by the question of what those of us in the US could do to support democratizing efforts in Nepal. There was also keen interest in purchasing the videos. We indicated that we would try to set up a distribution system through the INSN website.

The Ithaca Chapter of Amnesty International provide postcards to King Gyanendra protesting the dismantling of democracy and three petitions: one to the Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice asking for suspension of US military aid to Nepal, another to Lieutenant Colonel Raju Nepali, of the Human Rights Cell of the Royal Nepal Army calling for the release of Krishna Pahadi, and thirdly, to King Gyanendra asking for release of political prisoners and reinstatement of civil liberties.”

25 April 2005 – 1 May 2005
New York City

25th April – Meeting at the Open Society Institute
Contact person: Jonathan Hulland,
Online audio record of meeting: http://www.soros.org/resources/events/nepal_20050419

Comments by Jonathan Hulland: “Talk went very well...the video in particular was great...really added to the talk. Some very striking images. And Dinesh's frontline experience made for a very interesting presentation. I would love to get a few copies of the DVD, should I contact the advocacy project?”

27th April - Fordham University Event

Dinesh spoke at Fordham University and most of the attendees were the Fordham Law program and were interested in the human rights aspect of Dinesh's tour. The video Andolan Jhari Chha was screened. Amnesty International Group 11 was present at the event and they passed around some articles for distribution. They started three petitions (the same AI petitions as noted in the Ithaca, NY note) at Fordham and were able to get a few signatures.

27th April - Columbia University Event

Comments by Sarahana Shrestha: “I just wanted to send out a short email to summarize that yesterday's event at Columbia University was very good! There was not a unanimous voice amongst the attendants, which made for a vibrant discussion. Dinesh was indeed very articulate and was able to effectively answer all "provocative" questions, which is something we young Nepalis find missing in most talks presented by Nepali speakers. As one attendant pointed out, Dinesh appeared to be very "down to earth" and I believe it is his passion and "from the heart" approach to the matter that makes us feel very much a part of the solution.”

The piece that Dinesh wrote and comments are available at:
http://samudaya.org/articles/archives/2005/05/reclaiming_the.php

29 - 30 April 2005 Joint events with Ashmina Ranjit

Comments from Ashok Gurung (& a New School event participant): “Special thanks to Ashmina and Dinesh for two very well prepared and delivered presentations (below, see a wonderful note from a participant!).

> This is simply to say thank you for such an impressive
>performance/advocacy/analysis event last Saturday. I was moved and
>frankly distressed by the sense of chaos, increasing polarization, and
>ruthless violence on royalist and maoists "sides." Not easily forgotten.”

1 - 4 May 2005
Boston

Comments by Julia Todd: “Dinesh was very busy during his two day stay in Boston. Everyone he met with was extremely interested in what he had to say, and very generous with their time.

Dinesh talked about the situation in Nepal with a small but engaged group at UMass Boston. This talk was sponsored by the UMass program in dispute resolution, and the human rights working group.

We met with Sen. Kennedy's and Sen. Kerry's foreign policy aides. They were both extremely interested, and spent about 50 minutes with us, asking Dinesh lots of questions about the human rights situation and the conflict. Julia will follow-up.

The Northeast Amnesty office got Dinesh appointments to speak at length with editorial writers at both the Boston Globe, and the Christian Science Monitor. All were very interested. I'll let you know if anything is published.

Dinesh also spoke on Tuesday at the Physicians for Human Rights weekly staff meeting, with about 30 in attendance and others on speaker phone from their DC and other offices. PHR has done some work on health and human rights related issues in Nepal such as torture.

Dinesh also talked to a group of about 18 faculty/student at Tufts University on Monday evening, and a very diverse group of about 40 individuals at Harvard University on Tuesday evening. A very engaged audience at Tufts pressed Dinesh on issues ranging from role of INGOs in present Nepalese context to the Gay/Lesbain movement and their plight in Nepal. At Harvard, he put forth a very strong argument for the "middle ground' as the only alternative to the ongoing chaos in Nepal.

Dinesh's candid presentation and stunning footages depicted in the documentary "Aandolan Jaari Cha" made this a very worthy hour and half for everyone in attendance. The feedback we received has all been extremely positive.

Thank you again, Dinesh, for your dedication, energy, and ability to engage so many different people !!!”

4 - 5 May 2005 Atlanta

4th May - Emory University Event

Comments by Pramod Aryal: “Dinesh came here at Atlanta yesterday, and Mahendra Lawoti drove. We had successful program at Emory. He basically spoke of situation in Nepal and he said that democracy will lead to permanent peace. Our audience, especially people of Nepali origin, was very much concerned about the situation in Nepal. We all were touched by the documentary, Andolan Jari Cha. It was really sad to see such police brutality. The theme of his talk was we should seek a middle ground that is from both extreme right and extreme left and follow the peaceful works for sustained democracy that will lead to permanent peace. We had vibrant floor discussion. Many people wanted to know what middle ground is and Dinesh was able to explain. Dr. Lawoti talked about the centralization, alienation and its impact in democracy. His academic perspective was well received. We had happy hour after the talk in local Indian restaurant. There people had chance to socialize with Dinesh and Mahendra. I was happy to see some concerned hard working Nepalese making up dinner after their job, and who joined us up to my house and discussed till 1 am.”

5 - 18 May 2005 Washington, DC

NEWS COVERAGE

www.advocacynet.org
Dinesh’s speaking tour was highlighted on the front page of the Advocy Project’s website, bulletins continue to be posted at: http://www.advocacynet.org/cpage_view/NepalCrisis_Appeal_35_105.html

http://www.soros.org/resources/events/nepal_20050419
Audio file of Dinesh’s 25 April meeting at the Open Society Institute

http://us.oneworld.net/article/view/110528/1/
An article written by Wendy Mbekelu from OneWorld.net based on the Georgetown University event on 21 April. In a follow-up email, Dinesh notes some of the factual misrepresentations: “Thanks Evelina for sharing the article. But as I would like to draw the attention of Wendy (who apparently did this story without checking with me, although with very good intention I'm sure) to some of my concerns. She got some facts wrong and some misquotes (eg, the army did not move and club the demonstrators on April 8 this year, the scenes from the documentary were clearly from last year's demonstrations clear from teh docuementary, and it was the police, not army who beat up the demonstrators; I did not say the Maoists burned homes, raped and lynched people to death, It was the Village Defence Committee members, as I have mentioned in my article posted at insn; the king does not appoint the UN human rights monitring committee members, the UN does; and also there was no security council involvement in the Geneva meeting on human rights, etc ). I guess such mistakes do happen in reports, but in conflcit situations, even minor misquotes may not be good. Sorry to bother you with these notes.”

100 Reasons To Revive Parliament



  1. For peace.
  2. For democracy.
  3. For peace and democracy.
  4. To revive Zone of Peace proposal.
  5. To revise Sugauli Treaty.
  6. To sanction Trent Lott.
  7. For global peace.
  8. Because Siddhartha Gautam was a proud son of Asia.
  9. Because Bhrikuti was the Light of Asia and her father's eyes.
  10. So Prince Paras may play more rounds of golf.
  11. So Girija may sleep better at night, at 5 AM, at 3 in the afternoon, or whenever it is that he sleeps.
  12. So Madhav Nepal may become Prime Minister in 2015 or thereafter.
  13. So Baburam Bhattarai may register his Note of Dissent without having to fear Protective Custody and Purification.
  14. So Prachanda may sound intelligent.
  15. So King G can be seen and heard at the same time.
  16. So there can be peace in Palestine.
  17. And in Punjab.
  18. And Kashmir.
  19. And Sudan.
  20. And Tora Bora.
  21. And Baghdad.
  22. And Chicago.
  23. So man may go to the moon, again, and women may rejoice.
  24. So Hridayesh Tripathy can pay Rajendra Mahato's phone bill and Rajendra Mahato can pay Rameshwar Ray Yadav's phone bill and Rameshwar Ray Yadav can pay Badri Mandal's phone bill and Badri Mandal may rejoice.
  25. Just because.
  26. Because I told you so.
  27. To enlighten Manmohan Singh on matters of economic importance.
  28. To boost Laloo Yadav's kulhar scheme.
  29. To boost the Rajib Gandhi Yuba Rojgar Yojana.
  30. To perform for peace.
  31. For planetary peace and progress.
  32. So Girija may inaugurate the historic Tibet bus service and take credit.
  33. So the menace of constipation may be tackled.
  34. To wage war on mosquitoes to provide relief for patriotic Madhesis.
  35. To place a phone call to Mao and see if he can do anything about Prachanda.
  36. To call Kim Jong Ill.
  37. To call Stalin and say it is urgent.
  38. To build an international airport in Biratnagar so Girija may fly in and out more frequently.
  39. So Sujata Koirala can go home to be with Daddy.
  40. So Mahara may look and wonder.
  41. So Rabindra Mishra and Baburam Bhattarai may go at it again.
  42. To send a peace mission to Lhasa.
  43. So as to call Mao, say it is urgent.
  44. So Gagan Thapa may have the time and blade to shave.
  45. So pickpockets may be released and politicians exported.
  46. So Bijay Kumar gets to interview Amitabh Bachchan to revive his flagging career.
  47. So CK Lal may write and be done with it.
  48. So Hem Bahadur Malla and his wife can contest elections again.
  49. For peace and security.
  50. So Pyar Jung Thapa and his boys can "go home."
  51. So as to facilitate Bidya Bhandari's defeat of Krishna Prasad Bhattarai.
  52. Look at the law and order situation.
  53. To form a committee to look into the law and order situation and make recommendations.
  54. To form a Royal Commission to Create Corruption to neutralize its evil twin.
  55. Remember Pajero?
  56. Why are there only a dozen members in the cabinet, as if the country had a scarcity of talent!
  57. To implicate Hindi-speaking, Dhoti-kurta-wearing, Paan-chewing Sadbhavana workers in false cases.
  58. To control ganja in Siraha.
  59. So Prachanda may go back into the jungle from his suburban office setting.
  60. I told you so.
  61. Because Girija says so.
  62. Just because.
  63. Look at the poverty and despair in the country.
  64. To form a committee to look into the poverty and despair in the country.
  65. So Girija may raise an army, become a rival warlord, and hijack another plane.
  66. For the sake of stability, dang-gone-it!
  67. So the Nepalis the world over can feel proud again.
  68. To coordinate signature campaigns with DC protestors.
  69. So Girija has something he can dissolve.
  70. So Deuba has something he can dissolve.
  71. So Manmohan or his designate has something he or she can dissolve.
  72. To conduct fresh polls for a new century.
  73. So Uttar Ram Tamata can go back to a more private life in the Kathmandu suburbs.
  74. To pay the price for democracy on a monthly basis: there is no such thing called a free lunch.
  75. So the Chinese have something to envy.
  76. So street protests may resume and democracy revitalized.
  77. To take a second look at Baburam's 40-point generalities and vague statements.
  78. To conduct peace talks with the Maoists, the Gorkha National Liberation Front, the LTTE, Arafat, and Republicans Against Foreign Aid And Abortions in DC.
  79. To resume the FM radio business.
  80. For press freedom and to press for freedom.
  81. To conduct peace talks with King Jigme Sigme Wangchuk.
  82. To never again send 50 police officers to arrest Deuba even if he might be absconding.
  83. To send 25 commandos to go after Prachanda and another 25 to rescue Baburam.
  84. So the World Hindu Federation may go conquer the world.
  85. To ban use of RNA soldiers as domestic servants, instead encourage use of dishwashers, washing machines, rice-cookers and inter-caste marriages.
  86. To encourage female assertivity within marriages.
  87. To train the army top brass in the joys of domestic work.
  88. Just because there is no parliament in Bihar does not mean Nepal has to follow the lead.
  89. For an image uplift.
  90. To attract tourists.
  91. So the Nepali people get reminded who and what they have been missing.
  92. To eradicate poverty.
  93. So Girija may plot revenge against Prachanda for killing a thousand of his party workers.
  94. So it can be proven Girija has been right all along.
  95. To derecognize RPP as the party of the Panches, and wash away memorie of exile.
  96. To debate issues of national and international importance.
  97. To hold press conferences and meetups.
  98. To form a committe to make sense of the Maoist insurgency.
  99. For peace of mind when a parliamentary session ends.
  100. If Jesus can be resurrected, the parliament can be revived.

In The News

Thursday, May 12, 2005

Baburam: Prachanda's Best Bet, Litmust Test, And Only Option


Prachanda's recent mistreatment of Baburam shows the Maoist party is a dictatorial organization that allows no dissent in opinion. Worse, it shows the Maoists are not capable of a transformation that will allow them a soft landing so they could become one of the largest parties within a democratic, progressive multi-party framework.

My beeline to the Maoists has always been based on the past positions of the Maoists themselves. In recent memory it is the Maoists who have brought forth the idea of a Constituent Assembly. Noone else was talking about it. Even now most others are not. So when I talk Constituent Assembly, I am borrowing a Maoist line.

Let's assume the Maoists mean it when they say Constituent Assembly, that it is not a tactical move to their ultimate goal of a communist dictatorship. The thing is, they are not in any position to make any such tactical move. They are not going to be able to fool anyone even if they tried.

So the Maoists better mean it when they say Constituent Assembly. The last, recent, nationwide, scientific polls (What The People Feel by Krishna Hachhethu) conducted show the majority of Nepalis want to retain a Constitutional Monarchy. So if you are for a Constituent Assembly, you pretty much are going to agree to the verdict of this poll. Which means, the Maoists are going to have to come around to the idea of a Constitutional Monarcy. Now. The polls also show overwhelming support for a multi-party democracy. There is minuscule support for an absolute monarchy, and even less for a communist dictatorship.

So if you are for a Constituent Assembly, Prachanda, you are basically saying you are for (1) Constitutional Monarchy, and (2) Multi-Party Democracy. That is not me putting words in your mouth. That is me hearing you right. That is if you are being honest when you say you are for a Constituent Assembly.

And if you are for a multi-party democracy, you basically are agreeing to move away from the central organizing principle of your organization, that power flows through the barrel of a gun. You and your team are going to have to revise your ideology, and come up with something new: Power flows through the ballot box.

That ideological shift will have to be made. And the person among your ranks best able to do it will be Dr. Baburam Bhattarai. So you need to release Baburam from "protective custody" and discontinue the "purification" operation you are subjecting him to, and stop blaming him for your recent military defeats. He is not the reason for the tough times you are going through.

That will be your litmus test. If you can not treat Baburam right, forget teaming up with the democrats. Not going to happen.

But then Constitutional Monarchy can mean many different things. If you allow a progressive transformation of your organization, you will become a major force that makes sure the Constitutional Monarchy gets devoid of all political power.

I have been circulating this proposed constitution, and I hope to get back on my phone marathons soon, faxing people around, emailing. This document is a broad framework. All political players on stage, including you, are being encouraged to give your feedback and criticism. What do you like? What do you not like? This is already the most progressive of any constitution I know on the face of the planet. It can be made more so, with your participation and help.

But first, release Baburam. And both of you get down to work.

Or you could continue down the track you are on. That path leads to the Gonzalo fate for you. The noose has been tightening around you. It might actually end up being worse for you. Because if the progressive transformation is achieved without your participation, your political and social thunder will already have been stolen, and the democrats, all of whom are mighty angry at you in the first place, will not feel any need to collaborate with you. Basically what I am saying is you are under tremendous time pressure.

Option 1 leads to you possibly becoming a Deputy Prime Minister in an interim government. If you can fundamentally transform all your cadres for work for peaceful organization and party building, heck, you could even become Prime Minister on your own after elections.

Option 2 leads to oblivion and worse. Even with a military takeover of the country - totally impossible - you will not be able to offer the Nepali people anything better or more than this progressive constitution will be able to. So why not skip a few steps, and make sure you are still politically relevant in 2015!

I guess the choice for you is between history and hell. Get Baburam out and get him working and get into the history books. That is what I suggest.

This is what I see happening:
  1. You ideologically transform yourself to the point the central dictum of your organization is Power Flows Through The Ballot Box within a framework of this progressive constitution. Then nothing prevents a partnership between your organization and the democrats. But the transformation comes first.
  2. Both you and Baburam get berths in an interim government.
  3. You disarm all your cadres, and retrain them to become the best organizers of any party in the country to see if you can become the largest party. I think it possible.
  4. No, they are not going into the army, instead the army itself is to be downsized so there is more money for education and health. Instead of getting salaries from the army, your workers should seek to get their salaries as elected officials.
  5. Funny. If you become Prime Minister, you find yourself Commander-In-Chief!