Now the BJP in India has come out for sealing the Nepal-India border. Looks like some common ground has emerged between the ultra "nationalists" in Nepal and the second largest party in India.Sure this is election talk for the all-impotant forthcoming elections in Bihar. But then all talk by parties in democracies is election talk. It has to be taken seriously.This also shows the BJP is not buying the line that the Nepali Maoists were not involved in the recent Maoist attack in Bihar.I don't know one way or the other on that particular topic, but if the Nepali Maoists were involved, they are following in the king's footsteps of 2/1: opening up fights on several fronts at once.Even a military power like the US admist it can only fight two and a half wars at any one point in time.The king since 2/1 has been fighting three "wars." With the Maoists, the democrats, and the international community.
Phone Talk With Rajendra Mahto In Delhi
Audio Clips, My Reflections: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.
In The News
The political center of gravity has already shifted to Delhi from Kathmandu. All worthwhile political dialogue on Nepal has taken place in Delhi since 2/1. Might as well make it official.Let the international players bring the three parties together. In Delhi. - Paris Peace Accord 1973 - Text of The Agreement
- Cambodia: Peace Agreements Digital Collection-United States ...
- Safeguarding Peace: Cambodia's Constitutional Challenge
- A/RES/45/3. The situation in Cambodia
In The News - India ready to help end crises: Thapa Kathmandu Post, Nepal Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran ..... The meeting lasted for nearly two-and-a-half hours at the Grand Hyatt suite, where Thapa is staying.... It is up to the parties in Nepal, India can't do anything..... the need to immediately start dialogue between the palace and parties so as to take on the bigger challenge: resolution of the Maoist insurgency through peace negotiations..... Delhi is also believed to have started back-channel diplomacy with the rebel Maoists last month
- Surrendered Maoist commit suicide in army cell Kantipur Online, Nepal the third time that the Maoist had killed oneself while being detained at the security detention in the past seven months.... hung himself by the wire in his own room, while the sentry had gone to toilet.... Rayamajhi, however, had been refusing to go home and had asked not to call his parents..... the difficulties he would have to face after being released
- Autocracy cannot take us ahead: Nepal Kantipur political parties should not harbor any illusion that the nation cannot move without monarchy..... democracy and monarchy cannot go together.... If reconciliation doesn't take place any time soon, the Maoists may prevail
- Shortage of IC hits market Kathmandu Post, Nepal a massive rise in illegal imports of gold and silver from India was the main reason behind the current problem.... gold is cheaper by Rs 150 per tola (about 11.50 gram) in the Indian market and also silver is cheaper by Rs 200 per kg
- Conference for a fair deal Kathmandu Post, Nepal Given the adamant attitude of our leaders of all sorts, there is no escape from getting ensnared in New Delhi.....Thanks to the violent conflict, we lost peace. Thanks to our leaders, we lost freedom. Thanks to further political conflict, we lost democracy. A further deepening of conflict can result in a loss of what we have not yet lost. That is monarchy and national independence. In that sequence, it is the institution of monarchy that stands most vulnerable..... he opened battles in all fronts at one go against the Maoists, the political parties and the international community...... he may prefer to break, if inevitable, rather than to bend and compromise ..... Kathmandu is quiet but Nepal is not ..... In terms of political negotiations and peace exploration too, Kathmandu is equally quiet; but, in this process, it has conceded its central role, more pronouncedly since the royal take-over, to New Delhi..... king could not visit New Delhi for technical reasons before the royal action in February and for political reasons after it...... countervailing visits by Nepali leaders like Girija Prasad Koirala, Bamdev Gautam, Hridesh Tripathi and a string of second-ranking leaders pleading for end of the direct rule of the king...... Equally effectively it can threaten to witchhunt the Maoists in India to bring them to sense...... India is not alone to handle the Nepali affairs. It is actually acting on behalf of big powers like the US and the UK. Even China has also been kept well informed...... better to hold an international conference on Nepal like the one on Cambodia, East Timor, Afghanistan and Iraq
- SC seeks reply from Home Minister Kathmandu Post, Nepal The minister is required to reply to the court within seven days
- Extend help to HM, Camp urges political parties Gorkhapatra, Nepal Camp said that Nepal’s future was bright and the US would continue to assist Nepal in its fight against terrorism...... the government was eagerly awaiting for some high level visits from the US
- Rebels seize children as recruits in Nepalese civil war Telegraph.co.uk, UK Last month about 4,500 pupils, aged between nine and 15, were marched from their schools in five districts and forced to attend a Maoist rally where they were exhorted to abandon their education and join the revolution, according to witnesses. It was the first event of a six-month children's campaign planned by the rebels....... they were marched for between four and five days each way to attend the three-hour rally .... had never left their home villages before, spoke with excitement of seeing buses, cars and motorcycles for the first time in their lives ..... more than 12,000 people have died, including 10,000 since the end of 2001 .... "They don't know reality, and basically they are attracted by the 'cultural shows' [the singing and dancing propaganda troupes that tour schools]. And some of the children are very much interested to play with guns and they imitate the older ones." ...... girls, who are typically forced into arranged marriages at a young age in rural Nepal, were easily seduced into joining the Maoists by talk of women's rights...... families are often more willing to hand over their daughters to Maoist recruitment teams than their sons, who are considered more valuable...... ''They organise militia in every school, they are called the 'baseline army.''
- Cop missing after fresh police-Maoists encounter Times of India, India the second round of encounter between members of the CPI (Maoist) and the security forces — the district police, Special Task Force (STF) and Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) — on Monday at village Piprahi Sultan under Bargainia police station in Sitamarhi district...... another encounter had taken place between the police and a group of Maoists near the Nepal border.
- Deuba cleared of graft slur Calcutta Telegraph, India ... was against standard procedure but did not amount to corruption
- Acquitted from one graft charge, Nepal’s ex-PM continues ... United We Blog, Nepal The Commission that has the extra-judicial right to accuse, try and give verdict in a case sensed that it’s decision to sentence Deuba and the company will have far reaching consequences to the royal government. That decision would have backfired ..... RCCC is a political arm of this government, it is expected that the game of harassment will continue in the days to come.
- Trauma treatment should be integral to Nepal's human rights ... ReliefWeb (press release), Switzerland Torture, extrajudicial killings, disappearances and other abuses often result in severe trauma for victims and their families. This trauma outlives the violation, leaving an indelible impression on the minds of victims..... National Human Rights Commission had all but ignored this issue even prior to the February 21, 2005 coup.....
- NEPAL: Journalists stage nationwide protests Asia Pacific Media Network, CA
- Nepal king to celebrate birthday without son:- Webindia123, India there will be one important absentee at the royal bash besides opposition leaders - Crown Prince Paras.....
- Leaders say collaboration with Maoists impossible PeaceJournalism.com, Nepal Modanath Prasrit said that the Maoists have accelerated murdering unarmed and innocent civilians .... Dr. Narayan Khadka of NC (Democratic) warned the political parties that some invisible power is conspiring to bring the political parties and the Maoists together for their personal interest .... the duel nature of considering the Maoists as friendly power in some occasion and viewing them as the terrorists in other is complicating the crisis
- Nepal: Deepening Uncertainty Amid US Dilemma PeaceJournalism.com, Nepal to the United States: Reverberations of the Cold War-era Red Scare have combined with the imperatives of the ongoing War on Terror.... anxiety has deepened in the aftermath of King Gyanendra’s February 1 takeover of full executive powers ..... Amid the suspension of the democratic process and the curbing of civil liberties, including press freedom, it is understandable that a section of the U.S. government should feel the need to isolate the royal regime.... India and Britain -- responded to the royal takeover with a formal suspension of military assistance, the United States has demonstrated greater recognition of the realities on the ground...... Condoleezza Rice has said, the royal takeover will “crystallize” events.... The Maoists have suffered huge battlefield losses and deep rifts have weakened their political organization. The mainstream political parties, on the other hand, have moved closer toward recognizing the Maoists’ demands for radical changes in the polity...... Through sustained military pressure from the royal government and political encouragement from the mainstream parties, the Maoists might be willing to submit to peaceful methods of resolving the deep political, economic and social inequalities underlying the insurgency..... The kingdom stands to gain immensely as a potential transit point for trade between the two Asian giants. U.S. investment in Nepal's vast hydropower potential could target the huge markets China and India provide. Once peace is restored, Nepal could hope to regain its position as a leading destination for tourists and trekkers..... pattern of allowing the Europeans and the Chinese to mediate in the Iranian and North Korean nuclear crises ..... Indian interests in Nepal are primarily guided by that country's own perceptions and imperatives. Some, including those relating to Nepal’s vast water resources, are viewed with considerable suspicion in Nepal..... China has skillfully deployed economic incentives to draw Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka into its strategic orbit.... they all shun the Dalai Lama to Beijing's delight ..... they speak with one voice for Beijing's entry into the SAARC – to the palpable annoyance of New Delhi ..... Nothing should preclude the United States -- whose diplomatic relations with Nepal predates both Indian independence and the establishment of the People’s Republic of China – from constructing its own set of coherent and realistic policies aimed encouraging the kingdom to emerge as a strong, peaceful and prosperous democracy in South Asia.
- Their Royal Highnesses to visit Japan, South Korea Gorkhapatra, Nepal
- ‘‘Can't bid adieu to Nepal’’ Michael Gill Kathmandu Post, Nepal every time Gill returned to his motherland, he always found an excuse to come back to Nepal..... He thinks every stakeholder in this country should rise above one's own interest. "The far right and the far left and everyone in the middle should come together, forgetting personal interests" .... Nepal was certainly a peaceful country; but there also existed a great deal of injustice..... "The Maoists have asked many right questions, but they don't have the answers"..... "I think I'll come back. I've bought roundtrip tickets"
- Nepal: Measuring the economic costs of conflict - The effect of ... ReliefWeb (press release), Switzerland Economic growth slowed to an average of 1.9% over the FY2002-04 period compared to 4.9% in the decade preceding that...... economic disruptions have increased and development expenditures have decline sharply..... Measuring the Economic Costs of Conflict: the Effect of Declining Development Expenditures on Nepal’s Economic Growth...... physical infrastructures worth at least $ 250 million have been destroyed..... strikes, security checks, blockades, shutdowns, and extortion have increased the costs of economic activity..... 400,000 rural families have been internally displaced while thousands others have crossed over to India..... private investment rate(2) has declined from 15.4% in 1996 to 12.6% in 2004..... Government development expenditures stood at about 6% of GDP in FY2004, down from 9% of GDP in FY2001.... government security expenditures almost doubled from 1.6% to 3% of GDP ..... GDP per capita declines at an annual rate of 2.2 per cent relative to its counterfactual during civil wars ..... war directly reduces production and partly because it causes a gradual loss of the capital stock due to destruction, dissaving, and the substitution of portfolios abroad....... for conflicts after 1990, real GDP growth was 12.3 percentage points below normal..... civil wars reduce growth mainly by depleting the domestic capital stock in its various forms..... costs of conflict at 8-10% of GDP...... at US$66.2 billion for the 1996 to 2003 period..... 1% increase in development expenditure results in 1.57% increase in private fixed investment, 0.65% increase in public fixed investment, and 0.18% increase in public consumption..... the government investment may have multiplier effects on private sector...... A decline in development expenditure reduces government consumption, government investment and private investment -- lowering GDP growth...... FY2005-FY2009 ...... If the conflict intensifies and development expenditures decline at twice the current rate, total GDP growth lost is 10.3% - an average loss of 2.1% points of growth per annum...... the 3% overall growth loss observed for the FY2001-2004 period...... up to 57% of the loss in economic growth could be due to the decline in development expenditures..... the annual costs increase with each successive year of conflict. This is because the effects of decline in development expenditures accumulate each year, affecting GDP growth more as the conflict lengthens........ the effects of the conflict on GDP growth will persist well after the conflict is over, as low development spending during the conflict will have lowered the economy’s capital stock and development expenditures will take time to recover fully...... Nepal has benefited from a steady flow of remittances from overseas economies...... GDP per capita is forecast to be 7.8% lower over the FY2005-09 period in the conflict scenario than the no-conflict scenario......a poverty rate 4.8% higher than the no-conflict scenario.......
Deuba has been exonerated on one major graft charge. The regime just scored a major point. I mean, it was basically the Asian Development Bank's words versus some Monarchist puppets.But it is a mystery he continues to be detained.A second charge? If there is a Prime Minster Relief Fund, it is for the Prime Minister to decide where that money goes. It is discretion. And if the Prime Minister sends that money in all the wrong directions, that should be public knowledge, and the voters should punish the Prime Minister by throwing him or her out at the ballot box. Or if the very idea of the Fund is offensive, it should be gotten rid of by an act of the parliament. A Prime Minister who doled money out of a Prime Minster Relief Fund should not have to answer to an extra-constitutional body such as the RCCC. His case should have been taken up by the existing, constitutional CIAA with a govenment that was constitutional.But, my bad. I misunderstood. He has been cleared of the charges to do with the Fund. So now it actually is the ADB's words versus that of the RCCC.The RCCC's very formation is unwont. Its functioning even more so. The principle of separation of powers is routinely violated, the body has the powers of a court. Suspects are asked to speak against themselves and are punished when they don't. That violates another basic principle. It is to do with one not having to incriminate oneself.The RCCC is power gone berserk. That is why the ideology of Monarchism stinks. It espouses unaccountable power.
I could write a few easy paragraphs criticizing Deuba. But that stays within the paradigm of democracy. No Deuba shortcoming is an argument against democracy.On the other hand, I could say some positive things about him as well. But no praise puts him above the people. Let Deuba and the likes of him be subject to the ballot box.
Corruption is a valid issue, and the Congress as the party in power for most of the post-1990 period has to take some major responsibility, but the recourse is more democracy and rule of law. There is no other recourse.
Email From Arzu Rana DeubaGagan Thapa Arrested, Deuba Re-ArrestedIn The News - Former Nepal PM, six others cleared of graft charges Hindustan Times, India .... Deuba, detained since April-end, will continue to remain in detention till the agency pronounces a verdict on a second charge ... "The truth has finally prevailed. Justice has been done," said a triumphant Arju Deuba, wife of the leader ...... The entire country as well as international community has been closely watching the two cases ...... "Though it might not have been appropriate, it was a decision taken by the cabinet," commission officials said. "Collective cabinet decisions do not fall within Nepal's Corruption Act." ..... The charged ministers had defended themselves saying the cabinet had authorised the distribution of the money and cabinet decisions were above the law...... The Deuba cabinet had also authorised Nepalese Rs 12 million to the king's aunt, Princess Helen...... granting of extraordinary allowances by the present government to two of the deputy chairmen of the council of ministers....... attributed the commission's decision to "intense public pressure" .... charged with awarding a contract at inflated rates to a party member.
- Sacked Nepal PM cleared of graft charge Reuters AlertNet
- Sacked Nepal PM wins graft ruling 999 Today
- Nepal former PM wins graft ruling Journal of Turkish Weekly
- Rebels Free 90 Students Abducted in Nepal Guardian Unlimited, UK Rebels typically hold abductees only for two or three days... the rebels have been abducting large groups of students in remote villages to teach them about their nine-year revolution.... About 250 students were taken from a nearby village on June 15 and sent back three days later.
- Rebels abduct 90 students from Nepal village China Daily
- 12 die in Nepal ambush News24, South Africa
- Security officers killed in Maoist clash Radio Australia
- 12 security personnel killed in Nepal violence Sify, India
- Maoists hurt 17 security personnel in Nepal:- Webindia123
- US envoy to discuss Nepal crisis BBC News, UK
- Bihar Maoists have sneaked into Nepal: Indian police Kantipur Online, Nepal a red alert along Nepal-India border in Parsa-Rautahat area, after a group of about 50 heavily-armed Maoists sneaked into Nepal from Bairgania area..... were involved in last Thursday night’s daring raid on Madhuban .... ‘Operation Dhamaka’ .... The Maoists attacked their targets with precision and resistance.... one of the pamphlets recovered from the site read ‘Seize property of reactionary country, India, and distribute it to the poor’..... very well coordinated; and it was strikingly similar to the myriad of recent Maoist attacks on security installations in the northern neighbour..... the ‘compact revolutionary zone’ stretching up to Andhra Pradesh in South India.... Across India, 160 districts in 12 states are considered as Maoist affected, and intelligence officials say more new districts are being affected by the threat. The rise in Maoist activities is considered as India’s ‘No 1 national security threat’.
- Delhi junks Nepal link in strike Calcutta Telegraph Senior intelligence officials in the capital have voiced doubts over the involvement of Maoists from Nepal in Thursday’s daylight attack on a small border hamlet ..... “Only a foolish leadership will get involved in joint raids with its counterparts across the border” ..... Maoists from Nepal continue to use the bordering states for shelter and treatment.
- 2 killed as police, Naxals clash on Nepal border Indian Express
- A Refutation Of Harper's Article On The Maoits by Li Onesto INSN the May 2005 issue of Harper’s magazine .... contributes to a growing mountain of harmful disinformation..... in areas run by new revolutionary governments, they are radically changing the economic, political, and cultural life of millions of poor peasants .....a center set up only for “victims of Maoist torture” (no victims of the RNA) ...... Sweeping censorship and systematic disinformation by the Nepalese government have had a huge impact on people’s opinions and what they know and don’t know about the Maoists, not only internationally but within Nepal itself .... a journalist who left the Maoists, was imprisoned and tortured by the government and now writes for a Maoist newspaper..... the People’s Liberation Army is made up of tens of thousands of common peasants who are not “caught in the middle” but have joined the insurgency...... In Nepal over 85% of the people are peasants in the countryside, desperately poor, malnourished, and exploited by corrupt officials, landlords, and moneylenders. Lower castes and oppressed ethnic groups face systematic discrimination under a rigid caste system. Women are intensely suppressed and treated as inferior in every facet of society. A king controls the army and an oppressive monarchy is deeply embedded in the ruling structures of society. The whole country is subordinate to, dependent on, and dominated by India and imperialist countries like the U.S............. Nepal’s ruling class has not and cannot solve the basic problems of food, water, sanitation, and health care because this requires tearing up the existing economic, social, and political relationships within Nepalese society and between Nepal and other countries..... In areas they control real changes are taking place: redistribution of land, equal rights for women, end to the caste system, autonomy for oppressed ethnic groups, healthcare, education and the building of roads and bridges......... the composition of the PLA squads and platoons...... overwhelmingly made up of those on the very bottom of society—lower castes, ethnic minorities, peasant youth and many, many young women........ People like Griswold may talk about government repression, deep poverty, and powerlessness among the poor. But they don’t uphold the right of the people to really struggle against any of this..... Feudal traditions like arranged marriages, dowries, and polygamy ..... women’s bodies are owned, controlled, and bargained over in everything from marriage to sex trafficking...... the tyranny of local landlords, corrupt politicians, and moneylenders...... Extremely significant and liberating changes are taking place in the Maoist base areas..... in the Maoist areas caste distinctions have been abolished and intercaste marriages are common....... the Maoists have real support. ...... “The Maoists do not force anybody to fight. How can anyone force a man or woman to fire a gun? You need courage, dedication and spirit of sacrifice to become a fighter in the People’s Liberation Army. It’s not like playing video war games on a computer. It’s a life and death struggle. Only the most courageous men and women can prepare themselves to fight for revolution. There is a saying in Nepal that ‘a carried dog cannot hunt a deer.’” ....... How could the Maoists have achieved their current military and political strength without the genuine support and participation of thousands who believe in the goals of the revolution and on this basis are willing to go into battle and risk their lives? ........ video, photographs, and reports of massive Maoist rallies in the countryside ..... During the 2003 negotiations 30,000 people attended a Maoist rally in Kathmandu ...... the RNA has engaged in battles where they faced thousands of guerrilla fighters .... RNA soldiers and police captured by the Maoists have told reporters that while they had to listen to propaganda and were asked to join the revolution, they were not harmed. They were warned that if they were captured again, they would be severely punished, but they were given money and food so that they could go back to their village instead of returning to the RNA....... The vast majority of the 12,000 killed since the start of the war have been civilians murdered by the Royal Army, along with suspected revolutionaries also tortured and murdered...... Moriarty says, “It’s not Islamic fundamentalism, obviously. but it is a very fervent brand of Maoism that could cause great trouble in this area. They’ve said they’re going to invade the United States. I’m not too worried about that, but you ignore what they say at your own peril. You can’t pooh-pooh the Maoists and the threat that they represent.” ...... this little lie is part of a bigger lie—that the Maoists in Nepal are terrorists, so backing the regime in Nepal is part of the “war on terror.” ...... liberal Harper’s ...... we come to the conclusion: one side should be crushed—the Maoists......
- RCCC asked to take action against Giri, Bista NepalNews “Is it fair that Dr Giri take Rs 960,000 and Bista take Rs 1 million through a Cabinet decision?” Dahal asked
- Building peace amid violent conflict in Nepal by Kamala Sarup NepalNews ..... it’s time to invite the Maoists for peace talks ..... The Maoists' struggle may even spill over to Bhutan. .... The effects of the on-going violent conflict in Nepal have been enormous both in terms of economic loss and human suffering.
- Maoist raid in Bihar has Nepal stamp on it Newindpress, India "They could be wary of the fallout, perhaps why they don't want to admit to such an operation'' ..... Told to raise his hands, he was shot in the palms..... The attack on Madhuban was the first of its kind, attacking multiple targets in broad daylight. Usually, Naxals attack one target, that too under the cover of darkness.... Their planning had military precision, they started the offensive at 1.15 pm and ended it at 1.25 pm.... Bands of 20-25, many of them women, attacked each target while other groups cordoned off the town..... The Maoists were carrying wireless sets through which they were receiving orders from Mainuddin, their zonal commander who was killed in the encounter that followed.... "When our house was being attacked, one person stood outside the gate. When a pistol got jammed, a back-up team provided a new one. Some were ready with stretchers to carry away the wounded, others were only operating walkie-talkies''.... signs of increasing cooperation between Maoists on both sides
