Democracy For Nepal

Saturday, February 03, 2007

Girija Has Proven To Be A Cruel Joke Upon Nepal

Granted Girija Koirala has dedicated decades of his life to the cause of democracy in Nepal, granted he was in jail for a decade for the same, but that very democratic process asks for a frank discussion of his persona as reflected in the post-1990 period.

After the king's coup, the seven parties looked upon Girija to provide leadership, and that is great. But that also asks for a frank discussion on his role before and after.

The failures of the post-1990 period are abject. Corruption, nepotism, Bahunbaad, social exclusion of the DaMaJaMa. Girija Koirala is also the original author of the concept of a military solution to the Maoist insurgency. He is also one of the last people to come around to the idea of a constituent assembly. He has been more a follower than leader. Granted he is a sound navigator of the political chessboard of the democratic parties, and his own party, granted he seems to have a strong hold over his own party, but he has seldom been the leader on any issue of the recent past in the sense he lead and others followed. Often he has been the last to come around to the idea that ended up carrying the day.

And all this has come to bear on the Madhesi Movement.

Girija Koirala is a Pahadi. He is a Bahun. He is conservative. He is a status quoist. He has joined the ranks of those who intend to vilify and demonize the Madhesi Movement.

He is getting more people killed than the king did during the April Revolution measured on a daily basis. He is utterly dismissive of the Madhesi Movement that is but the second chapter of the April Revolution itself.

He has no option other than to go back on TV and address the nation to honor the basic demands of the Madhesi Movement. He has to stop pretending as if he does not know what those demands are. His people have to stop pretending.

This movement will now grow to include the Janajatis. They also want federalism and proportional representation, and they want it now. This is a social justice revolution. And I would like to know now who is instigating the Janajatis? Is it the Buddhist supremacists? What do the Bahuns have to say? (Madhesi Movement Invites The Dalit, The Janajati, The Mahila)

Girija Koirala's intentions are ill. What drives this man to block social progress with all his might? It must be his being wedded to Bahunbaad. Bahunbaad is the major evil force in Nepali society and politics. And it has to be defeated nevertheless. Bahunbaad is costing more lives per day in the Madhesi Movement than did feudalism during the April Revolution.

There is a need for a strong Madhesi-Janajati coalition to smash Bahunbaad to the ground. That is what this movement is about.

Compromise: Add 45 Constituencies To The Terai
Nonviolent Madhesi Movement For Equality Or Violent Ethnic Riot
King's 3 Years, Girija's 3 Years: Not Happening
Sukhdev Shah: Terai’s Fate—Looking Within!
Pahadi Bias Colors Global Media
Butchers, Stop The Killing, You Will Get Tried
Action Plan: 5 + 5
Gyane In April: 3 Speeches, Girija In Magh: How Many?
सत्ताधारी सात पहाडी पार्टीको घैंटोमा अझै घाम लागेको छैन
सरिता गिरी: अशान्त मधेस, नया नेपाल
Hamro Nepal Press Release: Only A Political Outlet To The Madhesi Movement
The Ball Is In Girija's Court: A Response To Pramod Kantha
Gagan Thapa On The Terai
ANTA Press Release: Stop The State Terror

In The News

Maoists ‘suspiciously’ bury body Kantipur
Melamchi scaled down by US$ 114m
Water pipe to PM residence sewage-polluted
EC discusses draft of CA court
Govt sets up talks team to address Terai unrest
Local authority in Bihar issues prohibitory orders, travel advisory at Nepal border area
Once parties reach consensus on poll system, election act will come in a trice: EC Uprety
Third day of strike cripples life in north-eastern districts Various organisations of indigenous nationalities Friday took to the streets in Dharan, on the third day of the eastern region strike announced by the Sanghiya Loktantrik Rastriya Manch (SLRM) which has been demanding right to self-decision, self governance and autonomy for the people of the so-called "Limbuwan" region encompassing the northeastern districts. ..... Over two dozen ethnic associations including Khumbuwan Swayatta Rajya Parishad, Tharuwan Swayatta Rajya Parishad, Swayatta Yakkha Rajyaparishad, Tamangshaling, among others participated in the rally led by the Limbuwan Swayatta Sarokar Manch. ...... stating that federal governance is the need of the hour in the nation, various other eastern ethnic associations in solidarity with the forum, have also demanded amendments in the Interim Constitution and implementation of proportional electoral system. ....... On the final day of the three day long strike called by the forum, the protesters led the rally through various city centres which later converted into a mass gathering. .... protests would continue until their demands were addressed. ....... hardest-hit districts include Ilam, Dhankuta, Dharan Taplejung, Jhapa, Paachthar, Sankhuwasabha, which the protestors have been calling the ‘Limbuwan regions’. ...... Vehicular movement has been brought to a standstill in the Mechi and Koshi highways while educational institutions, industries and marketplaces in the region remained shut.
Terai sees no respite, curfew continues in four districts
Over 300,000 acquire citizenship certificates a total of 3,00,828 people in 69 districts ..... The government had estimated that some three million people would be provided citizenship cards within two months. ..... Locals in Bariyapatti VDC of Siraha district held a mobile team captive for one night, accusing the latter of not providing citizenship cards. The team members were forced to sign citizenship cards without adhering to due procedure. The team fled the village the next day. ..... a report from Bara, locals in Parsoun village on Wednesday kept a mobile citizenship team in captivity for over three hours. The team members were accused of not providing cards to all who approached them. ....... the mobile teams have not been able to expedite the process of citizenship distribution in various terai districts including Bara, Parsa, Dhanusha, Siraha, Saptari and Mahottari.
Thakur to head govt talks team
OHCHR calls for urgent dialogue
Fuel shortage worsens in Valley Consumers in the Kathmandu Valley have started to feel the heat of terai unrest, as shortage of household and vehicular fuel has deepened. ....... failure to replenish stocks due to the ongoing Terai unrest has compelled NOC to sharply cut down supply. ...... over one dozen gas companies supplying cooking gas in the Valley have shut down their refilling plants. ....... only half the number of three-wheelers and micro-buses operating with gas plied on the streets. ...... about 60 tankers transporting some 1,000 tons of gas for almost all the companies have remained stranded at Raxaul for over a week ....... “The supply made today is mere one-third of the effective demand” ....... most of the dealers operated with 'no petrol' signs at their dispensing pumps, long queues of vehicles were visible in some two dozen petrol refilling stations that received supply from NOC. ....... NOC issued 132,000 liters of diesel and 24,000 liters of kerosene in the Valley. The regular consumption of diesel and kerosene is 240,000 liters and 300,000 liters respectively.
PM's statement insufficient: Prachanda
Local youths shoot dead Maoist cadre in Makwanpur
तर्राईमा तनाव कायम
वार्ता समिति तय सरकारले आन्दोलनरत मधेसी, आदिवासी- जनजातिलगायतका समुदायस“ग शान्तिपर्ूण्ा संवाद गरी समाधान निकाल्न कांग्रेस केन्द्रीय सदस्य एवं कृषिमन्त्री महन्थ ठाकुरको संयोजकत्वमा टोली गठन गर्ने भएको छ । ..... तर्राईका सांसदहरूको बिहीबार राजधानीमा बसेको बैठकले प्रधानमन्त्रीको सम्बोधनले मधेसी समुदाय र आफूहरूले ज्ञापनपत्र मार्फ राखेका माग पूरा नगरेको निष्कर्षनिकालेको छ । ....... बैठकमा २० सांसद सहभागी थिए । ...... एक साताअघि तर्राईका ५३ सांसदले प्रधानमन्त्रीलाई दिएको ज्ञापनपत्रमा संघीय शासन प्रणाली, जनसंख्याका आधारमा निर्वाचन क्षेत्रको निर्धारण र राज्यका सबै अंगमा मधेसी समुदायको प्रतिनिधित्व गराउन आग्रह गरिएको थियो । ... 'टोलीमा मधेसी होइन जिम्मेवार पहाडीया मन्त्री राख्नर्ुपर्छ । उसले मात्र वार्तामा भएका सहमति मन्त्रिपरिषद्मा राख्न सक्छ' आनन्दीदेवीका महासचिव राजेन्द्र महतोले भने । उनले टोलीमा मधेसी मन्त्री राखिएमा उसले सहमति कार्यान्वयन गर्न मन्त्रिपरिषद्मा राख्न नसक्ने र राखेमा उसमाथि मधेसीसित मिलेको आरोप लाग्न सक्ने दाबी गरे । मधेसी नेताहरू तर्राईमा कांग्रेस, एमाले र कांग्रेस -प्रजातान्त्रिक) का नेता र सांसद आआफ्ना निर्वाचन क्षेत्र गएर सक्रिय हुन थालेका छन् । ..... धनुषामा कांग्रेसका सहमहामन्त्री डा. रामवरण यादव, कांग्रेस-प्रजातान्त्रिक) का महामन्त्री विमलेन्द्र निधि र रामचन्द्र झा पार्टर्ीीार्यकर्ता र र्सवसाधारण जनतासित भेटघाटमा व्यस्त छन् । कांग्रेसका अर्का सांसद रामचन्द्र तिवारी आफ्नो जिल्ला महोत्तरी पुगेका छन् । ...... १५ प्रतिशत भूभाग ओगट्ने कर्ण्ााली अञ्चल ..... यादवले तर्राईमा आन्दोलनमा अराजकता फैलाउन दरबारिया र भारतीय जनता पार्टर्ीी आरएसएको घुसपैठ रहेको दाबी गरे ।
पर्ूर्वी पहाड पनि बन्द
ँप्रधानमन्त्रीको सम्बोधन अपर्ूण्ा’
समानुपातिक निर्विकल्प’
क्याथे प्यासिफिक नेपाल आउने
प्रधानमन्त्रीको पहिलो पुस्तक राजा ज्ञानेन्द्रबाट प्रतिगमन सुरु भएदेखि गत कात्तिकमा बृहत् शान्ति सम्झौता गर्दासम्मका चारवर्ष अवधिका उनका २५ सम्बोधन र अन्तर्वार्ता समेटिएको पुस्तक सहयोगी शीतल कोइरालाले संकलन र देवेन्द्र ढुंगानाले अनुवाद गरेका हुन् । ..... उनले मुख्य रूपमा आफ्ना चार विश्वास प्रकट गरिरहे ः प्रतिनिधिसभाको पुनःस्थापना, शाही शासनप्रतिको अस्वीकारोक्ति, माओवादी शासनप्रतिको अस्वीकारोक्ति र तिनको मूल प्रवाहीकरण ।
सद्भावना अलग्गिने
आन्दोलन स्वस्फर्ुत’
दलितको विद्यालयले स्वीकृति पाएन
बीपी राजमार्ग अवरुद्ध
गठबन्धनको चरित्र
राष्ट्रका नाममा मेरो सम्बोधन
था“तीरहेका मधेसी समस्या
मधेस आन्दोलनले सिकाएका पाठ
विरोधाभाषपर्ूण्ा माग संघीय राज्यव्यवस्था, समानुपातिक निर्वाचन प्रणाली र जनसंख्याको आधारमा निर्वाचन क्षेत्र निर्धारणको माग गर्दै तर्राईमा दिनहु“ पर््रदर्शन र सभा भैरहेछन् । प्रारम्भमा आन्दोलन जुनसुकै उद्देश्यबाट जेजसरी सञ्चालन भए पनि पछिल्ला दिनमा यसको र्समर्थनमा व्यापकता आएको छ । यस प्रकारका नागरिक सहकार्यले राष्ट्रिय अखण्डता मजबुत पार्न मद्दत गर्छ । ...... जसै ती माग बलपर्ूवक हिंसात्मक ढंगले मधेसी समुदायले उठायो, सरकार त्यसप्रति नतमस्तक भयो । विधिसम्मत ढंगले उठाइने जायज मागलाई कहिल्यै सम्बोधन नगर्ने तर हिंसा र सशस्त्र बलको आडमा उठाइने त्यही माग तत्काल सम्बोधन गर्न उत्सुक हुने सरकारको यो शैलीले कम्तीमा दुइटा नकारात्मक सन्देश स्थापित गरेको छ । एउटा, बूढी मरी भन्दा पनि काल पल्क्यो भन्ने नेपाली उखानलाई चरितार्थ बनाएको छ र अर्को तिमी जस्तोसुकै हिंसा गर त्यसको अनुमोदन राज्यले गर्नेछ भन्ने सन्देश दिएको छ ।

Nepal names team for talks with ethnic protesters Peninsula On-line, Qatar
Nepal ethnic leader demands autonomous state Reuters India
Curfews imposed after 14 killed in Nepal violence Belfast Telegraph, UK
Four Nepal towns under curfew in restive southeast Zee News, India
NEPAL: Medicine and food shortages in Terai PeaceJournalism.com
Bihar asks residents not to visit Nepal Times of India, India The state government has advised the Bihar's residents not to visit trouble-torn Nepal till normalcy is restored there. .... The DMs and the SPs of the bordering districts in the state have already been requesting people through pamphlets not to cross the border. ... the state government has sent a detailed status report about the situation in the state to Union home and external affairs ministries regarding the violence in the Terai region.
10000 Nepali move to north India due to violence at home People's Daily Online About 10,000 Nepali citizens of Indian origin have crossed the border into north Indian state Bihar due to continuous violence at home, said an Indian government official here Friday. ....... The police in all the districts bordering Nepal have been asked to step up vigil and stop Indians from entering Nepal, said Abay Anand, the Additional Director General of Police of Bihar.
Nepal's Madhesi community want better representation in Parliament DailyIndia.com, FL
Nepal: Time for Talks as Violence Continues OhmyNews International It was in April of last year when the Nepalese took to the streets, defying curfew orders in Kathmandu to bring an end to the totalitarian rule of King Gyanendra. The smoke of the uprising hasn't disappeared yet, nor has the blood of the people been washed away. About two dozen people lost their lives in the mass movement, many are still undergoing treatment. But the people's sacrifices have gone to waste. The Nepalese should not have put their trust in these politicians who have only given, if anything, poverty, bloodshed and rank discrimination and inequality. As if the nineteen days of April Uprising and two dozen lives were not enough to build a "New Nepal," another 15 Nepalese have lost their lives in the last 14 days of the Madhesi Uprising. ......... at least five people died while scores of protesters were injured in a clash between police and protesters on Thursday. ...... Baton-charging policemen, reportedly killed at least five and injured about 50 protestors. ..... The protests and demonstrations are going on in every part of Terai -- the Madhesi Uprising has already engulfed the country. ...... "We raised the demands of federal government set-up and proportional electoral system in the country, so we support the Madhesi people's demands. We have been obliged to launch another peaceful Andolan (movement) to support their Andolan," Prachanda said. ...... PM Koirala should be blamed for asking the Madhesis to wait till the Constituent Assembly is constituted to get their rightful claims over state power. Whereas he himself did not have to wait to appoint his daughter, cousins and henchmen in the legislature, diplomatic services and political positions. ....... Maoists have also said that they don't have any objections if the government holds talks with MPRF or JTMM.
Amnesty, HRW concerned over Nepal rights violation Daily Times Amnesty International said on Thursday it was “gravely concerned” by the outbreak of violence in Nepal’s southern plains and urged Kathmandu to punish security forces if they are found guilty of rights violations. ..... The 72-page report from Human Rights Watch Asia also says the former rebels were continuing to recruit children to their ranks, albeit in smaller numbers.
Six Nepal ministers poisoned at PM’s house The News - International, Pakistan Six Nepali ministers are suffering from jaundice believed to have been caught from contaminated water at the prime minister’s residence, Nepal’s health minister told AFP on Friday. ........ KP Oli (deputy prime minister and minister for foreign affairs) is quite seriously ill ...... One of the sick ministers, Hridayesh Tripathi, resigned on Monday over the government’s handling of recent unrest in the southeast of the country. An additional 12 staff from Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala’s residence have also contracted the liver disease which yellows the skin ....... Nepal’s 85-year-old prime minister is already in fragile health but has not caught jaundice
Leader of Nepal's ex-communist rebels warns of 'peaceful revolt' International Herald Tribune objected to attempts by the government to divide voters into various classifications, saying there should be just one voters' list. ..... Prachanda said these facts proved that the government was intentionally delaying the formation of an interim government and the election.

Government says it is ready to amend constitution NepalNews "The government is willing to ensure the addition of electoral constituencies based on population and geography and adoption of federal system via Constituent Assembly by making necessary amendment in the interim constitution," Badu said. ...... the current number of electoral constituencies where elections will be held as per the existing First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) system will be increased to accommodate the increased population along with considering other factors like geography. "Similarly, the seats allocated for Proportional Representation-based election will also be increased in the same manner ..... the government will go for inclusion of all communities including Madhesi and indigenous in all organs of the state including army. ..... a three-member committee headed by Minister Mahantha Thakur was formed for the purpose of holding talks with agitating parties.
Situation in Birgunj still tense, curfew extended
Govt. forms high-level committee to resolve Terai issue
NSP-Anandidevi to boycott 8-party meetings
Strict security in Indian bordering regions

Indigenous communities take to streets demanding federal republic Even as agitation in Terai continued unabated, Nepal National Federation of Indigenous/Janajati community took to the streets of the capital demanding federal republic in the country. .... The demonstrators demanded immediate amendment in the interim constitution for the purpose. ...... a member of the Terai MPs' delegation Bijay Gachhadar, former minister and central leader of Nepali Congress (Democratic), said that they wanted the Prime Minister to issue fresh statement conceding to demands like PR electoral system ....... Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Pradeep Gyawali said that the government did not think that making population as the sole basis for delimitation of constituencies was appropriate as it could hurt the interests of remote and backward districts with less population. ...... The government has already formed a three-member team headed by minister Mahantha Thakur to initiate talks with agitators. The team has been authorised to formulate its own procedural rules and confer with the government and eight party leaders when deciding on important issues.

MPs from Terai suggest PM Koirala to amend interim constitution
Terai unrest continues; curfew in four districts
Terai agitation is spontaneous, say civil society leaders Even as the government and the Maoist leadership has pointed fingers at royalists and reactionaries for instigating Terai agitation and violence,leaders of civil society who recently completed a five-day field visit to the restive region revealed that the agitation there is largely spontaneous. ..... They claimed that Prime Minister's address will not be able to address the demand of the agitators. They said that in order to ensure representation of all at the Constituent Assembly (CA), the country must adopt the Proportional Representation system. ....... added that his team could not notice such infiltration directly. ..... due to continuous strike, people of Madhes were under heavy duress. He said that tension has risen due to absence of role by the political parties. ...... people from Madhes, indigenous community, and Dalit were engaged in movement to search for their access, ownership and identity at every level of the state

PM’s address not enough to fulfill Madhesi demands: Prachanda

Three killed, 31 injured in Inaruwa; indefinite curfew in place
Curfew in Birgunj; demonstrations continue in terai

Nepalese ethnic group sets terms for talks, curfew in 4 towns Daily Times, Pakistan four towns in Nepal were under day-time curfew Friday as the government set up a three-member talks team to try to end ethnic unrest that has killed 13 people. .... Curfews were in force in Janakpur, Birgunj, Inaruwa and Biratnagar
MPs from Terai suggest PM Koirala to amend interim constitution Nepalnews.com Lawmakers from the Terai region met with Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala in Baluwatar today, suggesting him to go for amendment in the interim constitution to constitutionally guarantee the federal structure and proportional electoral system. ..... CPN (UML) lawmaker Dr Bamsidhar Mishra, the delegation suggested Koirala for an amendment in the interim constitution to guarantee the rights of Madhesi people including federal system and proportional representation on the basis of population. ..... PM Koirala on his part said he was positive about the suggestions of the MPs and assured that "something concrete" would come out from the government side "by this evening" regarding the Madhesi demands. ...... included ministers Mahantha Thakur and Dharma Nath Shah, Bijay Gachhedar, Ram Janam Choudhary and Mahendra Yadav ........ At least 13 people including two policemen have died
Maintain law, order in Terai: AI Gorkhapatra, Nepal
Amnesty asks Nepal to probe Terai violence Hindu
Maoist-affiliated MRMM Aims to Lead Terai Movement Himalayan Times, Nepal Mahendra Paswan, vice-president of the Maoist-affiliated Madhesi Rastriya Mukti Morcha (MRMM) and member of legislative parliament, said on Friday that the MRMM had decided to take hold of the ongoing Terai movement so that genuine demands of Madhesi activists can be addressed. ....... He urged the government to meet demands of the Madhesis at the earliest. "The announcement of a federal system and proportional representation in the constitution can help bring the situation in the Terai under control," he said. Speaking at the programme, Amaresh Narayan Jha, president of the Maithali Samaj Mahasangh, said the ongoing movement could be taken as a struggle for identity of the Madhesis, the occupants of the Terai since Vedic times, in their own land. ....... "Apparently, it is still a non-issue for the state," he said. Deepak Gupta, a student leader affiliated to the ANNFSU, said, "The Madhesis are questioned as they go to acquire citizenship at the local bodies, whereas a native of Sikkim is never questioned as his looks are similar to that of a resident of the hilly region," he said.
Federal System Can Resolve Crisis: Speaker Subas Nembang on Friday said going for federalism was the only way out of the crisis facing the country. ..... the Interim Constitution of Nepal 2007 should be amended to meet demands of the Terai people.
NSP (A) to boycott meetings it will not participate in any meeting of the eight parties (including the Maoists), except for the meetings that have agendas related to the Madeshis. .... criticised Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala’s address to the nation on Wednesday as discriminatory and unscientific. ...... The party said it was compelled to opt for a movement since the eight-party coalition failed to address the Madhesis’ demands.
Indian origin people in Terai need not fear: Nepal Maoist leader India eNews.com, India Visiting Communist Party of Nepal (Maoists) politburo member C.P. Gujeral Friday dismissed the current communal trouble in the Terai region of his country as an attempt to disrupt the process of electing a constituent assembly at the behest of Nepal's monarchy and said that Indian origin people living there need not fear. ........ the Maoists want a federal system that will give the people complete political freedom. ..... Gujeral said: 'Our party is very keen on a new constitution to bring in a change in Nepal. Also, Girija Prasad Koirala (prime minister) is keen on a constitution because rumours are that he is a contender for the Nobel Prize.'
Nepal Maoists turn guns on Sangh Parivar Financial Express “We have got evidence that people close to RSS and VHP are involved in creating trouble in the region. The reports say that they were regularly attending meetings of RSS and VHP and crossing the border to create trouble.
Terai unrest result of exclusion: Rana Nepalnews.com, Nepal the result of exclusion of indigenous, Janajatis and Madhesi people. .... Rana said that the unrest will not be resolved before guaranteeing a federal structure of governance and proportional election system. ..... the Prime Minister’s message was incomplete and not serious towards the real demands of Madhesi people .... the problems would not have aggravated if the home administration had not started suppression without properly hearing the agitators' demands. ...... Party vice-chair Jog Mehar Shrestha and joint general secretary Khem Raj Pundit ..... the government had failed to address genuine demands raised by Madhesi people
RPP also wants amendments in interim constitution Nepalnews.com The RPP has demanded that amendments be made to introduce provisions on federal system, proportional representation-based electoral system and reservations to minorities and marginalised communities. ...... The party has asked for compensation to families of those killed in Terai agitation and to those whose properties have been destroyed. It has also asked for free treatment of injured persons.
Terai sees no respite, curfew continues in four districts Kantipur Online, Nepal Vehicular movement has been brought to a standstill in the eastern and mid Terai region while educational institutions, industries and marketplaces in the region remained shut, making daily life all more difficult. ...... The Madhesi People' Rights Forum began the agitation some three weeks ago demanding declaration of federal setup, proportional electoral system among others. Despite Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala's address to the nation on Wednesday, the agitation continued in the Terai region unabated. ...... At least three protesters were injured when police opened fire in Birgunj this afternoon. Similarly two were injured when police rained batons to disperse the protesters. Three injured have been flown in to the capital ...... Gagan Dev Sah, Bhuvan Prasad Patel and Nagina Prasad. ..... The protesters yesterday vandalized and torched more than a dozen government offices here. ...... torched the Birgunj warehouse of the Farming Equipment Office. ..... the protesters torched the main warehouse, which was used to store the fertilizers imported by the company. ..... National Federation of Photo Journalists-Birgunj informed that the Armed Police personnel beat up photo journalists Ram Sarraf, Nitesh Mathema and Kul Narayan Pradhan. ..... The local administration in Sunsari had clamped an indefinite curfew after the protesters stormed bank, shops and even private houses. ...... Malangawa, four protesters were injured ...... An unidentified group set ablaze equipment worth rupees millions stored at Department of Drinking Water in Malangawa. The group threw a petrol bomb near the water tank. The polythene pipes used for the drinking water supply have been destroyed in the fire and water supply system has been severely affected in the region. ........ supporters of Badri Prasad Mandal, a minister of the erstwhile Royal government, today beat up the locals and threatened to burn down their houses in Madare, Pokhariya, Shisauni, Baanchhigadh and Jahada in Biratnagar ...... the protesters looted houses, shops, government offices and banks. ..... the agitators have also looted and vandalized the house of Uma Tiwari, of Inaruwa-6. ..... protesters had also vandalized and looted the office of the Agriculture Development Bank housed in the same building in addition to looting and vandalized the shop of one Krishna Shrestha. ..... In Lahan, Siraha, protests have started since the morning. ........ Krishna Bahadur Yadav, a central member of the forum has blamed royalists and Maoists for yesterday’s incident in Sunsari. ...... imposed a 10-hour curfew in Janakpur and surrounding areas to contain the rapidly deteriorating situation there. ...... in Siraha market, protests have begun from early morning. ..... in Rajbiraj, Saptari various groups like the Kurmi, Teli and Yadav Society and various government officials have started protesting, claiming that the Prime Minister’s address did not in any way provide solutions to Madhesi problems.
Prachanda Supports Terai DemandsHimalayan Times

Visitors

2 February

23:08

Nepal (wlink.com.np)

2 February

23:10

Nepal (wlink.com.np)

2 February

23:20

Communications and communicate, Nepal

2 February

23:27

Subisu Cable Net Pvt. Ltd, Nepal

18 January 2007, Thursday	320
	19 January 2007, Friday	242
	20 January 2007, Saturday	32
	21 January 2007, Sunday	269
	22 January 2007, Monday	343
	23 January 2007, Tuesday	332
	24 January 2007, Wednesday	479
	25 January 2007, Thursday	667
	26 January 2007, Friday	553
	27 January 2007, Saturday	489
	28 January 2007, Sunday	524
	29 January 2007, Monday	783
	30 January 2007, Tuesday	572
	31 January 2007, Wednesday	701
	1 February 2007, Thursday	768
	2 February 2007, Friday	611

Friday, February 02, 2007

Compromise: Add 45 Constituencies To The Terai

In the name of flexibility without compromising on basic principle, I am throwing in a few straws.

What if the UML proposal were to be taken into consideration? The entire country would be one constituency. And there would be say 300 seats for the constituent assembly. All political parties would draw up a list of 300 candidates. So if a party gets 33% of the votes, the first 100 on its list would get in. Kind of like in Israel.

The good side is this looks proportional, and is. On the other hand, the political party leaders end up with too much power. The principle of direct elections is ditched. There will be a fundamental disconnect between the voters and those who will represent them.

The mixed system looks better. You get the best of both worlds. But for that having the 205 constituencies based on equal population is fundamental to the Madhesi movement. There can be no compromise on that. Right now only 80 of the 205 seats are in the Terai.

Now there is talk of increasing that number. If you add 25 other seats in the Terai, the Terai will have 105 out of 225. That is still not 50-50. If you were to add an additional 45 seats in the Terai, then it will have 125 out of 250 seats. That is closer to what is needed. That way you don't have to mess up with any of the Hill and Mountain constituencies.

On the other hand, you will have to reduce the number of seats in the other category, the proportional representation part. Have only 100 seats through indirect elections. Any political party that gathers at least 1% of the votes will qualify for it. And their vote percentage will be rounded off to the nearest number. So 1.2% will mean 1%. 2.7% will mean 3% and 3 seats. But parties that might get less than 1% may not gang up post election: their votes will go discounted.

And so you end up with a constituent assembly that is 345 strong. We don't want one that is too big. 345 is a good size.

If we can agree on this, federalism can be postponed for now.

The constituent assembly will be a body that will give Nepal a new constitution. But it will also function as a parliament. It will produce a majority government. It will pass bills and make laws. It will be a full fledged legislative body like any other. The executive it will produce will be a full fledged executive.

The constituent assembly will declare a republic on day one.

The constituent assembly could pass a bill on federalism within a month of taking shape. And it could go ahead and implement that. We could have elections to the federal states within six months of elections to the constituent assembly.

The constituent assembly could pass a new Citizenship Bill if that issue is not fully resolved before the constituent assembly.

The constituent assembly would have a three year term.

Stop Badmouthing The Madhesi Movement

If this is not a Madhesi Movement but rather a counter revolution by the royalists and the Hindu supremacists, why is the government inviting the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum for dialogue?

In The News

In the central and eastern tarai, rage, determination, and grief Nepali Times The highways and tatty streets of the eastern and central tarai are periodically overrun with demonstrators, almost entirely men and boys. By the time of our visit last weekend the demonstrations in Lahan itself had become ritualised and much of the violence had been sucked out of them. ..... “The pahadis say a madhesi can’t be prime minister,” bellows Krishna Bahadur Yadav of the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (MJF). “Well, I challenge them. They’ve run the country for 238 years. We’ll run it for 1,000 years.” ...... madhesis are treated as “stepsons” and that federal government is needed now. .... South of the central chok there are shards of glass scattered all around. Away to the right are burnt-out hulks of perhaps a dozen buses. Nearer, on the left, are massed armed police, ready in their riot gear and looking nervous. Crows and bicycle rickshaws provide the main sign of life in a town which is replaying its own version of last year’s April Uprising. ...... Nothing is moving on the highway, and there are not even vehicles parked by its sides. It is the realm of ox-carts, cycles, boys playing cricket, walkers. In our vehicle plastered with BBC stickers, we are an oddity. On our initial journey from Biratnagar there are many fallen trees across the road, and demonstrations with burning tyres. Villagers show us the detours. On our way back two days later there are considerably more barriers but fewer demonstrations. That, though, was before Tuesday’s flare-up in Biratnagar. ...... later that day at Mirchaiya, west of Lahan, the mood is darker. .... one person smashes our back windscreen to smithereens. The others apologise, but the mood is volatile. ...... Madhesis, with their very real political grievances ...... people of pahadi origin are now fleeing their tarai homes, being threatened in what seem like acts of revenge, having their doors and windows smashed, and journalists are having to quit their workplaces after death threats. ...... The responsible madhesi leaders clearly abhor such violence. But the madhes is burning, and people are scared.
Restive MJF “Nepal can be a Hindu state only if we are committed to Hindutva.” Those were the words spoken from the podium of a RSS Hindu extremist conference in Gorakhpur on 19 December by none other than Upendra Yadav of the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (MJF). In November 2006, Yadav took part in a meeting in Raxaul of the BJP’s fraternal organisation, Sima Jagaran Manch. The MJF was set up soon after the Gorakhpur meeting and included such personalities as Laxmanlal Karna of the royalist NSP as well as republican activists. There is now uneasiness about Yadav within the MJF. “We can’t deny that our Forum is slipping into regression,” says ex-general secretary and current member of MJF, Jaya Prakash Gupta. Royalists have lately become prominent in the MJF and are given to spouting radical rhetoric. Sources say the Indian Embassy is worried about India being dragged into the controversy, and diplomats admit privately that the BJP could be involved. The JTMM’s Goit faction is said to be supported by BJP’s Raj Kishore Singh, while Jwala Singh is being egged on by Pappu Yadav. The fact that Upendra Yadav’s appeal not to use violence is not being heeded seems to show the MJF is now out of the control of the leadership. Says madhesi activist Vijay Kanta Karma: “If the parties and civil society don’t take leadership, this movement will be hijacked by reactionaries and could disrupt communal harmony.”
Upendra Yadav Who is this man forcing the country to backtrack on the gains of People Power 2006? Sanghu has learnt that he is a flipflopper who has never stayed with any one cause and is probably a front for someone else. He was involved in politics since his student days in Sunsari, but showed instability and opportunistic traits. ..... He joined the Maoists and was in its district leadership. His erstwhile Maoist colleagues recall that he used to say madhesis shouldn’t sacrifice their lives for the ‘People’s War’, but should sacrifice pahadi lives. The Maoist headquarters now suspect that Yadav provided the information to Indian police which lead to the arrests of Matrika Yadav and Suresh Ale Magar in 2004. Yadav was also arrested but mysteriously freed. He didn’t survive for long in the Maoist movement. ....... In December 2006, he attended a conference of Indian Hindu extremists in Gorakhpur during which he publicly spoke about turning Nepal back into a Hindu nation. But barely a month later, he is now leading a movement for a secular, federal republic. Along with Yadav, the Forum consists of discredited individuals like Sitananda Rai, who was expelled from the UML, corrupt NC leader Jaya Prakash Gupta, royalist Ramchandra Rai, nominated member of the interim parliament Amaresh Kumar Singh, and pro-Indian leader Manoj Singh, the son ofRamraja Prasad Singh.
Graft and riots While Kamal Thapa has been arrested for inciting violence in the tarai, we understood that royalist Badri Prasad Mandal, royal chief secretary Lokman Singh Karki, and advisor to the king Satchit Shamshere Rana were also actively involved in stirring the violence in the tarai. ....... Karki is said to have used his sources at the Finance Ministry to raise the money needed to organise the riots. Karki apparently receives commissions on evaded custom’s duties for successful smuggling deals. He also gathers funds using the Ministry of Physical Planning and Works (via commission on contracts) and the Supreme Court (via revenue-related cases). ...... Our source tells us that those accused by the Rayamajhi Commission regularly meet in Kathmandu and have been planning their moves for a long time. They began by implementing them in Nepalganj and have since successfully and systematically moved in to other regions in the tarai.
Hour of reckoning Though he looked frail, his voice was steely and he seemed in no mood to listen. The signs of Koirala’s fabled inflexibility are portentous. ...... Elections to a constituent assembly became an agenda of compromise, but all signatories to the common minimum program continue to hold a grudge against a document they signed under difficult circumstances. ...... NC leaders are unhappy because leftists dominate the interim legislature.The UML is sore it couldn’t check the rise of the Maoists. Royalists are alarmed that the king has been sidelined. ...... all parties in the alliance want the interim constitution but none are willing to defend it. ..... Madhesi protestors were out on the streets in Siraha, the prime site of vote-bank politics in the eastern tarai. ...... strengthens the impression that no matter what the system, the state of Nepal is completely insensitive to the concerns of madhesis. ....... it gave madhesis an unambiguous message that their own prime minister showed a callous disregard for their feelings. ........ Koirala has been a consummate politician all his life. More than anyone else in government now, he knows the significance of gestures. It’s unlikely that he doesn’t know the consequences of his rigidity on madhesi political demands. ....... The stress of heading an embattled party, an embittered coalition, and a beleaguered government besieged by fierce transitional contestations must be overpowering. And he is grieving the loss of close relative and longtime party companion, Nona Koirala. But the task of being head of state as well as head of government is not for the obstinate or the feeble. ....... Ironically, Koirala is the most popular mainstream politician in the tarai—and the opposite in the hills, valleys, and mountains of Nepal.
GNU Looming catastrophes are always slightly better than erupting ones .... when riots engulfed the tarai—madhesis threatening to cleanse the lowlands of outsiders, declare independence, and form yet another impoverished, landlocked, resource-free country. The Great National Unraveling (GNU) is apparently underway. ........The gnu is an awkward beast of the African savannah, a composite of horse, buffalo, and antelope randomly joined in bits, not unlike the dubious nation state patched together by the Shah dynasty. ......
Cyber-tarai

Thursday, February 01, 2007

Nonviolent Madhesi Movement For Equality Or Violent Ethnic Riot

I have never believed in violent political methods, nor do I today in the heat of the Madhesi Movement. But I do preach nonviolent militancy. I do preach major street action. I do preach the concept of a continuous movement for something like a democracy movement, like in April 2006 in Nepal, or a civil rights movement, like the Madhesi Movement, the Maghe Kranti, going on now. You have a few basic demands, and you shut the country down until those demands are met.

I played a major role in pushing the concept of a continuous movement for the democracy movement in Nepal for 15 months, and all my efforts are well documented in the archives of my blog at Madhesi.net. What ended up happening was much bigger than what I had envisioned, what anyone had envisioned, but otherwise the political leaders now in power kept thinking in terms of a mass meeting here, a mass meeting there, a rally here, a rally there, a Nepal Band here, a Nepal Band there. The most they would go for would be a Band that lasted a few days. Even the April Revolution started with a four day Band.

I have compared the April Revolution to the physical universe. There was no center. It was a global effort, and the primary credit goes to all those who actually braved the streets.

I see this Madhesi Movement as the second chapter of the April Revolution. It has the look and the feel and the tempo of the April Revolution in all ways. To me the goal of this movement - total equality for the Madhesi - is as clear as was the goal of the April Revolution: democracy and human rights. The Janajatis also have been warming up. The Madhesh has been totally shut down like Nepal was shut down in April. Martyrs are being produced at the rate of one a day like in April. The king kept calling for dialogue, Girija is doing the same. The royalists back then warned of Maoist infiltration. Today the Pahadi Bahuns are warning of royalist and Hindu supremacist infiltration. Only this time around the global media has been very slow coming.

As a Madhesi, I have been waiting for this movement all my life. This movement has helped me ditch my proposed three state federalism - Koshi, Gandaki, Karnali - and go for a Madhesh state, a Kirat state, a Newa state, and the like. The contours of this movement have drawn the boundaries of the future Madhesh state. I have been blunt in terms of openly thinking in terms of a separate Madhesh country in response to the Pahadi Bahuns in power thinking aloud possibilities of sending in the military. But I hope that is just saber rattling on both parts, for I am someone wedded to the idea in the long term of a South Asian economic union. The global trend is integration and globalization, not disintegration.

Yes, there has been violence. But that violence has been one of state terror. Nonviolent Madhesi protestors have been killed. There is talk one policeman was killed, and that is wrong, but the Jwala Singh faction of the Janatantrik Terai Mukti Morcha (JTMM) has taken responsibility for that. The Madhesi Janadhikar Forum need not take responsibility for the JTMM any more than the Congress or the UML need take responsibility for the Maoists.

There have been some other acts of violence too. There have been retaliatory acts of arson in response to the Nepalgunj riots. And all that has been wrong and unnecessary. But then was the April Revolution neat and clean? Hardly. It is hard for a powerless people to get organized. That is why the Madhesi Movement has been so long in surfacing. Those who have been the reason for the Madhesi powerlessness are the ones who have been complaining the Madhesi Movement is not super well organized.

People like Upendra Yadav and Jay Prakash Gupta have been on my mailing list, the largest Nepali mailing list in the world, forever. I was on the phone with Rajendra Mahato and Anil Jha recently. Recently I sent out a private webpage of close to a hundred Madhesi leaders in Nepal of nearly that many organizations to the Madhesis in America for phone banking purposes to express moral support. I have had Madhesis in London and Toronto chat with me online. We ended up launching Madhesi International.

The basic demands have to be met. That is what will get the people off the streets. There is no other way now, there was no other way in April.

Democracy is one person, one vote. Anything else is hypocricy. And so all 205 constituencies have to be of equal population. Half of Nepal lives in the Terai, so 103 of the 205 constituencies have to be in the Terai. That is the most fundamental demand. Without that the constituent assembly elections will not be allowed to take place since such elections will be farcical like the king's municipality elections.

Federalism has to be given now. Girija asking for three years to give federalism is no different from the king asking for three years to give democracy. We already have a map, the Maoist map. The Madhesi like it, the Janajati like it, let's go for it.

Denial of citizenship papers is violation of human rights that the Pahadi human rights organizations don't talk about, the Pahadi media does not much write about. 10 years ago a Congress government put the number at 42 lakh. Today Krishna Sitaula wants to cap it at 33 lakh. That is not going to fly. All those who were six years old 10 years ago in a country where 40% of the people are less than 14 years old must have become eligible. I am guessing the number at 60 lakh.

And Krishna Sitaula has to resign. All those killed by his police have to be declared martyrs by the state. That would be the starting point of a political resolution, or a Madhesh Band is as good as a Nepal Band and it will continue indefinitely.

This Madhesi Movement has been issue based and has invited the Janajati and the Dalit in. There is plenty of room for progressive Bahun Chhetri men also in this movement.

The Madhesi Movement is like the civil rights movement in America in the 1960s. The success of that movement did not make the whites less well off. It was good for all. Similarly DaMaJaMa equality in Nepal will not diminish the Bahun Chhetri men. Spreading democracy and social justice is kind of like creating wealth. You grow the pie. It is not a zero sum game. Many whites marched with blacks in the US in the 1960s.

King's 3 Years, Girija's 3 Years: Not Happening
Sukhdev Shah: Terai’s Fate—Looking Within!
Pahadi Bias Colors Global Media
Butchers, Stop The Killing, You Will Get Tried
Action Plan: 5 + 5
Gyane In April: 3 Speeches, Girija In Magh: How Many?
सत्ताधारी सात पहाडी पार्टीको घैंटोमा अझै घाम लागेको छैन
Girija Koirala: Address To The Nation: Madhesi Movement Partial Victory
The Movement Will Not Stop, It Will Go To Step 2
Dragonfly Without A Wing Loses Hearing Capacity
सरिता गिरी: अशान्त मधेस, नया नेपाल
Hamro Nepal Press Release: Only A Political Outlet To The Madhesi Movement
माघे क्रान्ित, राजावादी र िहन्दु कट्टरपन्थीबारे
The Maoist Map Is A Pretty Good Map
Kamal Thapa Should Be Arrested, But Not For The Madhesi Movement
Madhesi Movement Invites The Dalit, The Janajati, The Mahila
The Ball Is In Girija's Court: A Response To Pramod Kantha
Gagan Thapa On The Terai

In The News

Awakening Ethnic Identity and Freedom NepalNews
The Interim Constitution; the Madhesi Turmoil
PM's statement hasn't addressed Madhesi people's demands: NSP-A "The statement (PM's) couldn’t totally address the demands of our party and the voice of Madhesi people," Rajendra Mahato, general secretary of the party told Kantipur Television after the party's central committee meeting. The party has been advocating the proportional electoral system and distribution of the election constituencies on the basis of population. Mahato also said that the Terai region should get half of the total election constituencies across the country. ...... Girija Prasad Koirala .. expressed commitment to opt for a federal system of governance and add more electoral constituencies to Terai and other districts in proportion to the growth in population.
PM's statement insufficient: Prachanda
3 protesters killed in Inaruwa
Terai agitation continues unabated; curfew in Biratnagar, Chanranigahpur The eastern and mid Terai region where life has been disrupted severely for the last two weeks owing to the ongoing protests, though showed signs of normalcy yesterday, could not retain it for long. ..... The four-hour relaxation in curfew order saw a huge number of people thronging the marketplaces to buy essential daily goods. ...... Demonstrators on Wednesday night torched UML's Tulsi Lal Memorial conference hall at Garuda. ..... Madhesi Rastriya Mukti Morcha, a CPN-Maoist affiliate, began demonstrations since morning labeling the prime minister's address and appeal a "dodge". ...... Lahan, the epicenter of the eastern Terai agitation, that has been seeing agitation and demonstration for the last 14 days in a row, has not been able to breathe again. ..... more than a dozen buses bound for Kakarvitta from Kathmandu have been stranded at Bardibas of Mahottari. The protesters obstructed vehicular movement at Dhalkebar, Dhanusa Wednesday night forcing more than 350 passengers traveling to eastern Nepal to remain stranded in the middle of the highway. ..... Jaleshwor, Mahottari too has not remained untouched with the ongoing demonstrations. The demonstrators padlocked more than a dozen government offices including District Election Commission's Office, Agriculture Development Bank, Rastriya Banijya Bank among others this morning...... Kalaiya of Bara also did not show any sign of improvement today. The marketplace, schools, offices and industries remained closed.
PM's address was not as per eight parties' agreement: Prachanda the Nepal Sadbhavna Party-Anandi Devi had already lodged a note of dissent before the PM made an address and the Nepal Majdoor Kisan Party did not even participate in the meeting.
Second day of strike cripples life in eastern hilly region
Protesters storm, torch govt offices in Birgunj; curfew clamped, lifted Around 10,000 protesters earlier today gathered at the local Ghantaghar and vandalized and torched the Land Revenue Office, Office of the Controller of Auditor, Forest Office and others while marching towards the customs office. .... The demonstrators also vandalized the vehicles parked around the customs office. ..... Earlier this morning, demonstrators vandalized the Transport Office and Nepal Oil Corporation.
Amnesty International urges enquiry into Terai killings
Capital sees shortage of petroleum products
Highway robbers loot property worth Rs 1.1m from passengers around Rs 11 hundred thousand worth of jewellery, money and other personal belongings from the 15 passengers of the vehicle.
PM's address not satisfactory: MPRF Yadav said that the peaceful protests in the Terai region would continue until the fundamental demands of the Madheshi people were met. ......senior party leaders including NSP chairperson Anandi Devi Yadav and other central committee members are present in the meeting ...... The leaders have not ruled out the possibility that NSP might decide to opt out of the seven party alliance at the end of today's meeting. ...... senior leftist leader Ram Raja Prasad Singh termed the PM's address to be "unfortunate" and called it to have been "full of ill intentions". Chairman of the Nepal Janabadi Morcha, Singh in a statement today, said that the government must exhibit its generosity by fulfilling the genuine demands put forward by the agitating parties.
Jwala Singh-led JTMM takes responsibility for attack on police post three missing police officers were in their custody and added that they were being held hostage according to the Geneva Convention. ..... The protesters brutally murdered Assistant Sub Inspector Naresh Jung Karki, who was leading a 13-member police team at Buddhanagar

Visitors

1 February