Today’s protests saw infiltration of vigilantes while NC leader Girija Prasad Koirala and UML General Secretary Madhav Nepal have announced that they will attend a mass meet on Tuesday that will circle the Ring Road and make an announcement of capturing the inner parts of Kathmandu.
No Entry Sign: Today’s strike witnessed incidents of loot in few places as well as vigilantes’s inflitrations. Pic by Bikas Karki
Evening Updates by Saroj and Deepak
Peaceful procession of around 10 thousand from Jorpati, Kapan and Mahankal arrived in Chabahil at 2 pm. Meanwhile, three vigilantes (one was Kiran Bista) tried to disrupt the peaceful protests. They hurled stones at the security personnel. The protesters immediately found out that they were not one of them. These vigilantes were beaten by protesters. They confessed that Inspector Pratap Gurung had sent them.
In another similar incident in Chabahil today, three vigilantes entered the mass and showed sword. They entered the house of Nhuchheman Manandhar when protesters tried to catch them. Protesters pelted stones at the house. But, he Human Right monitors and media persons prevented the house from further damage. The vigilantes told the protesters that they were sent by minister Nichhe Shamsher Rana.
Apart from these incidents, the protest in Chabahil largely remained peaceful. The protesters were 2 hundred meters away from curfew area. But, as the vicinity got tense, they moved 1 hundred meters back.
In Teaching Hospital, injured protesters, mainly from Gongabu clash, are undergoing treatment. Meanwhile RPP leader Pashupati Shamsher Rana paid visit to them. He condemned state ruthlessnes. Few protesters are eyes are injured resulting in their blindness.
Today, Lalitpur district saw massive protests. Mangal Bazar, Satdobato, Lubhu were the places of protests. similarly, in Kalanki, Shankhamul massive rallies were held and police fired rubber bullets and tear gas shell at the protesters.
Afternoon Updates
Koteshor is agitated today. Ruthless band of policemen opened fire at protesters that rendered many injured. Helicopter was involved in ariel patrolling. Security forces fired numerous shells of tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters. At least three protesters are seriously injured. A UN vehicle has taken them to hospital. The protesters have converged again and started chanting anti-king slogans. Few of them have embarked towards inner parts of Koteshor.
Samakhushi Chowk, 2:00
Protesters are participating in peaceful protest. They are staging sit-in in the road and chanting slogans. Most of them have arrived from Gongabu.
United We Blog 
Comments
158 responses to “General Strike Day XVIII”
Worthy of a careful reading from Reuters
ANALYSIS – Maoists an invisible hand in Nepal struggle
Yeah, UWB much smaller crowds than yesterday though, huh? Don’t expect too much from the people. The people have done their job. Many have died. They are humans too and 18 days of general strikes and curfews have taken it’s toll. You should tell your parent company Kantipur to tell the SPA to take the offer of executive power from Gyane before this nasty character gets other ideas. A lot can be done once executive powers are with the SPA you know including elections to the CA.
Every single post I make is getting moderated.
I think UWB is getting angry with me because I refuse to go for the instant nirvana/instant republic chant that’s in fashion right now. It isn’t a football match you know…millions of lives are at stake.
Revolution? Do you know how many lives revolutions have claimed and the untold misery it subjects the people who get caught up in it?
Get real guys, I am for complete democracy too. It doesn’t have to come at such a high cost.
I half expected the likes of Deuba licking their chops and trying to
garner support for the premiership as soon as the mahabani came out
saying he was the rightful candidate.That would have been fatal…and we
would be back to the 3 way tug-o-war again between king, party and maos
with people caught in the middle. The bait is set but the fish are not
biting…..
Instead , it seems they have gotten wiser ( maybe some contemplation
during the jailed days) and didn’t rush things realizing that a new PM
is like cheap wine disguised in an old bottle and getting appointed
without parliamentary support would be a mistake.
instead they are now asking pertinent questions about the lapses in
the royal statement viz- seems the PM is again being ‘appointed’, what
about the parliament thing( remember it?) and the rebels participation?
and dare we ask… what about the army and the role of supreme
commander? Why did you forget to mention these things? Seems he is hoping for a
replay of the vicious cycle of greedy politicians and people who are
fed up…
What WAS surprising was the way our southern neighbour and the US
jumping the gun …. you can’t help but feel that it is their prescription
that came out as the mahabani and they want us to swallow it whether we
like it or not.Well , that will not give us a lasting solution.
If the king thinks he is popular among the massses, he should have
the courage to face the peoples mandate regarding his future role.If the
people really like him, this exercise will go a long way in helping him
and his descendents.He seems to be having a hangover of popularity
after his well orchestrated padyatras in the countryside. I think people
will be willing to give him the benefit of a 2/3 majortiy thing instead
of the 50-50 thing. If less than a 3rd of the people want him ,then its
time to pack the …well..helicoper for some banana republic or some
private isle in the Carribbean.
The talk abouth the ‘Shah bansh ko den’ doesn’t seem to be washing
well with people who can think and ask some questions rather than take
things at face value.
We had King PN Shah ‘uniting’ the country( maybe the forefathers of
the Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur and elsewhere believed differntly
-history belongs to the victors remember).But yes, the foundation for
a country was laid…
After PN Shah, we did not have any other Shah worth mentioning and
the excuse was because of ‘Rana sashan’. King Tribhuwan was brought back
by the grace of the Nepali people, King Birendra was respected only
after relinquishing his power … so maybe its time to take the litmus
test….and let people decide – we also read about how Drabya Shah tricked
everyone and ran only half the race and still got to be king of Ligligkot. Let
this king run at least a third of the ballot race!!
A total power back to the people.
That is what is needed now.
No more revoution,common sense.
RNA first (resposible for the most killings)
Maoist second (responsoble for the second most victims)
Politics (responosible for large poverty through corruption)
King, he goes (or bit ceremonial)
Put the way open to effective democracy without any autocracy.
Try it again, how extremely difficult it is.
well said kirat.. yes the numbers are dwindling down … ppl are not robots too..the security men get fed and taken care of by the state at the end of the day but where do these ppl go when the sun goes down ?
uh oh, if what Kantipur is reporting is correct my fears are coming true. They said that the protesters are ransacking a private house near Chabahil because four/five vigilantes went into the house. I don’t know what they mean by vigilantes but it seems like a real mob now instead of protesters. Protests and counter protests now? We are just playing into evil Gyane’s hands.
Where are you SPA leaders? Time to take control you idiots.
If people are reducing in the AAndolan, then, what we are supposed to do?
Shall we submit Before Gyane? saying maharaj ko Jaya hos!!!!!!!!!!
Kirat,
Do you not think there is any danger that the King’s offer is a trap? He would retain control of the army and power to dismiss the same prime minister that he appoints. The first danger is he could be banking on the SPA squabbling and not being able to decide on a candidate, thereby making them lose legitimacy so he could claim that only he could unite the country. The second danger is that they do decide on a prime minister, and he tries to go for a constituent assembly with all the agreed upon trappings, i.e. the RNA and Maoists agree to put down weapons under UN supervision etc, and the King decides this is not on and so dismisses the prime minister and reassumes executive power.
In either case, the King would be taking advantage of the fact that this move would take away the momentum of the movement, probably the King’s next move wouldn’t come for a couple of months, during the monsoon, when no one is going to come out in hundreds of thousands to oppose him. And moreover, by getting the SPA to play his game, he would rob them of the legitimacy they would need to oppose his move a 2nd time around.
It seems to me he is attempting to play a chess game. It is possible this is not the case, but if it is the case, then it would almost certainly work in his favour if the SPA gave in. Rather than seeing a constituent assembly, you would see the wind taken out of the sails of the political parties, and a further intensification of the war.
If the King honestly wanted to give up power to the SPA, he would have done it by now, unconditionally. He obviously does not. And while you are right that revolutions involve bloodshed, it is also true that the alternative involves bloodshed. It is a question of which will be worse. With a strong possibility that the King will take advantage of his position to cripple the SPA if they take the bait, the Maoists in particular could feel backed into a corner and forced to intensify the war. In any case it would go on for much longer, whereas they have committed themselves to pretty much ending the war if the King is taken out of power. So while a revolution involves bloodshed, it also has the potential to save thousands of lives.
Weeks of violent protests against Nepal’s King Gyanendra are headed in name by a seven-party alliance, but the invisible hand of Maoist guerrillas, who control over a third of the countryside, is dominating the campaign.
Analysts said the reason the parties rejected the king’s offer on Friday to set up a government was the fear of alienating the hundreds of thousands who have staged violent anti-monarchy protests for over two weeks. And many of those appear to be Maoist supporters.
“The king’s move meets one important aspect – the end of autocratic rule,” said Yubaraj Ghimire, editor of the local Samay weekly. “Why are the parties not accepting? I think they are a bit scared of the crowd because they are not in direct communication with the crowd.”
The parties have said the king has not addressed many of their demands – setting up a constituent assembly to frame a new constitution which will curb the monarch’s powers and deciding how to bring the Maoists into the mainstream.
But analysts say the parties don’t need the king for any of this, they could do it all once they were in power.
“They are not mustering the courage to say we will reinstate parliament, hold talks with the Maoists and announce formation of a constituent assembly,” said Ghimire.
Nepal’s two main political parties — the Nepali Congress and the Communist Party of Nepal (UML) — shared power between 1990 and 2002. But their years in office were marked by internal squabbles and rising corruption – and the increasing influence of the Marxists.
“My real concern is that the successor government may end up being dominated by the Maoists,” U.S. Ambassador James Moriarty said last week.
“The Maoists would under the current situation swing a lot of weight because they have the weapons and the parties do not.”
The Maoist insurgency began in 1996 and over 13,000 people have been killed. The guerrillas control large swathes of the countryside, have their own local government in places and are even building a 90-km (60-mile) road through the mountains.
They collect taxes and run collective piggeries and fisheries.
Gyanendra sacked the party-based government in 2002 and assumed full power last year, vowing to crush the Maoists. His moves only brought the rebels and Nepal’s opposition closer.
The insurgents now have a loose alliance with the seven parties and have said they will not conduct any armed operations in the Kathmandu valley to allow the anti-monarchy campaign to remain peaceful.
BOOST THE MOVEMENT
But they appear to have sent their supporters in to boost the movement. Local residents say many of those on the street have come from the countryside and they are the most aggressive of the protesters.
“Indications are the Maoists may not have sent armed cadres here, but have encouraged people to come in large numbers,” said Ghimire.
Giant neighbour India, which is a battling a Maoist insurgency of its own, has been extremely worried about the guerrillas’ growing influence.
New Delhi exerted pressure on King Gyanendra to offer the parties executive power, and is now using its influence with the alliance to accept. So too are the European Union and the United States.
Ghimire, the editor, said he expected the parties to form a government within the next few days. “You will have a fully empowered government with a sense of direction and purpose.”
But Ambassador Moriarty said: “The end-game has gotten very tricky.
“For the parties it’s going to be, how do they manage the Maoist part of the equation? Can they come up with a formula which brings them closer to the political mainstream without risking the political mainstream?
“I do think that a new democratic government will have a better shot at it because they do have international support, and it will have genuine democracy.”
m,
Look I don’t trust the king either. But with the Nepali public against him the international community looking at Nepal with a microscope his hands are tied. Once the UN is here to disarm the Maoists and supervise the RNA the king is helpless. The RNA and Maoists without guns are no threat. What can the king do once this is done? Can’t you understand that?
m fond of revolutions aren’t you. It’s nice to read about them in text books. And if you read my alternative I don’t see how it can lead to a bloodshed like a revolution.
m,
It’s all well and good, all this conspiracy. But do not forget Gyanenbdra has come out in front of the entire world and promised a return of power to the people. I dont thiunk he is bluffing this time. However, if the SPA dont make a move to lead the government and fast, it wont be the King who will make a move but the army, with or without the King.
UWB,
It seems you did not like my comments on endorsing fascists so all of my comments go for moderation. I demand non censorship as long as I do not use foul language. You fight for non censorship and you practice it yourself. Please learn the meaning of freedom of speech before you attempt to practice it yourselves.
Kirat,
I agree if it got to the point there were UN troops in Nepal then the King would have his hands tied. What I am saying is I am not certain he would allow this to happen. It isn’t something that would happen instantaneously and it is not clear to me, if his intentions are so pure, why he did not give up power more unequivocally.
No Kirat, I am not fond of revolutions. I am not fond of wars either. But some revolutions need to be fought, just as some wars need to be fought. It is sometimes a question of the least bad alternative.
Kirat says,
“and supervise the RNA the king is helpless”………who said UN supervise the Army ? and for what?
Did king agree for that? Is it for CA’s election? Again, did king agree? Do u think that when seven parties go to make government now, Maoist will be ready to disarm itself? For what? why did maoist fight these all the years? First to give king chance to make a coup and after that handover the power to the seven Parties?
did Deuba disarm the Maoist when he was appointed PM? No
No NO No………..
Kirat What is ur point? Can u further elaborate?
It is totally true no. of people in andolan has decreased drastically.
There used to be some people from valley too but now after yesterdays event. which happened in ason, bhotahity and the neighbourhood people out here are already thinking.
Today at this area there is not even a police keeping their guard. More than curfew it looks like today is normal Nepal Bandh. Though there are few people walking down the streets than in Bandh but this is not curfew. Govt has realised people are not coming out from this CORE NEIGHBOURHOOD. So, they have left this place alone.
I’ve just went out side and had a nice walk from indrachowkt to bhotahity.
Hey 1whocandie,
If the SPA have executive powers they can request the UN to come in. It will meet opposition from India and Gyane-so what? It will be good for Nepal. It has been done in Lebanon, Burkina Faso and recently in Indonesia (I can’t say the name of the island that just broke free though it’s at the tip of my tongue!). Once the international observers are there with a Peace Keeping Force the Maoist’s and RNA’s military threat will be neutralized. So will Gyane as the executive powers will be with the SPA interim government. Then they can call the Maoists for talks, elections to the CA-whatever the people want.
1whocandie4u :
why did maoist fight is something that nobody knows and nobody will…. i doubt even if god has any idea what this terror or fight is for….
communist and their honey talks and ability to make people dream….. do u know it is easy for a virus to get u when u are an unhealthy person …exactly the same way these maoists are virus and they caught up with the backward people.
1whocandie, my reply to you will be out of moderation soon. UWB doesn’t believe in free speech.
by back ward people i mean .. the pople of Rolpa… it is one place that has never been cared by any government from the very olden days…..the people there have always been denied with the privilge and even the basic things that we the pople from other parts have enjoyed….
kirat,
what makes you think the King (and army) will allow elections to a CA? you seem to take this as an automatic, that if the parties accepted the PM offer they could easily get a CA.
if that was on the table, the King would have offered it rather than face what he is facing.
this has been the key point all along, particularly highlighted by the Maoists, and it’s never been possible. the King won’t allow it. the international players will work strongly against elections to CA that involved the Maoists. taking the PM offer sends us back to 2002 at best, meaning continued war.
Replytoall
We have to go to the solution at this stage and maoist who has majority control in rolpa and rukum say that they want CA. Seven party say that they want CA.Majority of people say that they want CA. Then it looks that CA is appropriate solution. that means there is no point to go in Government excepting getting guarantee from king that he will follow the verdict of CA. Otherwise, there is no alternative except strikes and mass protests. or u think there are any solution?
UWB, there are a lot of complaints of moderation. Freedom of speech is of paramount interests of people .Plz give much attention on this Aspect.
Places where UN has intervened (and gosh!) worked (that I can think of):-
1. Lebanon
2. Burkina Faso (Africa)
3. Ethiopa-Eritea
4. East Timor
I think it would work here too. No more power plays and deceit from India, Gyane, Maoists and the SPA.
one idea,
if you want to know my answer please read my earlier posts especially on the SPA taking the executive power and calling the UN in.
Short of a security council resolution, which is not going to happen (it would require a major humanitarian crisis), the UN has to be invited if it is to intervene. The bottom line is there has to be a government in Nepal which is willing to invite the UN to send troops and observers, and has to have the authority and the willpower to disarm the RNA voluntarily–the UN does not do this by force, rather it acts as an impartial mediator, observer, and enforcer of agreements.
The problem seems to me that under the current constitution, the SPA would have on authority to disarm the RNA–only the King would be able to do it. Moreover the King would still be able to dismiss the prime minister again claiming that inviting the UN would be a threat to national security etc. I have tried to find your earlier posts Kirat but I haven’t found them so I’m sorry if I am just repeating old arguments and you have a solution to this.
Hye guys,
dont fck your heads with all this crap.
No matter how you say it, its the same.
Now we all know what SPA wants- Constitutional assembly.
So lets do it more peacefully so that no one get his head blown off by kg and spill all that crap on the street.
I wish the SPA takes the kg’s offer and do what ever they want(after all,all they want is to fck this country)
m, if you bothered to read my previous post I said the SPA must INVITE the UN as soon as they form a government.
You said the UN would would act as an enforcer of agreements yourself-how they do it doesn’t bother me.
UN intervention is still an offer which I believe has not expired. Dr. Kul Chandra Gautam (Assistant Secretary General) has always said that the U.N. are willing anytime. India clearly did not want this, but this was before. Today, I think it should be our call.
Kirat,
The UN respects the current governing constitution. If the government withdraws the invitation, the UN cannot stay. Under the current constitution, the King has the power to dismiss the SPA prime minister and withdraw the invitation. Furthermore even if he doesn’t do this, because he is the only legal authority over the RNA, only he can agree or not agree to disarm the RNA. If he does not agree, there is absolutely nothing the SPA can do about it in such a scenario.
On the topic of UN intervention, the maoists themselves were ready for it. I wonder if they still stick to their word. If they are serious about resolving the situation they should, if they think this as an uppper hand and want to play more politics and with peoples lives, then we know that not trusting them is not just a good guess but a deadly truth.
u guys must be nuts to invite UN army here..
i think u guys just blurt of anything u feel like without seein the history..heard of Yugoslavia ? now its a different state..BUT the UN is still present even thougth peace has prevailed and theres political stability…
BOTTOM LINE: no foreign troop would go back that easily once it comes..the yugoslavia mission was supposed to be of 2 yrs maximum..but seems like UN wants to have its presense in the balkan states..so they dont feel like gng back..
same can be repeated here…at least the US would want to have a neutral force in the buffer state btwn china and india…and your face saving UN..would never go out of this country Kirat..even if u want to
Savagery on the Roof of the World
Brian Cobb, M.D.
The carnage being inflicted by Nepal’s armed police on unarmed protestors, which I have witnessed firsthand, to enforce a curfew imposed only to silence the people’s voice by a lawless and unconstitutional government horrifies the civilized world. Ministerial allegations of Maoist infiltration are not credible, since no police have been shot or bombed. However, state agents provocatuers have been found in the crowds by the UN Human Rights team.
At this point the only acceptable solution is the dissolution of the government and trial of all of those responsible, from constable to monarch, for murder, attempted murder, torture, aggravated battery and other felonies. No proposal conniving at such atrocities, such as the king’s belated offer to create an all-party government, is acceptable. The demands of hundreds of thousands of Nepalese citizens of all walks of life, demonstrated by their defiance of curfews and brutality, must be acknowledged. They loathe and fear their cruel, arrogant and extravagant monarch and want him gone; they want a constituent assembly, a new and truly democratic constitution, and an end to tyranny, treachery, trauma and trickery.
With each leap deeper into the moral abyss this regime proves its critics right, its supporters wrong, and itself abhorrent. Its obstruction of peace negotiations and military excesses were bad enough, but it has now passed the point of no return. I share with my friends in Nepal both their anguish and their hope that peace, justice and democracy will prevail.
I formerly taught medicine in Nepal and was there earlier this month, caring for injured protestors and police and attempting to calm both sides. I and my team were beaten by the very police we had treated kindly and abducted at gunpoint, denied consular or legal assistance, and freed only because of the fortuitous appearance of a courageous UN Human Rights team. We saw horrifying police brutality: unarmed people shot in the back at point blank range with live ammunition, children shot, women defenestrated, eyes gouged out, thousands of people savagely beaten with bamboo canes–mostly on the head and back–and indiscriminate use of tear gas. In the past two weeks, at least 15 people have been murdered in cold blood and hundreds shot. Because many bodies have been carted away by the police, the total is unknown but surely higher.
The regime has restricted the activities of the media, ambulance squads, medical personnel and human rights staffers. It leads the world in disappearances, summary executions, torture and other horrific acts committed with complete impunity. The Maoist rebels, guilty of war crimes themselves, are suing for peace and have agreed to multiparty democracy and free market economics. The parties have a loose accord with the rebels which calls on them to abandon violence. Without royal intransigence, the decade long , militarily unwinnable conflict could be resolved through negotiation.
The US’s pro-royalist stance is perhaps slowly changing, but it must realize that the king’s excesses fuel the Maoist movement, making backing him counterproductive. We are squandering our political capital and credibility trying to prop up a regime no one wants, just as we did in Iran in 1979. Better to go with the elected government which enjoys broader public support. Calls for reconciliation of “democratic” or “constitutional” forces are fatuous; the bloody royal puppet show is neither, and everyone in Nepal knows it. The western nations’ ringing endorsement of the royal trojan horse, a twist on Richard II, reveals that their real aim is to appear democratic while supporting autocracy. It looks like the Nepali people will have to go this one on their own.
The legitimate, elected parliament must be reinstated, in exile if necessary, and arrangements made to replace vicious, corrupt police and army commanders with UN or retired British Gurkha officers to prevent anarchy and a Maoist or army coup d’etat when the regime falls. Foreign aid and arms, even if detoured through Pakistan, must be denied this odious regime; continued support makes accomplices of donor nations. This move would complement the tax strike recently declared by many professional societies. The UN Security Council should consider sanctions and the US should cease blocking resolutions condemning abuses.
The extremely poor, gentle, warm and charming people of Nepal deserve life, liberty and pursuit of happiness no less than we do. We Americans must honor, by deed rather than by word alone, our committment to democracy and human rights.
m, you just keep on arguing mate. I am tired already.
st, that is why I want the UN here. The Maoists, the King, the RNA (who make a lot of money on UN jobs)the SPA and most importantly India will have little room to come with their usual dirty tricks. This will enable us to frame a new constitution without undue influence from any one side.
soulsearching-you idiot. Go join one of those American militias who are preparing for a UN invasion of the US.
m,
Let us have your solution to the problem, step by step. Stop the philosophising and give us your method.
i maybe an idiot but are turning out to an even bigger idiot than me kirat
Soulsearching: The situation Yugoslavia is different. There was a NATO (not UN) bombing campaign after which the UN was sent in to try to help rebuild Kosovo, which did not have a functioning government. The troops that are there now are mainly European troops not under UN command and UNMIK’s mandate is mainly reconstruction. Unfortunately if they left now they would be leaving Kosovo in a very dangerous position. Nepal on the other hand is not a country that is on its way to having no functioning government to take the reins. The SPA and the Maoists have categorically stated they only want the UN in Nepal in order to supervise constituent assembly elections and temporary or long-term partial demobilisation of armed groups. This is a clear cut and short term mission, nothing like the state-building and reconstruction required of UNMIK.
Kirat – I am not arguing for the sake of arguing. I was only trying to clarify your position. I still do not see how what you are proposing is a solution. But you are certainly not obliged to argue with me.
Oh well, back to Das Kapital …
m, glad you have a sense of humour!
soulsearching-sorry for that outburst.
st,
I do not have a recipe for success, but my intuition is that the King showed with his statement that he does not want to give up power, but that he is bowing under pressure. In other words it was a sign of weakness and a sign that the movement is working. I do not think it would have to go on much longer to get him to agree to a constituent assembly. He does not have to abdicate from a ceremonial position, just agree to allow the SPA to run the show and have a constituent assembly, and most importantly to have control over the RNA during this period. Without authority over the RNA, the SPA cannot hope to have the authority to run the constituent assembly. If he cannot give over control of the RNA, then he must announce a ceasefire.
With that done, the SPA and the Maoists can implement their 12 point agreement. That means getting UN peacekeepers and observers into Nepal, decoupling the police from the RNA, demobilising the RNA and the PLA, and negotiating an agreement to hold a fair and representative constituent assembly election. Then there must be a period of several months probably in which a national debate can be held on the contents of the new constitution, before elections to the assembly are held so that the process is open and participatory, not just representative. A new constitution can then be written, elections held and a government formed, which then on the basis of all this negotiation should have a clear roadmap for integrating/demobilising PLA and RNA fighters.
What happens to the King should depend on the outcome of the constituent assembly election.
m,
if UN decides to respect SPA’s request and intervene, it has to be done with security council’s decision and no one in earth can ask them to go back except the security council…not even gyane or Maoist as they are all parties in the conflict
m, finally something I can more or less agree on (and you know why)!
hey guys from ktm, what is latest there?
The media and the world in general has paid little notice. Nepal is not rich in oil or uranium, and doesn’t export much. The only thing at stake here is the freedom and future of its 23 million citizens.
You all seem to forget one part of the equation. all the talk of SPA, King,what about the Maoists? as ambassador moriarty so rightly pointed out, the maoists have the guns. and it will either be the army or the ones with the guns (and the politcal parties are not the ones with guns) who take power if the present government falls…it will be anarchy with no government…this is no “quick fix”…protests go on, king goes into exile, then what??? No one is thinking of the horrific aftermath of this governtment failure scenario, as much as many of us may hate King G right now
shadow, that is why we are clamouring for a UN intervention here. To take care of the potential for betryal by both the Maoists and Gyane and his RNA.
m,
Your solution is very nicely put. However, you have made one assumption that I had mentioned earlier in my comments. The assumption being that the King has a right to announce elections to the constituent assembly, he can agree to it, but it is really the people who should vote on it – not the King, not the SPA and definitely not the maoists. You are already jumping the gun when you say go for contstituent assembly elections – should not the people of this country vote on it in a referendum first. They should have had a referendum for the 1990 constitution in the first place, but they did’nt hence we are where we are. The same mistake should not be repeated twice as I am sure you agree. I like your idea of debatng on it, but this debate should be on the need for the assembly as opposed to an amended constitution to begin with.
As for the 12 point agreement, let the people know what is in it first and if we the people want it, same goes for the necessity of the monarchy.
It is a must to go to the people first and not just in rhetoric but it is also foolish to assume that we exist without the influence of powerful neighbours, north and south of the Himalayas. Albeit it will be wise to consult with them also as there are implications for their terretorial security.
The use of the UN is a good idea in monitoring arms and any elections, but I think the first step would be for the SPA to bite the bullet and form a government taking back the authority they have claimed that was snatched from them and for which we the people have had to suffer most. The RNA will come under the control of the security council headed by the PM. As for giving authority to run the RNA by the KIng to the SPA leadership, well they have show their leadership first then not only the RNA but the entire nation will follow them.
just read in ekantipur that one central committe member of Maoist (affiliate to baburam’s ideology) has told a mass meeeting in Bara that they will be willing to weight other alternative for a ‘contituent Asembly)
“I can not believe this is true. In the name of the King people are being killed. ” my 95 year old mother – who has visited Nepal 4 years ago.
st,
An election to a constituent assembly can itself be a referendum for whether people want to keep the old constitution or not. After all, candidates to the assembly can simply say that their platform is to keep the 1990 constitution. It is not necessary to have a separate referendum.
The problem for me (and this is where I disagree with Kirat) is that I don’t think that the King’s current offer as it stands gives enough authority to the SPA to carry through this process. The SPA need to be able to say to the Maoists that they have the authority to put the RNA under UN supervision. Under the current constitution, even in the 1990s, the parties did not hold full government, but shared it with the King in that the King had control over the RNA. For this process to move forward, it is absolutely necessary that the SPA have the authority to put the RNA under UN supervision, to decouple the Unified Command (otherwise there can be no effective police force without military meddling), and to act outside the 1990 constitution.
I am suggesting simply that the current offer is not enough, and that it runs the risk of being a trap which the King could use to climb back into power and stop the constituent assembly happening. If the movement continues even for a few more days and keeps up the pressure on the King, then perhaps it can be made clear to him that the people will settle for nothing less than a referendum on his rule. This referendum is the same as the constituent assembly. I agree with you that he does not have the authority to proclaim a constituent assembly; but he does have the authority to hold such an assembly hostage. He must be made to give up this authority before the way can be cleared for a new constitutional process.
One more thing–this is not about the respect commanded by the SPA or the Maoists. I would sincerely hope that in the debate preceding the constituent assembly, people from all sections of society would articulate their desires for the political system rather than being led by the SPA. The point is that under the current circumstances, the two political forces that are instrumental in starting that process are the SPA and the Maoists. They need assurances that the 3rd force, i.e. the RNA, is going to allow this to happen. After the process is over, the political landscape may look quite different–hopefully it will be a lot more democratic. But the ball has to get rolling somehow. That is why the RNA has to be handed over or put in ceasefire–not because the SPA deserve it, but because it is a precondition for the process.
yeah cristel-on both sides remember.