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Nepal
News April 23rd
Daytime curfew in Kathmandu on Sunday as well
The government imposed an 11-hour long curfew from 9:00 this
morning in Kathmandu as the pro-democracy activists continued
their protest against the royal proclamation ...
Over 200 injured in Kathmandu; protests continue nationwide
More than 200 pro-democracy activists protesting against
Friday’s royal address and defying the curfew orders were
wounded when security forces opened fire at them and ...
Rights groups, civil society call for immediate release of
prisoners of conscience
Some thirty leading rights groups and civil society
organisations have demanded immediate release of all political
prisoners, including party leaders and human rights ...
General strike hits the financial sector hard
(Nepalnews Feature)
The call by the seven-party alliance (SPA) to the
countrymen not to pay taxes and duties to the royal government
and Nepalis working abroad not to send remittances back home
...
Seven parties reject royal proclamation, vow to continue
agitation (news update)
In their first reaction to the royal proclamation, the
seven party alliance (SPA) has rejected the royal call to form
a new government and has insisted on the reinstatement of
the...
Mobile phones go down
Mobile phone connections in the capital have gone down since
Saturday afternoon.
UN, US, EU and Canada welcome royal proclamation
Though pro-democracy activists across the country continue to
take out rallies denouncing Friday’s royal proclamation,
international community have taken King Gyanendra’s...
Kathmandu remains tense, police open fire at several places to
control crowd
Latest reports say tens of thousands of demonstrators
are marching through inner parts of the capital, Kathmandu—a
restricted zone—Saturday afternoon chanting slogans ....
Seven party meeting kicks off
The much-awaited meeting of the Seven Party Alliance (SPA) has
kicked off at the residence of former premier and Nepali
Congress president, GP Koirala, at Maharajgunj Saturday...
Daytime curfew in Kathmandu
The government imposed an 8-hour long curfew from 12:00
this afternoon in Kathmandu as angry protests snowballed in
the capital against Friday’s royal address.
UML leaders Khanal, Gautam released
Two central level leaders of UML, Bamdev Gautam and Jhalanath
Khanal, who were arrested on Friday at Tribhuwan International
Airport released on Saturday morning.
Nepal Maoist and seven political parties 12 points agreements
In September 2005, the Maoist guerrillas announced a
three-month unilateral ceasefire. This was the first time that
a ceasefire has been declared without any negotiations with
the government. The Royalist coup in February exposed the
illegitimacy of the entire political set-up in Nepal. It seems
that the ceasefire was a hint aimed at the “democratic”
parties that an alliance was possible. The events that have
unfolded since the ceasefire demonstrate that.
Talks and contacts between the seven parties and the
Maoists and also between the Nepalese groups and their Indian
allies show that there is a clear willingness to get to some
agreement to remove the king and call for a Constituent
Assembly before the elections in February.
Months of
“peace”
Already in September the Maoists left it clear that they
wanted a deal with those they once used to call traitors and
enemies. Prachanda, the leader of the Maoist movement,
declared that through the ceasefire he wanted, “To create an
environment at both the national and international level for a
forward-looking political way out, to inspire the seven
political parties to come in cooperation by clarifying their
immediate slogan, to reinforce the movement of civil society,
to increase political intervention upon the old state and to
consolidate [the] party's relation with the broad masses by
honouring their sentiments and aspirations etc., are the main
motivating reasons behind the declaration of cease-fire”
(People’s March, September 6).
Basically the Maoist leadership are sticking to the old
Stalinist theory of the two stages: first a democratic
Republic (and at this stage they only talk about a Constituent
Assembly) and tomorrow, some time in the future, the socialist
transformation. According to their thinking, the international
context is not ripe for a “People’s Republic, so they are
happy with a nice little democracy in the form of a
Parliamentary Republic”, or something along those lines.
The problem with this is that in Nepal there is no scope
for developing a stable democratic regime. The history of the
whole of the twentieth century shows that. The Nepalese ruling
elite is extremely corrupt and bound hands and feet to
imperialism. They are incapable of meeting the democratic
aspirations of the masses.
In spite of this, the Maoist leaders believe that a new
regime will help to develop the country and overcome the
semi-feudal conditions that some of the provinces are
submerged in. In fact, this is more or less what the Maoists
have done in the territories they control: abolition of the
caste system, the building of basic infrastructures run by the
community (roads, schools, basic surgeries, etc). They have
reached a point where their “liberated” areas need to connect
and work with the urban areas. They can do this in either of
two ways: lead a socialist revolution in the urban areas or
attempt to come back into “legality” on a bourgeois basis. It
seems clear which of these two options they see as the most
likely.
On their part the CPN-UML (Communist Party Unified Marxist
Leninist) have been mobilizing their forces against the king,
forming an alliance with the Nepali Congress and strengthening
their links with the Indian Communist Parties and the Indian
government. All this is only a recipe for disaster. In fact
India has withdrawn its support for the king and has more or
less openly helped to establish an alliance between the seven
parties and the Maoists. Ironically the only reliable ally of
the king at this moment is China, but this support is also
very shaky. China’s only concern is to maintain stability, so
if a joint government of the illegal parties can guarantee
this, China can easily swap sides. The Chinese pro-capitalist
bureaucracy has in fact been immersed in
realpolitik for
decades.
The talks between the Maoists, the CPN-UML and other forces
held in India, ended with a 12-point resolution to oust the
King and establish a democratic regime. In mid November the
Maoists were repeating the same line they had put forward
three months earlier. Prachanda said: “We are fully committed
to bring the armed conflict to an end and establish permanent
peace after ending the autocratic monarchy” (quoted in The
Guardian, November 24).
In a desperate attempt to cling to power, the King
announced local elections for February 2006 and Parliamentary
elections for 2007, but these seem to be very far away and the
isolation of the regime continues. If the monarchy loses all
its allies (i.e. China) which is a concrete possibility if
the Western imperialists and India manage to keep the Maoist
guerrillas in check and the seven party Alliance is led by the
pro-capitalist Nepali Congress then the King cannot last
much longer. All this indicates that Nepal is heading towards
a pact where the Maoists are going to be brought into the
fold. They will be called on to guarantee this process.
This “democratic alliance” in agreement with the Maoists is
politely asking the UN to help out. But it is also
collaborating not only with the Indian government the
godfather of the whole affair but also with American and
European imperialism. The US have not been too enthusiastic
about accepting the Maoist guerrillas as part of the deal, but
they have little option now as the King seems to be on his way
out. In fact the latest on the diplomatic front has been a
clear indication to the seven party alliance that is the road
that should now be taken. On Tuesday the ambassadors of the
United States and Britain to Nepal said their respective
countries are likely to back any Nepali political
parties-guerrillas understanding to bring the guerrillas into
the political mainstream, if the latter surrender their
weapons. (Nepalnews.com, November 22).
The King is a maverick who has no sense of reality after
killing his own family to get into power and he has thrown the
entire country into disarray. The ruling elite in Nepal (or at
least a section of it) has realised that this crazy element is
incapable of stopping the guerrillas. Therefore they are using
a much cleverer tactic. They are trying to use their political
parties (the Nepali Congress and all its splinter groups, that
do not represent anyone but have a voice in the seven party
Alliance) to get the Maoists to adopt a more “moderate” stance
and join the already moderate CPN-UML. In fact as the declared
period of the ceasefire drew to a close and the seven parties
agreed the 12 points to establish a new regime, and as the
international situation has become more difficult for the
King, the guerrillas have announced that the ceasefire is to
be extended until early 2006.
The King is under a lot of pressure, but the masses in
Nepal see the spectacle of their beloved leader busy solving
the problems of the country by spending huge wealth on his own
personal enjoyment. They can read in the news items such as
the following statement by a political analyst: “The king is
today on safari taking one of two of the country's jets with
him. The trip has cost impoverished Nepal $2.5m [£1.5m]. This
sort of thing cannot be overlooked... Before the politicians
could only offer people democracy, now they can offer them
peace as well. This could spell the end for the king.” (The
Guardian, November 24) This reflects the sheer madness of a
man on his way out.
The real
meaning of the pact
On November 22 the CPN (Maoists) announced that they had
entered into an alliance with the democratic forces for the
“establishment of total democracy by abolishing the autocratic
monarchy” (Nepalnews.com, November 22). The Maoist statement
says: "The country is in need of a positive solution to the
armed conflict and permanent peace. We [Maoists] are fully
committed to bring the armed conflict to an end and establish
permanent peace after ending the autocratic monarchy and hold
elections to the Constituent Assembly as a process of
establishing total democracy”.
The problems are found when one reads the small print. The
Maoist guerrillas some commentators reckon they are around
10,000 fighters are going to be under the control of the new
Nepalese Army, that is to be placed under a UN mandate. The
Maoists have thus made a 180-degree turn from their classical
“surround-the-cities” line to an agreement with the
imperialists of the world. A mandate rubber stamped by the
Security Council of the UN may be to the satisfaction of the
imperialist powers. It may be acceptable to both the Maoist
and bourgeois elements within the country. But what does all
this hold for the poor masses, many of whom have struggled for
years? The masses will see no real improvement in their lives.
Throughout these talks and deals one important elements was
missing, the voice of the masses. The Maoist leaders should
know better. But this is the road they have chosen to go down.
In their thinking, if they can achieve the overthrow of the
regime in a bloodless coup, in alliance with the bourgeois
parties and the CPN-UML, who in turn are seeking the support
in the Indian imperialists, what need do they have of a mass
movement of the poor peasants in alliance with the urban?
The Maoists seem to have abandoned their “traditional”
demands for a Democratic People’s Republic and seem to be
content with establishing a Constituent Assembly. For Marxists
the forms of government are important but they cannot become a
fetish. The monarchy has a strong tradition in Nepal, but if
the king continues to pose a threat to the very survival of
the system, a section of the ruling elite could easily move
over to the idea of a Republic, and they would do this under
the banner of the Constituent Assembly. Thus the demands of
the Maoists as they stand now could end up playing into the
hands of the Nepalese ruling class.
Again, Maoist
realpolitik means that removal of the monarchy
becomes an end in itself, no matter who you ally with. This is
a very risky policy indeed. What the Maoist leaders do not
understand is that one cannot use the peasantry and the urban
working class as if they were a tap, which can be turned on
and off according to their own political aims. A genuine
Marxist leadership would evaluate whether the mood among the
masses was ripe for an uprising. They would lead the workers
in the cities by declaring a general strike and they would
combine this with the guerrilla forces to take power. They
would explain the need to break with the bourgeois elements.
Unfortunately Prachanda and his comrades are doing exactly
the opposite. After having built up a powerful force in the
countryside they now seem prepared to bow to the wishes of the
ruling elite, abandon their previous positions and fuse their
forces into some form of “democratic” bourgeois regime. This
will do nothing to solve the problems of the masses. They risk
dismantling all that has been achieved in these years of
struggle. This has nothing to do with the policies of
Bolshevism.
The next period will show which way the process will
finally go, whether some kind of compromise can hold, or
whether the intolerable living conditions of the masses will
push them beyond the present stance of the Maoist leadership.
December 2005
King Announcement of Democracy
King
calls on SPA to recommend name for Prime Minister
Kantipur Report
KATHMANDU, April 21 - King Gyanendra has called the
seven-party alliance to recommend the name of a consensus
Prime Minister at the earliest. Addressing the nation this
evening, the king said he has handed executive powers to the
people as per Article 35 of the Constitution of the Kingdom
of Nepal 1990. In the royal address, the King also said that
the current government under his chairmanship would be in
place until the formation of the next government headed by
the SPA-recommended Prime Minister.
Full text of the Royal Proclamation
(Unofficial Translation) Proclamation to the Nation from His
Majesty King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev
7(21 April 2006)
Beloved Countrymen,
You are all aware that, given the situation prevailing in
the country then, we were compelled to take the decision of
1 February 2005 to set in motion a meaningful exercise in
multiparty democracy by activating all elected bodies,
ensuring peace and security and a corruption-free good
governance through the collective wisdom, understanding and
the united efforts of all the Nepalese. By supporting our
decision, the Nepalese people made amply clear their desire
for peace and democracy and the civil servants demonstrated
sincerity towards their duties. We are appreciative of
this. We also have high regard for the dutifulness, valour
and discipline displayed by the security personnel,
upholding their glorious traditions.
By visiting different parts of the country, we made
honest endeavors to acquaint ourselves with the hopes and
aspirations of our people, mitigate their hardships and
boost their morale. We also called on the political parties
to enter into a dialogue in the interest of the nation and
people afflicted by violence and terrorism. However, this
did not materialize. The ideals of democracy can be realized
only through the active participation of political parties.
In keeping with the traditions of the Shah Dynasty to reign
in accordance with the popular will in the greater interest
of the nation and people and our unflinching commitment
towards Constitutional Monarchy and multiparty democracy,
we, through this Proclamation, affirm that the Executive
Power of the Kingdom of Nepal, which was in our safekeeping,
shall, from this day, be returned to the people and be
exercised in accordance with Article 35 of the Constitution
of the Kingdom of Nepal - 1990. As the source of Sovereign
Authority is inherent in the people, harmony and
understanding must be preserved in the interest of the
nation and people in an environment of peace and security.
While safeguarding multiparty democracy, the nation must be
taken ahead along the road of peace and prosperity by
bringing into the democratic mainstream those who have
deviated from the constitutional path. Similarly, a
meaningful exercise in democracy must be ensured with the
activation of representative bodies through elections as
soon as possible. We, therefore, call upon the Seven Party
Alliance to recommend a name, for the post of Prime
Minister, at the earliest for the constitution of the
Council of Ministers which will bear the responsibility of
governing the country in accordance with the Constitution of
the Kingdom of Nepal - 1990. The present Council of
Ministers will continue to function until the appointment of
the Prime Minister. May Lord Pashupatinath bless us all!
Jaya Nepal! |
