Monday, November 07, 2005

Gameplan


Date: Sun, 6 Nov 2005 22:03:26 -0800 (PST) From: "Paramendra Kumar Bhagat"
Subject: To: Madhav Nepal. Subject: A Proposal
To: "Madhav K Nepal" , "Madhav Nepal" , "Lila Mani Pokharel" , "Rajendra Mahto" , "Hridayesh Tripathy" , "Gagan Thapa" , "Krishna Pahadi" , "Dinesh Prasain" , "Sujata Koirala" , "Bimalendra Nidhi"
CC: "Puru Subedi" , "Anand Bist" , "Anil Shahi" , "Sanjaya Parajuli" , "Mridula Koirala" , "Ratan Jha" , "Lalit Jha" , "Tara Niraula"

Madhavji. Ahile tapain India tour ma hunu hunchha. I have been following the news. Aghi kehi ghanta agadi Krishna Pahadiji boleko sunna paiyo.

I have a proposal to make. I have tried to include as many of the seven party names as I could, but I don't have all the email addresses to be "fair." But this is a crisis, not a time for formalities. Bhoolchook maaf ho.

The proposal is this, and I myself would like to help coordinate.

(1) The seven parties hold a meeting and revise their agenda. Make it a three point agenda. (i) all party interim government, (ii) peace talks with the Maoists, and (iii) constituent assembly.

(2) All Nepali organizations in the US engage in major membership drives. Set up PayPal accounts on their websites so people can easily pour in money, also accept all other forms of payment. Say Alliance and the Youth Council, the two based out of New York City, life membership fee of $100. And all money thus raised is to go to the movement in Nepal. This is a once in a lifetime thing, maybe a once in three or four lifetimes thing. Like 1776 in the US, 1947 in India. The money will go to the seven party alliance as long as it will do (1) and formally elect a leader and an interim government in waiting. And as long it will keep all book-keeping transparent. By transparent I mean willing to put it online. If 10,000 Nepalis give $100 each, that is $1 million. If only 1,000 give, that is still $100,000. That might be more than enough.

(3) What to do with that money? One decisive street protest. Either take over Tundikhel or New Road, whichever might be available. It is very important there is not a single martyr in this movement. We neutralize the army: the propaganda work is already on the way. And we befriend the police. Avoid confrontations if possible. The bureaucracy is already with us. By take over Tundikhel/New Road, I mean, get at least a hundred thousand people to show up at once and not leave until the all party government has been formed: and hopefully thousands more will pour in and keep piling up. It might be two weeks, it might be a month.

(4) Capture it all on video, hundreds of hours of it, and put it all online for the world to see. This is key. We are getting people out to sway world opinion. http://video.google.com

I think it is high time we waged a decisive fight. The political paralysis can not continue forever.

Coordinator: Paramendra Bhagat
Treasurer: Mridula Koirala
Co-Coordinator: Puru Subedi (NAC)
Co-Coordinator: Sanjaya Parajuli
Co-Coordinator: Ratan Jha
Co-Coordinator: Anand Bist

In Nepal: The Seven Party Alliance, plus Civic Society Movement rep, plus youth rep.

Date: Sun, 6 Nov 2005 22:29:44 -0800 (PST)
From: "Paramendra Kumar Bhagat"
Subject: Step 2 of the proposal
To: "Madhav K Nepal"
, "Madhav Nepal" , "Mridula Koirala" , "Puru Subedi" , "Sanjaya Parajuli" , "Anand Bist" , "Ratan Jha"

Supreme Commander of the movement: Girija Koirala (owing to seniority .. but only if he lets go the House revival stance)
Also Prime Minister in waiting.
Deputy Prime Minister in waiting: Madhav Nepal.

In the US.

Each organization raises money separately. And sends money to a bank account in Kathmandu opened jointly by the seven party coalition. The money gets sent directly from the organization to that bank account. But all info at all stages will be shared with the Treasurer and also other members. And the Treasurer will make sure all book keeping stays transparent/online in as real time as possible.

The seven party coalition will have to propose "budgets" as to how the money will be spent, and so requests will have to made before money gets sent. So the seven party coalition makes formal requests and the committee in the US decides on whether or not to approve. In most cases, it should be an automatic yes.

I think we could start work right away on starting the $100 club. About a thousand people who will happily part with $100 for the cause. Should not be hard.


Date: Thu, 10 Nov 2005 13:06:23 +0530
From:"M. K. Nepal"
To:"Paramendra Kumar Bhagat"
Subject: Re: To: Madhav Nepal. Subject: A Proposal

ParamendraJi ,
Namaskar !!
I am still today in India -Delhi. It is my long tour to India almost 21 days. I hope it is a most successful visit this time. I have been able to meet with cross section of People in India--- P.M. ManMohan Singh,Defence,Home,Foreign Ministers, Former P.M.'s Bajpayee,I.K.Gujral,Chandrasekher, BJP Leaders Aadwani,Yaswant Singh,Susma Swaraj, Other Pol. Party Leaders- George Fernandes, Left-Surjeet,Prakash Karat,Bardhan,Sitaram Yechuri, Forward Block G.S.,R.S.P. Secretary, others also. I attended get togethers , Talk Prog. Meetings with Intellectuals,Diplomats,etc.
I would like to thank you very much for your concern as well the proposal to help Nepali Democratic movement . I will talk to others about your proposal. Thanks again for sending your fine proposal.
Thanks M.K.Nepal 1



To: gagan thapa , Madhav Nepal
Cc: Mridula Koirala , Puru Subedi , Sanjaya Parajuli , Anand Bist , Ratan Jha
Subject: Re: Hi (reply to Gaganji)

Gaganji. I just also got an email from Madhav Nepalji. I posted it promptly at: http://demrepubnepal.blogspot.com/2005/11/gameplan.html

(1) Take over New Road for 2-4 weeks 24/7. Launch time to be decided by seven parties.
(2) Hundreds of hours of video of street demonstrations online to be uploaded at http://video.google.com

Yo duita ka lagi tapain le agrasarata dekhaunu paryo. Paisa yata bata. Not that you guys can not raise money right there, but we want to feel like we are also part of it.

Budget lekhna tayar gare hunchha.

Tundikhel bhanda New Road nai ramro hola ki? But launch time has to be a surprise. Ekai choti 100,000 manchhe minimum. But only after 7 parties have come around to the 3 point agenda.

Yo 3 point agenda ko arko phaida. Yadi raja all party government ma chandai ayenan bhane, ra manchhe 1 lakh bata 2 lakh pugema, we can think of unilaterally declaring all party governemnt. Raja ko rajdoot haroo tyas pachhi bishwa byapi phalne prayas ma lagne.

Tapain to 2/1 pachhi ko pahilo corner meeting ko jasto organizational skill pheri large scale ma dekhauna paryo.

Party haroo 3 point agenda ma auna saath hamro fund raising shuru hunchha yata.

Key point: zero martyrs. Organization tyati durusta huna parchha. No confrontations with the police. Police line samma jane ani police sanga guff garna thalne. Small talk. Tyasto chiplo guff garne manchhe haroo frontline ma rakhne.

Baroo yo Pyramid of 7 idea kasto chha?

http://demrepubnepal.blogspot.com/2005/08/project-take-over-tundikhel-draft-1.html

So that every single person is accounted for. Yasto neat and clean nai field ma na hola. But this would make it disciplined.

The dawn is imminent.

--- gagan thapa wrote:

> I have been reading all ur write up. There r lot of new ideas. Keep
> it up.
>
> gagan

In The News

Sunday, November 06, 2005

Pahadi Says Goal Is Democratic Republic



94 photos.

Video clip 1, Video clip 2, Video clip 3.

Krishna Pahadi November 6 Sunday 5 PM

Krishna Pahadi, in his speech in Jackson Heights, said his fight will only end after Nepal becomes a democratic republic. He said he was willing to make any sacrifice for that ultimate goal.

He pointed out there was a major grassroots sentiment in support of his goal, and he has felt it in his travels across the country. He asked the Nepali diaspora to extend its full moral support to the movement in Nepal. His message, speak up for us.

He is also set to speak at New York University Tuesday evening.

The crowd in attendance was as big as the crowd for the seven party gathering. (Seven Party Forum In Jackson Heights)

Pahadi has a very pleasant personality. And he speaks fluently, in a singsong way almost. What he had to say sounded very much like what Gagan Thapa had to say. They both made a clear case for a democratic republic, and both said they are willing to pay the ultimate price for it. (Gagan's Talk In New York)

He wears orange. That is one of his trademark things.

If you showed up early for the program, you got to see the video of the civil society mass gathering in Basantapur, Kathmandu. Then Samudaya showed its own video, which was like the video Aandolan Jari Chha. Then there was poet Parajuli reciting his poems, the video of his program in Kathmandu. I bought a DVD of it. $10. A big chunk of the money goes to the movement in Nepal.

We need to upload all these videos on Google Video. We can charge $1 or $2 per view. That way we reach a larger audience and raise more money. And we plough back that money to produce more videos of the street demonstrations. The more video footage of street demonstrations from Kathmandu and all over Nepal that the global audience sees, quicker will be the resolution. The whole idea is to get hundreds of thousands of people out into the streets so as to sway global opinion. We need to become our own media. We need to put hours and hours of video online. The more the better.

This has to be a movement with zero martyrs. Noone should have to die. Noone died in the orange revolution of Ukraine in 2004. That is also my goal for Nepal. People should not have to die. Not the king, not peaceful demonstrators. Noone. Period.

And you massively reduce the chances of extreme forms of police brutality by showing it all to the global audience.

Many poems were recited.

The program started late.

Pahadi is an amazing speaker. There is this smoothness to both his logic and delivery. As I said, he sounded like an older version of Gagan Thapa.

I told him in person that this movement has produced two heroes: him and Gagan Thapa.

I helped fold up some of the chairs and put them away after the program ended. A bunch of us also had to agree to take home some of the leftover samosas. First I said no. Then I said yes. What the heck, I thought.

My final question to Pahadi was on federalism. He said that is a second step issue. There are still discussions going on if to go for decentralization or outright federalism. He has a right to his viewpoint, but that was an answer I did not like. I feel as strongly about federalism as he does about a republic. But then we settle that issue during the constituent assembly.

And I listened to Deepak "Nepe" Khadka on the train all the way to Penn Station where he got off. There is some kind of a Google group called Nepal Democracy. He has been trying to get me to join the group. It is supposedly a whole bunch of who's who types, like Kul Chandra Gautam and all. But it is a closed group. I think I tried to join, but received no response from the moderator. The frat house is busy and noisy, looks like.

Nepe is a hard core republican. He recited a poem of his own, a gazal. He is a good writer. Nepe is a college classmate of Pahadi, I learned. I told Pahadi I had the same thing going on with Dinesh Prasain, who he addressed as "Dineshji."

We have to push the seven parties for internal reforms, but we can not be hard on them like we need to be hard on the king and the Maoists, especially the king. The seven parties are our political leaders. The seven parties, and the youth represented by Gagan Thapa, and the civil society represented by Krishna Pahadi are all part of the same stream.

This movement has forged an amazing global Nepali solidarity. It is almost like America after 9/11.

I took a whole bunch of pictures.

I am sure the audio clip of Pahadi's speech will be online soon at the Samudaya site.

Ever since I got into town I have been trying to get Dr. Binod Sah of Janakpur to launch the NYC chapter of the ANTA. So far to no avail. Today we realized neither of us have the other's current phone numbers. And today we made some headway. He has invited me to come to his place. It is important to float the ANTA banner in town. Madhesi pride is at stake.

Dr. Tara Niraula teased me about me no longer sending him emails. "Have you taken me off your mailing list?" How could I? It is just that I refrain from emailing people too often. But now Niraula just sent the wrong signal. He is going to start getting a bunch of emails from me.

I have known Mridula Koirala and her husband independent of each other. Today Mridula introduced me to "my husband." And she sang a classic revolutionary song beautifully. I don't think Anil and Sanjaya can sing.

Sanjaya's son was creating a major ruckus, before, during and after the program. He was on the floor right next to where I was sitting. So I took a few pictures for evidence purposes.

Tilak Pokharel of the Kathmandu Post asked me if I recently met Bill Clinton. Answer: yes. "Me too," he said. He said he was going to use his press pass also to meet Amitabh Bachchan in a few days. I tried to talk him into taking me along. He said it was hard enough for him alone. That guy is one step ahead of me.

Anil's wife was part of the walk to the train station. When I said the movement should conclude in a few months, she said I was being optimistic.

Before the program began, I thought I was getting a picture taken with Pahadi, but Pahadi is looking the other way. I have my palm on his shoulder though.

House Revival Stance Preventing Progress


Seven Party Forum In Jackson Heights
Girija's House Revival Fantassy
October 2, 2002

The king can not revive the House. He will not revive the House. Looks like the Supreme Court can not either. And this is a Supreme Court that has not been the king's lackey. It is a court that has consistently gone counter to this regime on important questions of basic rights. The Court can not make political decisions. It can only interpret the law. And looks like it has interpreted that the 1999 House can not be revived. And if that be the Court's interpretation, that only reinforces the king's stand that he does not have the contitutional option to revive the House, which I agree with. But then I also think everything the king has done since his appointment of Chand as Prime Minister has been outside the 1990 constitution. The 1990 constitution died the day Chand got appointed.

Folks, the House can not be revived. And the 1990 constitution is dead. Face reality.

There was major talk that the people are going to come out into the streets in large numbers after Tihar. Well, Tihar has come and gone. The people are at the ready. It is the party leaders that have refused to work towards clarity.

Unless the seven parties offer clarity, this movement is not going to take off.

You start with the conclusion. All three forces are for a constituent assembly. After 2/1 the king also said he is for a constituent assembly. Actually the king expressed his support for a constituent assembly before the Nepali Congress and the UML did.

The Maoists, the king, and the seven parties are for a constituent assembly. All three have also expressed the opinion that an all party government should be formed for such a venture. Those are two major points of agreement.

And then the disagreements start.

How do you form that government? I am open to all options. If the seven parties want a revolution that will first overthrow the monarchy before an all party government is formed, I am for it, but I can not be for it first. The second option is the movement option. You get large numbers of people out into the streets and pressure the king into forming an all party government. The third is to go talk. Take a seven party delegation, go meet the king, and demand an all party government.

All three options lead to a constituent assembly, which is the good news. That is what the Maoists want, that is what Gagan Thapa wants, that is what Krishna Pahadi wants.

But Girija will not take any of those three options. That man through his idiotic stance of House revival has done more harm to the country than three Rana prime ministers put together. If he is for a House revival, he should at least offer an action plan. How will the House be revived? Who will do it? The Supreme Court? The king? If it is to be the king, what article in the 1990 constitution will allow him to do it?

King G could not stop the movement. Tulsi Giri could not. Pyar Jung Thapa could not. But Girija is preventing the movement from taking off.

Folks, the House revival stance has to be ditched. The country has to go straight to an all party government.

Untie the knot. Let go the House revival stand.

Moriarty's Note Of Concern

Alliance Of Steel

I think Moriarty over-reacted to the parties talking to the Maoists, and the seven parties over-reacted to the Moriarty statement even more.

Moriarty did not warn. He cautioned. And nothing he said goes against anything I have said about the Maoists here at this blog all along.

What I appreciate about America in Nepal's context is that that is one power that will make sure the Maoists do not take over Nepal militarily and set up a communist republic. It is that bulwark that makes it possible for someone like me to fearlessly seek all political options to bring the Maoists into the mainstream. Minus America, I would have had to worry more about what Moriarty spends a lot of time worrying about, and with none of his resources.

The Maoists are going to stop being an armed group down the line. And they are going to ditch communist republic as a goal. They have already done both things. It is just that they need to be engaged so they can do what they intend to do. That is all.

Moriarty is not saying stop talking to the Maoists. He is saying, talk, but do so with caution. Be realistic, have yardsticks to measure as progress gets made. And there can be no formal alliance as long as they are still an armed group. That has always been my stance.

In The News

Gagan's Talk In New York


Audio transcript by Samudaya. (1 hour 15 minutes, 49 seconds)

Video Clip 1 (1 minute)
Video Clip 2 (1 minute, 8 sec)

BBC Interview

My priority has been to interact with the Nepali diaspora during my month-long visit. I have been to many parts of the US.

We just saw a documentary. Schools and hospitals have turned into army barracks. Life has become cheap. Death has become uncertain. The documentary shows just the tip of the iceberg. In Kathmandu we put up with this every day. You can imagine how much worse things are in the rural areas.

Nepal is number one in terms of the number of people getting disappeared by the state.

The assault on Kantipur FM shows the state is a criminal.

The largest businessperson in the country who should be paying more in taxes than anyone else has been taking away the biggest chunk of money collected through taxes. That man is king. Someone of my age who is the most irresponsible, undisciplined, rowdy person is crown prince.

Nepal has never been in a tougher spot in history. But challenges also bring along possibilities. The youth have two options. The first is to run away or to go in denial, to take the easy path. The second path is harder. That is the parth of struggle, it might ask for major sacrifices. It might ask for lives to get sacrificed. But that second is the path to help create a new identity for Nepal. In the documentary you saw people with bloodied foreheads. Those young people out in the streets are not taking the big risks for this or that political party, this or that political leader. They are there to create a new Nepal, because it is no longer possible to talk of Nepal as the land of Buddha, as the land of Mout Everest. Our old identity is gone. And we don't want to be known as the country with a businessman king and a criminal prince.

We want to create a new identity for the country. We don't want to just watch as spectators from the sidelines. That is why we are at the forefront of the movement. I am affiliated with the Nepali Congress, true, but my views do not represent that party. I do not even wish to represent the Nepali Congress at this point in time. I instead aspire to represent the youth in Nepal from all political persuasions who are out in the streets agitating. I represent a generation. I request you to look at me that way.

How do the youth look at the politics in the country today? Let's start our discussion with that question. How do we understand the Maoists? The king and the royal institution? The political parties? What do we see as the crisis? What are the solutions we have thought of?

We are very clear about the monarchy. They have 236 years of history. History gets written by the victors. History has been written by the Shahas. That has made it possible for the Shahas to stick around.

After the royal massacre the royal family has lost its traditional, normal legitimacy. But it is still around due to the momentum of 236 years of history. Its biggest strength obviously is its army. But more than the army, what is the real strength of the royal family is the thinking of the Nepali people. We credit it with having unified Nepal. That psychology sustains it. Our thinking that the royal institution is the reason for our unity and sovereignty, that Nepal can not exist without the royal family, it is that thinking that sustains the monarchy.

There might be people in this very room who think Nepal has not been possible without the monarchy, and it can not be imagined without the monarchy also in the future. That thinking has been the monarchy's biggest strength and weapon.

We are clear about the Maoists as well. One is that they are an armed group. And so they have to be countered militarily. That is one school of thought. Another thinking, which is quite widespread, is that the Maoists are a byproduct of the failure of 12 years of democracy. We reject both those schools of thought.

We think the Maoists are a political organization driven by a particular ideology. They think of violence as the only vehicle for change, and they have not been able to break free of that adherence to violence.

The Maoists are not the first group in Nepal that used violence as a political weapon. Nepal was not unified through peaceful discussions like Switzerland. Prithvi Narayan Shaha expanded Gorakha militarily. Prithvi's gun did not shower flowers, it also threw out bullets. In 1950 when the Nepali Congress confiscated power from the Ranas to give it to the Shahahs, the Liberation Army of the Congress used violence.

But where Maoists differ is there are no limitations to their violence. The means become an end. We do accept them as a political organization. We are very clear that the Maoist insurgency only has a political solution.

We are also very clear about the political parties. They are at the forefront of the democratic struggle, true, but they represent only a small elite. The 1990 movement only expanded an already existing elite: it did not empower the people. The political parties today are politically and ideologically confused and strategically the weakest. When they are at Ratna Park, they are still trying to decide whether to head towards Singha Durba or towards the Raj Durbar. That is where they stand even today. The leadership of the parties are limited to a certain class, caste, gender, ethnicity and region.

But we still think the political parties are indispensable. There are no alternatives to the political parties.

The conclusion we have reached is that the biggest problem we have is our thinking, our mentality. What we have is not a problem, it is a crisis. Problems can be solved through administrative chicanery. A crisis asks for something much larger.

The crisis is the structure of the state. The solution lies in restructuring.

So what should be the goal of our movement? The conclusion we have reached is there is no need for a monarchy. Nepal will be much better off without it. The primary target of the movement has to be the monarchy. Only in a Nepal minus the monarchy can genuine restructuring be imagined. That is our conclusion. The political parties are not there yet. The intellectuals in Nepal are not there yet. This is the conclusion of the youth in Nepal.

We have faced many allegations for standing by our conclusion and we continue to do so. This is youthful anger, this is a weapon to get into power, this is an irresponsible outburst: we have been told. But we are still standing by our conclusion because we have reached it after some major historical analysis. We have thought throug it in a major way.

The first thing we notice is that the crowd that says the monarchy is necessary, and some of you in this room might be part of it, and there are people in Kathmandu who are part of it: we asked them. Why is it that the country can not run without the monarchy? They said the political parties have not delivered. We said that is not logical. If or not the parties have delivered can be our second question. The monarchy's relevance is to those who have benefitted from it. That is a small number of families, a small elite, a privileged class. Nobody outside that small circle was able to tell us why the monarchy is needed.

So we reached the conclusion the monarchy is a feudal institution, and that is all there is to it. At the lower levels you might have landlords, zamindars, at the highest levels you have the monarchy. If you want to maintain the traditional hierarchical society then the monarchy is indispensable. On the other hand, if you want to create an egalitarian society where the emphasis is on consciousness, science, on merit, then the monarchy is highly unnecessary. That is the conclusion we reached.

Then we asked if Nepal has functioned without a monarchy before or not. We found many historical examples. During the times of Gautam Buddha, people elected their own kings. Before the Shahas, we had the Lichhavis, the Kirats. Monarchies have come and gone. Because the Shahas have not always been around, they do not always have to be around.

Science tells us only those who contribute should exist. So we asked, what has the monarchy given us? We came to the conclusion we have misunderstood history, instead of history we have internalized propaganda. The history we have been taught has been misleading. We need to smash the falsity that our history is. The glorious history of Nepal that we have sung in truth has not been our history. This has only been the genealogy of the Shaha dynasty. Prithvi did not unify Nepal, he expanded Gorakha. We looked for the contributions of kings after that.

You are in America. America is two years younger than us. But why is America like it is today? We talk of leaders from George Washington to Bill Clinton. Because of those leaders America is what it is today. During that same time frame, Nepal has stayed backward, and Nepals' kings need to take responsibility. The kings are the reason Nepal is the poorest country on the planet.

Look at history. Prithvi's son Pratap Singh got his own brother Bahadur Shaha arrested. Bahadur Shaha cut up Sarbajit Rana. Then we have Rana Bahadur Shaha. But he was still great, because His Majesty was the king. Rana Bahadur Shaha married a widow who was on a pilgrimage to Pashupati. There were major fissures among the queens and the courtiers. Immoral kings got played by their queens, and generations of courtiers were erased. If you keep reading, the names change, but the acts don't. Then you have Rajendra. Rajendra was cruel. Then you have Surendra. Surendra was literally out of his mind. He was insane but he was still great, because His Majesty was the prince. (Applause)

We have been taught all these stories of glory.

We were made slaves to 104 years of Rana rule. When Europe was passing through a major phase of resurgence and revolutions, we were slaves of one family. Who is responsible for those 104 years? Which of your and my ancestors are responsible for those 104 years? A handful of queens and their lustful kings brought about those 104 years. Is that true or not?

Give me one name from this royal family, someone, anyone, who fought inside that royal family for the benefit of the people. Noone can estimate what Birendra's wealth was, what Dhirendra's wealth was. Have you ever heard one person in the royal family who ever said he was going to spend his entire wealth on educating the people? One? Any one king who spent his personal wealth to build hospitals? Any king? Any prince?

Hence our conclusion is this royal family has made zero contributions to the progress of Nepali society. This family stands in the way of progress.

Some intellectuals ask, why not follow the British model? Why not the Scandinavian model? We also tackle that line of thought. We have our own views. Every country has its own unique historical experiences. What has been ours? In 1950 we handed power from the Ranas to the Shahas. The character of the monarchy in this country has been that they talk a little humble when they are weak, step back a little, but as soon they gather strength, they come right back pounding. They attack and take away the few gains we might have made. They are always plotting counter revolutions, like Lenin said. Tribhuvan did that, Mahendra did that, Birendra and Gyanendra did that. Some people talk of Birendra as a gentleman king, I do not suffer from that illusion: I am free. The 1990 democracy was not an act of love on the part of King Birendra. The 1990 limited achievement was a compromise reached between a conscious people and a temporarily weakened monarchy. But before the ink dried, the monarchy started plotting a counter revolution.

This is a fundamental disagreement we have with the parties. There can not be any room for a ceremonial monarchy. If we do not uproot the monarchy, we will still be fighting Paras and Hridayendra decades down the line. The monarchy in Nepal has a fundamental character flaw. In Nepal's context, the monarchy and democracy can not go together. It is not possible. That is our unique reality. That is the conclusion we have reached.

The monarch has been presented as the symbol of national unity. Just in this room there are people from all sorts of backgrounds inside Nepal. We should ask ourselves, a king who represents only one religion, only one caste, only one language, only one cultural background, can that king represent us all? We are from different backgrounds. The Sherpas and the Khas in this room celebrate different festivals. I say it is not possible for this king to represent the entire country. Not at all.

Is the monarchy a symbol of the country's sovereignty, of territorial integrity? We have been engulfed in misleading interpretations of history. We have been taught it is because of brave kings in the past that Nepal never became a British colony. The truth is the Ranas and the Shahas did all the British wanted them to do, and that is why we did not become a British colony. We have not maintained our separate identity between the two giants India and China because of the king. We ourselves have maintained our separate identity. If kings would protect countries, India had more than 500 of them, but India still became a British colony.

We have reached this firm conclusion through historical analysis that the monarhcy is of no use, and is no good, and that is why we need to fight against it.

Then the big question that people raise is so did the political parties do good during their 12 years? I am not saying those 12 years were great. But we don't agree that the underperformance of the parties justifies the king's takeover. The key is that we did not really have democracy during those 12 years. 1990 did not bring forth democracy. The king said in 1990, let's keep the structure intact, and I will keep the army. And the parties said okay. 1990 was only an agreement. The Nepali state has a criminal character. The state has a hunter's mentality. The Nepali society is fundamentally diverse. That diversity has not been reflected in the state structure. Even a teacher is Humla gets his appointement in Singha Durbar. That centralization is fundamentally wrong. Why did the Tamangs living near Kathmandu not see an upward mobility after 1990? It is because the 1990 movement enlarged the elite, but did not change its fundamental character. 15 became 100: that is all. A few names got added to the roster.

Centralized state, feudal social structure and democratic exercise: those three do not go together. The pre-1990 corruption continued after 1990. The movement now has to be to change the very character and strucuture of the state. We don't want to go back like the king and the parties. We are not interested in reviving the House. We want to go forward.

Someone from Karnali might allege the democracy has been Kathmandu-centric, women might say it has been male dominated, the Janajatis might say it is Khas-centric, a Dalit might say it has been the democracy of the upper castes.

The democracy we envision is one that will be inclusive. The people will not only say the nation is theirs, but that also the state belongs to them.

During the 1997 local elections of the thousands of elected officials at the district level, not one was Dalit. It is because our structure has not changed. The Madhesh issue, the Dalit issue, the Janajati issue, the gender issue, all these issues will have to be addressed by the democracy we will help bring.

Being able to vote alone is not democracy, that those votes get counted and are valued, that is democracy. Being able to speak alone is not democracy, also to be heard when you speak, that is democracy. Rule of the majority is not democracy, protection of the minority, that is democracy.

We want to burn all the crowns in the country, and not just that sitting atop the king's head. We want to change Nepal, we want to create a new Nepal. We know the path we have chosen is difficult. It is challenging. It is not important that we survive. But it is important that the goal is achieved.

Every time the Nepali Congress president meets the king, the youths of the same party take to the streets. Compromising with the king gives them power, and that is why they are eager to compromise. The UML youth are the same way. We inherited a half baked democracy from the previous generation, but we also inherited a culture of slavery. That is not what we want for the next generation. We want a Nepal where everyone is born equal.

We want this fight to be the final fight. We don't want another generation to have to fight this fight all over again.

There is an Indian student leader who is part of our delegation. He says, "We are on the verge of being a superpower." I will never forget those words. He kept repeating that statement. He has a dream that within 20 years India might be able to take over the United States. He sees China as competition. He wants India to grow faster than China.

I envy his dream. We never had the opportunity to fight for Nepal's prosperity.

You are in America enjoying your democratic rights. We want to do the same in Nepal. We don't want to get instructions from Tulsi Giri or Jagat Gauchan. We also do not care to know as to how able the political party leaders are. Because we believe in ourselves. I am good enough for self-rule. You can not want freedom and be indifferent to the cause of democracy. We have fought the political parties from the inside. But democracy is not for the leaders and the parties, it is for the people. The ruler is not my master. I am the master of the ruler.

We want the Nepali people to forge a new constitution through a constituent assembly, that is our goal. There are Nepalis who have been in America 7, 8 years. I met some in Dallas too. They talked of poor Dalits, poor illiterate Nepalis, they were not able to sustain democracy. If anyone here has that same illusion, please, let go of it. Nepal has changed a whole lot. People in the remotest villages have become much more conscious. They might not have internet access, but they have access to the Maoists and the army. The Nepali people are conscious.

Don't justify the king's move for the wrong of a few leaders. You had monarchy for more than 220 years. They built the Pashpati temple, Singha Durbar and a few statues. If that is your idea of development, go for it. Compare the king's 220 years to 12 years of democracy. The problem in the 12 years was too little democracy. The problemm is it was an incomplete democracy. The solution is more democracy, a full democracy.

What can the Nepali diaspora do to help? You organized a rally in New York recently. People in Kathmandu think that rally was the reason the king cancelled his visit to the UN. (Applause)

Your DC rally sent 500 more people out into the streets in Kathmandu. Even when you have small programs of 20, 30 people, that has a huge impact back there in Kathmandu.

Your second contribution can be to lobby the lawmakers here in America. You are in a position to influence the US Congress.

The biggest contribution you can make is to not blame 12 years of democracy for the king's coup. Do not say that. You go out into the streets against Bush. But if you disagree with our going out into the streets in Kathmandu, what message are you sending?

Mistakes were made in the past. But don't be hung over it. Instead tell us where to go next. Guide us. We are in the middle of a major discussion. Contribute to it. You should lead that discussion. What should be the economic and social structure of tomorrow's Nepal? Tell us. Look at the Chinese diaspora's contribution to China and the Indian diaspora's contribution to India.

The recent attack on Kantipur should tell you as to the extent of the repression in the country.

During a street demonstration, a tear gas shell fired at me hit a friend of mine by mistake. He is still in Bir Hospital with a fractured skull.

You might have to organize a memorial ceremony for us right here. But we are not scared. Our request is that you not mix us up with the mistakes of a few leaders from the past, that you do not stay hung up on those mistakes, that you put those in the proper context.

Thank you.

(25 minutes of discussions.)

Wednesday, November 02, 2005

US Congress Writes To Secretary Rice

October 28, 2005

The Honorable Condoleezza Rice
Secretary
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20520

Dear Secretary Rice:

We, the undersigned Members of Congress, remain extremely concerned about the deteriorating political, economic, and democratic situation in Nepal.

As you implement your FY2006 foreign relations plan for Southeast Asia, we encourage you to convene and chair a high-level interagency group that could include the Secretaries of Commerce, Defense, Energy, and Treasury, the Attorney General, and the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development. Please invite other agencies to join this group as appropriate. The purpose of this high-level group would be to discuss, develop and implement a multi-pronged and multi-year strategy to address the grave situation in Nepal. This strategy could form the basis of collaboration with our allies and other interested nations, multilateral development banks, and chambers of commerce to reverse the tenuous situation in Nepal. We believe that a package that combines diplomatic intervention, economic development, and restoration of civil security is required to persuade King Gyanendra to embrace democratic governance, while addressing the crushing poverty and human privation the people of Nepal face.

We urge you to work with your counterparts in all interested nations, particularly Australia, China, the European Union, India, Japan, and the United Kingdom. We urge you to include the regional and multilateral development banks, international development organizations, and chambers of commerce in this activity. The goal would be to use multilateral action to persuade the King, the Maoists, and the people of Nepal to make permanent the cease-fire, restore multi-party democratic processes and institutions, and security to the entire Kingdom.

In February this year, Members of Congress corresponded with King Gyanendra of Nepal where we conveyed our deepest concerns that democratic processes had broken down in Nepal. While the Maoists have been extremely brutal in their activities and share responsibility for the deterioration of the political and civil situation in Nepal, they have declared a cease-fire in an attempt to settle a nine-year civil war. We believe the United States and other interested nations must encourage the King to resist provocations from the insurgents and show leadership by moving forward with the negotiations towards peace and multi-party democracy.

We are dismayed about press reports of excessive use of force by Royal Nepalese Army and police forces and the arrest of over 400 activists and teachers who have engaged in peaceful protests. The recent restriction on the media and confiscation of broadcast equipment causes us further concern. Peaceful gatherings and demonstrations, and freedom of the press are hallmarks of democracy. These freedoms must be protected.

Recent articles in the October issue of Foreign Affairs (Preview or full text in HRW site) and the November 2005 issue of the National Geographic summarize the situation that Nepal faces. They compels us to request that the United States work with its allies to ensure that all avenues are pursued to resolve this situation before it worsens.

We look forward to hearing from you regarding the development and implementation of this strategy.

Sincerely,
James T. Walsh (R-New York)
Bob Filner (D-California)
Mark Kirk (R-Illinois)
Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts)
Mark Udall (D-Colorado)
Joseph Pitts (R-Pennsylvania)
Chris Smith (R-New Jersey)

cc:Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld
Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman
Secretary of Treasury John Snow
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales
Administrator Andrew Natsios