King G, Active Politics, and Media Interviews

King G really should get off the throne and come into active politics. The guy so loves giving media interviews. Maybe he is right, he is incapable of being a Constitutional Monarch. He is too restive.

Even after his said three year period, he has Panchayat in mind. He intends to "Nepalise" democracy. That is codeword for Panchayat.

Ashok Mehta's article throws a lot of light on the RNA.

• Nepal king criticises military aid freeze after power grabChannel News Asia, Singapore King Gyanendra, in his first meeting with journalists since his power grab on February 1, said the aid-freeze was sending out the wrong signal about the country's battle against "terrorism".
• Is EU preparing to do business with Nepal Maoists?: New Kerala ..... a coordinated international response to the suspension of democracy and civil rights in this Himalayan kingdom is taking shape. ..... soon Kathmandu and other towns will face severe food and fuel shortages that could erupt in street riots. ..... now finds himself caught in a pincer move by two unrelated forces opposed to his "royal coup". ..... India, Britain and the US, which have been shoring up Nepal's security, are loath to rescue King Gyanendra from the political mess in which he finds himself. ..... the Maoists, making full use of the king's isolation, are trying to make the best use of the situation to their advantage. ..... European diplomats posted in Nepal have been increasingly interacting with the Maoists ..... "The European Union has generally been well received by the Maoists ..... if push comes to shove, the European Union and its member states will not hesitate to do business with the Maoists - better the far-left insurgents than a king who believes in absolute monarchy, seems to be the message. ..... The Royal Nepal Army lacks the capacity to maintain military rule and wage a successful campaign against the Maoists. It could never be the alternative state that the military has become in Pakistan. ..... Political parties still have considerable support. ..... about a third of Nepalese maintain an affiliation with a party. ..... Peace is unlikely without a broad national consensus on the problems of poverty, ethnic and caste exclusion and corruption ..... the king has little political experience and few solid international connections ..... a rather bleak scenario for King Gyanendra and the "military leadership", who according to the ICG report, "pressed the king into taking this step". ..... Gyanendra lacks the wherewithal, material and political, to take on the Maoists and defeat them ..... India is believed to have conveyed to the emergency regime in Kathmandu that it is willing to initiate back channel discussions with the Maoists for a peaceful settlement ..... Nepal's Maoists are irrevocably opposed to what they describe as "Indian expansionism" and have been actively promoting an alliance with far-left Maoists in several Indian states who pose a serious internal security threat to India ..... Prachanda .. has on more than one occasion promised to turn on India after seizing Nepal. ..... Pushed to the wall, especially by India, King Gyanendra may just decide to go for broke. Claiming that India has violated the letter and spirit of the 1950 and 1965 treaties that impose restrictions on Nepal seeking arms from another country, he may turn to China and Pakistan who have refused to comment on the "palace coup"...... The "royal coup" and its political fallout provide an excellent opportunity for Beijing and Islamabad to shore up their relations with Kathmandu. .....
• Nepal's Dalits: Fodder for the Maoist machineTimes of India, India He is a dalit in Nepal and nobody sells milk to dalits here. ..... Even in Kathmandu, a city full of hip dance bars, Versace showrooms and mind-numbing stream of foreign cars, no one will let out houses to dalits. ..... Maoists came in, turning a community into a fearsome death force ..... Maoists got a ready-made army. "Any one could sense that dalits were a force, imploding with centuries of hurt, waiting to be tapped. ..... Dalits in Nepal constitute 20% of its population, but own just 2% of its land. ..... the per capita income in Nepal is $210, for a dalit it is just $39 .... The upper castes still believe dalits are beneath involvement in cash transactions. ..... "You hand a gun to our people and they suddenly feel a surge of empowerment. The gun is a powerful metaphor of power," says a dalit student. ..... Though figures of dalit and tribals in the roughly 7,000 Maoist fighters and one lakh active supporters is not known, most analysts say it could be anything between 30-40% — a lot of representation for a community who have no officers, judges or bureaucrats and are still not allowed into Hindu temples or into restaurants.
• Nepali Congress demands new democratic constitution: New Kerala ..... the Nepali Congress (Democratic) today demanded drafting a new democratic constitution, incorporating the main political demand of the maoists after intensive negotiations with the rebel leaders ..... Arjun Thapa said that the drafting of the constitution should be carried out through an elected constitutional assembly.....
• Army and the King Delhi Pioneer Krishna Prasad Bhattarai who later threw a glass of hot water into the lieutenant's face ..... aircraft dropped leaflets over different district headquarters, explaining that the King's action was to save the nation..... Nehru was livid. He called the King's coup a "complete reversal of the democratic process"..... the RNA killed more than 300 Nepalese during this second revolution ..... With such an anti-people record, it was paradoxical that King Birendra would not allow RNA to be employed against the Maoists till its post at Dang had been attacked in 2001 as the RNA could not be "used against its own people"...... With the promulgation of Emergency the RNA was immediately empowered to act against its own people...... The modern RNA was trained and reorganised by the Indian Military Mission in Kathmandu from 1952 to 1970 when it was squeezed out. The Palace ensured the RNA became the King's Army in letter and spirit...... Surendra Bahadur Shah, who translated it into Nepali, inserted the word "Naresh" (King) alongside Desh (country). This meant the King's safety, honour and welfare, the primary task for the RNA, was at par with the nation..... the RNSA could not protect the King during the palace massacre of June 1, 2001. Inside the 1 km x 1 km Narayanhity Palace are crammed the elite Royal Palace Guard brigade, air defence and artillery batteries, military police and armoured personnel carriers. It is the most fortified complex in all of Nepal...... The RNA is ferociously loyal and faithful to its supreme commander and has virtually refused to take orders from the elected political authority which it holds in utter contempt. ..... The class and caste composition of the senior echelons in the RNA shows Rana, Shah, Thapa, the erstwhile feudal combine's continued monopoly of Higher Command and Staff appointments. This clique swears by the "Sarkar" and worships the Royal family...... Barring its experience in anti-democracy movements and a brief brush with Khampa rebels in 1976-77, the RNA has no combat experience ..... an impeccable UNPKO record. It has not missed any UNPKO since 1978..... But for the lure of UNPKO which accounts for the Rs 9 billion Army Welfare Fund, not many would join the RNA. In fact, UNPKO is what is keeping the RNA together...... Nearly 40,000 soldiers are in Kathmandu valley alone...... the RNA which took a hammering from the Maoists till end 2002 when it emerged shaken out of the "Duffers-Drift" syndrome ..... By the year 2010, RNA is expected to become a modern 100,000 Army...... shown little evidence of its ability to force the Maoists back to the negotiating table, leave alone bringing them down to their knees, a feat many RNA Generals have frequently boasted about..... from where will Gen Pyar Jung Thapa find soldiers to fight the Maoists who control 80 per cent of sovereign territory..... where will the will to fight come from..... Talks are on between some of these groups and the Maoists to form a front...... The Nepal Maoists are not a major threat to India; they are only an irritant. That the Maoists of India and Nepal will together forge a red corridor from Amlekhgunj to Adilabad is an exaggerated fear. The two movements are different in composition and character. ..... One of the key demands of the Maoists has been weaning away the RNA from the palace and putting it under civilian control. Only when that happens will RNA become a normal people's army putting national interest before the Naresh's.
• Indian companies wilt under new regime in NepalEconomic Times, India ..... the likes of ITC, Dabur, Coke, and Berger Paints ..... Surya Nepal Tobacco is one of the largest companies in Nepal with a turnover of over Rs 500 crore...... a policy of wait and watch for big companies. Most companies are keeping their fingers crossed that the situation will improve soon.
• UN envoy offers mediation in Nepal again:New Kerala, India ... Kul Chandra Gautam, the UN assistant secretary general, has told BBC Radio's Nepalese Service that the UN, with its experience in mediating in international disputes, could help establish an accord between the two sides based on international laws and democratic values...... no evidence to suppose that if a third round of dialogue could be started between the new government and the rebels, it would be successful..... both sides were displaying extreme positions..... The king is seen as wanting to strengthen monarchy while expressing commitment towards multiparty democracy and constitutional monarchy. The Maoists, on the other hand, are killing people and resorting to violence while saying they are not against the democratic system.
• Nepal's 'Ranvir Sena' takes on Maoists:New Kerala, India .... Pandey was training about 500 young men in armed combat and boasted that his outfit possessed AK-47s, shotguns and explosives..... Pandey's group, reports from Kapilavastu say, has been setting fire to houses belonging to hills people, raising fears of ethnic tension between hills people and the plains people, pejoratively called Madhesias..... The private army has raised Maoist hackles. Krishna Bahadur Mahara, former MP and spokesman of the Maoists, issued a statement from underground Wednesday, condemning the band..... Pandey and his band apparently shot back this month, killing 21 Maoists in different areas in Kapilavastu.
• Rebels face rebellion Calcutta Telegraph .. the Royal Nepal Army, which is yet to penetrate the rural belt in its mission against the Maoist rebels..... the grim story of the rise of a private army which is trying to whip up local anger against the Maoist rebels..... “The ferocity of Maoist attacks, especially targeting the Madese people, provoked anger and I had to use this to defend the people here,” he said. ..... Last night, villagers in Sheopur burnt at least 350 houses of hill settlers suspecting them of harbouring Maoists.
• Terrorism vs peace, no third force left: His Majesty Nepalnews.com Talking to a group of Nepali journalists at Fohara Garden of the Narayanhiti palace ..... If their agenda is one party communist type of rule, it is unacceptable ..... democracy must flourish, but we must pursue a democratic dispensation that is suited to the genius of the people of Nepal and the soil of Nepal. “We all value democratic norms, democratic values. What do we understand by this. We understand features like open society, transparency, mass participation, mass communicating of ideas. But we have to Nepalise them. We need to make it suit for this country and for the people of Nepal,” His Majesty said. ..... “We felt that the nation was also in a process of fragmentation, not the physical fragmentation. But the harmony among ethnic communities .....

Indo-US Alliance For Democracy In Nepal Needed

The US is the world's oldest democracy, and India its largest. A total expansion of democracy is America's officially stated goal, with most of the remaining work in the countries of the Global South where India, for cultural reasons, might be in a better position to understand the local realities and contribute.

I laud the India-UK-US alliance that has emerged as a counter to the king's autocratic move and think the cutting of military aid was a great first step. And I also think it wise that the three powers have thought India should take the lead on the issue because of its proximity. That makes a lot of common sense.

But now the king has countered by suggesting he will instead go and deal with China and Pakistan. India alone might not be in the best position to counter that move, but the US is. The US has seen an ally in China on the North Korea issue, and is a close partner with Pakistan in its stated War On Terror, of Cold War proportions.

And so I urge the US to make diplomatic moves to deny the king the so-called Pakistan and China cards. In this greatest hour of need, the Nepali people should be able to expect help from democracies like the US and India. The king has to agree to the idea of a negotiated settlement with the rebels with possible international mediation. There is no better way.



I am sending this blog thread to the US Embassy in Delhi, and to the Foreign Ministry of India at their email addresses: ndcentral@state.gov, usxps@mea.gov.in. I hope Ambassador Mulford will look into this.

Some news I skimmed through a few minutes back, as I do on a near daily basis.

• UN Security Council condemns use of child soldiers Reuters India, India ..... called for sanctions and political measures against governments and groups that continue the abuses, saying "carefully calibrated and targeted measures" are effective ..... Abductions were common in countries like Uganda, Nepal and Burundi ..... A report by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan listed 42 armed groups in 11 nations that should be punished for recruiting or using children in war. On the list are Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast, Somalia, Sudan, Uganda, Myanmar, Nepal, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Colombia.
• Nepal Military Aid Suspension Will Assist Rebels, Army Says Bloomberg An estimated 1,000 political and student leaders and other officials were detained under emergency rule, Agence France-Presse reported earlier this month. Some leaders remain in hiding and others have crossed into India. ..... The political changes in Nepal shouldn't prompt international donors to cut off aid, Finance Minister Madhukar Shumsher Rana said ..... The U.K. and India have returned their ambassadors to the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, to call for a restoration of democracy.
• NDA lauds military aid cut to Nepal: New Kerala The main Opposition alliance, the NDA, today lauded the Centre government's decision to stop military aid to Nepal ..... The Opposition alliance said this after a meeting with several Nepalese political parties in the Capital. ..... We have to snap relations of any kind with them. They should take up this issue in the international community, not only with the immediate neighbours. We are with the government on whatever steps the federal government decides to take on the issue. Rather we all are one on the entire situation," NDA Convenor George Fernandes told reporters .....
  
• Blow to business along Indo-Nepal border The Tribune, India Trade along the border has been a way of life for the traders over the generations ..... nearly six trade posts along the Indo-Nepal border that boast of a total business to the tune of Rs 50 crore annually ..... business has been slack due to an increase Maoist activities along the border but the emergency in Nepal has led to a trade collapse..... Odd traders in Nepal’s Jullaghat play cards and carom board while many others remain compulsively glued to the tea stall for want of anything better to do...... it’s the daily foodstuff, including foodgrains, jaggery, sugar and oil, among other things that people from Nepal depend on this market for ..... traders cross over to the Indian side every night ..... But the alcohol shop owners do a "no pain, no gain" business. The Maoists do not like this business and to drive the point home a few months ago they drained out bottles of liquor worth lakhs of rupees from the shops here ..... Last year the Maoists had banned Indian goods after the governments of the two countries were in dialogue over added military aid. But the ban was soon lifted .
  
• Five Editors in Nepal summoned over blank editorial pages: New Kerala, India ..... authorities here today summoned Editors of five Nepalese weeklies seeking explanation over blank editorial pages in their publications since the imposition of press censorship ..... Gopal Budhathoki of 'Sanghu' weekly, Kabir Rana of 'Deshantar', Rajendra Vaid of 'Bimarsha', Nawaraj Timilsina of 'Prakash' and Shashidhar Bhandari of 'Hank' ..... A team of senior advocates led by Nepal Bar Association Chairman Shambhu Thapa has provided legal consultancy to the scribes free of cost. ..... Seven Nepalese journalists, including General Secretary of Federation of Nepalse Journalists (FNJ) Bishnu Nishthuri, have been detained
• 'Nepal committed, India should reciprocate': New Kerala Nepal says it will honour all commitments made to the Indian government and expects the same from New Delhi.
• Nepal's political bosses hide, plan political movement against ... China Post Decades ago, Khadga Prasad Oli rebelled against the king and was sent to jail for 14 years. Then he became home minister. This month, the top communist leader was imprisoned again, in his own house, for 14 days..... Nepal's political roulette wheel has spun again, and politicians who dominated the country for 15 years are now detainees, fugitives or in hiding, with the rest plotting a political movement against King Gyanendra's regime that has yet to take off...... dozens of political bosses, student leaders, journalists, professors and other possible opinion leaders have been detained ..... To the 53-year-old Oli, it is a throwback to the 30-year "Panchayat" rule, the era of the Shah kings' authoritarian regime, when political parties were banned and civil liberties limited..... "It seems like those days again, when we could not raise our voice," said Oli, sitting at his home outside Katmandu. Until a couple days ago, it was surrounded by 15 armed police officers who built sandbagged positions and refused to let him out or anyone come in. The house arrest ended without explanation over the weekend...... Ram Saran Mahat, the top leader of the country's largest party, the Nepali Congress, sits on his sunny lawn sipping tea and meeting the rare visitor. Mahat, a former foreign and finance minister, is the most senior Nepali opposition leader currently not in custody. But he knows he is being watched. ..... "I will go and make a public speech only when I am prepared to be jailed," he said. ..... "We are not underground like the Maoists. Our protests will be on the streets," said Mahat. ..... "In the past, when mobile phones were working, it would take us just 10 minutes to arrange a crowd of 4,000 or 5,000 people. Not any more," said Keshav Singh, president of the Nepal Students Union ..... His group has hundreds of thousands of members across 300 colleges. .... "I haven't slept in the same place for 18 days now. ..... Singh's home was raided last week, and security forces took away his telephone diary, his photographs and documents related to the students union, the country's largest. ...... "We are trying to build up a movement against the royal move. We are going door to door, distributing flyers, organizing low key awareness programs," said Singh. "We can't forever remain underground. Students have to be on the streets."
• Nepal says no information on military aid cut Tehran Times The king's move has triggered a global outcry but domestic public protests have been muted because of a heavy presence of security personnel...... The Maoists have imposed a nationwide transport blockade to protest the royal power grab disrupting road transport and supplies of foodgrains and vegetables in the mountainous nation for the past 11 days.
• Nepal: Civil War Atrocities Follow Royal Takeover Reuters AlertNet, UK ..... both Maoist insurgents and the Royal Nepali Army continue to attack civilians ... violating the laws of war ..... the lives of some 11,000 people, mostly civilians ..... Maoist fighters have attacked civilian cargo trucks and passenger buses, and threatened to cut off the hands of drivers who defy the bandh. ..... "There is a real danger that war crimes in Nepal will spiral out of control." ..... The Maoist insurgents' bandh has stopped nearly all motor traffic on the Mahendra highway and nearby roads, cut the flow of commerce, including scarce petrochemical products, and closed down schools. Meanwhile, government security forces heavily censor all local press and monitor the activity of local human rights monitors. ..... Maoist forces on February 22 stopped and blew up an ambulance at a roadblock on the Mahendra highway near Kohalpur village, 18 kilometers from Nepalgunj and about a kilometer and a half from the Kohalpur Army Barracks...... Under the laws of war, medical transport is protected at all times from attack. ..... including the bride and groom, who were walking past an army checkpoint at approximately 7 p.m. Troops manning the checkpoint demanded they stop and put their hands in the air. Nearly immediately, some of the troops fired between five to ten rounds at the group. ..... The army has not claimed, as it has in some similar circumstances in the past, that its actions were in self-defense or otherwise justified. Nor has the army announced any investigation of the troops responsible for shooting at the group. ..... "Both sides claim to be fighting on the side of the people, but in fact their main targets have been Nepal's civilians."
  

Burma Option Or Pakistan Option

I skim through the news today, and looks like the king is actively looking at both options. I think he would have preferred the Pakistan option whereby he makes hay in Nepal and the international community largely supports him, or turns a blind eye at the least. That not forthcoming, he has been touting the Burma option today. That is a tough stance for a country that is essentially India-locked. This withdrawal symptom only adds to the image of the autocrat he has been garnering. The Burma option is not an option for any faction in Nepal.

Looks to me like the democrats have their organizational work cut out for them. As I have said earlier, the two-word mantra of Democratic Republic to bring all forces except the Monarchists together. And if the Monarchists keep acting up, then skip the second phase two-word mantra of a Constituent Assembly, and just stick to the Democratic Repubic until it is realized.

The Nepali people will have to earn their democracy plain and simple. It is an uphill climb, but worth it. The seeds of freedom reside in every heart.

• Nepal 'can solve' Maoist crisis Hindustan Times, India Gyanendra seemed intrepidly unmindful of possible international sanctions while disbanding democracy ..... the present cabinet set-up that he surveys has, it seems, completely ignored India, and in the process the UK and the US ..... Nepal on Tuesday ruled out 'international mediation' to resolve the Maoists crisis. It also said that it is capable to meet its defence needs...... asserted that 70 per cent of its defence procurement and spending was financed by internal sources......
  
• Nepal says arms cut unfortunate, could help rebels San Diego Union Tribune ....poorly-equipped Nepali army..... "We are the ones fighting for democracy in Nepal. If they don't provide us with military aid, it will indirectly benefit the Maoists," he said...... the vice-chairman of the ruling council, Tulsi Giri, and Gurung said they had no information on the suspension of arms supplies...... The Maoists have imposed a nationwide transport blockade to mark their protest against the royal power grab, disrupting road transport and supplies of foodgrains and vegetables in the mountainous nation for the past 11 days.
• External powers must act to save Nepal Financial Times ..... in crushing fledgling democratic institutions and locking up mainstream politicians, journalists and human rights activists, it is the king who has strengthened the rebels' hand......
  
• Maoists rule Nepal highways Calcutta Telegraph Maoists have crippled Mahendra Raj Marg, Nepal’s main highway and link to India..... last week, 65 tankers carrying petroleum products from Gonda and Allahabad in India took 11 days to cover 10 km along Rupardih-Nepalgunj road in western Nepal..... Over 18 trucks on way to Kathmandu with food and other essentials offloaded their material after seven days of waiting near Nepalgunj..... Last night, Maoists detonated a bomb at the Kohalpur-based power substation of the Nepal Electricity Authority and disrupted power supply to four adjoining districts — Banke, Bardia, Surkhet and Dailekh...... the Nepalgunj-Kohalpur and Nepalgunj-Surkhet roads are eerily deserted..... Nowhere does the Mahendra highway look so desolate as when it leaves behind the mini industrial zone of Nepalgunj and enters the hilly jungle terrain.
• Nepal defiant on military aid cut BBC News Nepal says it will approach other countries for military supplies if India and the United Kingdom stopped such assistance...... Nepal could approach its giant communist neighbour China and India's traditional rival, Pakistan......
  
• Uneasy days ahead for Nepal's crown Times of India, India Growing international pressure, the regrouping of democratic forces and renewed protests and blockades by Maoist insurgents have imperilled the survival of the institution of monarchy in Nepal. ..... public opinion in Nepal is sharply polarised on the issue ..... the continuation of monarchy is being openly questioned for the first time in the country's history. ...... the Nepali Congress (is) publicly demanding the abolition of monarchy ..... Nepali political leaders who fled to India in the wake of the king's action have demanded convening of a constituent assembly elected by the people to decide the future of monarchy ..... Pradeep Giri of the Nepali Congress (Democratic) also stressed on the creation of an elected constituent assembly as the top priority of the political parties. ..... The acceptability of a constituent assembly has kindled the possibility of a grand alliance of the Maoists with political parties, though fundamental ideological differences between them persist. ..... the Maoists are said to have extended their control to over 60 of the country's 75 districts where their writ is supreme...... Chaos and instability work to the advantage of Maoist insurgents who are shrewdly moving into the space previously occupied by notoriously fractious political parties. ...... "If the king is adamant on using Royal Nepalese Army as a tool in dealing with the Maoists, he runs the risk of a popular uprising," warned security expert Major General (retd) Ashok Mehta. ..... "The only way to deal with the Maoists is through a legitimate political authority. This could take the shape of an all-party government. Let's face the fact: the king is not a legitimate political authority," Mehta said...... the political parties have already formed a broad political front ..... The international isolation of the king is near complete ..... there are reports of France, Denmark, Norway and Germany doing likewise...... Unless he changes course, he will be dumped into the dustbin of history
• Nepali parties decide to launch united fight Sify five political parties of Nepal have decided to launch a united agitation for restoration of democracy in the Himalayan Kingdom as they sought to mobilise the support of Indian parties in this respect...... The Nepali Congress, Nepali Congress (Democratic), Sadbhavna (Anandi), Janmorcha and the MCP (United) have passed a resolution, deciding to work under the leadership of former prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala for ending emergency in their country..... efforts were on to bring other parties in the fold...... leaders who attended these meetings included Sujata Koirala, daughter of G P Koirala, and her cousin Shekhar Koirala (both Nepali Congress), Pradeep Giri (Nepali Congress-D) and Rajendra Mahto of Sadbhavna (A)
• Journalists slip information out of Nepal International Journalist's Network One example is a Web site named Radio Free Nepal: http://freenepal.blogspot.com/. ..... the king has begun shutting off Internet sites .....
  

The King's Best Option: Go Back On TV One More Time

If The King Himself Were To Take Initiative For The Constituent Assembly.

I mean, he could go on national television and say something like this. That way Nepal will be spared the humiliation of India, on its own, arranging mediation between the "rebels" and the king. Even if he fails to bring the Maoists around, he will at least bring the democrats together. I have a strong feeling the Maoists will come around. Peace making is a skill, like playing soccer. You can't just wish it. You have to work it. Coalition building requires a certain relentlessness.

The king's two biggest enemies are: (1) the ex-Panches, and (2) the top brass of the army. Neither care if the monarchy stays or goes. All they care is in terms of their short term career advancements. And neither can deliver. The army can not deliver a military victory over the Maoists. And the Panchayati ghosts like Giri and Bishta can not deliver law and order or peace talks.

Beloved Countrymen and women.

I come back to you today to make an announcement that I hope will bring together the various political factions in the country. I had to dismiss the previous government since it had failed in its mandate to hold talks with the Maoists. The subsequent emergency that was imposed was a choice of last resort on my part. It was not something that made me happy. But it was a compulsion under the circumstances.

The political parties that participated in the multi-party framework of the 1990s, for all their deficiencies, are our vanguards for democracy, as they themselves will evolve and perfect the democratic experiment over time, as long as periodic free and fair elections can be ensured.

The Maoists come from an entirely different ideological background, but there are many from the communist movement, like our own late Madan Bhandari, who have managed to make room for the multi-party framework without giving up on their ultimate socialist utopian dream. Ideological purity is not a precondition for participation in a democracy, a commitment to peaceful co-existence is.

I must say the Maoists have raised some valid social issues. But it is not my place to get involved in those details. It is for the democratic process to deal with all political and social issues.

Diversity in viewpoints, opinions, and ideology is possible within the democratic framework. The western free marketeers themselves have been perfecting the market economy forever. There is no one fix-all, either in politics or economics.

There were many patriotic Nepalis who made valuable contributions to the country during the Panchayat era as well. Diversity of opinion should make room for that as well.

I love my late father King Mahendra, and take great pride in my ancestors, like the founder of the dynasty, late King Prithvi, as I think all of you should in terms of your own individual families. I think it would be wrong to judge those from times past with our perspectives available today. And I greatly miss my late brothers and their families and I will continue to do so for the rest of my life. Kings have sentiments also.

Today we live in a different world. As I have said before, the monarchy in the 21st century can only stand for democracy. This is a different time we live in compared to where the world was 50 or 250 years ago. The history of other countries carry the same message. The oldest continuous democracy America itself was a very imperfect democracy as little as 50 years ago.

The first thing I did after taking over was to extend an open invitation to the Maoists. It was made very clear we were willing to seek all options including that of the Constituent Assembly.

As the heir to the throne, I consider it my duty to seek the continuation of the monarchy. And I am confident that if the Nepali people are given a chance to vote in a free and fair manner, they will express their support to keep the monarchy around. And I can live with the opinions of those who might disagree.

With this proclamation, I hereby restore all fundamental rights. And I invite all political parties represented in the last parliament as well as the Maoists to form an all-party government to which I will also make a maximum of two nominations. That government will have a two-point agenda. One, to restore peace in the country. And, two, to hold elections within a year of taking over for a Constituent Assembly. People will vote for parties and coalitions. And the percentage of votes each might get will determine the number of seats each gets in the subsequent 205-member Assembly.

That Assemlby will elect a government and draft a Constitution, to be put to a referendum within a year. If passed, that document will become the fundamental law of the land.

To participate in the all-party government and the subsequent elections, the Maoists will have to agree to lay down their arms. We can not have them continue with the insurgency so as to pressure the government in ways they might see fit, or to disagree with the outcome of the Constituent Assembly, should they find it not in their favor. That possibility can not be allowed. It might be possible to integrate the Maoist fighters into the army, but not as separate battalions. Their cadres will have to go through the same screening process that any other Nepali might have gone through before. And the subsequent expansion of the army will have to make budgetary sense.

If the Maoists can not come around to the Constituent Assembly then, I am afraid, we will have only the military option left to bring the insurgency to an end. I hope we do not have to fall for that last resort.

For now I invite all political parties to come together and join hands and form an all-party government that will have the executive powers.

On my part, as heir to the throne, I hope to reform the monarchy. Future generations will marry individuals of their choice and not necessarily within a few select families, or even within the country. The first born, son or daughter, should ascend to the throne. The royal budget should go back to the level it was at in 2001. I hope to keep an active interest in the affairs of the country, and keep in touch with political leaders of all persuasions. But that will still be a
Constitutional Monarch. The parliament will be running the country. And I hope to open up variuos holdings of my family for public viewing so as to generate enough tourist revenue for the state that it might offset the state expenditures on the monarchy. We are a Hindu family that hundreds of millions of Hindus all over the world relate to. That will continue to be so. But it will be just fine if in the new constitution the country is declared a secular state.

Of course, the political parties will be free to campaign for a republic, or for a Constitutional Monarchy, as they might please. But I hope many will campaign for a reformed Constitutional Monarchy. The monarchy is the most deeply rooted institution in the country that adds to the country's uniqueness in the eyes of our neighbors and the world.

I have always thought in terms of the best of the country and its beloved peoples. I hope we can all come together and unleash the potential of this great country and put it on the path of rapid economic growth. I personally take great pride in the rapid economic growth and promise of our two great neighbors, India and China. I hope we can benefit from their advances as that of the rest of the world. We may disagree on the particulars, but I hope we will do so peacefully,
and within the democratic framework.

May Lord Pashupatinath bless us all.

The Tide Might Be Turning

Just look at this. I am giving King G a few more weeks.

With India, US, and UK united, China is not going to even think of meddling. So India does not have to worry about "balancing it out" with China. Another evidence Gyanendra trying to repeat the Mahendra use of the China card is obsolete, out of date by about 45 years.

And the US and UK want India to play the lead. So it boils down to India. And India has made it very clear where it stands. Bring back press freedom, release all political prisoners, restore basic rights.

The king kicked the Nepali people out of the equation totally. Now it looks like his entire gameplan rested on international support. This guy is so far away from reality, it is not even funny. His plan has backfired in ways he can not even begin to fathom.

And look at this Ramesh Nath Pandey guy. He actually would like India and the US to believe that there is only one force standing between the Maoist takeover of India, and possibly even the US, and that force is the king, and so India and the US should support the king, for their own good. This has got to be the Mount K2 of delusion.

What these Monarchist autocrats are failing to see, among many things, is that India is an emerging global superepower, on par with the US and UK. And Indian opinion matters. It matters a lot on the question of democracy in Nepal. It matters totally.

If the king will not on his own go for an all-party government that includes the Maoists and a Constituent Assembly, then India should step in and facilitate that. If the monarchy is to survive, let it do so through a fresh mandate from the people.

King G reminds me of Trent Lott. Lott made a racist comment, and lost his job, but he never came around to seeing he had made a racist comment. He just did never "get" it. King G does not "get" it.

• India says halts military aid to Nepal Reuters India, India ......urging the king to restore democracy, release political leaders and lift curbs on the media ..... "As of now, many aspects of our bilateral relations are being re-assessed and reviewed. ..... restore democracy, free politicians and lift media curbs. .....
  
• Britain suspends military aid to Nepal Reuters AlertNet .....The 1.3 million pound ($2.5 million) package of non-lethal equipment announced in January includes vehicles, night flying and communications improvements and bomb disposal equipment...... "We are now considering with key international partners what our longer term policy for providing assistance to Nepal should be
  
• India freezes military assistance to Nepal Hindustan Times, India .....arms and ammunition, helicopters, armoured vehicles, bullet proof-vests and helmets, besides military training to its soldiers.....India, one of the major providers of military assistance to Nepal, gives assistance at a 70 per cent subsidy. In the last five years, India's military assistance has been worth nearly Rs 3 billion (nearly $70 million)...... New Delhi is closely monitoring the situation in Nepal and reviewing and reassessing it almost on a daily basis ..... demand for the release of detained political leaders and members of civil society, restoration of civil and media rights and restoring multiparty democracy ..... The decision will come as a blow for the RNA and the new government that had been hoping for continuation of Indian military aid on the ground that it was needed to fight the Maoist insurgency, that is also a threat to Indian security as well as entire South Asia. ..... The envoys of India, the US and the UK are said to be in close consultation and the Indian decision is likely to affect the British and American decisions. In the wake of the royal takeover, the British government issued a statement saying it was reviewing development and security assistance to Nepal.
• India ends military aid to Nepal BBC News
• India asks Nepal to lift press curbs Newindpress .....Nepal has not received any military assistance from the donor countries after the February one royal takeover...... "We have expressed our grave concern over discriminately targeting Indian joint venture establishments, including the UTL (wireless telephone service), which has been restricted to operate its service since February 1 royal coup," ..... India has joined countries including the UK, USA and EU member states in urging the king to reinstate multiparty democracy, restore fundamental rights and release all political activists, saying their economic assistance and military aid will depend on Nepal's response.
  
• Nepal foreign minister sure of international support:New Kerala, India .....Nepalese Foreign Minister Ramesh Nath Pandey is confident the new royalist government will ride the present crisis with return of international support ..... "The king has said it is the obligation of all political parties, the intelligentsia and members of civil society to work unitedly to protect multiparty democracy from the threat of terrorism...... He said at stake was not only Nepal's peace and security but the "future of the entire region and eventually the world". ..... "The king has publicly appealed to the Maoists to join mainstream politics. His condition is that the meeting point should be patriotism...... "In case of a civil, war, no one will win
• Indo-Nepal ties a story of wasted chances: Minister (INTERVIEW) Indo-Asian News Service
• US wants India to play a "leading role" in Nepal: New Kerala, India ..... The United States wants India to play a "leading role" in facilitating restoration of democracy in Nepal and would support New Delhi's efforts to bring the Government and rebels there to the dialogue table ..... "Our approach is to look to India, which has comprehensive relations with the country, for a supportive role rather than step in. India should play the leading role," ..... The U S and Britain keep the view that India should have the lead position with its comprehensive relations with Nepal ..... The U S has a free-standing bilateral relationship with India based on India's position in the present world.
• India must take the lead on Nepal: US Sify ..... would support New Delhi's efforts to bring the Government and rebels to the dialogue table ..... India should play the leading role ..... "Any effort can be made for Nepal to return to a democratic format," he said, when asked if US will support any Indian offer for mediation between rebels and the Government of Nepal...... "The three countries are the key players. The US and Britain keep the view that India should have the lead position with its comprehensive relations with Nepal."
  
• Britain halts military aid to Nepal Daily Telegraph, Australia
• India concerned about JVs in Nepal Indo-Asian News Service, India
• Swiss projects come to a halt in NepalIndo-Asian News Service, India

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Hridayesh Tripathy In Delhi: Good News

This is the first time I am reading news on Tripathy. I guess he is in Delhi with Mahato. I am glad he is not under house arrest like Girija and MaKuNe and others.

• Nepal leaders seek India's support in fight for democracy: New Kerala, India ......political leaders today demanded elections for a constituent assembly in the Himalayan Kingdom and holding of talks to resolve the Maoist menace...... Observing that the reasons behind the Maoist resurgence were political, economic and social, Nepal Sadbhavna Party (A) leader Rajendra Mahto said the insurgency problem could be solved only through talks and not military action........Mahto's colleague Hridayesh Tripathi said "the King did not want to get rid of the Maoist problem but wants to keep it going to get foreign aid." Claiming that King Gyanendra was "inspired" by Pakistan President Gen Pervez Musharraf, he said "the monarch may spring up a new constitution for the Himalayan Kingdom under the garb of development."...... Dictatorship in Nepal would be "bad" for India, said Sujata, the daughter of former Premier Girija Prasad Koirala, who fled her country earlier this week......."We want an elected constituent assembly which should have the powers to decide the future of Nepal," she said adding abolition of monarchy should be the goal of any political movement.
• Former Nepalese PM's life under threat: daughter: New Kerala ....he was being slow-poisoned ..... ....Chitrabahadur Keshi of the Nepalese Communist Party (Jan Morcha) favoured a common front with everyone including the Maoist guerrillas ...

We are in a major fix here. This king is taking the country backwards in time. You have to see him for what he is, or you will not know how to counter his moves.

I feared he might go down the Burma path: shun the larger powers, just keep at it. But he is not going for that. Nepal is too dependent on foreign powers for aid. He timed his coup in such a way that he would make an appearance at the SAARC summit a few days later and thus become legitimate. Good thing Manmohan Singh foiled that move. But that reveals the king is greatly susceptible to the trio of India, US and UK, especially India. And India does not really have to think a whole lot about China. Nepal is not China's backyard. Besides, as long as you do not mess with China's grand strategy of rapid economic growth, it really is not adventurous outside its borders.

I am worried about the US posture on the Maoists. I mean, the heck with it. The US dare not repeat its Cold War mistakes in Latin America when it routinely sponsored right wing militias who went on to conduct major, major human rights abuses. The US dare not repeat that in Nepal.

I fear people like (US Ambassador) Moriarty have been projecting their personal readings into Russing communism of the 1930s and Chinese communism of the 1960s onto the Nepali Maoists. It is like me saying, Moriarty, I can't deal with you because you are a segregationist. I mean, that is what white folks were 40 years back. But things change.

The Maoists have to be taken for their word on the Constituent Assembly.

Their ideology is no different than that of the late Madan Bhandari. The so-called Prachanda Path makes ample room for the multi-party framework. A political platform of a Democratic Republic has to be the meeting ground.

As long as the Maoists disarm and participate within a multi-party democratic framework, who cares if they keep dreaming of a socialist utopia a hundred years from now?

And I think they will.

But before the Maoists, all the democratic forces need to come around and present a Common Minimum Program that can be expressed in two words: Democratic Republic. Reaching out to seek common ground with the Maoists comes second.

There might even be room to reach out to the king, but not from a position of weakness. That third phase meeting ground could be another two words: Constituent Assembly. But regardless to say, the king is not even negotiating. He feels he is too strong to cut corners.

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Towards a Democratic Republic of Nepal

Democracy has been squeezed out by the two extremes: the Monarchists and the Maoists. It is for the democratic center to fight back. Street protests will not do. And the old mantra of constitutional monarchy and multi-party democracy will not do either. And the single word mantra of democracy will not.

The call has to be for a Democratic Republic. The king has done what the Maoists would only have dreamt of. He has taken away all fundamental rights. And that has to be countered by an all-out call for a Republic. No more talk of a Constitutional Monarchy. King G can not be trusted. Ever since he got onto the throne, he has been playing the cat and mouse games of a feudal aristocrat with the feeble parties and politicians. He is the Nepali Musharraf. He does not have Queen Elizabeth in mind. Even if the insurgency were to be quelled and "democracy" reinstalled, he would want to play Big Brother. He intends to be a "Constructive" Monarch, not a Constitutional Monarch. A constitutional monarch is politically irrelevant, but he never intends to become politically irrelevant. He intends to be active and meddling even if democracy is reinstalled.

It is for the Nepali Speakig High Caste Male dominated institutions like the Nepali Congress and the UML to shake off their love affair with the concept of a Constitutional Monarchy that they have been parroting, come hell or high water.

Unilateral disarmament is ineffective politics. The king hits the democratic forces, those forces need to hit back. And you hit back by creating and amassing support for a Republic. And saying, after the Republican forces take over, the entire top brass of the army will be purged. If you do not create such a platform, the army has no incentive to think twice before doing the Gyanendra do. The army and King G went after the civilians. Human rights abuses have gone up. They are acting as if the Maoists were the lesser problem, first gag the common peoples and the politicians.

The Nepali people pay the king, the Nepali people pay the army. And ought to treat the two like they might treat clerks at the post office, with human respect, but with a clear understanding as to whose payroll these people are on. Both have given ample evidence they need to be fired.

What King G wants is to do the 100 days mantra to calm things down, hoping the initial reactions will go down, people will get used to it. This is an Active Monarch, playing the chess game of politics. Whoever elected King G?

It is for the democratic forces to create that political platform, and it is for them also to respond to some of the charges levelled against them. As in, yes, some of us were corrupt, but we intend to pass major anti-corruption legislation, and, by the way, look at the "royal corruption." The royal "budget" has been increased 10-fold by King G. That puts to shame all the corruption of the entire batch of Congressias. And look at the army's budget. 70% of the national budget.

This major issue has to be addressed head on and in all honesty if the democratic forces are to expect ground support.

The mantra of Democratic Republic is also to be a face saving possibility for the Maoists. Yes, the democrats are also Republicans now. Join us, or expect to get sidelined.

Not too much stock can be put in ancient communist ideology. These Maoists have been organizing the Dalits and the Janajatis. Mao never heard of Dalits and Janajatis. These legitimate social grievances have to be addressed. Maoists are not just hooligans with guns. They have a clear political agenda.

Most of the persecuted politicians conveniently have Nepali Speaking High Caste Male names. They need to do some soul searching into the social reality that marginalized the Dalits and the Janajatis. The social agenda of the Maoists has to be addressed to demilitarize them eventually.

Democracy is also a mechanism to address social inequalities, also a mechanism to address poverty, also an anti-corruption mechanism. The democratic forces will have to present that larger vision of democracy. So far they have failed to do so.

India, US, UK matter, but only so much. King G might be able to use those powers. Already he has asked for 100 days just to present a plan to deal with the Maoists. And these powers are okay with that. Democracy will not be a gift of the foreign powers. It will have to be earned by the Nepali people. And political leadership helps.

The installment of a Democratic Republic of Nepal will have to be the work of the Nepali democratic forces all over the world, and primarily in Nepal, coming together and organizing and launching an effective counter to the king's move.

Street protests are hard to organize in a police state that Nepal has now become. And when they were organized, they were ineffective. Because they were designed to "convince" a monarch who does not speak that language. This monarch can not be convinced out, he has to be forced out. And the way to do that would be to create a broad Democratic Republican political platform and to coalesce a large, international coalition of Nepalis around it.

I have a feeling the Maoists will come into the mainstream if the democratic forces were to switch their allegiance from Constitutional Monarchy to Republicanism and were to agree to the idea of a Constituent Assembly to draft a new constitution. What kind of democrat are you if you do not agree to the idea of a Constituent Assembly? Let the 27 million Nepalis decide what kind of constitution they want. Yes, as a Madhesi, I expect such an Assembly to turn Nepal into a federal state, which is the only solution to the second class status of Madhesis in Nepal, as the Janajatis. Noone who is against the idea of a Constituent Assembly can claim to be a democrat, no such person has a right to protest the king's autocratic move.

I don't see the king and the army defeating the Maoists militarily. I don't see the Maoists taking over the country militarily. So the onus is on the democratic forces to create the political platform that gets rid of the monarchy and brings the Maoists into the mainstream.

Hence the clear call for a Democratic Republic of Nepal.

Comments at Sajha

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News And Comments

February 21, 2005

This is the first time I am reading news on Tripathy. I guess he is in Delhi with Mahato. I am glad he is not under house arrest like Girija and MaKuNe and others.

• Nepal leaders seek India's support in fight for democracy: New Kerala, India ......political leaders today demanded elections for a constituent assembly in the Himalayan Kingdom and holding of talks to resolve the Maoist menace...... Observing that the reasons behind the Maoist resurgence were political, economic and social, Nepal Sadbhavna Party (A) leader Rajendra Mahto said the insurgency problem could be solved only through talks and not military action........Mahto's colleague Hridayesh Tripathi said "the King did not want to get rid of the Maoist problem but wants to keep it going to get foreign aid." Claiming that King Gyanendra was "inspired" by Pakistan President Gen Pervez Musharraf, he said "the monarch may spring up a new constitution for the Himalayan Kingdom under the garb of development."...... Dictatorship in Nepal would be "bad" for India, said Sujata, the daughter of former Premier Girija Prasad Koirala, who fled her country earlier this week......."We want an elected constituent assembly which should have the powers to decide the future of Nepal," she said adding abolition of monarchy should be the goal of any political movement.
• Former Nepalese PM's life under threat: daughter: New Kerala ....he was being slow-poisoned ..... ....Chitrabahadur Keshi of the Nepalese Communist Party (Jan Morcha) favoured a common front with everyone including the Maoist guerrillas ....

February 20, 2005

The heat is on. There is news of some direct clashes between the Maoists and the army. And it is interesting the Chinese do not refer to the Maoists as Maoists. The king's 100 days talk is given new color. It is not 100 days to a restoration of rights, but 100 days to producing a "plan" to deal with the Maoists and to bring back democracy down the line.

Okay, so he does not have Burma in mind. He is constantly responding to the western donors. But does he have Musharraf in mind? Pakistan never got its democracy back. There can be elections and still no democracy if a Gyane/Musharraf can fire Prime Ministers at will, for the sake of "national interest."

• 8 more guerrillas killed by southern Nepal locals Xinhua, China
• Rebels in Nepalese road terror The South African Star Maoist rebels have blocked a key highway leading to Nepal's capital, planting bombs and firing at motorists.
• Maoist attacks turn Kathmandu road into gauntlet of fire Times of India, India "We were travelling on the top of the bus, when they started firing from both sides of the road. The bus stopped and we quickly got inside, but more bullets came through the window," said Krishna Poudel, 18.
• The emperor wears no clothes Indian Express, India It has been evident for some years now that Nepal’s present monarch has no use for constitutions and that he and multi-democracy cannot co-exist .... King Gyanendra has destroyed Nepal’s fledgling democratic process; the spirit of the 1990 democracy movement ..... He has taken Nepal back to the draconian days of Rana rule, when regular curfew was imposed on all the towns and people could be jailed for circulating even popular Hindu religious texts...... even during the reign of his brother, King Birendra, had displayed a distinct instinct for power brokering and palace intrigue...... He is also believed to have been behind the attempts of the palace to scuttle the drafting of the new constitution of 1990 that rendered the king a constitutional monarch rather than an absolute ruler...... the regicide that shook the Himalayan kingdom in June 2001 and which King Gyanendra himself famously described as a “sudden burst of fire” ..... Here is a king, then, who has thrived behind the numerous screens of opacity that has shrouded Nepal’s royalty, only to emerge as an utterly ruthless and despotic figure. ..... Sustained military operations with all the weaponry that India and the world have made available to the king have only seen the red brigades extend and consolidate their presence...... Today, the writ of the Maoists runs almost across the entire country with the partial exception of the Kathmandu Valley ..... The resources of the hills and mountains have gone to service Kathmandu and its elites under a stultifying tributory system where family oligarchies deftly extracted wealth but never thought to invest in or develop the hinterland...... It follows from this that the King and Maoism are, in fact, inseparable twins, conjoined by a rigid feudal order, an extractive economy and a political system that has no use for human rights...... has the potential to generate 83,000 megawatts of hydro-electricity but currently generates only 319 megawatts — with only 15 per cent of its population having access to electricity. If Nepal had been fortunate enough to have a more equitable, democratic social order and an enlightened, progressive leadership, if it had not been harnessed to the palace for well over two centuries, it may have been able to convert its jala shakti into a jana shakti and emerged a powerhouse....... Since 2001, India has handed over Rs 360 crore in arms and ammunition to the RNA in order to defeat the Maoists. That is unlikely to happen. What is far more likely is that the army will shape up into a fine repressive instrument to keep Nepal at the royal heel. The king has already used his men in uniform to gag the media, guard the palace, tail political leaders, crack down on student protestors. They will increasingly function as the extension of the palace as the king consolidates his totalitarian hold on a nation, which in Manjushree Thapa’s evocative words, has been turned into a “kingdom of fear”.
• Rebels fake wedding procession, attack Nepalese police, killing ... Khaleej Times A 30-minute gunbattle ensued .....
  
• Prices rise in Kathmandu as Maoists cut supply chain Economic Times Maoists had set ablaze at least 13 trucks carrying supplies, including two that were carrying buffaloes ..... 58 buffaloes that were burnt alive ..... The price of foodstuff, vegetables and fruit continued to rise in Kathmandu by 15-30%...... The state media, meanwhile, continued to ignore the indefinite blockade the Maoists had declared from February 13 and its fallout and stepped up its anti-Maoist propaganda.
  
• Nepal's King Defends Crackdown, Fights Protest Washington Post ....political workers were detained and telephone lines cut in a bid to scuttle protests against the king ..... The king's actions have drawn mixed reactions in Nepal ..... The army and police are believed to be solidly behind him, and analysts say the military planned the power grab. ..... India, Britain and the United States, which have given Nepal military supplies to fight the Maoists, have strongly condemned Gyanendra's move.
• US Warns Nepal Palace Putsch Could Risk Aid Washington Post .....make "fast progress" in producing a plan to restore democracy and tackle a Maoist insurgency ..... Gyanendra and his government vowed to deliver a plan within 100 days to restore democratic freedoms and tackle a rural rebellion ..... Failure to perform would put U.S. military aid at risk, embitter the Nepali public and fuel the insurgency ..... Security aid was $4 million in 2004 and $1.5 million has been budgeted for this year ..... A Maoist takeover would result in the monarch and politicians "either sitting in India or executed" ..... Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch called the rights situation grave ..... Human rights groups have urged Western governments and international financial institutions to focus on support programs that aid Nepalis but bypass the palace .....
  

February 19, 2005

Looks like the King does not have the Burma option in mind. He has been quite sensitive to pressures from Delhi, London and Washington. Perhaps such a thing as the China card does not exist. The global reality today is far too different from that in 1960. Just look at the North Korea situation. China and the US seem to be on the same side on that one. So it is highly unlikely China will be on King G's side when India, US, and UK are not.

I think it is best if the political parties keep organizing, and do whatever they can now, and go full blast once the rights are reinstalled, as promised by King G to Washington.

• 
  
• Gyanendra on Friday justified his decision to take over the power and said that the country's democracy and sovereignty was at stake .....
  
• Nepal: Democracy is No Slave to Monarchy Navhind Times At first, the three major democracies had conveyed their message to the king by simultaneously recalling their ambassadors from Kathmandu — the European Union did so a little later — but now the gloves are off ..... the meeting between Mr Singh and the Nepalese ambassador had taken place at the latter’s request ..... the triangular convergence of views between Delhi, Washington and London is much deeper today than at time since the three started coordinating their policies on Nepal more than a year ago ..... (Manmohan Singh) not only Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee and Mr L K Advani, who lead the principal opposition in Parliament, but also Mr V P Singh and Mr Inder Kumar Gujral ..... The second argument of the king’s apologists has been that the priority in Nepal should be given to fighting the Maoists, not the monarch. This proposition is also absurd. Political parties — though often irresponsible and incompetent in the past — would never have stood in the way of the king’s crackdown on Maoists if he had initiated one.
• Police arrest 57 anti-king protesters in Nepal Khaleej Times Eight people were arrested in Katmandu, at least 36 in Janakpur and 13 in the Himalayan resort town of Pokhara, police said .....
  
• SAFTA meet cancelled due to Nepal situation Times of India A key meeting on the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) pact, which is to come into effect by 2006, has been cancelled .....
• Koirala's rough ride to freedom "I could have been killed by the Royal Nepal Army or Maoists. Or worse, I could have been eaten by tigers," says Sujata Koirala .....
• Nepal king makes first public appearance New Delhi has suspended indefinitely military aid ..... He appeared in good health, visibly confident and in a joyous mood
• Another Koirala sneaks into India
• Resurgent Maoists push India into corner The success of the Maoist blockade in Nepal on Sunday has exacerbated the acute policy dilemma that India finds itself in ..... a strong message from New Delhi - that he should revive the political party system and then invite the Maoists for talks.
• Over 100 opposition workers arrested in Nepal Chennai Online

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The SEBS Thread That Got Self-Censored

There is a raging debate going on at SEBS Online on the issue of self-censorship. I quote here excerpts from a thread that is now accessible only to SEBS members. These are only a few of the many postings.

"Now that gyanendra has taken the powers, we can do nothing but stare helplessly at the poor country. Is it? May be Nepal is waiting for the ultimate bloodshed before the new day begins when the monarchy is dumped to the black pages in the history of Nepal."

"I see an emergence of a republic Nepal, may be not right now but within few years."

"rocking! There may be no other country in the world with this much political intrigue. Maybe the war will be decisive now... "

"I personally support what King Gyanendra did wholeheartedly. It’s not because I support what he stands for but because it is the only logical way out of the current crisis. It has to be realized at the onset that the Maoists are a bigger threat to the nation than are the right-wingers. And as such a common front consisting of both the King and the political leaders would have been the best way to counter the threat of the Maoists. But of course the political leaders would never work under the king even though it was the best way out of the crisis or even though they knew that it was the king who had the guns. And in an armed conflict it is the person who has the guns is all powerful. The political parties had their chance to purge the armed forces and make it pro-democracy but they were just too weak to go for that. And it is no surprise that the armed forces, essentially still an aristocratic institution, has a deep mistrust and disdain towards the political parties. Of course one cannot expect them to submit to the political parties when there is a better option available which suits their interests better, isn’t it? You cannot expect politics to run on the principles of morality after all. Thus, as the Maoist threat cannot be ended without military mobilization of some sorts, it is only King Gyanendra who has the power to solve the problem. He may not be the best of the persons, but best of the worst he definitely is.

Though the move was least surprising, it is bound to result in a lot of surprises and uncertainties in the future. The fate of our nation today depends very much on how King Gyanendra decides to solve the problem and also upon his skills as a political leader. But we can at least be sure that he will do the best he can to get the Maoists out of the scene as he himself is fighting to save his skin. Though he appears to be the one who knows what he is doing (and I seriously hope that he does), it is to be seen whether his actions will result in better days or just the traditional stalemate.

As for the political parties, I think that they rather stop monkeying around at least for a while as it will only make the job of solving the Maoist threat harder and probably also longer. There is no point fighting against a brawny brother for the house when the enemy is at the gates.

Well what after the Maoist problem is solved (if it ever is)? Well in that case I think the king is going to be the champion of the masses and there is very little chance that he will actually leave the political hot seat to make way for a democratic government. I’m sure there will be a power struggle then as well. But at least the Maoists will have been out of the scenario by then and it makes much more sense to be fighting for power then rather than today.

Well what if the Maoist problem is not solved for a long time? I do not think there’s anyone who doesn’t know the answer: RIP Nepal.

Well as the cards have already been dealt, all we can do for now is hope that the king plays the game well."

"This was waiting to happen and, I believe, and the parliamentarians are most to blame who could not unite against viciousness of maoists. Average people prefer system we had. But given the fact that the politicians were playing selfish brats while innocents were being butchered, this is probably an option for Nepalese to wait and see."

"no political party leader of Nepal has vision. so, i guess the death of 10000 nepalese won't go in vain at least. either aaar or paar now instead of dilemma. Maoists always told parties that constitution has faults. and King can do this someday. now, all can see what maoists were talking about. Foolish leaders of our country, foolish. Now, i worry the about the power of feudals, bhardars, nothing others.

my post few weeks ago--

ya, this is all truth and truth, nothing more. if you want change, you can't go our political parties' way "wait and wait for the change". I wish for every success for the maoists as soon as possible before other thousands make their way to heaven. If maoists hadn't begun this fight, no political leader and civil cosiety would have been so conscious as of today about the faults in constitution, about the king's power etc. At least, now there is a sense of fear for the corrupt leaders, feudals.

If maoist hadn't begun all this, Nepal wouldn't have come to this phase, this is i guess the phase of transition for the new future. To make it better or worse depends upon all political forces, durbar and maoists. Who would have thought Nepali congress and few others shall have to come to road today? A lose for the maoist from now on is a lose for all nepalese so i guess everyone should win now because the life of 10000 nepalese must not go useless if the change do not come. A win for everyone means a new developmental change in the constitution and consciousness of all the leaders. So, this was being initiated by maoist. All this bold open democratic debate on constitutional assembly, limitation of king's power in today's world, possibility of republic( what about Paras?), decentralisation of development for rural nepal etc etc etc have only been possible due to the reason of maoist, otherwise before them, no political parties were concerned about this, busy in taking money under table, misusing foreign aid."

"our country has been with monarchy for ages and u guys want it thrown away.... what a shame on ya ppl.... no wonder what the king is upto right now..... but what i can assure you is good days are heading our way. When King Gyanendra sacked several ministers and made some reforms in the country couple of year back then people said jindabad, but now when he is himself having difficulties making some decision.. i wonder how ppl be so selfish not supporting the king. Why doesnt anyone understand he is our king..... how can he do anything that would let his country down.... i have a word for some sucker......**** THE MAOIST. our country can never stand without the KING..

LONG LIVE NEPAL AND ITS MONARCHY.. And now comming back to paras dai... why do we forget he is a product of BNKS..... dont worry about him..... times they are changing Cheers.."

"my concern is, Ok Nepal was not in proper track and nepali politicos were not able to do so. But it is we nepali who will decide and work hard to change our society. if king likes to do that then he should form a political party and come to the open ground. he is just like some Afgan warlords who with the power of his chamcha army doing all this. shame on Royal Nepal Army....... we should disband this army and have autonomous security apparatus in all 5 development regions in federal configuration and no control of Kathmandu collectively to all these five security apparatus........ we need REPUBLIC OF NEPAL NOW"

"No we dont need Republic. We need to wipe out the maoists, if not atleast have the election but keep those corrupt leaders (Girija, makune, govinde, wagle) into prison."

"what Maoists are also Nepali. they have voiced their political thoughts. if maoists are wrong for using guns, then king is also wrong for using state guns...... neither of them could be justified...... so choosing enemy one at a time....... monarchy has ruled nepal for past 200 years either directly or under rana (ranas joined royal forces after 1953 so effectively making rana rule also royal rule because of their matrimonial relation, and ranas rose to power not due to weakness of political powers but weakness of monarchy) and they have never ever been supportive to the cause of common nepali...... thus they are first enemy....... we disagree with the maoists philosophy that is why we don't want them to come to power.... that is struggle between nepali........ if the king wants champion his political agenda then he should form a political party, denounce his royal previllage and come to the street as others.......... he may choose maoists way by using guns, it is upto him........ our first enemy in development of nepal is royals....... this does not mean that the political leaders are good, but we can change them........ in nepal's history a killer has been a king........ say if even Dipendra killed Birendra and other royals, he was king for two days though in coma........ how can a killer be the head of the state, and the killing was not a political........ do we need such system....... thus monarchy is the first obtacle for development of nepal......... WE NEED REPUBLIC"

"No phone line No internet no media. these are the basic necessities for people to survive in todays world. Even the coup in Pakistan they did not do this. This is completely against human rights. As a responsible and well educated citizen of nepal I strongly believe that Kings actions is completely wrong and against human rights.

The Nepalese public is no longer like 2017 when King Mahendra took over power. I think this is the start of a new revolution in Nepal. It will be a lot more violent and more bloodshed than in 2045 but I am confident that the change will be for good.

I think this is a good sign of hopes and changes in the country. We should learn to accept changes and we do not need people to rule us who take away our freedom and human rights."

"They way things were going in Nepal, something drastic HAD to happen. But what happened, as many people suspected, is the wrong thing to happen. But it was the most logical thing to happen given the situation. Its a step back for the Nepali people in the long run.

Someone said it right, even if King G is Ok, those around him whom commom people have to deal with, will be the most corrupt, like they always were. The political parties were the by-product of that corrupt group. The Rana and Shah's who run the country does not give a damn about the people. They have enjoyed power and suppressing people for years. And there are chumchas who like to be suppressed and under the umbrella of these people. This royal move is NOT going to change THAT habit, even is the move solves the Maoist problem."

"No, Prachanda is trying to capitalize in the situation. This is the time the political parities can back him up. If that happens, we have a true revolution in our hands. And knowing the parties, I am sure they are analyzing what is the best move. I won't be surprised if some parties join the Maoists.

If the parties stay separate, then we will have more years of bloodshed and rule by the King G."

"it seems ironic that comrade prachanda should talk about history's ghosts while advocating a failed ideology himself."

"We especially appeal the entire jawans and officers working under the so-called Royal Army to defy the so-called royal proclamation, which has come in the gesture of foreign reaction against the country and people, revolt from there and implicate unitedly with the People’s Liberation Army in the great task of protecting own parents, brothers and sisters. PRACHANDA what the F***..this guy is appealing the army to protect their parents, brothers and sisters..what does he mean? join him otherwise Gyanendra will kill their parents or if you don join him he will kill them? It seems he still does not realize that he has played the biggest role to take the country to this situation. Why was he born in Nepal???"

"I have been reading Prachanda's press release for the past few years and I have many reasons to belive that they have changed in the course of years.

Before they used to be more targeted towards having a communist dictatorship in the country. Now they have realized that like any other places in the world hard core communism will not survive any other parts of the world. I feel that they are more geared towards having a socialist republic and support multi - party democracy. This is a good sign for the country and I see some lights if the political parties and maoists come together and work towards democracy...and this is very very possible and the only hope to free the country off slavery."

"what about india? Delhi's support is considered critical for the king in the days to come.

But not many believe he will get it.

What if India shuts down the trade routes..no sugar, no gas, no salt, nothing to eat..

what's going on? i am scared thinking about the situation in Nepal."

"Do you know how many lives the shah dynasty has taken over the years so that they can rule for ever?"

"yes so it should be the political parties and people that should bown down infront of the king always right.. not people unite against people against autocracy..

i am a believe that none can rule anyone by birth.."

"F*&# you Prachannda, What a shameless brute! He thinks that solution to every problem lies either in killing people or shutting down the country. Who is he trying to help here? The common people who, if do not go to work everyday, would not get the money to eat their food, or the royalists who want the exact thing to happen?

“The great Nepalese people..” Are you kidding me? Did you ever think of those great Nepalese people when killing an 80 year old man? Did you ever think of those great Nepalese people when kidnapping 500 students and teachers from a school?

You have killed so many people, ruined so many families, destroyed so many things that by the time you think you will rest your case and come out of your fkn people’s war, you will be shot. I can guarantee that."

"Why do people keep talking about revolution like it'll be anything different from what is happening today?

What is happening today is the precise reason why Gyanendra doesn't fear a revolution.

He has seen regular protests and violence on the streets and has seen the parties' strengths and weaknesses. The army is figting the Maoists and in this he has seen the extent of an armed conflict. He has also realized that we can be in an armed conflict for years and years.

We've been having quasi-revolution style politics for the past few years and Gyanendra has studied it well. The parties only gave him more reason to act.

So, the so called coming revolution will be no different that the civil war/disorder we're already in. Gyanendra is comfortable with the idea and thus he acted."

"what, just a view, if political parties should not make working alliance with maoists, then should they make with king. i think fight to finish and for that reason which ever alliance is good go ahead. king has made alliance with RNA, so what harm for maoists to have their fighters. same way...... poor nepal. but now nepal is republic in 3 years as king G has asked for the time. paras does not have credibility so he can not correct the move of G if G has to give away the thrown, so nepal will be republic for sure."

"how can this ass give a stmt like that? nepal ma janmeko sab bhanda thulo kaput tyei ho..aajha muji grt nepali ppl bhanera bhanna sakne kasto laaj nabhako ko raicha..."

"please don't think that what you think is right and others are wrong. If you are a democratic person, you must hear what others have to say. Instead of saying anything you like here, just express your opinion please. and you are not the only nepali here."

"F***ing opportunist Gaddar Prachanda seems not to be in Nepal itself now... or how could he post this press release?? Jo chor uskai thulo sor.. Prachanda Kutta. This all happened because him...because of his atrocity.. F*** U Prachanda. You are the only responsible for this to happen. If you do not abandon gun Nepal has worse situation to come.

I can see good solution to the present situation by throwing away the maoists first and only the King.. we cant fight with two enemies at a time."

"i have a few questions about gyane's move in nepal yesterday

1) could he have something like this without getting somekind of approval from india and the US, i donn think gyane is that stupid to do something this big without looking into the future and its consequences

2) nn wat about the maoists? would gyane not have thought about the retaliation he could face from the maoists?

3) does the RNA really trust ghane too?

i feel that gyane must have made some kind of deal with india at least cause this move is simply too big to carry out without the indian government giving it a go ahead. to this viewpoint some people might say that who is india to say anything about the situation in nepal but we have the facts in front of us. india does have some control over things in nepal.

along with that, gyane would not have done this without knowing that the maoists are not in the position to stop him or at least make him look foolish in front of the world community. i also do suspect some kind of fishy link between these who opposite streams!!!

nn the RNA, i donn know what to say about them .. its nearly owned by the kind so they would most probably support gyane's move

i want to hear what other think too. this is a big change for the country .. i only hope that it brings something positive"

"Well, this will be one of those days which will be very important in the pages of Nepal's history. I don’t know if it’s a good move, or if it’s a bad move. I don’t know if we're going forward, or backward. BUT- we are moving from this stagnation that we've had for some years.

Before discussing more on the subject, I want to say that Sher Bahadur Deuba is the most useless Prime Minister. (Girija was the worst PM, if you get the difference). Whenever he is PM, something dramatic happens, and he isnt able to do anything. In his term, the Maoist war began. In his term, he gets booted out for the constitution to be attacked. In his term, he gets booted out for military rule. He is the Pajero PM and the Jumbo Cabinet PM. Not unlike Girija, he too does anything to stay in the PM's chair, getting the help of the most notorious people like Khum Bahadur, Chiranjive Wagle etc. He has no morals. And his last administration was useless and hopeless. What did he manage to do? NOTHING. Just to stay in power, he would do anything the King says. He is not his own man. Just another Girija protégé attracted to the PM's chair. He is useless. At least Girija would defy the King or anyone, no matter how corrupt he is- but Deuba is a yes man, doing anything to cling to that chair.

As for the latest move. Indeed a dramatic move by the King. A bold move- yes. A good move? I wouldn’t rejoice as I did on October 4th. We've seen clearly the game he plays and the objective of that Game. His 2 moves that I denounce the most is the 7 fold increase in the Royal Budget and the Rolls Royce Incident. And also the 90,000 pound for Helen Shah's treatment. These were selfish moves, for the benefit of himself, not Nepalis. And they were open moves for everyone to see, showing us where his stand is. The 7 fold increase was absolutely unnecessary. Infact, if he had been a King who wanted to win the hearts of the people, he should have decreased the budget 7 fold. Why does the Royal Family need so much money with so many of them dead in the June 1 2001 Massacre. Also, Crown Prince Paras' image is the same. I don’t think the cotorie around the King gave him good advice by doing this.

However, this time,by openly saying that He is going to chair the cabinet, King Gyanendra is showing openly to the world who's leading the government and who's boss of one side of this Civil War. Its going to be Maoists vs the King. As for the political parties, if allowed to be free, they will join the Maoist movement. If King Gyanendra wants to be even bolder, and try to win the war, he should eliminate all the politicians right now. Girija, Makune, Sher Bahadur etc. to save himself being irritated by a nuicanse later on. But I don’t know if the King winning the war will be a good thing. We'll be back in the autocratic Panchayat days, and they werent good days. And that’s a Big IF. The 'war' is going to go on..for some time. And its going to be an all out war. I don’t think there will be any success in negotiations. The Maoists wants a constituent assembly and consequently a republic. The King will never give up the throne, that’s for sure. It’s a head on clash.

Before there was a three way war. Maoist vs Anti Regression forces (Girija and most political parties) vs King. Now it’s a two way clash. It might be King vs Maoists. Or it might be King vs Maoists and parties combined. I think the parties will come to a minimum common agenda with the maoists and fight against the King's forces.

The King is definitely risking his skin this time around, that’s for sure. He's playing a high risk game. King Birendra played it all safe and stayed quiet watching everything from the top,but doing nothing. But King Gyanendra is staking the monarchy to eliminate the Republican forces and to rule directly. But I cant say if the monarchy will be all that good. We've havent seen anything good in the last 2 years. But the post 1990 democracy sucked big time too. Girija made a mess of things, and guess who took advantage? King Gyanendra.

But like I said, at least we're moving. Forward or backward, we'll know in a few years."

"compare time between 1953 and 1990 when monarch's ruled directly and compare time between 1991-2003 when political parties ruled. though girija or such might have clinged to power and they were always for the power, but we had a political system and it was giving some positive results. corruption yes, but that means panches and the monarchs were not corrupt during panchayat period. i say king himself, forget about dhirendra, gyanendra, and kings sisters.

if the system is there where there will be rule of law for the people by the people and of the people, eventually we will have good leaders and system evolving. look in usa, close to 50% think Bush is an idiot, but still the system rules and one has to wait for the election......... thus, kings direct/indirect rule is not acceptable. he will be ruling by his military might, so no one will be accountable except he himself will be ruling by virtue of his decree......... then why the system. you must have seen rejoicing Iraqis, why they were rejoicing is because they thought that they were developing a system after 50 years of tyranny....... we must make our country a republic now, and punish the army generals, too, along with Shahs. French revolution is needed........... i find maoist less of the evil than the direct ruling monarchy with the support of state ARMY.............. both ruling in the names of gun"

"to add a few more things

i think that democracy is the best form of governance for a country and yes, in nepal too.

"?" - u said that the democracy we had was better than panchayat system that mahendra brought about. i agree with u. but what i did not like about the situation (before feb. 1) was that there was no democracy !!! gyane was already behind all the moves and the currupt politicians could do nothing about it. since oct. 4 2002 move by the king, things entered a stale mate. the political parties could do nothing about it and only fought among themselves. i donn say that gyane is a good person and that he has all the tools required to bring the country out of this situation, but he is the only hope we have at the current moment. so lets see what he does. if his motives are not good then there should be a more powerful uprising, strong enough to through the royals out of the palace. i mean wats the use of them staying there if they cannot help the country.

well all these are my viewpoints nn i know a lot of ppl might not agree with me .. i want to know what other ppl think though, so everything i say is open to discussion"

"Each and every thing which leaders of maoists had said and forecasted through articles, everything has gone right, all the incidence and events. G's move is not a democratic move and its only acceptance can be due to the fact that someone has to break the ice. This is Janta's yug, not of feudal dreamers. Those who advocate the continuation of Monarchy, sorry people , it is seriously on the downfall. I guess and hope maoist will be less evil than army as i have felt the tyranny of army at roads and everywhere when there was constitution. Also maoist leaders are janta's son but not gyan dai. Imagine, walking, roaming, working in Nepal now; you must do what army says, now there is not even a single government place to listen anything of yours. So, if you have some links to the feudals, you are lucky or else you can be finished then and there or tortured infinitely. Can this autocratic system can ever be called good? Although people may feel little positive about this step, he is not a good man for sure. I go for the maoist statement instead of going for autocracy of panchas."

"I agree with that idea - at least we are moving.

I would give Gyanendra credit for at least one thing - the guy has had the guts to take on the parties that have frustrated and penalized the whole country.

The nobility of his intentions is surely questionable, but something had to be done....and maybe I'm not too sad to see him do it.

Nepalis are thirsty for some semblance of order.....and if he can give us that, i'd be happy for now.

As for democracy, we should work on that after we have some law and order. Democracy with civil war is no democracy at all!!! "

"I do not see any parties joining the Maoists just because G ousted the present government. The parties who were staging anti-regression demonstrations in the streets were time and again saying that the Deuba and the previous governments were unconstitutional. This took over of G may also look unconstitutional to them. If they only harp about this constitutional and unconstitutional thing, which they have been doing all along, then they are at the same potential. There is no significant change for them.

More importantly, who will go to join the Maoist, a group which has killed their own party activists so brutally. May be some leaders might go, for heaven’s sake to protect the “democracy,” and, I don’t think that amounts a lot. Joining Maoist is not like staging protests in Ratnapark in which you can pay people to come for an hour or two to stage demonstrations. It surely is not fun.

Parties are screwed now, at least for the time being. They deserve it.

I think we need to finish up G too.

We should learn something from Pakistan."

"The leaders are all going to jail....don't you see it. It isn't without reason that he cut all communications and transportation lines......he doesn't want the party people talking to each other or running away from the country.

This is a replication of what Mahendra did. All political leaders will be under house arrest and eventually put in jail if he can find charges against them.......no more protests will be allowed......and the press has been told that it is being censored.

This is a big time takeover."

"I think Maoist should sieze this opportunity and compromise on some of their radical thinking so that political parties support them. Then there is going to be a real revolution, King vs. the People. If the Maoist stand their ground, and the parties stay by themselves, then there is going to be long dragged on war which will not be good for the Country. If we have to choose between the two evils, I am inclined to choose a dumbed-out version of Maoists, than go back to autocratic rule of power hungry family. We have seen what their past is like, we know what their future holds, so why not try out another version of government."

"If the Maoists join with the political parties, how does that become King vs. people???

The people are out of this one way or another.....it's a tiny segment of the ruling class of all factions vs. each other......people are screwed no matter what!"

"This loss of power to the political parties will make them look back at their roots and go to the village-level to reorganize again to fight against the 'unconstitutional' move. Meanwhile maoists will also continue their fight against the monarch. one thing is very clear that though maoist leaders call for unity against monarchy and this move of G it is not possible for the political parties to ally with them. How can the political parties go hand in hand with those who killed their members? How can those hundreds of displaced people trust the maoist? Maoist have done enough to Nepal. aaja Nepal halleko chha kinaki Maos le yaha dhamira pasaidiye, Nepal jaliraheko chha kina ki Moas le Ghar jalaidiye. The situation has now changed from tripolar stalemate to dipolar tug-of-war. Saade ko judhai ma pilsiyeka janta has now chance to end the war when maoists are trying to ally with them. And eventually turn towards G."

"Well, everybody seems to be talking about the SHOCKING development. I am sorry but I fail to see anything shocking at all. The recently dismissed govt was appointed by King G, wasn't it? And if I recall correctly, a deadline had been given to PM D to hold elections. He failed the deadline, and the G has fulfilled his promise. So, basically he has just decided that he has had enough of these middlemen and decided to do it the old fashioned way, who needs them running around the streets when you got more important things to spend your time on. Whatever the result may be, hats off to G though. At least he seems to have the ambition and guts to get off his behind and actually do something. I mean he could have just sat there scratching his rear, raising his allowance and what not and let shit happen elsewhere. But hey, looks like he actually wants to take some risk and a firm stand. Doing this with India completely against it is pretty brave I think. The Maoists had a real chance. With all the people fed up with the politicians and the kingship, they could really have done something had they any sense at all. But no, they proved that they were even above and beyond all the others in oppression. While autocracy does leave a bad feeling in the mouth, I am actually kinda glad that the horrible nauseating slimy socalled leaders are out of the equation."

"During this turmoil situation where the political parties have not only failed in their task but also were one of the major cause of bringing the democratic situation of nepal to this stage and the maoist are the main cause for the bloodshed thats ongoing for couple of years now I pesonally have no other choice then to support the king and his moves. There is a probability that the nation will go into economical and social semi-halt but won't this be a lesser price to pay if the situation will turn in the favour of nepal and her people. After all , the decade of civil war has brought nothing but pain and tears in the eyes of nepalese and Nepal herself have bled in the worst possible way. Let us all hope that the problem can be solved as soon as possible."

"A lot of hypothesizing, and a lot of phenomenology, but the bottom line is that the political forces can never be counted on constructively instrumentalizing democracy in our poor country. I was just waiting for either the King or the Maoists to take over the country, and it seems like lesser of the two evils has usurped power. I think party politicking, and infighting has cost us a good ten-twelve years, not to mention the byproduct Maoist insurgency. I would have always felt pessimistic as long as Girija and his long long list of cronies were in the process of usurping power for their selfish causes. But by preeventing the demagogues from holding onto their kurchis, the King may be able to provide an outlet from this stalemate. We didn't have a single leader willing to rise to the occassion and tackle the greater political divide and fight against irregularities and corruption. So it is time for a dictator to rule the masses, and provide a way out, because stagnation is rotting the Nepali economy, and pilfering the minds of the loyal Nepali people. I am just soo sick and fed up with a "ashakta" democracy, one that just exits in paper, and operated by selfish dimwits who don't realize what is at stake...

Our political leaders need to be held responsible for this mess. Their cowardice, displayed shamefully during the darkest hours of our country, was just pathetic! Look at how many of them acknowledged defeat to the Maoists, voicing strongly their inability to preserve the democratic institution. I mean, these friggin leaders are the people's representives of safekeeping democracy, which mind you, is the result of the sacrifices we made. What a waste of peoples' dreams and ideas. I say, it's good that the King decided that he was fed up with dastards like Girija Babu. I totally agree with Roopesh that it is the political parties that are responsible for this quagmire. They were fighting till their demise..

The first thing we need is normalcy and peace. Forget the economic prosperity, it seemed that the political dog-fighting was suffocating our country. King has taken a huge risk by eliminating the buffer politicians. No risk, No reward! King G has played his cards like a businessman, and by implementing a well-planned and impressive coup, he has proven that he can easily out-maneuver dimwits like Deuba!"

""14. Our decision should leave no room for confusion amongst the security personnel and civil servants in discharge of their duties and responsibilities. Today, it is we Nepalese who must take an initiative to ensure a bright future for Nepal and the Nepalese. An independent press serves as the medium for raising the level of democratic consciousness. It plays a crucial role in the promotion of national interests. We believe that the press will make effective contributions in ensuring that democratic norms and values inspire our way of life as well as governance. We are confident that, with this in mind, all those who have faith in multiparty democracy will discharge their duties from their respective places and the people's aspirations along with the country's requirements will be realised through the shared efforts of all the countrymen." - G

Wow what a commitment to independent press!!!! I don't know if he thinks Nepalese are all dumb. Is this what press freedom means to him????"Press forms a medium for democratic consciousness"????? wow what a great theory he has found. Let us all give a big applause for the new found theory on independent press-no news allowed to be published without being censored or even more, no press as such can exist. That would be even more independent. Good luck!!!!!!Time will proove who is right."

"TO ? >>we should disband this army and have autonomous security apparatus in all 5 development regions in federal configuration and no control of Kathmandu collectively to all these five security apparatus

Well I really liked the idea of disbanding the army as it indeed is the biggest hurdle for the development of democratic practices. Being an aristrocratic institution it does need a lot of reforms. But I would also like to point out that now is not the best of the times for such adventures. No doubt benefit will come out of it later on, but as of now it is better that we support the "tribal warriors" that we have. well as for introducing a republic now, the same applies to it as well. I was never the biggest of fan of KG but then he is not a choice, he is a necessity. Holding the flag for a republic is only going to give more time and strength to the guerillas and as such is best put down for better times."

"As I said before, in the long run, I dont know if it will be good or bad. Everytime Gyanendra makes a move like this, he says it in ways that is filled with good intentions. Maybe he even believes it is for the good of the country. But remember, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

He must not make selfish moves. He must operate in ways that would improve the country, not the Royal Family, and the Shahs and Ranas close to him.

And I say this: I dont know whether he will produce good or bad results, but for him to succeed in whatever he is doing, he must make sure he breaks the alliance between the political parties and the Maoists. This is for the best. WHy? For those who support the King, if the political parties and maoists join forces, it will be a nuicanse to the King. FOr those who do not support the King, if the Maoists and the Political parties combine, and if the King is ousted; after that what? These political parties and maoists will start quarelling over each other, killing each other and make the country go down as to who will be the President and India will come with all good intentions and we will be going "kya hai bhaiya" a few years after that.

It was the Political parties that messed things up after 1990. THERE IS NO ONE ELSE TO BLAME. Not the King. You cant say he didnt let the politicians do what they wanted. King Birendra silently watched it all. It wasnt the Maoists. For 6 years, we had no Maoist problem, and yet the musical chairs for PM was going on, and when the Maoist movement first started, it was so small that no one took notice-Deuba didnt even bother to reply Baburam's letter and went to India instead. I have been very critical of Girija Koirala. he is the mother of the failure of democracy. But the communist party was terrible. In opposition, the UML were the ones who started Chakka Jam, Nepal Bandh and what not-adding new vocabulary to the Nepali Dictionary. (Remember Headmaster Tom Thomas going "Chaak ko Jam" during monday assembly). The UML as opposition did nothing but OPPOSE. Even when the Govt was introducing something for the good of the country. Remember when UML and others wouldnt let parliament function and they didnt attend the Parliamentary Session, yet they took the fat stipend and put it in their pockets, the bastards.

I dont care what the turnout of this move will be. But I strongly suggest that the politicians who spoilt it for US NEPALIS be arrested, and even executed. They are NO GOOD. Not for anyone. If the King wants to function without any nuisance, I think he should execute Girija, Makune, Khum Bahadur, Chiranjivi, GOVINDA RAJ JOSHI, Girija's daughter Sujata, Sher Bahadur, and a few more. They are criminals. Without a doubt. They spoilt democracy in Nepal. They are responsible for what is happenning in Nepal today. And what is happenning in NEpal today is NOT GOOD. When Birendra was King, Monarchy played a great role. The monarchy was the only one that followed the constitution. We dont need any trial etc. We know they're guilty. So many students died for 2046 Movement-just so that these MFs can loot and get fat? Even if Nepal is to have a democracy, we can have it without these dirty buggers. The King should take away all their money and put it back in the National Treasury. And I hope he is wise enough not to put it in his own pocket.

Even after the King took power- look at those fucking politicians. They couldnt agree on what to do because each of them wanted to be Prime Minister. Madhav Nepal broke away from the anti regression alliance because Girija wouldnt support his candidacy for PM. And later UML causing trouble for Deuba's government and trying to bring it down. They never learnt their lessons, did they? Bastards.

And the Maoists? I have one simple question out of many. Why kill a 78 year old teacher so gruesomely? JUST ONE QUETION, out of many such.

As for what the King said, let me just highlight the truth in his words "Tussle for power, abuse of authority on gaining power and unhealthy competition in fulfilling personal and communal interests at the expense of the nation..."

"Whereas all democratic forces should have adopted an unified approach against terrorism, leaders instead continued their tussle for power, encouraging simple political workers to vandalise public utilities in the name of politics..."

"Parliament witnessed many aberrations in the name of retaining and ousting governments. Not a single House of Representatives was allowed to complete its tenure...."

"In order to conduct the general elections in an environment of peace and security, opportunities were given to leaders of various political parties to constitute the Council of Ministers, with executive power. But the situation did not improve. National politics was plagued by not uniting in running the government but opposing it on being ousted from it...."

"Multiparty democrats could not sincerely unite, with national interest as the focal point..."

"Terrorising the innocent population, extorting money through intimidation, brutally murdering those who dissent, kidnapping students and perpetrating atrocities against teachers, making false promises to simple people and destroying development projects aimed at the people's welfare...."

" Corruption, which has been continuously spreading its tentacles, has not only cast a shadow over politics and administration, but has also obstructed the nation's march towards progress. Corruption has struck at the very core of our society..."

King Gyanendra is playing a high stakes game. If he has the interest of Nepal, he will win. Because it is not the Maoist who are the strong force; not the politicians; and not the Monarchy and Army. It is the People. If he uses this opportunity for the people, they will support him. It is the people that is the strongest force."

"Its time UN Peace Keeping forces be deployed in Nepal. They should have been deployed a long time ago. The bloodshed and killings are only going to escalate. However, it is not in India's best interest to allow peace keeping force in Nepal because of Kashmir issue as this can spill over to Kashmir. What India doesn't realize that maoist problem in Nepal is also a problem to them. The Naxalities in North East India and other Indian guerrillas have already strengthened their base in India. A year or two down the road, who knows, India might send troops to Nepal to combat maoists. For Nepal, its better if we have UN peace keeping forces than Indian forces or no forces at all."

"This Move, of course is historic move, like all the "deliberate" actions taken by G. And we, like the pupil in the "Animal Farm" have been silently watching the steps of the Players, like we have been doing since the inception of Democracy. I think, this is also a continuation to the further deteriorating Nepal. We guys are lucky enough to get such a witty insights from all the ones who have posted their views in this thread. Every time G has announced on the state media, he has been a little more "Filmi" trying to rather divert people's concentration away from him and to always discredit the multi praty democratic system in the nation. However, it tok America many centuries to reach this stage where also people find some nooks for criticism. It was, I think,a hasty move from G. The leaders are the product of circumstances. There are differnet ways to punish the national curses ( those shitty politicians), it does not mean that they be ounished at the cost of nation's democracy. This move, however is a move that sounds as a wise-man's decision. His statement sounds as if he had no other choices besides this. In retrospect to the different civil wars going on in the other parts of the world, ours look a bit different! The power holders here are attacking the sentiments of people and trying to proven themselves as the saviors. The addressed speech shouldnot count on the petty things like how little children are deprived of resources; almost all of his speeches have reprimanded the political parties' ineffectiveness. This factor cannot be generalized for all the politicians. Still today, we have somewhat many highly spirited patriots that have survived with a very less resources. However, like Rupesh Dai has mentioned, Our nation is in motion now; we will experience a momentum within a few years time, which is what the majority desperately wants. G has at least tried to do something substantial rather than limiting himself behind the curtain and using his remote. So frieds, lets hope this movement will not be just another continuation G's other so called "decisive" moves. Nepal is already torn apart...."

"From today onward, since Nepal is not a democratic country, Organisation like SEBS won't be able to move in a democratic manner. HEll, people like radhakrishna mailnali who betrayed his own party to be king's loyalist, how can these people work for nepalese. This was what i was worrying for. Instead king could have taken some renowned figure. KIng seems not upto good. I worry for the day when some loyalist sees the democratic forums here and complains to the loyalist. I guess, we are bound under autocracy, this is not funny. You won't be able to move by bowing up your head in kathmandu from now on, if you are a supporter of democracy. No maulik adhikars are left now. Look at the people whom he has elected, they are the worst people of history who suppported autocracy for democracy. I hope this posting is at least not censored."

"I think king deserves a chance to prove himself. sansadwaadis have miserably failed to deliver. In civil wars, one man leadership and discipline is important. Maoists have always taken advantage of fractiousness among sansad waadis and continued the butchery. Now that king is in control, army and police will have good motivation and sense of direction. This will help pressure maoists into talks and hence the peace. The king still says he has abided by the constitution and multiparty system. He also knows that he can have the reigns for ages. Should he respect humanrights, maybe three years for King G is not a bad gamble for Nepalese to achieve peace."

"IF what you say is true, then Gyanendra is one hell of a mastermind. And Girija is right about Grand Designs. But you know what? If all you say is true (which isnt, ofcourse), I'd rather have a mastermind clever person rule over me, than fools like Girija and SHER BAHADUR DEUBA. Better to have a wise man for an enemy than a fool for a friend."

"a wise man foresees the future, as a king, G is foolish, very nicely plotting his downfall. a wise person tries to promote his existence, not the downfall. King is under constitution, he can't take law in hands, but see the fault in the faulty constitution, he has done it. His persons in ministers are very suspicious figures, all haertly devoted to feudalism. This marks the beginning of a bad plot. Let's see ahead. I was always confused about the realtion between maoist and king, but with their strong opposite statement about king's move, even that has gone. Don't forget someone is a smuggler of statues by history. there are people from janta who have shown that they can lead, starting with nothing. "

"the fundamentals of nation building is allowing its people to exercise the decision making process. neither panchayat, nor the 12 years of multiparty democracy could furnish this to the degree where people felt that they were the decision makers for the stakes they have for their future. panchayat was no way in this, however, 12 years of multiparty democractic governance moved a bit towards this due the mere compulsion which could not be avoided. now king G, giving rosy reason to asurp the power by blaming the political parties, taking helm of power to do good of the country. what an irony...... should we destroy the house because we have cockroaches, or we use bug buster...... in no pretext should the institutions and fundamentals of for the people by the people and of the people be held captive of any rulers. i am baffeled by the sheer review of many of the participants here blaming political parties. political parties are an institution, and we should allow it to grow. i am not advocating for NC or UML or such..... if the leaders are not good, people will change them. time will bring new parties or reform the existing parties because politics and form of governance is dynamic activity which will not get stagnated because of a leader, or king or political parties....... in addition, why we are so much ignorant of the history of nepal....... though political parties might have performed miserably in past 15 years, but the development of such system has always been impended by monarchy......

1,why king Tribhuvan had to do Delhi agreement to marginalize revolting NC against Ranas

2. Even after the proclamation that the country would be ruled by the new constitution drafted by to be elected constituent assembly member, King Tribhuvan never went for constituent assembly election, WHY?

3. Instead of constituent assembly election and drafting of constitution why King Mahendra promulgated a constitution with limited democracy and called for election of the parliament in 1959?

4. Even after the election why King Mahendra had to dissolve the parliament and arrest the leaders in 1960?

5. For Rupesh and others claiming King Birendra was sincere, why King Birendra did not reform Panchayat and incorporated some of the fundamentals of multiparty system after 1979 referendum, though he had proclaimed Reformed Panchayat?

Taking these into accounts, let us discuss, if Nepal would have been practicing multiparty system since 1953 under the costitution drafted by elected constituent assembly members, we would have been ivolved into more functioning democracy now (possibility, and equally we might not have also but we could not experiment).

There were no Maoists or any other political forces disturbing in 1953, except for the Ranas who were disenchanted.

In 1959-60, Gurkha Dal might have been creating some problem but that was not that severe to dissolve the parliament.

In 1979 and after that there was no such disturbance that king had reason not to reform the panchayat.......

And rise of Jung Bdr. Rana in 1854 was not due to the political parties but weakness of Monarchy and Royal coterie, are we Nepali to blame?

So who is to blame, monarchy or Nepali or political parties.

finally Maoists problem is the not the manifestation of malfunctioning governance of 1990s, but long traditional feudalism engraved in Nepali society was the root cause and open society and weak governance of 1990 allowed it to florish in log phase..... Are the political parties the root cause of feudalism or Shahs and Ranas and their Birtawalas.......... And look at the history of Royal Nepal Army, an institution of inherent feudalism, and to preserve this and benefit from state coffer has always been loyal to Shahs and Ranas. They were loyal to Ranas till mid 1950s........ Where did Nepali people stand in the configuration of RNA, are they suppose to safe guard interest of reining monarch or the nation and its people......... what you see is long track record of gross human rights violation against Nepali and unclinching support to either Ranas for a century or Shahs from mid 1900.

So in conclusion, King G does not have any rights to execrcise executive power and article 27(3) of the constitution of Nepal "27. His Majesty: (3) His Majesty is to preserve[4] and protect this Constitution by keeping in view the best interests and welfare of the people of Nepal. " does not allow him to exercise the executive power, and instead of protecting the constitution he has grossly violated it, thus has to be punished and Nepal should be a republic now onwards."

"Mahendra gave away northern parts of himalaya and northern base of Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) after his 1960 coup, so it is not a suprise to see this........... can nepal live in international norms of refugee when it is not living in the norms of ruling.............."

"Since when is corruption a crime and killing people not a crime? I have nuthing to say to u if u truly believe gyane is not the mafia don of nepal and has done all saintly activities. But come on, you want the leaders to be executed in a country that does not have capital punishment, and that too by the hands of ek number ko goonda?? Furthermore, its not just about killing few heads. You think the bureaucracy, ever-smoothly operating since the panchayat days, do not practice corruptions? so u gonna kill all the sachibs-upasachibs, hakims badahakims n all? I mostly like reading your posts but be realistic and see pros n cons regarding all sides."

"It's interesting that in the SEBSonline poll, over half the people say that what Gyanendra did was a Good move!

I always thought we had a bunch of left wing radicals on this site......maybe I was wrong!!!!"

"I posted no opinion because I have no idea how to judge this action."

"I feel real good, I think its the same with lots of people waiting for this to happen.

What me and fellow Nepali like me are hoping is that King G makes this big move and either fails really miserably and runs away from the country or builds the country out of it.

But the biggest hurdle for him seems to be :

1. India is not supporting him-- this could lead to a series of serious problems. Manmohan Singh not attending SAARC due to King G is even a bigger blow for him. India could play a real dirty game like that of the 90s. And the initial supporters of King G's coup might get agitated.

2. Maoist- They have clearly mentioned that they are NOT ready to talk to King G, although they had earlier said that they wanted to talk to the Master, ie the King, and not the slaves, ie the Deuba government.

3. Other International support, International support is very important for Nepal, who will provide the Aid money which is an integral part of our National budget.

But sometimes I think King G taking over and making it might just be a wishful thinking."

"i suggest girija to go for tirtha yatra and indulge himself in dharma-karma, for the good of himself as well as all of us."

""If the crisis deepens further and puts India’s own security at risk, it might be tempted to borrow George Bush’s doctrine of pre-emptive invasion."

While reading the many articles in the western newspaper and magazines (some of which i frequently read and take it as my bible), I feel saddened by the exaggerations and the one sided arguments.

The quote above is unnecessary if not ludicrous. And this was quoted in the Economist.

Another factor that i find mentioned in many of the journals is the whipping up of pro-republic fervor that may not really be the case.

For example, it is frequently stated that the move was actually not favored by most nepalese, whereas it is obvious that most ppl in our website and even as Onta reminded us above are either see this as favorable for the nation or are relcutantly willing to live with it (because there is a greater threat to deal with).

Nevertheless, i find the debate (that we are having here) very healthy.

Some people often talk about how our nation reached this state and blame either the politicians or the king, i would like to borrow a quote from Burke to remind them that "all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

We - you and me - have played a big role in not doing enough to prevent Nepal from falling into this state. Let's acknowledge that first before blaming anyone else!"

""If the crisis deepens further and puts India’s own security at risk, it might be tempted to borrow George Bush’s doctrine of pre-emptive invasion."

Ya, true. I also read this in economist and I was really annoyed at this. Do these people think Nepal as another Afganistan or what???? We would never allow foreign military interference and I hope these people will understand this.

And, invasion by India???If India thinks it as a threat , I think it should be answered well. No doubt, Gyanendra let many supporters of Nepal down including India. Though India has been helping Nepal in many fronts, we cannot forget the hard -to- notice benefits it is getting from Nepal. It has always looked at us with its treacherous eyes and now here it is with another episode."

"I frankly do not see anything wrong with the Indians. They are as good as a person could possibly ever be(and I have a very low view of people). Thats what I personally think. The main problem is with us. We don't even have the power to feed ourselves let alone defend, what do u expect from a person who virtually feeds us? Yes I do agree that what India is doing is not morally right at all(if it were in my power I would change that country into a lifeless desert), but the main problem is with us and not them. Had we been more developed had we been more powerful, who would dare infringe on our sovereignty? Thus rather than playing the blame game, i think it is better to keep quiet and look inside ourselves and see where we stand. A little bit of introspection will certainly show that Nepal is a beggar(no matter what we like to think) and India is the one who feeds her, and as a beggar we do not have a right to shout at her even if she gives us a kick or two. No doubt we have pride(a rather unfounded one I would say) but we do not have the luxury to express it. Rather than wasting our energy shouting at her, I think it is much more better if we direct that rage towards a more meaningful purpose, one of strengthening our nation. Until we are ready to use our fists it is better to keep our mouths shut. I really look forward to the day when we as a nation will be able to trade blow for blow. Thus if one wants respect one should learn to earn it and not beg for it by screaming. Well as for the pre-emtive strike from India, we are safe as yet not because we can actually fight back but because India as yet cannot justify it's action internationally and also because we have another neighbour to the north and India knows just too well not to mess with her.(KG certainly has some sort of understanding with China as the closure of the Tibetan Refugee Welfare Office points to. This indeed is a repeat of Mahendra's doctrine: Capitalize on the mutual fear of the two neighbours to have a free hand inside the country)"

"Let love and not hate be thy guide

Our country and also this forum seem to be divided into two blocks. The first one supports what the King did and the second one does not.

In spite of the differences there is a common trait in all of us: we all hate the monarchy, we all hate the monarchy and we all hate the political parties. There is not a single thing in them that can be likened to a true statesman.

The record of the monarchy and the monarch is indeed in no way superior to that of the political parties or the Maoists (as has been chronicled by “?” in much detail). They are all essentially power hungry wolves who have trampled over the wishes of the people to further their own ambitions. And the biggest of the tragedy for our country today is that these are the only people we can choose from. So whom do we choose and what is the criterion for such a choice? As for the person we choose, I would like to remain silent on that point for a while but the criterion for the choice is I hope clear to all: It shall be the love of our nation.

Now let’s assume that the Maoists come to power (with or without the political forces of today…I think it doesn’t make sense anyway). That will in my view be the biggest tragedy for this nation. Even if their means to power which at best can be likened to that of terrorists and criminals were to be forgiven, their entire ideology is flawed. An extremist Communist state will be a big blunder not just domestically but also internationally. Its result at best is going to be a cut off of foreign aid and diplomatic relation and at worst a direct military intervention. Thus, in my view the Maoists are the biggest threat to our nation today simple because their whole ideology behind the rebellion is unsuitable for Nepal.

As for the political parties, in spite of their powerlessness, they are undoubtedly the most appropriate ideological force for Nepal. The system that they want to fight for will certainly bring prosperity in the long run but the fat is that they are utterly incapable today for putting up such a fight. They never had the army’s support and now they are viewed with skepticism by the masses as well. Has they realized earlier that to actually rule a country you need to have the army under your control, they would have never been hit by this crisis. But they were all happy with nominal political power without ever realizing that the source to enforce that power lay in someone else’s territory. Such and many other blunders (a lot have been said on the others I guess) have reduced this once mighty force to a powerless whiny dog today. Even now I would not have hesitated to give my support to them (Incidentally I am also disagreeing with Roopesh dai when he was so hard on the politicians. I think he did not mean it literally) had it just been the case of King Vs. Them. But the fact is that there is a third actor involved and that these political parties do not have the support base to fight them. And to wish that the support base be handed over to them is nothing more than just wishful thinking (of course if you don’t rule out foreign military intervention which in addition to being counterproductive is far-fetched, and the little chance of an internal coup in the RNA itself). Thus, it is this tactical inferiority of these politicos more than anything else that crosses out their candidacy for solving the Maoist problem.

Even if these two forces, the jungle-fighters and the street-fighters, were to join hands I do not think much can come out of it. On the part of the political forces it’s a double suicide: whether they win or loose they are doomed. As for the nation, it is only as bad as that the Maoist crisis is going to take longer to solve if ever it is solved. I’m pretty sure that they are not going to fall in the trap set by the Maoists of a united front against the King. If ever they are going to be victorious, it will be Chairman Mao that will rule and not Chiang Kai-shek.

Now moving on to monarchy, in spite of all its flaws, it is still a powerful force as it has the support of the army. And this force is of such a kind that in spite of being diametrically opposite to the Maoists is still a more acceptable one to the international community and the Nepalese people (Word of caution: I am comparing the monarchy to the rebels here). And as it fights the Maoists, it will also be fighting for its own skin and as such will attempt to find a complete solution to the problem (hopefully not one fully relying on the armed forces as any small article on guerilla warfare will clarify that absolute victory in a guerilla warfare if ever possible is impossible by plain militarily means). Well I think we all should realize that King Gyanendra is the only card short of foreign intervention that is worth playing against the Maoists. Well what after the Maoist problem is solved (if it ever is)? Well I guess that’s a completely different story as under such a condition the priorities of the nation will be drastically different to todays. Thus, even when we start from a hate of monarchy, it is very much true that it is the only force with enough power to get the country out of the clutches of the rebels. And it also needs to be pointed out that irrespective of the outcome of the gamble we will be moving backwards, I have no doubt about it. (This incidentally also answers the doubt shared by Roopesh dai and others). Well if the King solves the problem, he will be the hero and we will have to bear with an absolute monarch for quite a bit longer (now that’s going back. isn’t it) and if he is not able to solve the problem we are going back to the stone age from a medieval one. But, it has to be realized that going back can sometimes be better than going forward off a cliff. And that’s a risk we need to take.

Well of course it has to be realized that this course is the best of the worst that we have. It could have been much better if the political parties could somehow have the reins of the military but I think it is a far fetched wish. But I will nevertheless keep my finger crossed for a swift internal coup in the RNA which will bring the military under the political parties. Well however if King Gyanendra goes around doing just what he likes indiscriminately, Nepal is in for big really big trouble. From now on for every single innocent killed or humiliated there will be a birth of five rebels (it is after all a bi-polar power tussle now). I hope he realizes this and will deal with the situation in a careful manner and not like some mad dictator who has no firm opposition.

Thus, let not hate towards the leaders of our nation be our guide as to whom we support. Let it be the infinite love towards our motherland that I hope is still left in us take the better of that hate. Jay Desh!!"

(This is about 1/3rd of the said thread.....)

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