His Majesty King Gyanendra gave joint audience to the vice-chairmen duo of the Council of Ministers, Dr Tulsi Giri and Kirti Nidhi Bista, at the Narayanhity Royal Palace Sunday.

Dr Giri and Bista went to the Royal Palace at around 11:45 a.m. and came out after one hour, reports said.

Immediately after the royal audience, the vice-chairmen duo called a meeting of the cabinet in Singh Durbar, which was still underway till 5:00 p.m.

The royal audience and the hasty cabinet meeting came as the nationwide general strike called by the seven opposition parties entered the 11th day with intensified protests.

Meanwhile, Home Minister Kamal Thapa organised a meeting of the chiefs of security agencies at his office in Singh Durbar this afternoon. Heads of all four security agencies – the Royal Nepalese Army, Nepal Police, Armed Police Force and National Investigation Department – were present at the meeting, according to sources. nepalnews.com mk Apr 16 06

The seven-party alliance (SPA) has decided to intensify the ongoing agitation for democracy, calling upon all sides including the international community to mount pressure on the royal government.

A meeting of the Central People’s Movement Coordination Committee held in the capital on Sunday decided to organise a huge mass gathering in Ring Road after a protest rally. The committee said it would be the biggest demonstration of recent times.

The meeting also urged general people, professional organisations, educational institutions, aviation sector, government employees and bank employees to actively join in the democratic movement of the SPA and asked suppliers of daily necessaries to continue supplies during the general strike.

In an attempt to build pressure on the royal regime, the parties urged the business community not to pay any kind of tax and asked the general people to not pay their telephone, water and electricity bills, among others.

Deciding to intensify the movement all over the country, the parties urged their ranks to form security squads “to thwart possible attacks by vigilantes sanctioned by the government” and continue defying curfews and prohibitory orders.

The meeting also called upon the international community and international financial institutions to stop all kinds of aid to the present government and extend support to the ongoing pro-democracy movement of the parties. nepalnews.com mk Apr 16 06

Suspected Maoists shot and killed an Armed Police Force (APF) official in Beldandi in the eastern Jhapa district Sunday.

Reports said suspected Maoist gunmen opened fire at a patrolling team of APF officials that was in Beldandhi, killing constable Dinesh BK on the spot, according to reports.

Two local residents and a Bhutanese refugee named Nar Bahadur Magar were injured in the firing. nepalnews.com mk Apr 16 06

His Majesty King Gyanendra granted audience to three foreign envoys separately at the Narayanhity Royal Palace Sunday evening as the seven opposition political parties stepped up what they call final push against ‘royal autocracy’ –with substantial moral backing from the international community.

Indian ambassador to Nepal Shiv Shankar Mukherjee, US ambassador James F Moriarty and Chinese ambassador Sun Heping received audience with the King in the evening.

The envoys interacted with the King for about one hour each, it is learnt. None of the ambassadors preferred to talk to the media after meeting with the monarch.

Spokesperson of the Indian embassy Gopal Bagley told BBC Nepali service that the meeting between the King and the Indian ambassador was focused on how the present crisis could be resolved along with restoration of democracy and peace in Nepal.

India and the US have described the royal takeover of February 1, 2005, a setback to democracy and have constantly been urging the King to reach out to the parties and return to democratic process while China maintains a neutral position over the royal move.

Both India and US have criticised the government crackdown on the pro-democracy movement of the opposition parties. nepalnews.com Apr 16 06

When the whole nation is rising for the attainment of a ‘complete democracy’, the royal governement is planning to lead Nepal to a full-fledged autocracy through the farce of general elections

By Krishna Adhikari

Dr. Alok K. BoharaElections are considered as the norms of democracy in normal conditions. But where there is lack of conducive environment and popular participation, elections end of being a means to pursue anti-democratic ends. If the government’s roadmap is let go uninterrupted, Nepal could be a medieval style feudal state in the 21st century.

Despite the paradigm shift in Nepal’s political governance in 1990, a section of elites and orthodox group of so-called upper class feudalists, who normally take ruling Nepal for granted as if it is their private good, has never changed. From the analysis of every event ever since king Gyanendra took over power, it is increasingly becoming clear that anti-democratic feudal elements have been engineering and implementing their roadmap to reinvent undemocratic neo-Panchayat system. To implement this roadmap, there already have been a series of activities aimed at dismantling democratic institutions, derailing the democratic process and promoting antidemocratic forces.

The illiberal political forces that felt marginalized with the liberalisation of the partyless Panchyat system in the 1980s, and that were overthrown through the people’s movement in 1990 have made a dramatic comeback to power in Nepal recently.

Nepal’s infant democracy that had already witnessed a serious blow due to the bad governance practices of the subsequent governments in power and ensuing Maoists’ violent insurgency has to undergo a series of assaults from the regressive forces. The first serious assault was through the dissolution of House of Representatives on the recommendation of the then prime minister Sher Bahadur Dueba despite strong opposition from the ruling Nepali Congress and other opposition parties. It is widely believed that the whole plot was orchestrated from the antidemocratic camp. As had all ill intentions suggested, the king betrayed the elected prime minister, sacked him for allegedly failing to hold the elections, and bestowed the executive power of the country upon himself. The Nepali Congress party, the largest party in the parliament then, became a victim of the same game plan by undergoing vertical split. Moreover, in the similar vein, recently Rastriya Parjatantra Party has been victimised twice with two vertical splits on the issue of whether to support the king’s move or not.

A series of unconstitutional activities like handpicking prime ministers, often through back doors, and taking and ‘returning’ the executive power went on unabated. The on-going saga was a prelude that full regression was in the offing. The royal proclamation of February 1, 2005 made the king chairman of the Council of Ministers and Tulsi Giri and Kirti Nidhi Bista, both prime ministers of the overthrown Panchayat regime, vice chairmen. Many political leaders and rights activists were arrested; state of emergency was declared; all means of communications were blocked, and army took to the streets, party offices, publication houses, and many other civil areas. Despite the rhetoric for a clean image in the government, Nepal has seen many notorious people: wilful bank defaulters, smugglers, party defectors, alleged criminals with cases pending at the court or those already served jail sentence for allegedly masterminding the murders, to name but a few, appointed as government ministers. Most recent inclusion of authoritarian ministers of the overthrown Panchayat regime has reaffirmed that the ultimate aim of the king’s roadmap is the establishment of the neo-Panchayat system.

It is a dangerous dictatorial syndrome that collective pressure expressed through powerful demonstrations does not make any difference to the regime. This gives further explanation why the king is pushing the agenda of the general elections when it is most irrelevant and comes during an awkward time.
The country is heating up with the peaceful movement of the people from all walks of lives and from all parts of the country demanding a guarantee that the people, only the people, are the master of Nepal and the sovereignty of the country rests upon them. The king’s vows not to be like his brother, the constitutional monarch killed in 2001, manifested through a series of anti-democratic inclination of the government under his leadership, do not leave us in a position to surprise why the state has responded with extreme brutality and cowardice ways by shooting at peaceful demonstrations, let alone baton charging, detention and tortures.

Against this backdrop, it was just a naive calculation to think that the king in his New Year Message would address the collective voice of the nation. Hence, no surprise that he did not. It is a dangerous dictatorial syndrome that collective pressure expressed through powerful demonstrations does not make any difference to the regime. This gives further explanation why the king is pushing the agenda of the general elections when it is most irrelevant and comes during an awkward time. Elections cannot be a priority now because a series of experience has shown that without resolving Maoist insurgency nothing, even the elections, is going to be meaningful.

If so, why is the royal government, which has antidemocratic character, is so obsessed with elections mantra? Why did it go ahead with the ‘municipal elections’ that were boycotted by the vast majority of Nepali people and not recognised by international community? Moreover, why is the government pushing forward the agenda of holding general elections in such a hostile situation? This is because holding elections forms the most important part of the well-designed vicious roadmap as a means to achieve the antidemocratic end.

Needless to emphasise that the people of Nepal who are defying curfews through peaceful demonstrations and withstanding live bullets will not let farces of elections to be held. Despite this, it seems that the government will use every possible force to organise the general elections. As the part of the plot, the king has already asked the agitating political parties to participate in the elections.

What if the elections are allowed to be held as planned? Even though the situation is hypothetical, from the antidemocratic trend of the government and expressions of senior cabinet ministers, an upcoming scenario can be predicted. It seems certain that the opposition political parities will not participate in the election held by the present regime, nor will the government desire them to participate. Neither will there be any credible observations for its fairness, nor will it too be desired. Like in the municipal polls, the state forces will be misused and only a small section of Nepali people, mainly feudal-mandale circle, will play in the drama in a bid to elect a so-called parliament of royal poodles. A series of on-going regressive activities of the government suggest that such a parliament is most likely to serve the ulterior motives: reframing the constitution to serve the convenience of the king establishing him as the sole center of power in the statecraft and scraping any institutions, including political parties that dare to oppose the dictatorial state, let alone the existence of any independent media.

By attempting to suppress the people’s movement in the cruelest possible way and forwarding the agenda of general elections in most incongruous fashion, the royal government is spiralling the people’s anger against the monarchy in such a way that the consequence of Nepal is still out of imagination. Thanks to the counterproductive measures adopted by the royal government, anti-monarchy polarisation is very rapid that the achievement of full regression by buying further time through the rhetoric of democratic elections will remain only the distant dream.

However, it is necessary that the individuals and institutions fighting for democratic Nepal are aware of the regressive roadmap. The ongoing protest should be continued and further intensified in order to help prevent Nepal from becoming permanently a medieval style feudalistic country on the one hand and help make it a peaceful, democratic and free nation on the other. The international community must act tough so that the support to the democratic movement in Nepal becomes meaningful and result oriented.

Adhikari is pursuing his Ph. D. at the Reading University, UK. Please send your comments to [email protected] or [email protected]

(Editor’s Note: Nepalis, wherever they live, as well as friends of Nepal around the globe are requested to contribute their views/opinions/recollections etc. on issues concerning present day Nepal to the Guest Column of Nepalnews. Length of the article should not be more than 1,000 words and may be edited for the purpose of clarity and space. Relevant photos as well as photo of the author may also be sent along with the article. Please send your write-ups to [email protected])

People throng Bhaktapur to celebrate the Bisket Jatra on Friday. (Photo source : annapurnapost daily)
This year witnessed the lowest-ever turnout of people in the over 1,400 years old tradition of raising and pulling down the Linga (a wooden pole), which is a part of Bisket Jatra, at Bhelukhel in Bhaktapur due to political unrest of the country.

Report quoted Hirakaji Shrestha (80), a resident of Panauti, who has been attending the Jatra more or less regularly since he was 20, as saying, “One used to hardly get space to stand here on Jatra days in the past years.” Unlike in the past years when approximately 100,000 people used to take part in the event, Shrestha said only around 5,000 people showed up Saturday to witness the spectacular scene of the approximately 30m tall pole being pulled down.

Local resident Pratap Kasaju said the people have developed an indifferent attitude towards the Jatra, adding, youths was seen at the scene, but most of them were just observers rather than a part of the Jatra.

The pulling of the chariot of Bhairab from Nyatpole to Bhelukhel marks the beginning of Jatra four days before the advent of Nepali New Year. The upper tole (settlement) and lower tole vie to pull the chariot, in the belief that a win brings good luck to the victorious settlement the entire year.

Legend has it that the Linga is raised to mark the day when a visitor slaughtered two man-eating serpents that used to swallow a person every day in the area. nepalnews.com pb Apr 15 06

The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) warned the government to respect national and international laws to which Nepal is a signatory and which guarantee people’s rights.

Issuing a press statement on Saturday, Secretary General of the commission, Nicholas Howen, said, “The attention of the international community is on Nepal. Those responsible for human rights violations should be aware that they are accountable to national and international laws for their actions.”

“The ICJ and others have repeatedly called for the lifting on blanket ban on public gatherings in Kathmandu and Lalitpur, stop using excessive force to suppress protesters and stop arbitrary detention by security forces,” he added.

The international jurists’ body expressed serious concern about the excessive use of force to suppress the lawyers, rights activists and political activists who have been fighting for the rights of the people and the rule of law.

Nicolas said the grounds for the current blanket ban on public gatherings are neither proportionate nor justifiable under Nepal’s international human rights obligations.

“It is not only these lawyers who have suffered the consequences of exercising their right to freedom of assembly and expression. In the past week over 2,000 people have been arbitrarily detained and hundreds injured as a result of excessive use of force by the security forces,” said Howen.

Meanwhile, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), a global organisation of journalists, forwarded a letter to UN secretary-general Kofi Annan on Friday, calling on him to condemn security personnel for arresting journalists without issuing any legal notice and physically assaulting them.

IFJ, which represents 5,00000 journalists worldwide, is seeking Annan’s support for the struggle for democracy in Nepal. “The IFJ is particularly concerned over the status of 14 journalists and media workers, who were detained in course of the recent pro-democracy movement and are still in custody. Many of them were arrested without issuance of any legal notice and were physically assaulted by the police prior to their arrest,” the letter said.

“The police and Royal Nepal Army personnel have systematically targeted journalists and media persons covering mass protests. They have brutally attacked and arrested them,” the letter stated.

Meanwhile the South Asian Press Commission (SAPC) expressed grave concern at the crackdown on journalists across Nepal in recent days.

Issuing a press statement the SAPC called upon the government to immediately release all the detained journalists, stop targeting media persons and cease all attempts to curtail press freedom. nepalnews.com pb Apr 15 06

United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan has urged the King to take courageous step to resolve the present political impasse of the country.

“The Secretary General also urged King Gyanendra to take courageous steps to find a way out of the situation and avoid further bloodshed,” said, UN spokesman Stephanie Dujarric during the daily press briefing in New York on Friday

He further said Annan, expressed concern over the deteriorating situation in Nepal, particularly the absence of any movement towards a political solution.

The spokesman added, “Annan reiterates his call for an inclusive national dialogue of all Nepali political forces.”

“It is quite clear that the Nepali people want a swift end to the conflict and instability, and the immediate restoration of democracy. The loss of life and denial of legitimate rights should end without delay,” the spokesman said, according to the script posted at the UN’s official website on Saturday.

Hundreds of pro-democracy activists were injured and over one thousand held from anti-government demonstration organized by seven major opposition political parties. nepalnews.com pb Apr 15 06

Mass demonstrations were held in Chitwan and Sunsari districts on Friday, on the ninth day of the general strike called by the seven party alliance (SPA).

In Chitwan, over 100,000 people participated in the funeral procession of late Tulsi Chhetri, a resident of Bharatpur-11. Tulsi was killed by a bullet of the security personnel last Sunday.

The number of people in her funeral procession was much larger than that in the rally for democracy.

Tulsi’s was lying at the College of Medical Sciences Teaching Hospital since last Sunday.

The funeral procession that started from Malpot Chowk went around Paras Bus Park, Hakim Chowk, Chaubis Kothi, Sahid Chowk and Pul Chowk before reaching Devghat.

Meanwhile, Superintendent of Police, Parshu Ram Khatri said the DAO has provided Rs 100,000 as relief to Tulsi’s family. He added that the District Police Office (Chitwan) and its entire staff decided to provide a day’s amount of their salary to Tulsi’s family. There are around 500 policemen in the district.

In Sunsari, over 15,000 people took to the street on Friday, protesting the government suppression over peaceful demonstrations.

Cadres of SPA, civil society activists, workers, professionals among others assembled in a rally claiming the security personnel fired at a peaceful rally on Thursday.

Thousands of demonstrators also took to the streets protesting the Ithari incident in various places of Sunsari district including Tarahara, Jhumka, Khanar and Sonapur areas.

Over 50 demonstrators were injured when security personnel opened fire at demonstrators who were returning home after a demonstration, according to reports. nepalnews.com pb Apr 15 06

Over 20,000 people, including professionals, trade union members and ordinary people, marched in the streets of far-western town of Dhangadhi on Saturday expressing their solidarity with the on-going pro-democracy movement being launched by the Seven Party Alliance (SPA).

The rally, organized jointly by GEFONT, Nepal Trade Union Congress and DECONT, started from the Hospital chowk and converged into a mass meeting at Chatakpur, according to reports.

Similarly, there are reports of pr-democracy rallies being taken out in far-western districts of Kanchanpur, Bajhang, Achham, Baitadi and Dadeldhura districts.

In central town of Hetauda, thousands of people marched in the street denouncing what they call police repression in peaceful rallies across the country. Over 100 opposition supporters have been arrested by police, according to reports.

In Kavre district, to the east of capital Kathmandu, thousands of people have taken part in a rally calling for restoration of peace and democracy in the country. Farmers took part in the rally with their ploughs and other agricultural tools, reports said. nepalnews.com by Apr 15 06