– By Sunit Bagree

This article is a critique of Preeti Koirala’s ‘The Curfew: Pros and Cons’, which was published by Nepalnews.com on 22 January 2006. In my opinion, Koirala’s piece reflects a breathtaking level of ignorance about Nepali politics and international affairs, as well as concepts such as democracy and human rights.

In her opening paragraph, Koirala’s claims that there has been ‘… much debate on whether the curfew clamped by the government on Jan 20th was actually needed’. Apart from the fact that the royal government imposed a curfew on Kathmandu and several other parts of the country on 16 January 2006, it must be pointed out that, by severely restricting human rights such as freedom of expression, information, association, movement and assembly since the royal coup of 1 February 2005, the royal government has clearly demonstrated its unwillingness to honestly engage in fair and open debate.

Koirala disingenuously uses the example of the riots of 1 September 2004 to defend the curfew, writing: ‘Within a few hours the angry mob of sympathizers of Nepalese being killed in Iraq had metamorphosed itself into a gang of looters, muggers and hooligans’. It is necessary to be clear that the minority who instigated violence on 1 September 2004 (which in turn snowballed into greater violence due to the ensuing chaos) were a mixture of religious extremists, criminals and disaffected youth. In retrospect it is easy to say that a curfew should have been imposed as these violent elements managed to seize the initiative. There are certainly many important questions here regarding the state’s preparation for and response to this incident, none of which Koirala considers.

Instead Koirala terms the demonstration planned by the seven-party alliance for 20 January 2006 as ‘supposedly peaceful’. Her use of the word ‘supposedly’ is extremely odd given that the seven-party alliance has never utilized violence since its inception. Indeed, as the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Nepal has said, the demonstrations’ organizers had all frequently spoken out against the use of violence, and there was absolutely no justification for their arrest. Koirala’s bias is evident when she describes the seven parties as constituting a ‘frenzied mob’, and (later) ‘hooligans’. When has this ever been the case?

Moreover, it is very difficult to trust the royal government’s suspicions that the Maoists were planning violent activities, as it is solely the state who has demonstrated no interest in conflict resolution in Nepal (unlike the seven parties and Maoists, who commendably arrived at a 12-point ‘understanding’ in November 2005, not to mention the efforts of civil society). It is also worth noting that it would have been ridiculous for the Maoists to resort to violence during the demonstrations, considering the 12-point ‘understanding’, and how much of an effort this shift towards the political mainstream entailed.

The state’s real intentions can be understood by the way it detained activists and leaders from the seven parties and civil society organizations in conditions that are contrary to international law. There is also no justification for the state shutting down Nepal’s mobile phone network, censoring the media (both foreign and national) or dealing with whatever demonstrations took place in such a brutal way. Even the recently feeble National Human Rights Commission stated that the security forces used ‘excessive force’.

A free and fair election in Nepal can only occur if all political parties participate and international monitors are present. And for this to be possible, a certain degree of political stability and widespread perception of a level playing field is essential. Such an election would create true representatives of the citizens of Nepal – representatives who have a monopoly on violence and are accountable to the people.

In contrast the municipal elections were nothing more than a ploy of the royal government to retain power, only now with a veneer of democracy. Thankfully this is widely understood, as is the fact that the security situation in the country, particularly for the most vulnerable, remains dire. In yet again demonstrating its disdain for human rights (and human security), the royal government further isolated itself both nationally and internationally with only a bad joke of a municipal election – average turnout 20% – to show for itself.

The second part of Koirala’s piece focuses on criticizing the response of ‘… one section of the international community…’ for its reaction to the curfew and arrests. She is blind to the fact that virtually the entire world condemned the royal government over these events, including Japan and China. Using the example of police brutality during a workers’ protest in Harayana, she poses the question: ‘Did the Nepal Government issue a statement saying that it ‘was greatly disturbed and concerned by the incident?’’ In a similar vein, Koirala turns to the US abuses in Iraq, asking: ‘Did Nepal ever condemn the atrocities committed by American soldiers in… Iraq?’ The simple answer is that Nepal should have raised its concerns because human rights are universal. It is the duty of every state to promote human rights in other states. A culture of silence will definitely not facilitate a human rights culture. From this basis, it is unsurprising that Koirala goes on to make a number of irrational arguments.

Firstly, Koirala compares the situation in Iraq to the one in Nepal, conveniently ignoring that the former is experiencing an inter-state conflict with multiple indigenous armed actors, and is a country that has a vastly different social, political and economic history to any in South Asia. She is mistaken to say that Sunnis make up the majority population in Iraq (it is Shiites), and to suggest that all Sunnis boycotted the 15 December 2005 election (the main Sunni Arab bloc won 44 out of the 275 seats). Koirala labels Nepal’s seven-party alliance as ‘… a group of Sunni like 7 parties’. Neither the Sunnis nor the Shiites won 95% of the vote in the recent Iraqi election, which is approximately how many of the seats the seven parties in Nepal held in the last parliament. And let us be clear: the seven parties in Nepal are not against elections per se, only ones which are meaningless in terms of promoting democracy.

Secondly, Koirala compares al-Qaeda with the Maoists, and in doing so demonstrates a staggering lack of understanding about either entity. The aims, structure, armed strategies and capacities of the Maoists on the one hand, and al-Qaeda on the other, are vastly different. Koirala is also wrong to suggest that al-Qaeda has not been curtailed; despite a lack of consistently strong intelligence, inadequate levels of special forces and the unnecessary distraction that is the Iraq debacle, the original al-Qaeda network has been severely damaged, illustrated by the arrest of key leaders, the destruction of training camps and the offer of a truce by Osama bin Laden. She also fails to recognize that if the international community were to pay far more attention to ethically tackling the factors that have allowed al-Qaeda to grow, such as poverty, weak governance and conflict (instead of doing too little or even exacerbating these factors) then al-Qaeda could be marginalized to the extent of becoming an irrelevance. Unfortunately, this is far from happening (which actually allows al-Qaeda to endure as a movement in the post-9/11 world), yet the option still exists.

Thirdly, Koirala’s uses the word ‘terrorist’ to describe the Maoists. Whilst both state and non-state groups may employ terrorist tactics when no armed conflict is ongoing, defining an entity as ‘terrorist’ has to be done with the utmost care, as it confers a notion of absolutism. The Maoists do have clear political goals. And their abuses of international humanitarian law are actually war crimes. In addition, Koirala does not acknowledge the fact that the Maoist’s respect for international humanitarian law and international human rights standards, whilst still far from perfect, has significantly improved since September 2005, according to Nepali human rights groups and the OHCHR. At this time, the state poses a greater threat to human security and human rights than the Maoists.

Fourthly, Koirala criticizes those who argue that there is no military solution to the conflict in Nepal. There are two points here. One, no independent defence analyst in the world would claim that a final military victory for either side in Nepal is possible. Whilst the security forces or the Maoists may emerge on top in specific battles, there is nothing in the military sphere that will break the longstanding stalemate and give either side a clear strategic advantage at the macro level. Two, a final military victory in itself never offers any long-term answers, and is highly unlikely to offer any prospects of a real solution to the root causes of violence. Genuine conflict transformation can only occur if there is a just, secure and sustainable peace settlement.

Koirala blames Nepal’s democratically elected Prime Minister for derailing democracy when the royal coup was the greatest attack on democracy Nepal has seen in its recent history. In slavishly following the royal government’s propaganda, Koirala advocates a Nepal that is strikingly Orwellian in nature. Her final folly is to utilize a shockingly Orientalist quote from Laura Bush: “Nobody likes war but democracy is too important especially in that part of the world.” That part of the world? Democracy is equally important in every part of the world.

Whilst elections in themselves never guarantee just and democratic governance, a prerequisite for such a system of governance are elections that are in adherence to international law and international standards. The seven party alliance (supported by the vast majority of civil society in Nepal) were right to boycott the municipal polls. By doing so the seven parties lost nothing and ensured that they did not fall into the trap of legitimizing the royal government.

It is hoped that this article will make Koirala reconsider her present role as an apologist for authoritarian rule.

Sunit Bagree works in the field of international development specializing in conflict and governance. Pleas send your comments to [email protected]. We, hereby, would like to announce that we will not be able to publish more comments on the said article by Preeti Koirala.—Ed.

(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])

The Nepal Telecom and Spice Nepal Pvt Ltd have resumed their pre-paid cellular phone services that remained stalled since January 19 from Thursday morning.

The mobile phone service had remained suspended prior to municipal polls citing security reasons.

The NT had stopped its pre and post-paid mobile services from January 19 as per the directive of the government. Landline telephones – which went down as police raided houses and arrested over 100 opposition leaders and rights activists – resumed functioning after a few hours. The post paid mobile service resumed from January 23.

The pre-paid phone services have been resumed following protest programs launched by the Telecom employees for the last few days.

The employees had announced phase wise stir against the closure of pre-paid service saying NT was facing heavy losses due to closure.

The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) filed a charge-sheet against joint-secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Nagendra Prasad Ghimire, at the Special Court on Tuesday in connection with corruption.

The CIAA has claimed that he amassed property worth Rs 16,976,538 through illegal means and deposited it in his wife’s name.

The charge-sheet demanded that the amount be collected and fine imposed on Ghimire. The CIAA has also called for the imprisonment of Ghimire.

The CIAA said Ghimire and members of his family jointly own approximately Rs 2.4 million deposited in different banks, adding, the amount showed up after Ghimire became the director-general of the Department of Civil Aviation.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), global organization of journalists has expressed “extreme concern” over actions taken by Maoists on journalists.

IFJ President Christopher Warren (File Photo)

IFJ President Christopher Warren (File Photo)
A letter issued by IFJ President Christopher Warren addressed to Maoist spokesperson Krishna Bahadur Mahara expressed serious concern over the action of Maoist district people’s court against journalists Yekandra Kumar Kunwar and Birendra Rawal.

The rebels had called both the journalists to appear before their court to answer for critical news reporting.

“Both journalists have been called to appear before their court to answer for critical news reporting, and have suffered ongoing persecution by the Nepal Communist Party (Maoist) as a result of their professional activities,” said IFJ President Warren.

Warren has also urged the Maoists to uphold their commitment to a free and independent press and immediately cease all action, legal and otherwise, against the duo.

Nepal Water Supply Corporation (NWSC) has said that it would install 14 more tube wells to meet the shortage of drinking water in Kathmandu valley.

Annapurna post quoted the Managing Director of the corporation as saying that it plans to pump over 30 million liters of water from these newly installed tube wells.

However, only four of them would be installed – in Bode of Bhaktapur and Bansbari, Koteshor and Gangabu of Kathmandu – before the dry season begins this year. He informed that all tube wells would begin pumping water by the end of this fiscal year.

According to the corporation, the government has approved budget of Rs 155 million for the project.

Shortage of drinking water supply during the dry season is a serious problem in Kathmandu valley. The corporation has been able to supply drinking water to only half of the 1.8 million population. The demand has been increasing at 6-7 percent annually.

Ian Martin, head of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Nepal speaking to journalists at a press conference at Chauni, after making public report of the OHCHR that will be presented in the forthcoming 62nd session of the Commission on Human Rights in Geneva, Thursday, Feb 16 06. nepalnews.com/rh

Ian Martin, head of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human…
The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Nepal has called upon the Nepali authorities to hold accountable what it called perpetrators of human rights violations within the security forces and exclude them from participation in United Nations peacekeeping operations.

This is the first time that a UN agency has asked the Nepal government to bar its security personnel who have been involved in rights violations from peacekeeping operations. Nepali rights groups as well as the Amnesty International had recently demanded that the UN prohibit recruiting Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) personnel in its peacekeeping operations in view of what they call gross human rights violations by RNA.

RNA brass refute such allegations and say the army is committed to uphold human rights of the people. They say over 100 soldiers and officers have already been punished in connection with incidences related to human rights violations.

Participation in the UN peacekeeping missions has been a matter of great repute and a source of substantial revenue for the RNA.

Making public report of the OHCHR– that will be presented in the forthcoming 62nd session of the Commission on Human Rights—in Kathmandu on Thursday, head of the OHCHR mission in Nepal Ian martin said (the UN) was concerned that aerial bombardments could not distinguish between military and civilian targets. He cited the example o a four year child killed in Makwanpur district during aerial bombardment by the security forces. “The number of such incidents known to us are not large but we urge them not to engage in bombardments that harm civilian lives,” he said.

The 62nd session of the Commission on Human Rights in Geneva is to be held from 13 March to 21 April this year.

The OHCHR has also called upon the CPN (Maoist) leadership to ensure that its cadres act in accordance with its commitment that it will observe humanitarian law and respect human rights. “Violations by CPN (Maoist) cannot excuse breaches by the State of its international legal obligations,” the report said.

The 25-page report said the recent clashes between the security forces and Maoist rebels in various districts including Syangja, Palpa, Makwanpur and Kavre occurred in highly populated areas, placing the civilian population in grave danger, and combatants made use of civilian buildings, including schools.

Children in particular have been placed at risk, including as combatants within the CPN (Maoist), by indiscriminate action by the security forces, including aerial bombardment, and by the placement or abandonment of explosive devices.

Martin further said OHCHR continues to be concerned about restrictions or attempted restrictions on fundamental rights including freedom of expression and freedom of association. He said the great majority of detainees who were arrested (between 20 January and 8 February this year) had been arbitrarily arrested for exercising their right to freedom of assembly or expressing their political opinion.

“Some have now been detained in unsatisfactory conditions for four weeks. In every case brought before the courts their detention is being found illegal, and the authorities should not be waiting fro court orders before releasing all those against whom there is no evidence of involvement in violence,” he added.

Referring to the firing by Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) personnel on political demonstrators early this month at Ghorahi in Dang in which UML activist Umesh Chandra Thapa was killed and half a dozen others were injured, Martin said OHCHR was investigating the circumstances, and had sought information from the Home Minister, the RNA and the police about official investigations. “We do not believe that investigations are being undertaken with the seriousness and independence that is required,” he said.

The OHCHR also condemned the murder of two election candidates, death and injury to others in attacks on candidates or their homes, and the murder of a taxi driver during the Maoist-declared ‘bandh. Martin also called upon the Maoists to release all the people, including three Surya Nepal executives, who have been taken hostages by a trade union affiliated to the CPN (Maoist).

“It is a tragedy for the people of Nepal that full-scale conflict has now resumed,” said Martin. He quoted his boss, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour as saying that those on either side of the conflict who commit violations must be held accountable. “This office would be closely monitoring the conduct of both parties,” he said.

Famous mountaineer Pemba Dorje Sherpa, who set two-world records while summiting Mount Everest, is languishing in police custody in Kathmandu for the last 11 days, reports said.

Famous mountaineer Pemba Dorje Sherpa (Photo courtesy: www.time.com)

Famous mountaineer Pemba Dorje Sherpa (Photo courtesy: www.time.com)
Everest summiteer Sherpa has been kept at Hanumandhoka police office on charges of being involved in a swindling scandal.

Sherpa, 28, however has refuted all the charges labeled against him.

Sherpa was taken into custody acting upon the complaints of the victims of a swindling scandal triggered by police inspector Suresh Dhungana who works at the secretariat of Inspector General of Police (IGP). However Sherpa said that inspector Suresh has threatened him and forced to do the work, reports Kantipur daily.

“I have been cheated. I have no involvement in this scandal. Inspector Suresh forced me to sign the paper by threatening me with a pistol on my temple,” said Sherpa, adding, “I have actually gone to IGP office to lodge a complaint regarding continuous death threats given to me and my uncle’s death.”

According to Sherpa, his uncle Dwang Sherpa was allegedly killed ten years ago by a Tibetan named Tamding Sherpa. Following this incident, Pemba has been threatened many times.

Sherpa says he had also received threats after he set record by climbing Mount Everest in 12 hours. He had gone to IGP office to keep the IGP abreast of all these things, he said.

Pemba set the first world record by ascending Mount Everest in 12 hours three years ago and also set second world record by climbing the Mount Everest twice in five days.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called upon the Maoist rebels to demonstrate that they respect the international human rights standards, laws of war and (are ready to ) end abuses against civilians.

The New York based human rights watchdog stated that ten years of armed insurgency has subjected Nepalis to severe abuses by Maoist rebels and government forces and placed the country on the verge of a humanitarian disaster.

Research director of the organisation’s Asia division, Sam Zarifi, said that the Maoists must accept their share of blame for the country’s present crisis.

Maoist threats to aid and development workers, combined with strictly enforced prohibitions by the rebels against movement of vehicles, have greatly hampered delivery of humanitarian assistance to Nepal’s isolated countryside, further increasing the suffering of the most vulnerable segments of one of the poorest populations in the world, the release by Zarifi stated.

It’s Nepalis living in rural areas who have suffered the most from the abuses carried out by the Maoists and the army over the past ten years, the release added. It also warned that if the conflict intensified, or even continue as before, there is a real risk of a breakdown in Nepal’s already strained healthcare, education system and basic economy.

International human rights groups including HRW have sharply criticized the movement of Maoists on the grounds that the conflict has increased the human rights violations that has taken lives of 13,000 Nepalis in the last ten years.

Maoists have called off their indefinite blockade on the western section of the East-west Highway from Thursday.

A press statement issued by Ramesh Koirala, spokesperson of ‘western military command’ of the Maoist party, said the blockade has been withdrawn following requests by the local people, human rights organisations and media persons. He said vehicular traffic would be allowed on the highway from today itself.

Transportation had been badly affected since last few days after the rebels put barriers and planted landmines on the highway. Security forces had cleared some barriers but vehicles could not ply on the western section of the highway due to rebel threat.

The European Commission (EC) has pledged six million Euros from its humanitarian aid budget to step up its natural disaster preparedness efforts in South Asia, including in Nepal.

A press statement issued by the EC stated that the funds will be channeled through the Commission’s humanitarian aid department (ECHO) under the direct responsibility of Commissioner Louis Michel.

The assistance provided by ECHO action plan is aimed at improving the response capacity of the local population in one of the most natural disaster-prone regions of the world, the statement adds.

The statement quoted Louis Michel as saying, “Recent disasters in the region – the most violent being the tsunami on 26 December 2004 and the earthquake in Pakistan on 8 October 2005 – have clearly demonstrated the importance of disaster preparedness. Simple actions can save lives, speed up recovery and reduce the impact of new disasters. We are far from helpless in the face of natural disasters. Disaster preparedness is helping people help themselves.”

“Nepal, a country in the throes of a conflict ignored by the media, has come out as being in need of more substantial support. It is victim to disasters all year round and lives under constant threat of a major earthquake in the Kathmandu valley,” the statement adds.

This initiative will also cover Pakistan, India and Bangladesh, countries also frequently hit by natural disasters.