Nepal Becoming Lawless State

By Mohan Nepali, Kathmandu

The feudalist and status-quoist forces of Nepal have brought the country into a political and moral dilemma. When a criminal armed group under a political veil massacred 30 unarmed civilians in a leisurely manner in Rautahat district on March 20 this year, the Nepal government could not prove its existence. The cold-blooded massacre took place before the eyes of the district administration of the Nepal government. When the victims’ family members reported to police with the name list of locally identified list of criminals, the Rautahat district administration refused to receive the information report. This only proved how the Nepal government has been manipulated by other forces.

Nepal’s borders have been openly encroached by the Indian side. The local Nepalis living at Indo-Nepal border areas usually complain against how Indian robbers and criminals enter Nepal every day and loot and kill the Nepalis. Yet the Nepal government has neither listened to their problems nor has taken any necessary measures to make its citizens feel secure and sovereign. On the one hand, the Indian security forces have been deployed at Indo-Nepal borders and on the other hand the Nepali security forces have always been misused only for vested political interests. Especially, the current Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala is a power-hungry man who never respects people’s genuine voices. All he does is family politics. He is making all possible efforts to prepare his own daughter Sujata Koirala, his son Shekhar Koirala, his niece Sailaja Acharya, his nephew Mahesh Acharya and a few other hardline loyalists as his successors. Koirala does not seem to have thought about his politics beyond family framework. This is the complaint of the Nepali Congress Party workers and supporters who refuse to follow the hereditary rule within their party. They say the Koirala family is in close collaboration with the king and his political forces in order to discourage any transformative affairs. This is the main reason why the Nepali Congress leadership always stands against the implementation of any good declaration that is in favor of the majority of people.

Analysts strongly argue that Nepal’s political patterns will never change so long as the main status-quoist forces such as the Nepali Congress, the Nepali Congress (Democratic) and the United Marxists-Leninists (UML) remain in the mainstream of Nepal’s national politics. Ordinary farmers and workers refuse to believe that these party leaderships can contribute to positive changes in the country. Hari Lal Maharjan of Kirtipur (Kathmandu), a farmer likes to see a new leadership in Nepal’s national politics. “I’m already annoyed to the last extent by these political parties. They neither did well in the past while in power nor are doing well,” Maharjan says. He further says, “These previously ruling parties have not to this day changed their bad habits. I don’t believe they can do any better now.” A similar view was expressed by another farmer Jit Lal Maharjan. He is not very hopeful of any remarkable change in the work of the parties. “We never get fertilizers on time,” Jit Lal says. “If ruling parties are busy only about their power and cannot do small things for us, how can they do big things,” he questions.

As to how successful the current mainstream political parties are, Nim Ratna Dangol, a worker in a local clothing store in the historical city Patan, believes that if new and honest leadership runs Nepal, the country can rapidly advance. He says, “The present parties have already proved they are corrupt and cannot sacrifice for people. New leadership in Nepal is compulsory.” But he could not state if there is any particular new leadership likely to replace the existing one. He only said that the leadership of his vision would be honest and sacrificing for people.

While ordinary Nepalis have been expressing mistrust in the parties, they are trumpeting the elections of the Constituent Assembly, with king and his men in all state mechanisms. The only difference between 14 months ago and today is that the king is not directly ruling. But he, as a de facto ruler, has not ceased to rule Nepal.
They mystery why the king is still a de facto ruler of Nepal can be unfolded if one goes into the historical background of Nepal’s politics. Moreover, the study of the 14 months’ phenomena after the king retreated from the direct rule would facilitate one’s understanding about why the king is still in the heads of status-quoist political parties of Nepal.

There are many concrete evidences that the Seven Party Alliance (SPA), now in the government in which Maoist insurgents remain as a separate opposition force (a surprising political exercise in the world), did make a secret compromise to preserve the monarchy of Nepal. While the April uprising in 2006 was about to abolish monarchy from the streets, the SPA quickly reached a compromise with the king. The consequence of this was the reinstitution of the House of Representatives dissolved by the elected Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba in 2001. It has now been proved by their anti-people activities. For example, the Nepal government has not taken action against those pointed out by the Rayamajhi Investigating Commission report. Almost all of the military generals blacklisted by the Commission report have now been promoted. Almost all the police officials involved in human rights violations have also been promoted. All the king’s secretaries have been maintained. About five thousand soldiers are with king. They are his pocket guards.

Moreover, king’s illegal properties have not been seized despite the order given by the parliament 14 months ago. Chief District Officers in all the 75 districts belong to royal ideology. They run district administration so as to facilitate a suitable atmosphere for the return of royal politics.

The king of Nepal still owns a huge area of land worth billions. He has never touched soil nor has touched a farmer’s tool. But he owns an unlimited amount of land while the homeless of Nepal have not been heard at all. He is believed to have hidden billions of dollars in Swiss Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and City Bank. He owns dozens of tax-evading companies. The Nepal government has not been able to search for his illegal properties so as to nationalize them. But the Nepal government has shown a piece of drama by propagandizing the nationalization of seven palaces where the king’s family members do not live. Those palaces have never been king’s private properties. While the Nepal government has protected king’s illegal properties worth billions, it has preferred to linger in power by propagandizing the nationalization of palaces.

In the Nepal Army, all the generals are hardline monarchists though they falsely claim that they respect democracy and the Nepal government. The interpersonal communication of these generals proves how hard they have been working to protect feudal monarchy in Nepal. The Nepal government is foolishly talking of holding the constituent assembly elections with these monarchist generals as security chiefs. In Nepal’s districts like Kapilvastu, Nawalparasi, Sarlahai, Siraha, Saptari, Parsa, Bara, Banke, Surkhet and Dailekh, armed contras trained and financed by monarchist forces are still in existence. They are doubted to have hidden American M-16s for revenge against Maoists.

People have begun to believe that the current Nepal government has sold out the Terai region of the country. This doubt has been exposed by the local inhabitants of the Terai region because the Jantantrik Terai Mukti Morcha (JTMM) headed by an ex-land broker Nagendra Paswan (who calls himself Jwala Singh meaning ‘fire flames’) has time again invited the Nepal government to come with the Nepal Army to fight his force and has begun a bloody communal campaign to kill and chase all the people of other races living and working in the Terai region. He has clearly declared that only the people of Indian origin are allowed to live in the region. In an interview with the Nayapatrika daily published on 26 August 2007, he has clearly stated that his armed group would not allow any mechanisms of the Nepal government to function in the Terai region. But the Nepal government has not responded in the capacity of a sovereign government. This proves that the present government is not people’s government. It is serving some other interests.

The sooner this government is replaced by a new and transformative leadership, the better for Nepal. Those who can dare to proclaim the republic and the abolition of feudal monarchy will be wholeheartedly supported by the people. Any uncorrupt political forces that can practically begin political, socio-economic and religious-cultural transformation can be the new leaderships going to replace the current anti-change government.

source:http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/print.html?path=HL0708/S00356.htm