King Gyanendra: The absolute monarch

By Justin Huggler

05 February 2005

When King Gyanendra of Nepal was a boy, he was sent to school in Darjeeling in neighbouring India. A story from his time there sheds light on the character of the man who this week sacked the entire government of Nepal and seized back the absolute power of a medieval king.

Jawaharlal Nehru, the prime minister of a newly independent India, was to make an official visit to Darjeeling, and one of the stops on his itinerary was at the school. Gyanendra and the other young Nepali princes were told they would have the honour of presenting the visiting dignitary with a flower. But Gyanendra refused. "I won't do it," the precocious prince is said to have told the headmaster. "I am higher than he."

The man who this week seized back absolute power in Nepal is a man who believes in royalty, who believes that from his birth he has been "higher" than other people...

After his father died, Gyanendra became a trusted adviser to his brother, King Birendra, but they fell out in 1990. That was when Birendra agreed to give up absolute power and become a constitutional monarch.Gyanendra opposed the constitutional monarchy from the start...

The written constitution was part of the reason for the outpouring of grief at Birendra's death in the royal massacre of 2001. Not just any king had been killed - but the king who gave Nepalis democracy and constitutional rights. And when Gyanendra succeeded him, grief gave way to rage. To this day, many ordinary Nepalis do not believe the official version of the 2001 massacre, that it was carried out by a drunken and enraged Dipendra...

It is considered even more suspicious that virtually the sole male survivors of the royal family were Gyanendra and his only son, Crown Prince Paras...

So unpopular is Paras that at first Gyanendra did not dare name him as crown prince and heir, but waited until he had been on the throne a few months, and then rushed the announcement out during a holiday when there were no newspapers to report it. In 2000, Paras allegedly killed a popular singer while drunk at the wheel. Half a million Nepalis signed a petition calling for him to be prosecuted. But Nepali royals cannot be prosecuted without the king's permission, and he has never faced trial.

Most of Gyanendra's life has been devoted to preserving the absolute power of the kings of Nepal and, seen in that light, his decision this week to tear up the constitution and reimpose direct rule is not surprising. It was just the latest in a series of efforts to take back the powers his brother gave away in 1990. In 2002, he also sacked the government until public protests forced him to reappoint Sher Bahadur Deuba, the prime minister he sacked then. This week the king sacked him again.

This time he also "suspended" freedom of speech, freedom of thought, freedom of assembly and freedom from "preventative detention". In his desire to recreate a medieval kingship, he is dragging Nepal back to the Middle Ages with him.

http://news.independent.co.uk/people/profiles/story.jsp?story=607894

(much more context at link: ed.)

[World News]: Kathmandu, Feb 5

What contributed to the dismissal of the Sher Bahadur Deuba government? The stars, say Nepal's astrologers.

The Nepal Astrologers' Association has hailed not only Deuba's dismissal by King Gyanendra but the timing as well...

The association has said the timing was auspicious and would herald positive action...

Though King Gyanendra ascended the throne in 2001, he has still not been coronated according to full traditional rites due to the absence of an auspicious date since then.

Indo-Asian News Service

http://www.newkerala.com/news-daily/news/features.php?action=fullnews&id=68691

Thursday, February 03, 2005       

KATHMANDU -- Nepal's new government headed by King Gyanendra has called on Maoist rebels to hold peace talks or risk "alternate steps," state television said on Thursday.

"We ask the Maoists once again to come to the negotiation table and help to solve the present political crisis," said Home Minister Dan Bahadur Shahi, one of the 10-member pro-royalist cabinet which was sworn in Wednesday.

"If the Maoists do not come forward, we may have to think of alternate steps," Shahi said in comments aired on state television...

AFP

http://www.timesofoman.com/newsdetails.asp?newsid=10264

This is what the people of Nepal saw when the country was fully taken over by Gyanendra and the Royal Nepalese Army. The television broadcast started at 10:00 AM on 1 February 2005. By 10:25, all telecom and internet was shut down and media houses were occupied by armed soldiers.

Photo credit: Anonymous.

http://insn.org/

For more post-coup photos:

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?g=events/wl/020105nepal&a=&tmpl=sl&ns=&l=&e=1&a
mp;

Nepalbbs.com

With the shutdown of phone and internet links to (and within) Nepal, there is no reliable source of news about what is happening within the country. This site is an attempt to bridge that gap.

http://www.nepalbbs.com/

(Wish that I had more time to provide a more comprehensive picture and fear that the above posts reflect an irreverence not intended:  Nepalbbs  goes a long way in providing access to the former and hope that it will dispel the latter)

Press Release

A brutal stupidity of plunging the country and the people in to darkness and terrorism is being exhibited by fratricidal artificial king Gyanendra Shahi, as the final writhing of the feudal autocracy. There is no alternative before the great Nepalese people who are fighting for Democratic Republic of Nepal by standing on the achievements of the historical movement of 1990, except to overthrow the feudal autocracy through its root. On this crucial turning point of decisive battle between autocracy and republic, it is a historical necessity for the all the pro-people political forces, civil society, intellectual community and all the level and sphere of people to advance united on this direction. With full responsibility and keeping to this historic necessity, our party has already called for the united front against the feudal autocracy. In order to make the broad united front effective, our Party appeals through this statement to the entire parliamentarian Parties to form united fronts both in the central and local level and advance the movement ahead. Our party heartily appeals to all those pro-people's forces through this statement, to come forward to forge the united front both in the local and central level, as wherever and whatever becomes possible. Committed to the kin interest of the country and people, our Party humbly appeals to all pro-people forces, to come forward by all means by forging united front above and button wherever and whatever is possible, by casting away their mutual misunderstandings, to create storms of movement against autocracy. We would also like to clarify to all those concerned that we are utterly ready for necessary sacrifice and flexibility from our side for this purpose.            

We heartily thank to all the masses of  people for supporting to making the three days countrywide general strike (Nepal Bandha) from 2nd-4th February successful, called by our Party as an initial remarks against the retrogressive coup by Gyanendra. By condemning the Nazi style repression of the Royal Army terrorist over students in Pokhara through imposing autocracy over communication and independent publications, our party strongly appeals to all students, teachers, professors and guardians to come out to a powerful resistance.  It is historical necessity to perceive that a strong resistance is the only foundation of people's protection.            

In this very context, our Party challenges to Gyanendra Shahi to withdraw his retrogressive steps immediately. If he fails to withdraw his autocratic steps, our Party will be compelled to come out for countrywide blockade and traffic strike for uncertain time, from the historic day of the 10th anniversary of  Great People's War, 13 February. Our party heartily appeals to all the political forces, civil society, intellectual community, journalists and all the level and sections of people to store daily most necessary consumption stuffs and support our movement by all the to make it successful. 21st century will be the people's century and it is sure that feudal autocracy will be defeated.  

4th February 2005

Prachanda

Chairman

Central Committee

Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)

Nepal is plunging deeper into a massive human rights crisis following last week's seizure of power by King Gyanendra and the Royal Nepalese Army, Human Rights Watch said today.

With ongoing arrests reported around the country, Human Rights Watch said that there is a risk that some of those being arrested will be "disappeared" by the security forces and never seen again, as happened during Nepal's last state of emergency in 2001.  

On February 1, the King and the Royal Nepalese Army seized effective control of all levers of power in Nepal and embarked on a campaign of arbitrary arrests, censorship, and general repression. The King has imposed a state of emergency throughout Nepal and has suspended fundamental constitutional rights, including freedom of assembly and expression, the right to information and privacy, the right to property and the prohibition against arbitrary detention. Because the constitution does not allow the King's actions to be challenged in court, Nepal's population is effectively at the mercy of the security forces, which have a history of widespread and serious violations of human rights.  

"With all power concentrated in the hands of the King, he is now responsible for what happens to the people detained after the takeover," said Brad Adams, Asia Director for Human Rights Watch. "In handing the army unbridled power, he will also be responsible for the predictable human rights abuses the army commits under the state of emergency."  

Although information from areas outside Kathmandu remains limited due to the cutting of telephone and internet services, Human Rights Watch said that at least 150 political leaders and student activists have been arbitrarily detained or placed under house arrest since the February 1 royal takeover. [Please see "List of Confirmed Detainees" in the sidebar.]  

During past crackdowns and the last state of emergency (2001-2002) the security forces arrested numerous journalists, student leaders, political activists, lawyers, and suspected Maoist sympathizers who were then "disappeared"--arrested and never seen again, and presumably killed in custody.  

"We are not just concerned about the arbitrary arrests that are taking place across Nepal," said Adams. "Our chief concern is that some of those being arrested may never be seen again, that they might `disappear' or be killed in custody, as happened during the last state of emergency."  

Among the immediate targets for arrest were the political leaders upon whom the King expressed scorn in his televised address announcing his seizure of power for the next three years. The government has acknowledged that twenty-seven national political leaders are either under house arrest or in detention, including every prime minister since 1990.  

The country's most senior active political leaders, including Sher Bahadur Deuba, the dismissed Prime Minister and chairperson of the Nepali Congress (Democratic) party; Madhav Kumar Nepal, secretary-general of the (mainstream and non-violent) Communist Party of Nepal-UML; and Girija Prasad Koirala, chairperson of the Nepali Congress Party; have been placed under house arrest and are reportedly not allowed to receive guests, read newspapers, listen to the radio or television, or make phone calls.  

In addition to the political leadership, more than one hundred local political leaders and student activists have also reportedly been arrested throughout the country. Most central committee members of the mainstream political parties have either been arrested, placed under house arrest, or have been forced into hiding. Security forces have deployed at the entrance gates of various universities and colleges, and have begun arresting student leaders.  

Human Rights Watch expressed grave concern about the safety of human rights activists throughout Nepal, who may be the next target for arrest by the security forces. In December 2004, several human rights activists had to leave Nepal after learning their names were on an Army arrest list. Some human rights activists have reported that they are being stopped by security forces at the airport who then check their names against an extensive list of persons targeted for arrest.  

On February 8, the chairman of the National Human Rights Commission of Nepal (NHRC) and Kapil Shrestha, a fellow commissioner, attempted to board a plane to the eastern city of Biratnagar to open a regional office of the NHRC. After security forces reviewed a list of names, they prohibited Shrestha from boarding the plane, saying he was not allowed to leave Kathmandu "for your own safety."  

Human Rights Watch said that a number of prominent human rights activists have already been arrested since the royal takeover. Among those currently detained are Sindhu Nath Pyakurel, the former president of the Nepal Bar Association and a prominent human rights activist who suffers from a serious heart condition. Authorities reportedly barred him from receiving necessary medication. Human Rights Watch called on the Nepali authorities to immediately allow Pyakurel access to medical assistance to assess his condition.  

Other human rights activists who have been arrested include Nanda Bhandari, the secretary of the Nepal Bar Association's Appellate Court unit; Kalyan K.C., a human rights lawyer from the eastern city of Biratnagar; Lok Prasad Pant, a human rights activist from Dang district; and Nilamber Acharya, a Kathmandu-based human rights activist. Virtually the entire human rights activist community has been forced into hiding.  

"Nepal's small but committed human rights community is now afraid of facing the brunt of the Nepalese government's repression," Adams said. "They continue to document and expose abuses, but now many of the cases they report are from their own community."  

The King has instituted severe constraints on all manners of public expression. On February 6, the King issued a 21-point directive prohibiting all media--print, radio, television, and the internet--from making or conveying any direct or indirect public comment regarding the work of the security agencies that could affect their morale. All public gatherings are subject to restrictive licensing requirements.  

The King has ordered that the media can only print information approved by the National Security Council, and has formally banned for the next six months, under threat of arrest, any information criticizing "the intent and spirit" of the state of emergency. For a week after the takeover, media offices around the country were occupied by armed security officials, who in some cases directly intervened to censor news reports.  

At a meeting with newspaper editors, the King's secretary reportedly stated that he would be unable to "help" if the military decided to "disappear" journalists or editors "for a few hours," a disturbing statement in a country that according to the U.N. had the highest number of reported new "disappearances" in the world in both 2003 and 2004. A number of prominent journalists have been arrested. According to army spokesperson General Dipak Gurung, Bisnu Nisthuri, the general secretary of the Nepal Federation of Journalists, has been arrested. The BBC's Nepali news service has been forced to suspend its broadcasts, and Netra K.C., its correspondent in the western city of Nepalgunj, was reportedly detained and then released. The president of the Nepal Federation of Journalists, Tara Nath Dahal, has been forced to go into hiding after several attempts by the Royal Nepalese Army to arrest him.  

"The King's representatives are now engaging in shocking threats to journalists and editors," said Adams.  

The severe restrictions and dangers of arrest faced by human rights activists and journalists have made it virtually impossible to continue independent monitoring of the conduct of the security forces in Nepal. Human Rights Watch is deeply concerned that abuses by the security forces will increase dramatically in the absence of international and local monitoring mechanisms, aggravating Nepal's already severe human rights crisis.  

Human Rights Watch urged the Nepali authorities to take immediate steps to prevent arbitrary arrests, "disappearances," and summary killings in the current climate. The Nepali authorities should publicly instruct their security forces not to engage in such practices, and should immediately release the names and whereabouts of all persons arrested. The National Human Rights Commission of Nepal (NHRC) and international humanitarian agencies should have unimpeded access to all persons detained during the state of emergency.  

"The King's announcement of taking over power referred several times to human rights, but his actions after declaring the state of emergency have violated the most basic principles of international human rights," Adams said.  

Human Rights Watch urged the diplomatic community to demand an immediate end to the arbitrary arrests in Nepal, and to take proactive steps to protect political leaders, student activists, human rights activists, and journalists from abuses by the security forces.  

Human Rights Watch commended India for its strong response to the King's takeover. India canceled its participation in the summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation because of the expected participation of King Gyanendra, calling for an immediate restoration of democracy and suspending military aid. The United Kingdom and United States have also condemned the King's seizure of power, but the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank, providers of significant economic assistance to Nepal, have remained silent.  

"It is crucial for the international community to demonstrate that it will not lightly accept the King's abusive actions," said Adams. "If they act with a common purpose, the King and the army will have little choice but to reverse course."

http://hrw.org/english/docs/2005/02/09/nepal10152.htm

    We are very poor people with just a bit of land that feeds us.  My husband and sons have gone away to work in the city.  I live alone with my daughter.  Every so often, men in uniform come to my house to ask for food.  It is my duty to feed guests, so I try my best, though I have little to spare.  But I don't ask any questions about who they are, because it is safer not to know.  They can be the army.  They can be Maoists.  Both are dangerous.

    Forty-five year-old woman in a hill village1

The Nepali people are caught in the middle of an increasingly brutal civil war between rebels of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) and government security forces.  Since the conflict started in 1996, more than ten thousand Nepalis have died.  Most have been civilians from the country's most vulnerable communities: the rural poor, Dalits (at the bottom of the Hindu caste system) and indigenous communities.  From an isolated rebellion in remote mountainous districts of western Nepal, the Maoist insurgency has spread throughout the country, even reaching the capital Kathmandu, where the threat of Maoist attacks alone has brought the city to a standstill.

After several years during which an ill-equipped police force was left to face the Maoists in front-line combat, in November 2001 the Nepali government mobilized the Royal Nepal Army (RNA) and declared a state of emergency.  Since then, the fighting has increased dramatically, as has the number of deaths of combatants and civilians.

Civilians supporting neither side are often faced with fateful choices.  Refusing to provide shelter to the rebels puts villagers at risk from Maoists who are ruthless in their punishments; providing such support, however, leaves them vulnerable to reprisal attacks from the state security forces.

Both the Maoists and government forces have dismal human rights records, including the gravest of violations: summary executions, torture, arbitrary arrests and abductions, and persecution based on political associations.  Human rights defenders, lawyers and journalists have been attacked for their work.  The unwritten government policy to "break the backbone" of the rebellion has led to many extra-judicial killings and "disappearances."  Nepal now has the sad distinction of being among the world's prime locations for enforced disappearances--cases in which people are abducted, arrested, or otherwise taken into custody and those responsible deny all responsibility or knowledge of their whereabouts.  According to the U.N. Working Group on Enforced or Voluntary Disappearances, Nepal had the highest number of disappearances in the world in 2003. Most of those who "disappear" are never heard from again.  The Maoists rarely commit enforced disappearances, but only because those they abduct are invariably and publicly declared to be "class enemies" and executed in the name of their "People's War."

Both the government and the Maoists engage in regular intimidation and extortion.  The Maoists infamously impose a "tax" on local villagers and travelers, while the government attempts to isolate the Maoists by trying to cut off their access to food and shelter in villages.  Many soldiers use the license they enjoy from their army and police superiors to engage in extortion and blackmail, visiting hapless families and demanding money to ensure the safe release of their relatives from custody.  The Maoists use children as messengers, cooks, porters and to gather intelligence on troop movements in violation of international law restrictions on the use of children during armed conflict.  There have been recent reports that the Maoists have abducted schoolchildren for forced indoctrination in the remote hill districts of western Nepal.

All of this has led to a climate of intense fear in the villages.  As a human rights activist in Nepalgunj, a conflict-torn city in the southern plains, told Human Rights Watch: "The Maoists are called terrorists by the government, and that is what they do--create terror. But the security forces are supposed to provide security, and they are no different. People live in constant fear."

Exacerbating the abuses is the desperate poverty of average Nepalis.  Nepal is among the poorest countries in Asia.  Almost 40 percent of Nepal's twenty-three million people live below the poverty line.  Per capita income is approximately US$230 per year.  Almost 50 percent of children under five suffer from malnutrition, and 82 percent of the population survives on less than two dollars a day.  Life expectancy at birth is just 59.6 years and infant and maternal mortality rates are still among the highest in the region.2  The literacy rate is only 44 percent.

Almost 90 percent of the population lives in rural areas, where the delivery of basic services such as health, education, and clean water is inconsistent at best.  Nepal's mountainous terrain and poorly developed infrastructure frustrate development.  The communication and road links are underdeveloped, particularly in the poorer areas of western Nepal.  According to World Bank data, there are just fourteen telephones per one thousand people.  It can take villagers days to walk to the district headquarters.  The terrain is mountainous and harsh.  Clusters of villages exist far off the beaten track.  News from these areas takes a long time to get out, and is extremely difficult to confirm.

In such conditions, both rebels and government security forces have functioned with wanton disregard for the rule of law.  By the time independent investigators can reach the spot of alleged abuses, witnesses have often been threatened by the perpetrators into keeping silent.  Predictably, the rule of law has almost vanished under these harsh circumstances; the result is that both the Maoists and government forces have committed numerous atrocities.

The seriousness of the crisis in Nepal is underscored by a strongly worded statement issued by eight United Nations Rapporteurs on July 14, 2004, that expressed concern about the "extremely grave human rights situation in Nepal."3  The experts noted that they had sent nearly 150 urgent appeals to the government about individual cases of concern since the beginning of 2004.

Nepal presents the international community with a difficult challenge: how to help resolve a conflict between a brutal Maoist rebel movement and Nepali security forces with a horrendous record of abuses.  The United States and India have viewed the Maoists as ideologically similar to Cambodia's Khmer Rouge or Peru's Sendero Luminoso, both renowned for atrocities of the worst kind, and they have supported the Nepali government with little regard for (in the case of the United States and India) or in spite of (in the case of the United Kingdom) its rights record.  The United States and India, in particular, have provided government forces with new weapons that, in the absence of necessary reforms in military and police, and appropriate training and monitoring, may increase the conflict's brutality without bringing a resolution any closer.

India, Nepal's largest supplier of military materiel and training, continues its unquestioning support for the government, reaffirming this recently in a state visit by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba to New Delhi in October 2004.  The United States has also dramatically increased its military aid since the September 11, 2001, attacks, in part because it initially saw Nepal as a part of the "global war on terrorism," a position from which some parts of the U.S. government and military have since retreated.  The United Kingdom and Belgium have also provided substantial military support to the Nepali security forces.

These countries are correct to be concerned about the Maoist movement in Nepal.  Based on the Maoists' rights record in areas they currently control, there is reason to be extremely concerned about how they would behave if they reached power.  No government is known to give direct support to the Maoist movement.

At the same time, it has become increasingly difficult for states to justify providing political and military support to the Nepali government, while ignoring continuing abuses by state security forces and the failure to bring those responsible to justice.  This is why the European Union and United Nations bodies have taken a more nuanced stance to Nepal's armed conflict, condemning both sides for the country's downward spiral and for massive human rights abuses.  The March 2004, United Nations Commission on Human Rights resolution on Nepal signaled the diminishing patience of many countries with both sides, and was a particular rebuke to the government for its failure to cooperate with the United Nations on human rights or address abuses committed by the security forces, and its obstruction of efforts to strengthen the independent National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).

Many government supporters have been particularly frustrated by the unpredictable behavior of King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev and the bickering among the main political parties, which at times has left a political vacuum in Kathmandu and left the Maoists without a clear negotiating partner.  Nepal's political system has been effectively paralyzed since 2002, when the King assumed direct rule over the country and suspended the country's struggling democratic process.  A new government was installed in June 2004, but it has dubious legitimacy.  Parliament has ceased to function and the courts have been neutralized by the executive branch and armed forces.

While both the government and the Maoists have made repeated commitments to the protection of human rights, in practice both have ignored those commitments in their zeal to defeat their enemy.  The government has rejected virtually all allegations of abuse by its forces.  Instead of addressing well-documented cases of abuses, it has launched verbal and physical attacks on human rights workers, activists, and their affiliates.  Senior members of the government have stated that anyone working on behalf of human rights (including the National Human Rights Commission and United Nations human rights officers) is a "Maoist sympathizer," aiding and abetting terrorism.

During interviews with senior officials within the army and the government, Human Rights Watch was told over and over again that activists naively believe exaggerated accounts of abuse. When Human Rights Watch raised specific cases documented in our research, there was outright denial. This was epitomized in the case of a 15-year-old Dalit school girl, Maina Sunuwar, from Kavre district in February 2004.  The girl's mother, Devi Sunuwar, was a witness to an extrajudicial execution by government forces and gave statements to journalists and human rights workers.  Within days, Maina was accused of providing food to Maoists and was taken away by security forces.  Since Devi was not home at that time, the soldiers left a message with her husband, asking Devi to come to the barracks to secure the release of their child. But when she went to the army, she was told that her daughter was not in custody.

When Human Rights Watch asked army spokesperson Col. Deepak Gurung about Maina's whereabouts, he insisted that an inquiry had been ordered and that the girl was not in army custody. He went on to claim that Devi Sunuwar was a liar who had lied about her niece's execution4 and was now lying about her daughter's disappearance.  Yet in April 2004, Devi was finally told by an international agency that her daughter was killed by security forces on the very day that she was taken into custody, a fact later confirmed to Human Rights Watch by the local district administration.  Not only had the army denied the arrest when questioned by Human Rights Watch, soldiers have been visiting the family's house regularly since then.  Frightened by these visits and fearing another arrest and murder, the Sunuwar family left their home and are now forced to earn a living as migrant laborers.  At this writing, soldiers were still turning up, questioning neighbors about the family.

For their part, the Maoists have responded to allegations of abuse by maligning their victims: they claim those killed were acting against the liberation of the people, they were revisionists, they were informers undermining the Maoists' march toward creating a communist society.  "Their methods are unimaginably brutal, like chopping off hands or tongues and breaking bones," a member of Nepal's National Human Rights Commission told Human Rights Watch.  "Killing by Maoists is done to terrorize the whole population.  They do not tolerate any opposition."

For example, Ganesh Chilawal5, a thirty-five-year-old father of two, was gunned down in broad daylight by the Maoists for his work advocating on behalf of victims of Maoist abuses.  Chilawal was an active member of the Nepali Congress party.  In 1998, Chilawal had been attacked by Maoists in his village home for his pro-Congress activities.  He was cut all over his body, leading to three months of hospitalization.  After this experience, he founded the Maoist Victims Association, an NGO working to help civilians who had been victimized in different ways by the Maoists.  As part of this work, Chilawal spoke out openly against the abuses suffered by the persons who sought the support of his organization.

The Maoists started threatening Chilawal directly.  He received threats to his life through letters, faxes, and telephone calls.  His family asked him to stop; they knew from his first experience that the Maoists could be very brutal in their assaults.

On February 15, 2004, as Chilawal was leaving his office in Kathmandu, two Maoists on motorbikes fired five rounds of bullets into him.  He collapsed and died almost instantly.  The Maoists have since claimed responsibility for Chilawal's murder, even posting his murder as a success on their website, Krishna Sen Online.

While the Maoists proclaim many of their abuses, the government rarely accepts responsibility, even in well-documented cases.  When the government admits to the occasional allegation, it insists these are rogue acts that are investigated and punished. "Barring occasional individual aberrations, the security forces are operating with maximum restraint in their mission to provide security," then Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Bhekh Bahadur Thapa, declared to the U.N. Commission on Human Rights in Geneva on March 18, 2004.  The Maoists, perhaps less concerned about international opinion, simply justify their acts.  For instance, when the Maoists bombed a civilian bus in Kathmandu in May 2004, they apologized for the civilian deaths but attempted to justify their human rights crime by saying that the civilians were riding with the army in defiance of a nationwide "bandh," or strike.

There have been two rounds of peace talks, both ultimately unsuccessful.  Many Nepalis believe that a negotiated end to the conflict would have beneficial human rights consequences.  From February to August 2003, the government and Maoists largely maintained a ceasefire and held peace talks.  Both sides agreed in principle to the idea of a Human Rights Accord, which would bind both parties equally and, most critically, would include a robust nationwide monitoring component in both rebel and government held areas.  The Human Rights Accord was considered a key confidence-building measure to overcome the mutual mistrust and recriminations on both sides.  However, on August 17, 2003, the day that negotiations resumed between the government and Maoists, the army massacred nineteen detainees in Doramba.  The Maoists renounced the ceasefire and resumed armed hostilities.

Since then, the Human Rights Accord has fallen by the wayside, replaced by the government's "recommitment" paper on March 26, 2004, which claimed to embrace the principles of the Human Rights Accord but falls far short of its standards.  The Maoists, for their part, have only issued general statements affirming their commitment to abide by the laws and customs of war, but continue to justify their killings of suspect civilians.

Without a military solution or a political settlement in sight, both government forces and Maoist rebels continue to commit widespread abuses of human rights and humanitarian law.  Yet while Nepal is burning, the rest of the world is doing little but watching the carnage mount.  With most observers in agreement that a military stalemate will continue--U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has said that there can be no military solution to Nepal's conflict--there is a substantial risk that in the absence of  sustained international pressure Nepal could slide into the ranks of a failed state.

The government of Nepal must take all steps necessary to bring an end to rights violations by its security forces, particularly attacks on civilians and the mistreatment of all persons, including rebel suspects, in custody.  Instead of making excuses for its troops by claiming that they are still on a "learning curve," a phrase commonly used by Nepali officers and bureaucrats and echoed by U.S. military analysts interviewed by Human Rights Watch, it is time for the Nepali government to assume full control over its forces in the field, institute prompt, independent and impartial inquiries into every allegation, and appropriately punish those found responsible.

The Maoist forces are also obligated to abide by the laws of armed conflict, including prohibitions on the killing and torture of any person in their custody.  In addition, the Maoists must address practices by their forces that target the civilian population, such as extortion of the local population.  Actions that discourage aid agencies from participating in needed development projects particularly harm the rural poor.  The use of children in support of military operations must also cease.  The Maoists must take all appropriate measures to ensure that all forces under their control comply with international law.

Detailed recommendations are found at the end of the report. Human Rights Watch urges the government of Nepal and the Maoists to:

    * Comply with international human rights and humanitarian law, in particular prohibitions on attacks on civilians; executing or ill-treating persons in custody; committing "disappearances," abductions and unlawful arrests; and committing acts of extortion or looting.

    * Investigate all allegations of abuse and appropriately discipline or prosecute the perpetrators in accordance with international fair trial standards.

    * Sign and implement a human rights accord reiterating existing obligations pledging to abide by the Geneva Conventions and to honor and protect the human rights of civilians within their zones of control; allow independent and impartial human rights monitors, including the National Commission of Human Rights, to freely conduct investigations in such areas; and cooperate with those investigations.

Human Rights Watch urges donors to use their leverage with the Nepali government, which depends on donor assistance for almost 60 percent of its national development budget, to insist on tangible improvements in the human rights record of government forces.  Countries such as India, the United States, and the United Kingdom, that are providing military aid, should properly monitor the assistance, and ensure  necessary professional and rights-friendly training  so that civilians are protected.

Financial, technical and political support should be provided on an urgent basis to the National Human Rights Commission to fulfill its mandate to impartially investigate human rights abuses.  Political pressure should be brought to bear on both government and rebel leaders to end violations and punish and discipline the perpetrators.  Foreign governments, diplomats, and relevant U.N. agencies should speak in public as well as pursue private diplomacy to address human rights violations. Special attention must be given to defending human rights defenders, lawyers, activists, and journalists raising human rights issues or exercising their fundamental rights to speak out or participate in political activities.

The states most active in Nepal--India, the U.S., the U.K. and the European Union--should act decisively and in concert to promote adherence to international human rights and humanitarian law in Nepal.  International assistance, particularly military assistance, has been provided to the Nepali government with little regard for these concerns.  The United States in particular remains under the illusion that criticizing the Nepali government will only aid the Maoists.   But in a brutal conflict where ordinary people have been the primary victims, it is difficult to see how respecting human rights could be any kind of disadvantage.

Note on Methodology

Human Rights Watch sent a three-person research team to Nepal in March 2004.  The team spent time in Kathmandu interviewing government officials (including army officers), politicians, human rights activists, members of the international and diplomatic community and victims of human rights violations.  The team then conducted investigations in several other parts of the country.  For practical reasons, the team stayed largely in the southern plains known as the Terai, where there is better road access to isolated villages.  The team also documented cases in and around the Kathmandu valley, and in Kavre district.  All evidence of violations documented in the report is based on first-hand testimony.  In order to protect victims and witnesses from reprisals by either side, the names of persons and any information which might identify them, such as village names and specific dates of incidents, has been withheld in certain cases.

Note this is the summary of the report, the full table of contents with html links to chapters is at the link below

http://www.hrw.org/reports/2004/nepal1004/

I. Background

      The Maoist Insurgency

      Political Paralysis in Nepal

      The International Community

III. International Legal Obligations

      Nepal as an Internal Armed Conflict

      Protections of International Humanitarian Law

      Protections of Human Rights Law

      Limits on the Use of Force

IV. Unlawful Killings and Summary Executions by Nepali Security Forces

V. Summary Executions of Civiliams by Maoist Forces

VI. Recruitment and Use of Children by Maoists

VII. Arbitrary Arrests and "Disappearances"

VIII. The Role of the International Community

      Contrasting Approaches by the United States and the European Union

      The International Community, Arms Supplies and Human Rights Abuses

IX. Recommendations

      To the Government of Nepal

      To the Leadership of CPN-Maoist

      To the King

      To States Providing Military Assistance to the Nepali Government

      To Outside States, such as the U.S., U.K., the E.U., Switzerland, and India, and International Agencies, such as the U.N., and Donors

October 2004   Vol. 16, No. 12(C)

Strike empties Nepal roads, rebels reject talks

12 Feb 2005 13:26:43 GMT

Source: Reuters

(Releads with rebels rejecting talks)

By Sanjeev Miglani

KHANIKHOLA, Nepal, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Nepal's Maoist rebels rejected peace talks with the new government and began an indefinite blockade across the landlocked Himalayan kingdom on Saturday to oppose King Gyanendra's assumption of power.

The Maoist rebels, trying to topple the monarchy, appealed to political parties and citizens to launch a resistance movement against Gyanendra after he sacked the government, detained top political leaders and suspended civil liberties.

Rebel chief Prachanda rejected any possibility of talks with the government headed by the king, a day after the interior ministry said it was willing to discuss all demands including a constituent assembly to decide the future of the monarchy.

"Gyanendra has pushed the country into darkness ... there is no justification for immediate talks," the elusive leader said in a statement sent to Nepali media.

He urged the international community to stop aid to Nepal because of the autocratic rule of the king. Nepal, among the world's 10 poorest nations, is heavily dependent on aid.

Saturday was the first day of what the rebels said was an indefinite blockade and transport strike to coincide with the ninth anniversary of their revolt, in which more than 11,000 people have been killed.

TRICKLE OF VEHICLES

Until noon, barely 20 vehicles had entered hill-ringed Kathmandu from the Nagdhunga checkpoint on the main highway linking the capital with India.

Officials at the checkpoint said thousands of vehicles, many bringing in oil and food supplies, normally enter through the heavily guarded entry point.

"It is down to a trickle compared to what we usually get," said police officer Basudev Thapa.

The king's decision this month to take absolute power has prompted protests from many countries.

India, which has its own Maoist rebels in the states on the border of Nepal, fears the move will fuel the Nepali rebellion.

Diplomats worry Nepal could descend into anarchy and become a haven for international militants or drug traffickers.

Last August the Maoists imposed a successful week-long blockade on Kathmandu, relying on threats rather than physical action. The blockade stoked a fuel shortage and prices of essential goods jumped.

Officials say Kathmandu, a city of 1.5 million people, currently has two weeks of oil and enough food to last a month.

Soldiers and armed police patrolled deserted mountain highways on foot, checking the few buses and cars on the road running past terraced fields beneath snow-capped mountains.

Traffic also came to a halt in Nepalgunj, a major commercial town in a Maoist heartland in western Nepal following the call for a blockade.

more

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L12658714.htm

Despite Suspension Of Freedoms, Dissent Is Muted in Capital

By John Lancaster

Washington Post Foreign Service

Sunday, February 13, 2005; Page A21

KATMANDU, Nepal -- Krishna Pahadi, the founder of a prominent human rights group, welcomed his guest with a wan smile. "I'm really sorry," he said, standing in the garden of the small townhouse that serves as the group's headquarters. "I can't talk to you now. I am just being arrested."

As his office staff looked on helplessly Wednesday afternoon, the human rights campaigner was surrounded by four plainclothes police officers, who marched him toward a waiting car without producing a warrant or an explanation. Colleagues and family members haven't heard from him since.

 Such scenes have become common in Nepal since Feb. 1, when King Gyanendra shocked the nation and surprised the United States and other allies by firing the government, detaining more than 100 political opponents and suspending basic constitutional liberties, including freedom of the press and the right to assembly.

In Washington and other foreign capitals, Gyanendra's action was condemned as a miscalculation that will frustrate the search for a peaceful end to the nine-year Maoist insurgency that has claimed more than 10,000 lives and paralyzed the economy in this picturesque and impoverished Himalayan kingdom.

But the reaction in Nepal has been muted. Almost two weeks after the royal coup, the capital remains mostly quiet, a testament both to the ambivalence of Nepalese disillusioned by their short experience with democracy and to the chilling efficiency of the government's measures to suppress dissent. On Thursday, a protest that had been billed as a major pro-democracy demonstration attracted 10 participants. All were promptly arrested.

"It must be said that outside the capital's intellectual, activist and media circles there was general approval" of King Gyanendra's move, the Nepali Times, an English-language newsweekly that has often been critical of the king, said in an editorial published Friday. "There is cautious hope that this could be a way out of long years of instability, anarchy and violence."

Some call it false hope. Sushil Pyakurel, a member of the semi-official National Human Rights Commission, warned that Gyanendra's crackdown on political parties may drive them to make common cause with -- or at least turn a blind eye to -- a brutal insurgency whose methods and ideology they have previously abhorred. "The contradiction between the king and the political parties, it has widened," Pyakurel said. "Maoists may use this situation as an opportunity."

Brig. Gen. Dipak Gurung, the spokesman for the Royal Nepal Army, said the king had moved against the country's political parties in part because they had been staging protests that were distracting security forces from their fight against the Maoists. "If there are no internal disturbances, then we can focus on the main issue," he said.

The situation poses a challenge for the Bush administration, which along with the Indian government is providing the army with training and weapons to strengthen its capabilities against the rebels, who now roam freely in much of the country.

On Friday, U.S. Ambassador James F. Moriarty said U.S. military aid to Nepal was "at risk" as a consequence of the king's action. He also said the U.S., British and Indian envoys in Katmandu, the capital, had made it "crystal clear" that their governments would oppose a move by the king to dismiss the prime minister and cabinet. He sounded them out on his plans this winter.

"We were as emphatic as we could be," he said.

cont. at:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19791-2005Feb12.html

Nepal cuts phone service in effort to thwart protests

The Associated Press, Reuters

Saturday, February 19, 2005

KATMANDU, Nepal King Gyanendra's newly declared government plunged Nepal into another communications blackout Friday, cutting phone service in what appeared to be an effort to thwart opposition activists trying to organize the first nationwide protests against the king's seizure of power this month. Security was tightened throughout the kingdom.

Opposition activists had been planning protests to mark National Democracy Day, the anniversary of the day on which King Tribhuvan, Gyanendra's grandfather, returned from exile in India in 1951 to oust the Rana oligarchy that had imprisoned members of the royal family for a century.

"We are taking out peaceful rallies demanding restoration of democracy in Nepal," said Mahesh Acharya, a central member of the Nepali Congress Party, the largest opposition party. "We will also urge the people and other parties to join in our protests."

The government had its own events to mark Democracy Day, centering on a military parade with Gyanendra presiding.

"We are going to celebrate Democracy Day in a big way," an army spokesman, Brigadier General Dipak Gurung, said before the parade.

In a message to the nation, meanwhile, Gyanendra insisted that he had to assume absolute power to protect democracy from the grave risk posed by a bloody Maoist insurgency and from political instability. These were his first comments since Feb. 1, when Gyanendra sacked the prime minister and declared a state of emergency, taking power for three years. Civil rights were suspended and strict media censorship imposed.

"Terrorist activities coupled with politics far removed from the common man gave a fillip to instability in the nation and put democracy at risk," Gyanendra said in his message read over state radio and television. "It is clear to our countrymen that we ourselves had to take the steps to extricate the country and multiparty democracy from this morass."

Except for an attack on a jail, the rebels have refrained from major assaults since the king's takeover. More than 10,500 people have been killed in Nepal's insurgency since it started in 1996.

more at

http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/02/18/news/kingdom.html

Hope slips away for refugees

Victims of the insurgency are losing again as the king attacks democracy

Ed Douglas

Sunday February 20, 2005

The Observer

Babadin Khan lies in his hospital bed, trying to think why Maoist rebels would want to blow up his tea stall. He was open for business during one in the apparently endless sequence of strikes called by the Maoists. But so, he explains, were all his competitors.

Selling tea is the only way he can make a living in his village, four miles from the town of Nepalgunj, western Nepal. Now his legs are covered in shrapnel wounds. His wife, Shamon, sits in tears beside him, fearful of how they will recover from the medical costs of just a few dollars.

The Khans are typical victims of the brutal insurgency pushing Nepal towards collapse. At least six bombs were exploded by the Maoists around Nepalgunj to coincide with the ninth anniversary of the so-called People's War, on 13 February. Police posts were destroyed, but Maoists also targeted local government staff in an attempt to roll back 'the Establishment'.

Up the road from Nepalgunj, at the Rajena refugee camp, around 60 families explained why they had left their farms. 'The Maoists come to recruit and kidnap our young people,' said Devi Lal Malla, 33. 'Then the security forces come and accuse us of being Maoists. We left everything we had and came at night.'

Local administration has effectively ended in much of rural Nepal, replaced by Maoist committees. With few NGOs prepared to risk working, health and schooling have degraded, sending Nepal's long climb out of poverty back, say experts, by 20 years.

Doctors visiting Accham report that the few health workers left have run out of rehydration salts, let alone antibiotics, in a country where 27,000 children a year die from diarrhoea. It is, Devi Lal Malla said, the same in Mugu district: 'There's not much medicine and what there is the Maoists take. The schools are open, but are very bad.

more

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1418513,00.html

Nepal Rebels Attack Highway Convoy

Sunday February 20, 2005 6:31 PM

AP Photo XGO107

By NEELESH MISRA

Associated Press Writer

CHARAUNDI, Nepal (AP) - Communist rebels attacked a highway convoy on Sunday, wounding two Nepalese soldiers and a civilian after the insurgents erected roadblocks, planted bombs and shot at motorists.

The roadblocks in Charaundi, some 55 miles southwest of the capital, Katmandu, were the latest attempt by rebels to control the roads linking the capital to the rest of the country. The rebels often halt traffic on the roads for days at a time, cutting off supplies to Katmandu.

The insurgents threatened to block major roads to protest King Gyanendra's Feb. 1 decision to dismiss the government, suspend civil liberties and form a new Cabinet under his own chairmanship. The moves caused an international outcry.

The king said the move was necessary because the previous government failed to control the intensifying insurgency.

Thousands of vehicles were stranded for hours Sunday waiting for security forces to clear the highway. Army officers allowed traffic to resume only after road had been cleared of mines.

``We have been foiling their attempts to blockade Katmandu. This is one of the battles for us,'' Brig. Gen. Dipak Gurung, the chief army spokesman, told The Associated Press. ``It's a seesaw battle, but we are succeeding.''

more

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-4814152,00.html

http://agonist.org/?op=search&offset=30&type=story&old_type=comment&old_string=nepal
&string=nepal&count=30&orderby=date

Posted: 26 February 2005 2331 hrs

Nepal Maoists call off blockade as army says dozens die in clashes

Related News »

• Army says dozens of Maoists dead, rebels raid TV station in Nepal violence  
  
• Rebels attack state-run Nepalese TV station  
  
• Nepal king criticises military aid freeze  
  

more>>

KATHMANDU : Nepal's Maoist rebels called off a 14-day-old nationwide transport blockade staged to protest King Gyanendra's seizure of power, while the army said at least three dozen rebels died during clashes in the country's west.

Armed convoys had escorted supply trucks and passenger buses in and out of the ancient capital, Kathmandu, in defiance of the blockade which began February 12.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world/view/134615/1/.html

Fresh Violence in Embattled Nepal; 15 Killed

By Gopal Sharma  |  February 27, 2005

KATHMANDU, Nepal (Reuters) - At least 15 people, including a senior police officer, were killed in violence in Nepal, authorities said Sunday, a day after Maoists ended a crippling road blockade against King Gyanendra's power grab.

In the latest strikes by Maoists, a deputy police superintendent and his bodyguard were shot dead at the officer's home at Butwal, 190 miles west of Kathmandu.

Five policemen and three soldiers were killed when rebels ambushed a security patrol in Bara district, 150 km southeast of Kathmandu Sunday, an army statement said.

And a police officer and a soldier were killed in another ambush in Solukhumbhu district, near Mount Everest.

"Ten security personnel wounded in both incidents have been brought to Kathmandu for treatment," the statement said. Elsewhere, soldiers gunned down three guerrillas overnight in separate clashes.

more

http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2005/02/27/fresh_violence_in_embattled_nepal_15_kille
d/

By Connie Levett

February 7, 2005

Tales of systematic arrests of politicians, alleged torture of students and targeting of human rights activists emerged yesterday as reports of the early days after a royal coup in which King Gyanendra dismissed his government came in from rural Nepal.

A report by the Nepalese Bar Association's human rights project outlined accusations of abuse and detention from all corners of the country since King Gyanendra assumed absolute power last week.

The report comes amid suggestions that the number of courts that hear appeals against detention may be drastically reduced by the new government from 16 to five...

One of the few rights not curtailed under this state of emergency is habeas corpus, the right to a trial.

In Nepal, such cases are heard first in the appellate courts, of which there are 16 across the country, with 76 judges, and then the Supreme Court.

"I understand they are trying to ignore habeas corpus cases, and not fix dates," said a Nepalese journalist who asked not to be named.

"There are 16 appellate courts in the country, and they are discussing reducing that to five. If they [do], it will discourage people to come to the court."

He said the reason habeas corpus had not been suppressed with all other civil rights was that the king and the army were trying to avoid antagonising the United States to ensure the military supplies pipeline stayed open.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/Chilling-tales-emerge-in-wake-of-Nepal-coup/2005/02/06/110762506315
6.html?oneclick=true

Nepal's King Says He Imposed Emergency Rule to Fight Terrorism

Feb. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Nepal's King Gyanendra said he dismissed the government and imposed a state of emergency on Feb. 1 to combat terrorism in the Himalayan kingdom where communist rebels are fighting to overthrow the monarchy.

``We felt the nation was in the process of fragmentation,'' the king said yesterday in comments to reporters in Kathmandu, according to a report on the government's Web site. ``The unity that we had among ourselves was definitely shattered and the sad part was that no one was doing anything about it...''

The new government has identified fighting terrorism as its objective, King Gyanendra said. The administration will be in power for three years, a period that may be shortened, he said...

The Nepalese people want to know why countries are cutting off military aid, King Gyanendra said.

``When we have chosen to uphold democracy and fight against terrorism, why are [ed: the British, Indian, and possibly US governments] shying away from helping us?'' the king said. ``Our objectives are the same. We are going to meet somewhere, but we have chosen maybe different paths in attaining that objective...''

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000080&sid=aCFVS4_GTlPI&refer=asia

[World News]: Kathmandu, Feb 6 : Nepal's army said it would go after the Maoist insurgents in full force, pressuring them to resume peace negotiations with the new government or face the consequences.

The army's mandate is to "disarm the Maoists and bring them to the mainstream", said Brigadier-General Dipak Gurung, Royal Nepalese Army spokesman.

"If they don't do it willingly, we have to do it by force," Gurung told IANS.

The Royal Nepalese Army, constitutionally under the control of a security council consisting of the prime minister, defence minister and army chief, had its curbs removed Tuesday when King Gyanendra dismissed the government of prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and imposed a state of emergency.

"Our resources were diverted. But now with the civil administration and police dealing with the political parties and student unions, we will be more focused," Gurung said.

"Earlier, the army used to get diverted from its mandate due to being called to combat rallies, shutdowns, demonstrations and other forms of agitation," he said...

Gurung said the army had drawn the sting of the communist guerrillas by shutting down communications countrywide.

"There have been no attacks by the Maoists since Tuesday," he said. "They can't plan operations now since they have no means of communication." The spokesman blamed the media for the fear psychosis created by the underground guerrillas.

"An insignificant publication somewhere would say there's a shutdown called by the rebels and everyone would close in fear," he said. "We can survive without Maoist news. Maybe the media was misguided or was not mature enough. In the past 15 years, there was a lot of press freedom. But what did it achieve? Our ultimate end is a peaceful and prosperous Nepal..."

"Countries like India and the US should support us because we are fighting against terrorism," he said. "It brought us to the brink of disaster with the country's sovereignty being in question. Terrorism is not just Nepal's concern, it's going to affect all of South Asia. We should all fight it together."

Indo-Asian News Service

http://news.newkerala.com/india-news/?action=fullnews&id=68981

RAJAT PANDIT

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 07, 2005

KATHMANDU: Newspapers, radio and TV stations in the Himalayan Kingdom have been muzzled like never before, with clear censorship orders enforced by gun-toting soldiers that even a single word against the royal takeover and dismissal of the Deuba government will be viewed very harshly.

Some Nepalese journalists are fighting back by the only means they can. Sometimes with humour. The largest-selling English newspaper, the Kathmandu Post , for instance, came out with a hilarious editorial entitled "Socks in Society" on Saturday.

The editorial advised readers to wear "clean socks" in the coming summer. It lamented that Nepal did not manufacture "good quality" socks and has to import them from China or India.

Other topics on which editorials are being written include archery and women's cricket in Nepal, as also how to enjoy the bright sunshine...

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1013227.cms

RAJAT PANDIT

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 06, 2005

KATHMANDU: In its latest issue, the  Nepali   Times  weekly has a long editorial on the "felling of trees". "The sudden epidemic of tree-felling along Kathmandu's streets is drastic, misguided and not consonant with the needs of the population."

The editorial says that "trees" introduce "oxygen into the atmosphere" and reach down to the "grassroots to hold the soil" together.

"All in all, the trees should not have been axed. Because the damage has been done, can we ask the authority concerned to promptly correct the move and bring back greenery?" it said...

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1013158.cms

http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/38571000/jpg/_38571293_posters_ap300.jpg

http://www.nepalhomepage.com/politics/elections/general2056/factsfig/partylist.html

http://www.politicalresources.net/nepal.htm

NepaliTimes #234 11-17 Feb 2005

by Naresh Newar...

"A model for the rest of the world..."

From same issue:

23 weeks to go:  Time for the media to take stock of itself

by Srinkhala Sharma

One hundred and eighty days. That's how long the current gag on media is meant to last and enough time for the Nepali media to do some much needed soul-searching.

These are challenging times for those in the news business as they try to communicate in a time of censorship. It tests the media's creativity and ingenuity to find news beyond the headlines...

Also see:

All the news that is fit to print

by KUNDA DIXIT

Statutory Notice: An official Fact-finding Committee has pre-tested this column on lab animals and certified that it contains permitted synthetic dyes and preservatives and has declared it fit for human consumption provided the childproof seal is not broken at the time of purchase. However, one can't be too careful during these perilous times so readers are advised to exercise individual caution on a case-by-case basis. Management is not responsible for the consequences, especially if perpetrators are apprehended perusing this in broad daylight, charged with indecent exposure and sentenced to 36 lashes with a wet rattan cane on each hind cheek.

Now that we have those legal niceties out of the way, we can get down to what you have all been impatiently waiting for with barely-concealed boredom, which is a roundup of this week's main events:

(ed:  this space is VERY important)

Togo Felicitated

HMG has congratulated the Democratic People's Republic of Togo on the smooth transition to a new government.

A free email SMS was sent to the new leader of Togo, Dr Sir Tyronne George Baboonga Wala-wala, MBE, wishing him personal happiness and prosperity and the Togolese people continued progress in their relentless march towards being a pariah state.

"We know what it is like to be one of the poorest countries in the world and it heartens us to see that you are doing a great job maintaining that position and being reviled by the international community," the message read, adding, "one has to do what one has to do..."

(ed:  if anyone should happen to want to repeat my post by replicating every action that I would have had to to make in order to post this, we will both be very gratified--trust me--but you won't actually have to post it (and please, sincerely, don't:  you will know what I mean when you do as I have suggested...))  

 http://www.abdn.ac.uk/~div356/Nepal/Terminated_democracy.html

 http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com/messagepost.cfm?postaction=reply&catid=16&threadid=440864&
amp;messid=3665884&STARTPAGE=28&parentid=0&from=27

Linked at http://www.nepalbbs.com/

(photo from original post not showing on the computer I was using previously...)

S=?

S=Sun

T=?

S=Sun

T=Tree

S & T= ? & ?

http://www.newsnow.co.uk/newsfeed/?name=Nepal

suggested at

http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com/messagepost.cfm?postaction=reply&catid=16&threadid=440864&
amp;messid=3665884&STARTPAGE=26&parentid=0&from=28

Sajha.com aims to be the internet destination for all Nepalese living in Nepal and abroad, and for anyone interested in Nepal - to provide a internet space where we take a little break from the monotony once in a while to indulge in gupp-supp to tickle our intellect, to talk about Nepal and the Nepalese, and to remind the fact that we are Nepalese no matter where we are and what we do.

http://www.sajha.com/sajha/html/openforum.cfm?forum=2

http://cpnm.org/new/English/statements/2005/statements_1feb2005.htm#stm7a

Statement of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) issued on 1 February 2005 in response to the King's dismissal of government:

http://www.agonist.org/comments/2005/2/2/174543/4062/1#1

ANAND SOONDAS

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2005 11:09:48 PM

KATHMANDU: Motilal Nepali grew up without drinking milk. His mom was too emaciated to breastfeed him and he couldn't get cow's milk because no one would sell it to him. He is a dalit in Nepal and nobody sells milk to dalits here.

Or, for that mater, deals with the group in anything that is liquid. Untouchability has a different meaning and dimension 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.

That is where the Maoists came in, turning a community into a fearsome death force that until now was unable to deal with deprivation and desperation -- a potent combination that has the Royal Nepal Army on its toes.

Now the chairperson of Dalit Welfare Organisation, Nepali says the Maoists got a ready-made army. "Any one could sense that dalits were a force, imploding with centuries of hurt, waiting to be tapped. The situation is proving to be a fertile ground for the movement," he says.

Dalits in Nepal constitute 20% of its population, but own just 2% of its land. Their literacy rate is a mere 17 % -- just 10% for women -- and they die faster than any one else. The average life expectancy for a dalit in Nepal stands at an unbelievable 42 years. Others, higher in the social order, can expect to live up to 60.

While the per capita income in Nepal is $210, for a dalit it is just $39. In the rugged zones of western Nepal, many of the dalits continue to live as bonded labourers. For back-breaking work, they are paid a sackful of maize and bits of meat during festivals.

The upper castes still believe dalits are beneath involvement in cash transactions. And a dalit baby is in the control of some upper caste man the moment he or she is born.

"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.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1031622.cms

did you freely imbibe of ballantines in order to post it?

google likes continued freedom ballantine :)

btw: nothing really changes:

http://www.freemedia.at/wpfr/Asia/nepal.htm

and

http://www.american-reporter.com/2,580/525.html

used to be provide a lot of fun on the agonist BB for a while as well.....

no names no court martials ;=)