News of the Revolution in Nepal
Posted by Mike E on April 13, 2008
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13/04 Press Release DEAN overview of the April 10 Constituent Assembly Elections Conduct
13/04 News India says it is ready work with Maoists
13/04 News Home Minister Sitaula defeated, Hridayesh Tripathy win
13/04 News Victorious Prachanda meets Koirala
13/04 News Maoists bag 70 seats; NC, UML competing for second place
13/04 News More stalwarts out, more Maoists in
13/04 News Maoists lead with 50 seats; UML win 15, NC 14, MPRF 7, NWPP 2, TMDP 1, NSP-M 1, PFN 1
13/04 News Morally inappropriate to continue in govt, says MK Nepal
13/04 News Prachanda wins from Rolpa-2 as well
13/04 News Maoists lead with 44 seats; UML win 13, NC 11, MPRF 5, NWPP 2
13/04 News King satisfied
13/04 News Election was Largely Free, Fair: Carter
12/04 Election Commission Press Releases
Cancellation in 75 polling stations of 19 constituencies in 12 districts.
12/04 Election Commission Press Releases
75 poll centers of 19 constituencies in 12 districts have been cancelled
12/04 Press Release
Largely successful election day despite tense campaign- E.U.
12/04 Press Release
CREDIBLE ELECTIONS ADVANCE NEPAL’S PEACE PROCESS- ANFREL
12/04 News
New poll dates published for eight constituencies
12/04 News Sushil Koirala announces resignation as NC acting prez
12/04 News Dr Bhattarai wins in Gorkha-2 with largest margin
12/04 News Arbour welcomes the CA polls
Pavel said
Nepal much in the mind of Stephen Hadley, Bush’s National Security Adviser. Check this out:
http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/politics/blog/2008/04/nepal_tibet_whatever.html
Lost Artemio said
UML to withdraw from government
CPN-UML, one of the main constituents of the coalition government, has decided to pull out of the government on “moral grounds”.
The party’s Standing Committee (politburo) meeting held on Sunday decided to withdraw from the government, “respecting the people’s mandate” expressed through the election. The meeting that took place after CPN-UML general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal announced his resignation from the party’s top post also gave the responsibility of acting General Secretary of the party to another influential leader Amrit Kumar Bohora.
The next Standing Committee meeting to be held two weeks from now will decide on the resignation tendered by General Secretary Nepal.
The meeting decided to withdraw from the government concluding that it is inappropriate to continue in the government seeing the results of Thursday’s Constituent Assembly election.
“The election results have shown that we lost our popularity. The people’s mandate is against our expectations and there is no point in staying in the government,” newly designated acting General Secretary of the party Amrit Kumar Bohora said, adding, “Therefore, we have decided to withdraw from the government on moral ground.” nepalnews.com ag Apr 14 08
http://www.nepalnews.com/archive/2008/apr/apr14/news03.php
redflags said
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080415/jsp/foreign/story_9138747.jsp
redflags said
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080415/jsp/foreign/story_9138747.jsp
Kathmandu , April 14: As Nepal’s Maoists continue their spectacular run towards a majority, it is becoming clear they will push for some critical changes even before the new Constituent Assembly can finalise a new governance structure for the country. Chief among them is the integration of the 31,000-strong People’s Liberation Army into the armed forces.
“Our soldiers need better training and equipment and the Nepali Army needs to be democratised,” Maoist supremo Prachanda told The Telegraph on the eve of elections. “This integration and the creation of a new national army is a priority and has to be achieved within a year.”
PLA soldiers, who surrendered as part of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2006, are currently restricted to barracks in seven cantonments across the country under supervision of the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN). They earn Rs 3000 stipends and are meant to remain disarmed until they can merge with the national army. “They are restive in the barracks,” a Maoist leader said. “Often they do not get their stipends on time, but more importantly, they cannot understand why they cannot be accepted and respected as nationalist soldiers. They have been the vanguard of our movement, now they want their rewards and they must get it.”
But even though the Maoists are set to dominate Nepal’s agenda now on, the integration of the two armies is easier said than done. The PLA and the Nepali Army were embattled for more than ten years during which they inflicted heavy casualties on each other. Higher ranks don’t see eye to eye on a number of key issues including composition and leadership.
The Nepali Army has traditionally been, and remains, a deeply royalist force dominated by the feudal Chhetris and Thakuris; it ranks have been recruited almost exclusively from among hill tribals at the expense of aspirants from the Terai, or, Madhes region. It is, in the words of one retired army officer, a force “tailor-made to suit the purposes of a monarchy rather than of a modern democractic country”.
The current Army Chief, General Rukmangad Katuwal, was adopted by the Shah royals and raised inside Kathmandu’s Narainhity Palace. General Katuwal is known to be personally loyal to King Gyanendra and averse to any integration with the PLA. He probably has his reasons. He senses, perhaps rightly, that if the integration is fast-tracked, his days at the helm are numbered. Besides, the nature of the Nepali Army itself undergo radical changes. Reliable sources in the Nepali establishment suggest that General Katuwal may succeed in delaying the inevitable, using a few levers still at his command — he is very close to New Delhi, for instance, a proximity smelted by united opposition to the Maoists — but not beyond a point. “We are living through radical and fundamental changes,” a seasoned Kathmandu-watcher said. “Everybody must be prepared for new ways, the army probably most of all because they are the ones the Maoists really came up against.”
The PLA is not only anti-monarchist by definition, it is also a much more inclusive force, having drawn into its ranks fighters from all parts of Nepal. In the way it is composed, the Maoists would like the new national army to be much more like that PLA, which means royalist elements will be either sidelined or purged to create a “more egalitarian, less feudal” force.
It isn’t surprising, therefore, that General Katuwal has gone out of his way in recent weeks to deny that he has been negotiating integration with Maoist leaders. Prachanda has openly said General Katuwal is being “ridiculous”. Emphasising that there “already exists” a “theoretical and formal” agreement on integrating the two armies, he told The Telegraph. “I do not understand why he (General Katuwal) keeps saying such things. It is not necessary to hide all this any more, we have been having talks, I have myself met army generals and other senior ranks and held discussions. We know some generals are not happy, but this integration has to happen, there is no other way things can be.”
As his party bags more and more seats, it is increasingly apparent to all Prachanda’s word will weigh heavier than the powerful General Katuwal’s.
redflags said
http://www.kantipuronline.com/kolnews.php?nid=143944
Maoists lead initial PR count
By Bishu Budhathoki
KATHMANDU, April 14 – The Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist is leading in the ongoing vote count under the proportional representation (PR) electoral system.
According to a preliminary report of the Election Commission based on results in 54 constituencies across the country, out of 1,030,389 votes counted so far the Maoist party has obtained 333,504 (32.37 percent). The vote counting is still underway in many of these constituencies.
Nepali Congress has secured 235,131 (22.82 percent) of the votes, and the CPN-UML 224,879 (21.82 percent).
According to initial counts in Kathmandu constituencies-1, 3, 5, 7, 10 and Lalitpur-1, the Maoists have obtained 73,731 votes, the NC 65,804 votes and the UML 54,809.
Among these three parties, the CPN-Maoist, Nepali Congress and UML have secured 38, 33 and 28 percent respectively out of a total 193,624. In these constituencies the Maoist party has obtained 2,862 more votes than the combined vote obtained by its candidates under the first-past-the-post (FPTP) system.
In Kathmandu-7 and 10 and Lalitpur-1, the party has received less votes than its respective FPTP candidates. Maoist Chairman Prachanda contested from Kathmandu-10, Hisila Yami from Kathmandu-7 and Barsa Man Pun from Lalitpur-1.
Similarly, the NC got 8,597 votes less in these constituencies than the combined vote of its FPTP candidates. However, the CPN-UML has obtained 626 more votes than the combined vote it bagged under FPTP.
Nationwide, the trend is mixed. For instance, in Palpa the UML won two constituencies and the Maoists one. However, under PR the UML has won the highest number of votes and the NC the second highest. The Maoists have come in third position. Similarly, in Tanahu, where the three parties shared one seat each, UML has the highest number of votes under PR followed by NC and the Maoists.
Meanwhile, EC spokesperson Laxman Bhattarai informed that vote counting under the PR system has already been completed in 18 constituencies as of Monday afternoon.
redflags said
Nepal Peace Plan May Slow as Army Won’t Accept Rebels (Update1)
By Jay Shankar
April 15 (Bloomberg) — Nepal’s army said it will refuse to accept former communist rebels into its ranks while they remain “politically motivated and indoctrinated,” a move that may delay the Himalayan nation’s peace process.
“They cannot be integrated into the army as of now,” Ramindra Chhetri, director of army public relations, said in an interview in the capital, Kathmandu. “They need to be disarmed, de-mobilized, rehabilitated and reintegrated.”
The rebels sent 23,500 fighters into 28 camps and stored 3,428 weapons under the supervision of the United Nations as part of the peace accord that ended their 10-year insurgency. The agreement said rebel fighters will be rehabilitated and may join the ranks of the army.
Nepal returned to multiparty democracy last week, holding its first general election since 1991 under the terms of the November 2006 peace agreement. The former rebel Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) will probably win most seats in the new parliament that will draft a constitution to abolish the monarchy after almost 240 years.
The Maoist party has won 111 seats out of the 201 races declared for the 601-member assembly, the Election Commission said. Nepali Congress, the country’s oldest and largest party, has 32 seats and the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist- Leninist) is third with 28. Final results should be known by the end of this month.
U.S. Comment
The U.S., which continues to designate the rebel party as a terrorist organization, said Nepalis were able to vote peacefully in most districts. There was “considerable violence and intimidation” during the election campaign, the State Department said.
“We look forward to the formation of an assembly that reflects the will of the Nepali people, ready to begin the important work of framing a constitution that addresses their needs,” spokesman Sean McCormack said in a statement from Washington late yesterday.
New voting has been ordered at 106 polling stations in 21 constituencies, the commission said on its Web site.
“Individuals can have their own opinion” on how to treat the fighters, Maoist commander Barsha Man Pun said. “When the government gives an order to recruit our fighters then the army will have to accept that. Is there a way out? I don’t think so.”
Delaying Tactics
Puspa Kamal Dahal, the leader of CPN (Maoist), on Jan. 9 accused the government of delaying the integration of his fighters into the army, saying the holdup may harm the accord that ended the civil war in which 13,000 people died.
Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala said in the same month he opposes former guerrillas joining the army because he doesn’t want the institution to be politicized. He suggested former rebels be recruited into a security force for industries.
“There is a lot of posturing by the army,” said military and political analyst C.K. Lal. “Between the army and Maoist demands there are a lot of gray areas. All that the Maoists need is rehabilitation with honor.”
Parliament in 2006 stripped King Gyanendra of most of his powers, including his command of the army, dropping the “Royal” before Nepalese Army.
The army was under the control of the monarchy until 1991 when King Birendra created a parliamentary system and ended 30 years of absolute rule by appointing a prime minister to head the government, Chhetri said. “The army has been respecting civilian supremacy,” he said.
Confined to Bases
Under the 2006 peace accord, both the army and the Maoists were confined to bases and the army didn’t participate in the elections, Chhetri said.
“It is entirely up to the political leadership. All we are saying is that the army has special characteristics,” he said. “It must be respected by all stakeholders. It must not be politicized. The army lost 1,012 soldiers during the insurgency.”
Nepal faced a similar problem in 1951 when fighters of the Nepali Congress were to be integrated, Lal said. The Nepal Police was formed as a result and Nepali Congress members recruited. “There was only the army until then,” he said.
The Maoist fighters, who follow the ideology of former Chinese leader Mao Zedong, may become part of a security force or used to protect national parks and resources or to guard television and telephone towers and radio stations, Lal said.
“They have abandoned the war,” he said. “They are asking for uniforms, barracks to live in, a hierarchy which clones the way they lived earlier. The higher commanders can be absorbed by an inter-forces commission. It is possible to work this out.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Jay Shankar in Kathmandu via Bangalore at jshankar1@bloomberg.net
Posted at Bloomberg
Leupp: A Maoist Sweep — Electoral Revolution in Nepal « Kasama said
[...] News of the Revolution in Nepal [...]
redflags said
Democracy Now has largely been sleeping on the unfolding events in Nepal. This is unfortunate. While they’ve given plenty of space to uncritical reporting on the Dalai Lama (which joins the MSM in ignoring his actual political positions), they have barely covered a mass, revolutionary and popular movement to OVERTHROW a godking in Nepal.
It’s worth calling them to inquire why this isn’t considered newsworthy at its actual pace of events.
They just ran a story Wedneday, April 17 – but still have not run interviews with the Maoists or anyone supporting them to dig into the actual politics of the situation. Here’s the link to their story:
Maoist Rebels Win Majority in Nepalese Assembly
Maoist rebels in Nepal say an end to monarchy is near, following their surprise victory in last week’s national elections. The Communist Party of Nepal is expected to come out with more than half the seats in the constituent assembly when final results are released. Maoist officials say one of their first orders of business will be to abolish the monarchy and declare a republic. We speak with New York-based journalist Kashish Das Shrestha, and we go to Nepal to speak with anthropologist Mary Des Chenes. [Read more]
Nando said
please post the phone numbers and email addresses we should use to contact them with our inquiries.
redflags said
DN contact page
I’d urge people to be respectful, to understand that folks at DN may not actually understand what is happening there and what’s its importance is. Refer them to real information, sources and people who may be able to speak. They are true independent media heroes… and berating them won’t help anything. The larger issue is that there is very little reporting happening, and no established means for informed experts to be brought into the discussion.